• Paul Mihas, Lindsey Rosman, Tiffany Armbruster, Jennifer Walker, Zack Deyo, and Anil Gehi.
• Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
• Patient Prefer Adher. 2022 Jan 1; 16: 2799-2810.

IntroductionAF self-care requires patients to perform daily self-monitoring for symptoms, practice decision making to address symptom changes, and adhere to prescribed medication, diet, physical activity, and follow-up care. Technology can facilitate these critical self-care behaviors and ultimately improve patient outcomes. We assessed atrial fibrillation (AF) patients' experiences with a smartphone application (app) for AF self-management.MethodsA focus group with 9 AF patients and app users was conducted and analyzed using qualitative research methods. The focus group was recorded, transcribed, and coded using a priori and inductive coding strategies. Participant responses for each code were synthesized to identify primary themes.ResultsWe identified four superordinate themes from patients' experiences: (1) disconnect between tool and its intended use; (2) app as acknowledged tool for adherence; (3) knowledge as empowerment; (3) motives: self-interest vs supporting research. Results from this qualitative study underscore the need to clarify the app's intended use and to better accommodate patients with different AF experiences. The disconnect between a tool and its intended use can generate frustration for users.DiscussionThe study reinforces that participants not only see how the app is a tool for adherence; they also see knowledge they gain via the app as empowering, suggesting a correlation between app use and self-efficacy.© 2022 Mihas et al.

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