Telemedicine Adoption in Older Adults After Major Surgery: A Qualitative Study

Overview

The participants are invited to participate in a research study. It is important to the investigators that the participants first take time to read through and understand the information provided in this sheet. Nevertheless, before the participants take part in this research study, the study will be explained to the participants and the participants will be given the chance to ask questions. After the participants are properly satisfied that they understand this study, and that they wish to take part in the study, they must sign this informed consent form. The participants will be given a copy of this consent form to take home with them. Telemedicine is the use of technology for patients to communicate with doctors and healthcare professionals without visiting the hospital/clinic personally. In colorectal cancer (CRC) care, telemedicine has been suggested for post-surgery follow-up via telephone consultations and video consultation. Although telemedicine is increasingly being adopted as an alternative to long-term healthcare, little is known about the acceptability of such remote care alternatives by CRC patients in Singapore. The participants are invited because they underwent surgery for colorectal cancer 1 to 4 years ago, are Singaporean or permanent resident of Singapore and 65 years and above. As such, the investigators want to find out about the participants' knowledge, barriers and perceptions toward the use of telemedicine as an alternative to their existing CRC care.

If the participants take part in this study, they will be invited to participate in an interview. They will be asked to share about what they know about teleconsultations and what they feel/think about using telemedicine services to manage their cancer surveillance. This will allow the investigators to have an in-depth understanding of their attitudes towards telemedicine. The interview will be conducted by a trained research assistant, either in a clinical consultation room for their privacy or over the phone. The interview will be audio-recorded for data analysis and will take approximately 20-25 minutes in a single session. During the interview, the investigators will not mention the participants by name but will be using salutations to address them. The investigators will also collect the participants' basic personal information (e.g., age, gender) on a demographic form for data analysis. We will also access your medical records for your personal medical history, as well as clinical data including your disease staging, date of diagnosis, surgery details and treatment received. The information accessed will start from your first admission to NUH for CRC till the completion of any adjuvant treatment and/or CRC-related treatment. The information will subsequently be coded and be made known only to the study team for data analysis. Any individually-identifiable data obtained during the course of this study will be stored and analysed for the purposes of this study and will not be used for future biomedical research. The participants' participation in the study will last for a single session of approximately 20 to 25 minutes. They will only be required to participate in a single interview. They will not be required to make an additional trip back to NUH to participate in this study. The interview will be administered either during their routine follow up visits or over the phone, depending on their preference. No additional cost will need to be borne by them.