scholarly journals From the First Visit On: Information Technology and Communication

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Russell Hoverman

The oncology community has found that communication is key to the patient's quality of life, the well-being of family members, hospice enrollment, and costs. The challenge is to make these conversations happen.

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briony Dow ◽  
Betty Haralambous ◽  
Courtney Hempton ◽  
Susan Hunt ◽  
Diane Calleja

ABSTRACTBackground: This paper describes the evaluation of the Memory Lane Café service in Victoria, Australia. The Alzheimer's Australia Vic Memory Lane Café model aims to provide a social and educational service to people living with dementia and their carers, family members or friends. Dementia is a serious health issue in Australia, with prevalence estimated at 6.5% of people over 65 years of age. Living with dementia has significant social and psychological ramifications, often negatively affecting quality of life. Social support groups can improve quality of life for people living with dementia.Methods: The evaluation included focus groups and surveys of people with dementia and their carers, staff consultation, service provider interviews, and researcher observation. The Melbourne Health Mental Health Human Research Ethics Committee approved the project. Participants included people with dementia (aged 60 to 93 years, previously enrolled in the Alzheimer's Australia Vic's six-week Living With Memory Loss Program), their carers, friends and/or family members, staff working in the Cafés, and service providers with links to the Cafés.Results: This evaluation found that Memory Lane Cafés promote social inclusion, prevent isolation, and improve the social and emotional well-being of attendees. However, Cafés did not meet the needs of all potential attendees.Conclusions: The evaluation recommended that existing Café services be continued and possibilities for extending the Cafés be explored. Based on evaluation outcomes, the Department of Health Victoria is funding four additional pilot programs in café style support services.


2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 444-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nechama W. Greenwood ◽  
Deborah Dreyfus ◽  
Joanne Wilkinson

Abstract Women with intellectual disability (ID) have similar rates of breast cancer as the general public, but higher breast cancer mortality and lower rates of regular screening mammography. Screening rates are lowest among women who live with their families. Though women with ID often make decisions in partnership with their relatives, we lack research related to family member perspectives on mammography. We conducted a qualitative study of family members of women with ID, with an interview guide focused on health care decision making and experiences, and breast cancer screening barriers, facilitators, and beliefs as related to their loved ones. Sixteen family members underwent semistructured interviews. Important themes included mammography as a reference point for other social and cultural concerns, such as their loved one's sexuality or what it means to be an adult woman; fear of having to make hard decisions were cancer to be diagnosed acting as a barrier to screening; a focus on quality of life; and desire for quality health care for their loved one, though quality care did not always equate to regular cancer screening. Adults with ID are valued members of their families, and their relatives are invested in their well-being. However, families fear the potentially complicated decisions associated with a cancer diagnosis and may choose to forgo screening due to misinformation and a focus on quality of life. Effective interventions to address disparities in mammography should focus on adults with ID and their families together, and incorporate the family context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-79
Author(s):  
Mateus de De Freitas Barreiro

Este artigo tem o objetivo de apresentar como a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (QVT) pode ser inserida em mercados competitivos, como o das organizações de Tecnologia da informação (TI) que comumente tem dificuldades para reter talentos. Quando a QVT é trabalhada sob uma óptica preventiva, que se contrapõem as visões assistencialistas e hegemônicas, a QVT poderá ser uma ferramenta que interfere diretamente na motivação dos colaboradores, levando a uma maior eficiência e eficácia organizacional, sendo um dos diferenciais para o êxito nos negócios e no bem-estar dos colaboradores. Esta pesquisa visa focar especificamente a QVT à luz do método de Walton, a partir de um estudo de caso sobre uma microempresa de TI no interior do Estado de São Paulo.Palavras-Chave: Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho. Método de Walton. Tecnologia da informação. Abstract: This article aims to present itself as the Quality of Life at Work (QVT) can be inserted in competitive markets, such as the Information Technology (IT) organizations that commonly have difficulty retaining talent. When QVT is crafted under a preventive approach, which counteracts the paternalistic and hegemonic visions, QVT can be a tool that directly affects the motivation of employees, leading to greater organizational efficiency and effectiveness, one of the advantages for success in business and well-being of employees. This research aims to focus specifically QVT the light of Walton method, from a case study of an IT microenterprise in the state of São Paulo.Keywords: Quality of Life at Work. Walton method. Information Technology.


Author(s):  
Bhumika Aggarwal ◽  
Qian Xiong ◽  
Elisabeth Schroeder-Butterfill

Abstract Aim: Given the paucity of data on the use of internet and quality of life (QoL), this literature review aimed to identify the motivations and barriers for internet use and the impact on QoL on older adults using the internet. Background: Even though older adults are increasingly using information technology, the numbers remain quite small globally. Currently published research primarily focuses on the various ways and methods of information technology use by older adults and the factors influencing use rather than on the impact of information technology on QoL of older adults. Methods: The studies included in this literature review were searched in three databases: WEB of Science, GoogleScholar and PubMed. English language articles were searched using the terms ‘older’, ‘elderly’, ‘senior’, ‘well-being’, ‘life satisfaction’, ‘quality of life’, ‘internet’ and “computer”. Findings: The review demonstrated the association of internet use on QoL in older adults. The majority of the studies substantiate the advantages of internet use by older adults including the ability to communicate with family and friends, maintain a wide social network, have access to information and participate in online leisure activities. There are some studies, though less in number, which did not find a relationship between well-being and use of internet by older adults. The policy implications of this review advocate a multidimensional strategy to support internet use by the older people incorporating internet training and education, financial issues, technical support and access needs to be developed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Danielis ◽  
Alvisa Palese ◽  
Stefano Terzoni ◽  
Anne Destrebecq

Even if health care professionals should take into account the active involvement of families in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), little research that investigates family member’s contributions to care and includes its outcomes on both the family itself and the patient care, is available. The aim of this research project is to assess the effects of a family engagement program on family members’ satisfaction and on patients’ well-being and quality of life. A quasiexperimental study with two non-randomized groups (94 per each group) will be performed in two general ICUs of an Academic Italian Hospital. The intervention will be carried out in a single ICU and it consists of family members’ involvement in the care of their loved ones by means of bed physical exercises and simple care tasks. Participants will be evaluated through manifold outcomes: family satisfaction, assessed with the FS-ICU tool within 48 hours after ICU discharge; patients’ sense of well-being, measured with a visual analogue scale within 30 minutes after the time period of a visit; and the quality of life, investigated with the SF- 12 questionnaire within the first 48 hours after admission to ICU, at three and six months after ICU discharge by telephone. From July 2020, 188 subjects are going to be enrolled throughout the year. The latest data will be collected in December 2021 to allow the completion of the follow-ups of all participants. First, this study constitutes a significant step in a research agenda aimed at deepening the nursing sensitive outcomes in ICUs and the quality of hospital care. Secondly, the results of this study might have the potential to provide a better understanding of how families may modify patients’ outcomes and whether family members would benefit from an involvement program.


Author(s):  
Maryory Astrid Gómez Botero ◽  
Sebastián Isaza Ramírez

The world's population increases every year and resources are limited, consequently the humanity faces the need to reinvent the way of living. As population grows, it is expected that in the coming years, the majority of people will live in urban areas. Thus urgent need to have cities where the well-being of people and the sustainability of the environment can be guaranteed [1]. In the last decade, the integration of sensor technologies, mobile internet, and information technology, has allowed the development of countless systems seeking to achieve the aforementioned objectives for the cities of the future. A Smart City can be defined as one that is able to take advantage of its own data, produced during its daily operation, in order to generate new information that allows it to improve its management and be more sustainable, more competitive, and offer better quality of life, thanks to participation and collaboration of all agents involved [2].


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Jones ◽  
Alice Theadom ◽  
Philip Prah ◽  
Nicola Starkey ◽  
Suzanne Barker-Collo ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:The impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) extends beyond the person who was injured. Family caregivers of adults with moderate to severe TBI frequently report increased burden, stress and depression. Few studies have examined the well-being of family members in the mild TBI population despite the latter representing up to 95% of all TBIs.Methods:Five areas of well-being were examined in 99 family members (including parents, partners, siblings, other relatives, adult children, friends or neighbours) of adults (aged ≥16 years) with mild TBI. At 6- and 12-month post-injury, family members completed the Bakas Caregiver Outcomes Scale, Short Form-36 Health Survey, EQ-5D-3L, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Outcomes and change over time and associated factors were examined.Results:At 6 months, group mean scores for health-related quality of life for mental and physical components and overall health status were similar to the New Zealand (NZ) population. Mean scores for sleep, anxiety and depression were below clinically significant thresholds. From 6 to 12 months, there were significant improvements in Bakas Caregiver Outcomes Scale scores by 2.61 (95% confidence interval: 0.72–4.49), health-related quality of life (mental component) and EQ-5D-3L overall health (P = 0.01). Minimally clinically important differences were observed in overall health, anxiety, health-related quality of life and depression at 12 months. Female family members reported significant improvements in physical health over time, and more positive life changes were reported by those caring for males with TBI.Conclusions:The findings suggest diminished burden over time for family members of adults with mild TBI.


Author(s):  
Esperanza Manrique Rojas ◽  
Hilda Beatriz Ramírez Moreno ◽  
Margarita Ramírez Ramirez ◽  
Nora del Carmen Osuna Millan ◽  
Arnulfo Alanís Garza ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
pp. 004728752093366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Xiang ◽  
Daniel R. Fesenmaier ◽  
Hannes Werthner

This essay serves as a response to Cai and McKenna’s Letter to the Editor (2020) recently published in the Journal of Travel Research, which sought to initiate a discussion regarding the nature and future of research related to information technology and tourism (ITT). The authors argued that ITT is a subfield of information systems (IS) and ITT research is narrowly defined, self-referential, and focused on application, rather than building theory. In this essay, we challenge the authors’ basic assumptions as well as their supportive evidence. We argue that ITT, as an intersection between IT and tourism, is a well-developed, multidisciplinary field and has contributed substantially to tourism research and beyond. Furthermore, we offer a vision of future ITT research that aims to engage with much wider conversations about innovation, sustainability, well-being, quality of life, smart governance, and resilience, particularly in response to the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document