Patient experience of the use of continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with or without telemedicine during COVID-19: a qualitative approach

Abstract

Study objectives: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is considered effective treatment for moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Clinicians measure adherence to treatment by the number of hours CPAP is used per 24 hours. There have been very few studies examining the patients' lived experience of CPAP and the barriers to use. This study examined the patients' experience of OSA, CPAP use and treatment during COVID-19.

Methods: This CPAP patient experience qualitative study was part of a larger project. The overarching study was a 3-armed nonblinded randomized controlled trial of patients on CPAP for treatment of OSA using standard care or 1 of 2 telemedicine interventions. Patients who had completed the randomized controlled trial study were invited to be interviewed via telephone, about their OSA diagnosis, CPAP experiences, their experience of using telemedicine, and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Results: Fifteen patients (5 from each arm of the trial) took part in a semistructured interview. Thematic analysis identified 3 themes: day to day living, standard hospital care vs telemedicine management, and living through COVID-19 with CPAP.

Conclusions: All participants described significant symptoms caused by their OSA before diagnosis. Although CPAP treatment was often described as challenging, patients discussed the improvement in their symptoms with treatment. There were differing opinions on virtual appointments; however, the consensus was the use of telemedicine to support CPAP treatment was well received. COVID-19 appeared to have little effect on the patient experience.

Citation: Jones TA, Roddis J, Stores R. Patient experience of the use of continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with or without telemedicine during COVID-19: a qualitative approach. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(11):1739-1748.

Keywords: COVID-19; continuous positive airway pressure; obstructive sleep apnea; patient experience; patient interview; qualitative; telemedicine; thematic analysis.