JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Qualitative health services research often relies on semi-structured or in-depth interviews to develop a deeper understanding of patient experiences, motivations, and perspectives. The quality of data gathered is contingent upon a patient’s recall capacity, yet studies show recall of medical information is low. Threats to generating rich and detailed interview data may be more prevalent when interviewing older adults.

Objective:

To provide health service research teams with a visual tool to improve qualitative interviews with older adults, we developed and studied the feasibility of using a tool, Remembering Healthcare Encounters Visually and Interactively (REVISIT), created to aid recall of a specific telemedicine encounter.

Methods:

We developed the REVISIT visual appointment summary to facilitate virtual interviews with our participants as part of an evaluation of a geriatric telemedicine program. Our primary aims were to aid participant recall, maintain focus on the index visit, and establish a shared understanding of the visit between participants and interviewers. We systematically documented and synthesized the authors’ experiences and observations developing REVISIT and using it during video conference interviews. We discuss these experiences with REVISIT and suggest considerations for broader implementation and future research to expand upon this preliminary work.

Results:

REVISIT enhanced the interview process by providing a focus and catalyst for discussion and supporting rapport-building with participants. REVISIT appeared to support older patients’ and caregivers’ recollection of a clinical visit, helping them to share additional details about their experience. REVISIT was difficult to read for some participants, however, and could not be utilized for phone interviews.

Conclusions:

REVISIT is a promising tool to enhance quality of data collected during interviews with older, rural adults and caregivers about a healthcare encounter. This novel tool may aid recall of healthcare experiences for those groups for whom it may be more challenging to collect accurate, rich qualitative data (e.g., those with cognitive impairment or complex medical care), allowing health services research to include more diverse patient experiences.