therefore , the age of 65 plus years was used . The exclusion criteria were pilot studies , articles not specific to HF patients , telemonitoring and self-care , articles that are not research papers , and systematic reviews that were published before 2017 . Whitlock , Lin , Chou , Shekelle and Robinson ( 2008 ) suggest that systematic reviews become outdated in about three to five years , or less after it has been published ( as cited in Aveyard , 2019 , p . 113 ). Pilot studies were excluded because they are not actual research studies . Pilot studies are done to try-out the data collection method and design to be used for the actual research ( Kane and Barker , 2019 ; Lacey , 2015 ).
Limiters ( inclusion criteria ) were used , and as a result , fifty articles were retrieved . The titles and abstracts of the fifty articles retrieved from the final search were read to choose the most pertinent articles to review based on the exclusion criteria . Three duplicates were removed , and six articles were chosen . Ortega and Barker ( 2019 ) state that the titles and abstracts of each article obtained must be read to choose the most pertinent articles that will answer the research question . International articles written in the English language were included in the literature review to prevent excluding articles that are relevant to the research question . The international articles included had similar healthcare settings with that of the UK , thereby ensuring transferability .
Some of the limitations encountered during the literature search were the limited number of articles present when the full-text limit was added ; therefore , it could not be used . Also , there was no access to some of the articles , as these articles could only be accessed by paying for them , which was not feasible for this study . Therefore , this may have affected both the comprehensiveness of the search strategy and ultimately , the ability to make an absolute judgment on the research question . Lack of fluency in other languages , except the English Language led to excluding articles not written in the English Language . This may have resulted in useful studies being excluded from the review .
Findings
Braun and Clarke ’ s ( 2006 ) thematic analysis framework was used to identify the main themes from the articles retrieved . Braun and Clarke ( 2006 ) and Aveyard ( 2019 ) state that the thematic analysis approach is easy to use , especially for novice researchers . The most predominant themes identified within the literature reviewed are HF patients using telemonitoring technology , HF patients ’ knowledge of their condition and self-care in HF patients . The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme ( CASP ) tools were used to critique all the articles identified for the literature review ( CASP , 2018 ). CASP tools are easy to apply , concise and available for various study designs ( Nadelson & Nadelson , 2014 ). Two Randomised Control Trials ( RCTs ), one prospective , quasiexperimental study , one longitudinal study , and two qualitative studies were critiqued for methodological quality . The range of methodologies suggested that a comprehensive appreciation of the topic area might be possible . In figure 1 , an extraction table consisting of a summary of the findings from the articles used in this literature review and other attributes of each article used was included . The themes identified are elaborated on below .
HF patients using telemonitoring technology
Fairbrother et al ( 2014 ) conducted a qualitative study to explore the perception of CHF patients and healthcare professionals on the use of telemonitoring and the identified advantages of telemonitoring when managing CHF . Semiconstructed interviews took place , and topic guides were used for the interviews . Eighteen patients and five healthcare professionals were interviewed . Patients state that the telemonitoring technology is user-friendly ( Fairbrother et al ., 2014 ). Also , Fairbrother et al ( 2014 ) observed that patients are active and compliant in using the technology . Data saturation occurred at eighteen patients , and if done appropriately , data saturation can be used to ensure that quality data are collected ( Walker , 2012 ).
10