Barriers and Facilitators to the Use of Virtual Wards: A Systematic Review of the Qualitative Evidence.

Background: Virtual wards offer an alternative to traditional inpatient care, delivering acute care, monitoring, and treatment at home to prevent hospital admissions or facilitate early discharge. The aim of our qualitative systematic review was to understand the barriers to and facilitators for the successful implementation and sustainability of virtual wards from the perspective of any involved stakeholder using behavioural change models.

Methods: The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024519627). The following databases were searched: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Academic Search Complete. A three-stage deductive content analysis (DCA), as recommended for applying the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation- Behaviour) and TDF (Theoretical Domains Framework) to qualitative data, was conducted to categorise and map the barriers and facilitators to virtual wards identified in the included studies, using the TDF domains as a guiding framework.

Results: Searches initially identified 7,489 articles. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Common barriers for patients and family members were the lack of language skills, technical skills, and medical knowledge. Caregivers were also required to take on significant medical responsibilities while patients had to remain self-motivated. The introduction of appropriate training was seen as a valuable facilitator. Healthcare providers faced numerous technological barriers that had the potential to affect care delivery. Strong leadership was an essential facilitator for effective care coordination in virtual wards. From a healthcare system perspective, the availability of resources such as staffing, equipment, and funding, along with standardized protocols, is crucial for the successful implementation of virtual wards.

Conclusions: Virtual wards can ease hospital capacity issues and support the delivery of safe and effective care in patients' own homes. However, to realise this potential, we must understand the barriers and facilitators to the use and successful implementation of virtual wards for patients, carers, and healthcare professionals. This understanding will allow targeted strategies and interventions to be developed to support both the delivery and receipt, of care on virtual wards.