Experiences With Mobile Health-Enabled Ambulatory Monitoring Among Stroke Survivors: A Qualitative Study

Inquiring into the experiences of stroke survivors toward ambulatory monitoring is crucial for optimizing user adoption, design, implementation, and sustainability of ambulatory monitoring in the stroke population. This study was aimed to identify facilitators and barriers for ambulatory monitoring among stroke survivors, as well as their suggestions for development and implementation of ambulatory monitoring. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 40 stroke survivors who received ambulatory monitoring. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Six themes about facilitators associated with ambulatory monitoring emerged: (1) user support, (2) technological features, (3) convenience, (4) personal strategies, (5)social influence, and (6)time commitment. Three themes about barriers to using ambulatory monitoring emerged: (1) personal factors, (2) functionality, (3) study design. Three themes about suggestions emerged: (1) personalization, (2) functionality, and (3) interactive feedback. As mobile health technology is becoming more popular, the findings of this study provide timely implications and practical considerations for ambulatory monitoring in the stroke population.