The digital heartbeat: a qualitative descriptive study on women's views on preventing cardiovascular disease in primary care.

Abstract

This empirical study aims to explore women's perspectives on cardiovascular disease and the use of digital health interventions (DHIs) for their primary prevention and to gather insights on essential features for developing artificial intelligent-enabled technologies. Adopting a qualitative descriptive research design, we conducted 15 semi-structured, in-depth interviews via Zoom with women at higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Participants were women over 40 years old, residing in Quebec, with at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, and proficient in English. Recruitment was from a McGill University-affiliated clinic. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used for data analysis. Five major themes were identified: (i) understanding cardiovascular disease in a variety of ways, (ii) barriers and challenges to preventing cardiovascular disease in women, (iii) women taking charge of their cardiovascular well-being, (iv) mixed perspectives regarding artificial intelligent-enabled technologies for cardiovascular disease prevention such as Xi-Care, and (v) range of suggestions for the format and design of a prospective artificial intelligent-enabled technologies. Despite the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, there is a significant knowledge gap among women regarding the chronic nature and manifestations of these diseases. Artificial intelligent-enabled technologies like Xi-Care, with the potential for customization and interactive engagement, could enhance the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in women, providing valuable insights for the subsequent phases of the project leading to Xi-Care's development.