Clinician experiences of healthy lifestyle promotion and perceptions of digital interventions as complementary tools for lifestyle behavior change in primary care

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Anne H Berman, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden)

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Stockholm1---erik-hedmans-iPhone---Ny-inspelning---12-jan-2015-12-07.m4a	audio/mp4	25.1 MB	01/03/2015 12:58:AM
Stockholm2_Huddinge-AVC..DSS	application/octet-stream	4.7 MB	01/21/2015 12:57:AM
Stockholm3PV_Jakobsberg.MP3	audio/mpeg	88.9 MB	04/28/2015 09:55:AM
Stockholm5PV_Flemingsberg.MP3	audio/mpeg	68.5 MB	05/05/2015 12:45:PM
Stockholm6PV_Stuvsta.MP3	audio/mpeg	84.8 MB	05/28/2015 10:09:AM

Project Citation:

Berman, Anne H. Clinician experiences of healthy lifestyle promotion and perceptions of digital interventions as complementary tools for lifestyle behavior change in primary care . Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017-01-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E100395V1

Project Description

Summary: Background: Evidence-based healthy lifestyle promotion in primary health care has been supported internationally by national policies and guidelines but implementation in routine primary health care has been slow. Referral to digital interventions could lead to a larger proportion of patients accessing structured interventions for healthy lifestyle changes, but such referral might have unknown implications for clinicians with patients accessing such interventions. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions of clinicians in primary care on healthy lifestyle promotion with or without digital screening and intervention. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted at 10 primary care clinics in Sweden with clinicians from different health professions. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method involving naïve understanding, structural analysis and comprehensive understanding. Results: Two major themes captured clinicians’ perceptions on healthy lifestyle promotion: 1) the need for structured professional practice and 2) deficient professional practice as a hinder for implementation. Sub-themes in theme 1 were striving towards professionalism, which for participants meant working in a standardized fashion, with replicable routines regardless of clinic, as well as being able to monitor statistics on individual patient and group levels; and embracing the future with critical optimism, meaning expecting to develop professionally but also being concerned about the consequences of integrating digital tools into primary care, particularly regarding the importance of personal interaction between patient and provider. For theme 2, sub-themes were being in an unmanageable situation, meaning not being able to do what is perceived as best for the patient due to lack of time and resources; and following one’s perception, meaning working from a gut feeling, which for our participants also meant deviating from clinical routines. Conclusions: In efforts to increase evidence-based practice and lighten the burden of clinicians in primary care, decision- and policy-makers planning the introduction of digital tools for healthy lifestyle promotion will need to explicitly define their role as complements to face-to-face encounters. Our overriding hope is that this study will contribute to maintaining meaningfulness in the patient-clinician encounter, when digital tools are added to facilitate patient behavior change of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors

Funding Sources: Stockholm County Council (PPG project) (20140487); Swedish Research Council (K2012-61X-22132-01-6)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: digital interventions; e-health; healthy lifestyle promotion; clinician experiences; primary care; phenomenological hermeneutics

Geographic Coverage: Sweden

Data Type(s): audio: sound data

Methodology

Data Source: Focus group interviews

Collection Mode(s): face-to-face interview

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Published Versions

V1 [2017-01-13]

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