Integrating Health Technologies into Urinary Care: Perspectives from Healthcare Professionals (Preprint)
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND Urinary conditions impose a widespread burden on patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems. Emerging technologies, including wearable and remote devices, offer opportunities to improve diagnosis, monitoring, and care delivery. Yet, the perspectives of healthcare professionals, who are central to technology adoption, remain underexplored. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions of urinary issues and examine their views on the opportunities and barriers associated with adopting health technologies for urinary care. METHODS An online survey of 256 healthcare professionals collected qualitative responses about urinary care and the role of technology. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods, including open, axial, and selective coding, to develop an explanatory model grounded in providers’ narratives. RESULTS Analysis revealed four interconnected categories: Technology and Innovation in Patient Care, Patient-Centered and Integrated Care, Accessibility and Ethical Considerations, and Proactive and Preventative Urological Health Management. These categories were unified within the emergent Grounded Theory of Technology Negotiation in Urinary Care, which describes how professionals integrate new technologies through a negotiated process that balances enthusiasm for innovation with patient-centered values, systemic barriers, and preventative goals. Adoption occurs when innovations align with professional values, overcome structural constraints, and enhance holistic, sustainable care. CONCLUSIONS Healthcare professionals approach the integration of urinary health technologies as an active negotiation rather than passive acceptance. This grounded theory underscores that successful adoption requires user-centered design, comprehensive training, supportive reimbursement structures, and preservation of meaningful patient engagement. Recognizing adoption as a negotiated process provides a framework for guiding sustainable technology integration in urinary care. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/73453
Authors: Nicole Zhang, Yun Wang, Ni Zhang
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4414221323
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