Barriers and Facilitators to Smart Healthcare Adoption Among Chinese Patients with Cardiovascular Disease and Their Caregivers: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the barriers to and factors influencing the adoption of smart healthcare among Chinese patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and their caregivers with medium or low levels of self-care or caregiving ability. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen patients with CVD and nine caregivers to determine their needs and suggestions regarding the adoption of smart healthcare in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Results: The interview data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven steps. Two major themes and eleven subthemes were extracted, including facilitating factors (motivation to use, learning and interactive engagement, knowledge translation, and psychological identity) and obstacles (insufficient ease of operation, risk to personal privacy, ambivalence about paying for knowledge, fear of physical and mental injury, mistrust of implementation personnel, and technical or functional limitations of equipment) to the adoption of smart healthcare. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that before implementing smart healthcare interventions for patients with CVD and their caregivers, it is necessary to fully assess their willingness; push precise content based on their learning, interaction, and psychological needs; and address the technical barriers and privacy protection to enhance their willingness to use the system.