Exploring Patient Experience with Noninvasive Ventilation: A Human-Centered Design Analysis to Inform Planning for Better Tolerance

Author Department

Healthcare Quality; Medicine; Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine

Document Type

Article, Peer-reviewed

Publication Date

1-2022

Abstract

Background: This study brings a human-centered design (HCD) perspective to understand patient experience when using noninvasive ventilation (NIV) with the goal of creating better strategies to improve NIV comfort and tolerance.

Methods: Using an HCD motivational approach, we created a semi-structured interview to uncover the patients' journey while being treated with NIV. We interviewed 16 patients with COPD treated with NIV while hospitalized. Patients' experience was captured in a stepwise narrative creating a journey map as a framework describing the overall experience and highlighting the key processes, tensions, and flows. We broke the journey into phases, steps, emotions, and themes to get a clear picture of the overall experience levers for patients.

Results: The following themes promoted NIV tolerance: trust in the providers, the favorable impression of the facility and staff, understanding why the mask was needed, how NIV works and how long it will be needed, immediate relief of the threatening suffocating sensation, familiarity with similar treatments, use of mediation and mindfulness, and the realization that treatment was useful. The following themes deterred NIV tolerance: physical and psychological discomfort with the mask, impaired control, feeling of loss of control, and being misinformed.

Conclusions: Understanding the reality of patients with COPD treated with NIV will help refine strategies that can improve their experience and tolerance with NIV. Future research should test ideas with the best potential and generate prototypes and design iterations to be tested with patients.

Keywords: COPD; human-centered design; noninvasive ventilation; patient experience; qualitative analysis.

PMID

35018753

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