Grant: Op. Grant: TiC - Best and Wise Practices Grants - Indigenous Health Research

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease characterized by disabling shortness of breath, severely reduced activity tolerance, and poor quality of life. People with COPD are encouraged to take an active role in managing their health, but this is challenging due to the complexity of their health and the many transitions in care they experience throughout the natural history of their disease. They move from primary to specialist care; they attend rehabilitation programs; they experience repeated acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) which often require hospitalization; and they need frequent contacts with the health care system to ensure they are appropriately medically managed. Managing COPD becomes even more challenging for First Nations peoples living in remote or rural locations, where primary care centres, specialists, lung function testing laboratories, and rehabilitation programs are sparse. To improve disease management and access to care, many First Nations communities have turned to telehealth technology. However, many telehealth systems are primarily video-conferencing systems to enable live conversations between patient and practitioner. Biometric monitoring increases the capacity of telehealth by regularly measuring and transmitting important health information (such as physical activity levels or medication use) to health providers. Patients wear devices that capture this information without any additional work on the part of the user. However, the use of biometric monitoring to enhance virtual care in First Nations communities has not been adequately investigated and may be considered intrusive. The goal of this project is to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and relevant research needs related to the implementation of COPD biometric monitoring into an existing First Nations telehealth system.