Telehealth Experience Among Liver and Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Telehealth has become widely available to solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic. While evidence suggests that telehealth serves as an acceptable alternative for most SOT recipients, their satisfaction and its context remain unclear. This study used a mixed methods approach to investigate the perspectives of SOT recipients (i.e., liver, kidney, and simultaneous liver-kidney) on the benefits and disadvantages of telehealth. A total of 252 adult SOT recipients completed an online survey that quantitatively assessed telehealth experience and satisfaction. Fifteen of them further shared their perspectives by participating in either a focus group or individual interview. Approximately 70% of online survey participants had previously used telehealth for their transplant care. The quantitative data documented that, while recipients were mostly satisfied with telehealth, especially with its effectiveness and convenience, they were less satisfied with the reliability of navigating the telehealth system. The qualitative data further showed that telehealth could be less effective for SOT recipients who perceived themselves as clinically and/or socially vulnerable, needed urgent care, and were concerned about privacy. These findings suggest that the plan for using telehealth to provide transplant care should prioritize personalization, considering unique needs and preferences of each SOT recipient.

Keywords: healthcare delivery; mixed methods design; patient-centered care; solid organ transplant; telehealth.

FIGURE 1

Box plots of telehealth satisfaction by characteristics (A) TUQ scores by sex, (B) employment status, and (C) education. p < 0.05 or Bonferroni-corrected p < 0.05. The circles are values between 1.5 and 3 IQRs from the end of a box. The stars are extreme outliers indicating values more than 3 IQRs from the end of a box.