A Stakeholder-Led Understanding of the Implementation of Digital Technologies Within Heart Disease Diagnosis: A Qualitative Study Protocol

Introduction Cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent amongst the UK population, and the quality of care is being reduced due to accessibility and resource issues. Increased implementation of digital technologies into the cardiovascular care pathway has enormous potential to lighten the load on the NHS, however, it is not possible to adopt this shift without embedding the perspectives of service users and clinicians. Methods and Analysis A series of qualitative studies will be carried out with the aim of developing a stakeholder-led perspective on the implementation of digital technologies to improve holistic diagnosis of heart disease. Focus groups will be carried out with 20 people with lived experience of heart disease, and interviews will be carried out with 10 clinicians with experience of diagnosing heart diseases. The data will be analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Ethics and Dissemination This study received ethical approval from the Sciences and Technology Cross Research Council at the University of Sussex. The findings will be disseminated through conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications and to the study participants. Strengths and Limitations The study materials have been informed by patient advisory boards, meaning they are sensitive to the experiences of the participants and the clinicians that will be recruited. The study will allow an in-depth understanding of the attitudes and experience of people with lived experience of heart disease and clinicians with experience of diagnosing heart disease. The use of an online research platform for participant recruitment will disadvantage those less comfortable using online resources. This may include those living in deprived areas without access to high quality technologies (which disproportionately excludes ethnic minority groups) and clinical populations with comorbidities that prevent the use of certain technologies, such as visual, auditory, physical, or learning impairments. The use of thematic analysis will not be free from the influence of the researcher’s personal experience and knowledge