Connected health services: Health professionals’ role as seen by parents of a child with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Objective Connected health services will change the scope of health professionals’ roles. It is unclear how parents of a child with inflammatory bowel disease perceive the role of health professionals in relation to these services and what their experiences and needs are. The purpose of this study is to highlight parents’ experiences with this role. Furthermore, it aims to outline the fundamental needs that parents have regarding this role, in order to promote audience-specific access to these services and derive overarching action measures. Methods Fourteen parents of children with inflammatory bowel disease from seven different clinics in Switzerland were recruited. Between August 2022 and February 2023, these parents were interviewed in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed using a structured qualitative content analysis. Results Five main categories were identified, with few parents having prior experience with the role of health professionals in this area. Parents saw health professionals in the role of gatekeepers, transferers of knowledge and in a supporting function for these services. From the parents’ perspective, health professionals should recognize the limitations of these services and use them as a complement to standard treatment. Conclusion The role of health professionals in relation to connected health services needs to be adapted from the parents’ perspective. To meet the needs of parents, health professionals must have access to these services. In addition to health professionals’ personal engagement with these services, institutional and policy changes, as well as research on role development from the perspective of other stakeholders are needed.