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. 2018 Aug;15(3):286-295.
doi: 10.1177/1479972317741895. Epub 2017 Nov 19.

What kind of information and communication technologies do patients with COPD prefer to use? A cross-sectional study in Latin America

Ivan Cherrez Ojeda  1 , J C Calderon  1 , O López Jove  2 , A Guerreros  3 , Karin J Plaza  1 , Jose A Cano  1 , E Vanegas  1 , M Felix  4 , V Mata  4 , E Calero  1 , A Cherrez  4 , D Simancas-Racines  5
Affiliations

What kind of information and communication technologies do patients with COPD prefer to use? A cross-sectional study in Latin America

Ivan Cherrez Ojeda et al. Chron Respir Dis. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the frequency of uses and preferences of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among Latin American chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey study on Latin American COPD patients. The adapted version of the Michigan questionnaire was employed in eligible outpatients in different cities of Latin America. We categorized age and educational levels into three groups. The time passed since COPD diagnosis was categorized as ≤5 years and >5 years. χ2 and crude and adjusted logistic regressions were performed. A total of 256 patients were enrolled with a mean age of 68.7 years old. The most recurrently used ICTs were short message service (SMS; 47.1%) and WhatsApp (30.7%) for receiving COPD information. Moreover, SMS (85.8%) and Facebook (36.1%) were rated as useful for asking physicians information about COPD. Regression analysis showed that the best predictor for patients using ICTs, for any purpose, was higher education (undergraduate or graduate school). Understanding the preferences of ICTs among COPD patients could help improve patient's outcomes through developing applications in response to specific requirements of each patient.

Keywords: Information and communication technology; Mhealth; SMS; Web 2.0.; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; electronic media; social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion of patients being highly interested in receiving information about COPD through each ICT type. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICT: information and communication technology.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Proportion of patients being highly interested in seeking information about COPD with their physicians through each ICT type. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICT: information and communication technology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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