Experiences and Challenges of Patients With Chronic Respiratory Disease During a Virtual Research Study: Qualitative Study.

Authors

Noah Tregobov, Austin McMillan, Aditya Dhariwal, Y Sarah Chae, Bahareh Poureslami, Maryam Mahjoob, Joshua Block, Iraj Poureslami

Published in

Journal of participatory medicine. Volume 18. Pages e80216. Jul 09, 2026. Epub Jul 09, 2026.

Abstract

Virtual research has emerged as a promising and convenient approach. This study investigates the experiences and challenges faced by patients with chronic respiratory diseases who participated in a virtual research study.
This study aimed to explore the experiences of adults with chronic respiratory diseases participating in a virtual research study and to identify challenges they encountered to inform future virtual research design and implementation.
Adults with a diagnosis of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease taking medications for their condition were recruited from the Greater Vancouver Area. A total of 185 participants completed an asthma-specific or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-specific health literacy measurement tool through telephone interviews and then completed a postinterview checklist (n=36) or survey (n=149) on their experience with virtual research. To test the health literacy tool's reproducibility, 110 participants were retested and completed the same checklist (n=79) or survey (n=31). Interviews were transcribed and thematic analyses were conducted on interviews, surveys, and checklists.
Six overarching themes were identified: overall experience with virtual research, clarity of instructions, technology, communication, condition and cognition, and logistics. While participants generally reported a positive experience, the study identified significant challenges, including technological barriers, the need for clear and concise instructions, mental fatigue, and communication difficulties.
These findings highlight the importance of providing comprehensive technical support, ensuring clear communication, and addressing ethical considerations in virtual research. This study contributes valuable insights to the growing body of literature on the viability and challenges of virtual research in health care.

PMID:
42424328
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.