“That’s just how I am”: a qualitative interview study to identify factors influencing engagement with a digital intervention for tinnitus self-management
“That’s just how I am”: a qualitative interview study to identify factors influencing engagement with a digital intervention for tinnitus self-management
Objectives: To explore users’ reactions to and expectations of the Tinnitus E-Programme 2.0, a digital cognitive behavioural intervention for tinnitus, and to identify contextual factors and mechanisms of action that may influence user engagement with the intervention. Design: Qualitative interview study. Methods: Think-aloud and semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 people with tinnitus. Interviews explored participants’ views of the intervention’s information and advice, its wider intervention goals (e.g. behaviour change, self-management), and factors that may strengthen or impede users’ engagement. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, and findings were used to develop a conceptual model of user engagement with the intervention. Results: Generally, participants expressed positive views of the intervention, its intervention components, and its design features. Identified contextual factors included pre-existing attitudes, beliefs, skills, and knowledge (e.g. perceptions of tinnitus symptom severity, openness to tinnitus management, and psychological techniques); previous experience of tinnitus management; and characteristics of the condition (e.g. heterogeneous nature of tinnitus, stage in healthcare journey). These contextual factors were hypothesized to influence engagement through four mechanisms of action: motivation to change tinnitus-related attitudes and behaviour; perceived personal relevance of the intervention; expectations of benefit; and appeal of the intervention techniques. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the acceptability of the Tinnitus E-Programme 2.0 amongst its target group, while highlighting potential areas for improvement in future intervention modifications. Our findings identified contextual factors that others developing interventions for tinnitus or cognitive behavioural interventions may wish to consider.
context, digital intervention, engagement, qualitative interviews, self-management, tinnitus
Greenwell, Kate
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Sereda, Magdalena
ed765297-068c-4c80-ba69-18d67c9085cc
Coulson, Neil
eaee5265-b3a5-4560-a48f-1684bb8e0b59
Geraghty, Adam
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Bradbury, Katherine
87fce0b9-d9c5-42b4-b041-bffeb4430863
Hoare, Derek
413e5905-a6f9-44e7-859a-766c9af2cf6d
Greenwell, Kate
4bac64bd-059f-4d7d-90d3-5c0bccb7ffb2
Sereda, Magdalena
ed765297-068c-4c80-ba69-18d67c9085cc
Coulson, Neil
eaee5265-b3a5-4560-a48f-1684bb8e0b59
Geraghty, Adam
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
Bradbury, Katherine
87fce0b9-d9c5-42b4-b041-bffeb4430863
Hoare, Derek
413e5905-a6f9-44e7-859a-766c9af2cf6d
Greenwell, Kate, Sereda, Magdalena, Coulson, Neil, Geraghty, Adam, Bradbury, Katherine and Hoare, Derek
(2020)
“That’s just how I am”: a qualitative interview study to identify factors influencing engagement with a digital intervention for tinnitus self-management.
British Journal of Health Psychology.
(doi:10.1111/bjhp.12486).
Abstract
Objectives: To explore users’ reactions to and expectations of the Tinnitus E-Programme 2.0, a digital cognitive behavioural intervention for tinnitus, and to identify contextual factors and mechanisms of action that may influence user engagement with the intervention. Design: Qualitative interview study. Methods: Think-aloud and semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 people with tinnitus. Interviews explored participants’ views of the intervention’s information and advice, its wider intervention goals (e.g. behaviour change, self-management), and factors that may strengthen or impede users’ engagement. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, and findings were used to develop a conceptual model of user engagement with the intervention. Results: Generally, participants expressed positive views of the intervention, its intervention components, and its design features. Identified contextual factors included pre-existing attitudes, beliefs, skills, and knowledge (e.g. perceptions of tinnitus symptom severity, openness to tinnitus management, and psychological techniques); previous experience of tinnitus management; and characteristics of the condition (e.g. heterogeneous nature of tinnitus, stage in healthcare journey). These contextual factors were hypothesized to influence engagement through four mechanisms of action: motivation to change tinnitus-related attitudes and behaviour; perceived personal relevance of the intervention; expectations of benefit; and appeal of the intervention techniques. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the acceptability of the Tinnitus E-Programme 2.0 amongst its target group, while highlighting potential areas for improvement in future intervention modifications. Our findings identified contextual factors that others developing interventions for tinnitus or cognitive behavioural interventions may wish to consider.
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BJHP.20.0341_R1 (11)
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Accepted/In Press date: 7 October 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 27 October 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
DJH and MS are funded through the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre funding programme. KG was in receipt of a NIHR PhD studentship and NIHR Infrastructure Doctoral Exchange Training Award at the time of completing this work. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Health Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society
Keywords:
context, digital intervention, engagement, qualitative interviews, self-management, tinnitus
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 444370
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/444370
ISSN: 1359-107X
PURE UUID: 57337709-88e9-4b42-92cd-3fe45c210ccc
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Date deposited: 14 Oct 2020 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:45
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Contributors
Author:
Magdalena Sereda
Author:
Neil Coulson
Author:
Derek Hoare
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