P1862USE OF NOVEL E-HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES AND ITS ACCEPTABILITY BY KIDNEY TRANSPLANTED PATIENTS: FIRST EXPERIENCE IN NORTHEAST BRAZIL
Authors: Gomes Ramalho de Oliveira Juliana , Askari Marjan , Cabral Dias Daniele , Sanders-Pinheiro Helady , De Francesco Daher Elizabeth , Vasconcelos Filho Jose Eurico , Formico Rodrigues Maria Andreia , Bezerra da Silva Junior Geraldo 
Published: June 2020

Background and Aims

The World Health Organization defines eHealth as the use of information and communication technologies for health purposes. One of its 4 components, mHealth or mobile health, refers more specifically to the provision of health information and services through mobile and wireless technologies. With approximately 7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, in many places people are more likely to have access to a smartphone than to drinking water. The aim of this study was to investigate the acceptability of renal transplanted patients to the use of eHealth technologies for their treatment.

Method

This is a cross-sectional study, performed in a reference hospital located in northeastern Brazil, from January to March 2019, including renal transplant patients older than 18 years old. Data collection was performed through interviews at the post-transplant outpatient clinic in the period preceding the follow-up appointments. The following variables were studied: sociodemographic (gender, age, marital status, race, religion, origin, education, occupation and income), use of technologies (communication devices ownership and / or internet access mobile or at home), purpose and frequency of use, reasons for non-use, and interest in using eHealth tools to assist in post-transplant treatment. We have also interviewed physicians and nurses from the renal transplantation unit regarding this subject.

Results

A total of 147 patients were interviewed, 63.2% were male, age varied from 13 to 45.1±13 years old, 41.5% were single, with 4 to 10 years of schooling, family income of 2 to 3 minimum wages in Brazil (approximately 400 to 700 US dollars). The patients had had been transplanted around 5 to 6 years ago. As for handset ownership, 90.5% had a smartphone, 39.5% a notebook, 36% a home computer and 12.2% a tablet. As for use, 13% used only for calls. Among the other purposes, 85% used for messaging, 72.1% for internet searches and 74.8% for social networks. Regarding frequency of use, 61.2% used these technologies many times a day. Concerning their interest in using eHealth tools, 93.2% pointed that they would like the tool to be developed for smartphones, and 96.6% said they would use eHealth tools to help them cope with their treatment. The health professionals (10 physicians and 3 nurses) pointed as the main barriers that difficult treatment post-renal transplantation were: patient’s adherence to treatment (76.9%) and low health literacy (53.8%). These professionals pointed that the eHealth technologies can help to increase patients’ adherence, and 23% of them had doubts about effective acceptability by patients.

Conclusion

To our knowledge, this is the first study in Brazil that addresses the acceptability of eHealth tools among kidney transplanted patients. Transplant recipients were found to already use information technology and are interested in using eHealth tools to help them with the treatment. Health professionals support this initiative and believe these technological tools can increase patient compliance. The next steps of this study are to develop and test eHealth technologies directed for kidney transplanted patients.