scholarly journals Issues Associated With the Management and Governance of Sensor Data and Information to Assist Aging in Place: Focus Group Study With Health Care Professionals (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Hunter ◽  
Phoebe Elers ◽  
Caroline Lockhart ◽  
Hans Guesgen ◽  
Amardeep Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Age In Place

BACKGROUND Smart home and telemonitoring technologies have often been suggested to assist health care workers in supporting older people to age in place. However, there is limited research examining diverse information needs of different groups of health care workers and their access to appropriate information technologies. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the issues associated with using technologies that connect older people to their health care providers to support aging in place and enhance older people’s health and well-being. METHODS Seven focus group discussions were conducted comprising 44 health care professionals who provided clinic-based or in-home services to community-dwelling older people. Participants were asked about their information needs and how technology could help them support older people to age in place. The recordings of the sessions were transcribed and thematically analyzed. RESULTS The perspectives varied between the respondents who worked in primary care clinics and those who worked in community-based services. Three overarching themes were identified. The first theme was “access to technology and systems,” which examined the different levels of technology in use and the problems that various groups of health care professionals had in accessing information about their patients. Primary care professionals had access to good internal information systems but they experienced poor integration with other health care providers. The community-based teams had poor access to technology. The second theme was “collecting and sharing of information,” which focused on how technology might be used to provide them with more information about their patients. Primary care teams were interested in telemonitoring for specific clinical indicators but they wanted the information to be preprocessed. Community-based teams were more concerned about gaining information on the patients’ social environment. The third theme was that all respondents identified similar “barriers to uptake”: cost and funding issues, usability of systems by older people, and information security and privacy concerns. CONCLUSIONS The participants perceived the potential benefits of technologies, but they were concerned that the information they received should be preprocessed and integrated with current information systems and tailored to the older people’s unique and changing situations. Several management and governance issues were identified, which needed to be resolved to enable the widespread integration of these technologies into the health care system. The disconnected nature of the current information architecture means that there is no clear way for sensor data from telemonitoring and smart home devices to be integrated with other patient information. Furthermore, cost, privacy, security, and usability barriers also need to be resolved. This study highlights the importance and the complexity of management and governance of systems to collect and disseminate such information. Further research into the requirements of all stakeholder groups and how the information can be processed and disseminated is required.

scholarly journals Issues Associated With the Management and Governance of Sensor Data and Information to Assist Aging in Place: Focus Group Study With Health Care Professionals

10.2196/24157 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e24157
Author(s):  
Inga Hunter ◽  
Phoebe Elers ◽  
Caroline Lockhart ◽  
Hans Guesgen ◽  
Amardeep Singh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Age In Place

Background Smart home and telemonitoring technologies have often been suggested to assist health care workers in supporting older people to age in place. However, there is limited research examining diverse information needs of different groups of health care workers and their access to appropriate information technologies. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the issues associated with using technologies that connect older people to their health care providers to support aging in place and enhance older people’s health and well-being. Methods Seven focus group discussions were conducted comprising 44 health care professionals who provided clinic-based or in-home services to community-dwelling older people. Participants were asked about their information needs and how technology could help them support older people to age in place. The recordings of the sessions were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Results The perspectives varied between the respondents who worked in primary care clinics and those who worked in community-based services. Three overarching themes were identified. The first theme was “access to technology and systems,” which examined the different levels of technology in use and the problems that various groups of health care professionals had in accessing information about their patients. Primary care professionals had access to good internal information systems but they experienced poor integration with other health care providers. The community-based teams had poor access to technology. The second theme was “collecting and sharing of information,” which focused on how technology might be used to provide them with more information about their patients. Primary care teams were interested in telemonitoring for specific clinical indicators but they wanted the information to be preprocessed. Community-based teams were more concerned about gaining information on the patients’ social environment. The third theme was that all respondents identified similar “barriers to uptake”: cost and funding issues, usability of systems by older people, and information security and privacy concerns. Conclusions The participants perceived the potential benefits of technologies, but they were concerned that the information they received should be preprocessed and integrated with current information systems and tailored to the older people’s unique and changing situations. Several management and governance issues were identified, which needed to be resolved to enable the widespread integration of these technologies into the health care system. The disconnected nature of the current information architecture means that there is no clear way for sensor data from telemonitoring and smart home devices to be integrated with other patient information. Furthermore, cost, privacy, security, and usability barriers also need to be resolved. This study highlights the importance and the complexity of management and governance of systems to collect and disseminate such information. Further research into the requirements of all stakeholder groups and how the information can be processed and disseminated is required.

Faecal incontinence in older people

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Harari
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Faecal Incontinence ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Term Care

SummaryFaecal incontinence in older people is a distressing and socially isolating symptom and increases the risk of morbidity, mortality and dependency. Many older individuals with faecal incontinence will not volunteer the problem to their general practitioner or nurse and, regrettably, health care providers do not routinely enquire about the symptom. Even when older people are noted by health care professionals to have faecal incontinence, the condition is often managed passively, especially in the long-term care setting where it is most prevalent. The importance of identifying treatable causes of faecal incontinence in older people, rather than just managing passively, is strongly emphasized in national and international guidance, but audit shows that adherence to such guidance is generally poor. This article describes epidemiology, causes, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of faecal incontinence in older people.

scholarly journals Consultative workshop proceedings of the Canadian Team to Improve Community-Based Cancer Care Along the Continuum

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Grunfeld ◽  
B. Petrovic ◽  
For the CanIMPACT Investigators
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Nurse Navigator ◽  
Cancer Specialists ◽  
The Continuum

The multidisciplinary pan-Canadian canimpact (Canadian Team to Improve Community-Based Cancer Care Along the Continuum) group is studying how to improve cancer care for patients in the primary care setting. A consultative workshop hosted by the team took place on 31 March and 1 April 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. The workshop included 74 participants from 9 provinces, with representation from primary care, cancer specialties, international liaisons, knowledge users, researchers, and patients. On the agenda were presentations from canimpact phase 1 projects includingqualitative studies on the perspectives of survivors and health care providers about continuity and coordination of care;an environmental scan and systematic review of existing initiatives designed to improve care integration;population-based administrative health database analyses related to breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship; anda qualitative study on the experiences, desired roles, and needs of primary health care providers with respect to personalized medicine.In addition, there were presentations on two possible intervention approaches, including nurse navigation and the eConsult system. Based on the information presented, participants worked in small groups to develop recommendations for phase 2, which will involve development and evaluation of an intervention to improve the integration of care between primary care providers and cancer specialists. After a process of deliberation and voting, workshop participants recommended testing the implementation of eConsult in the oncology setting to determine whether it improves relationships, communication, knowledge sharing, and connections between family doctors and cancer specialists; and, to improve system navigation, evaluating eConsult in existing nurse navigator programs, if feasible.

scholarly journals Spirometry in Primary Care: An Analysis of Spirometry Test Quality in a Regional Primary Care Asthma Program

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J Licskai ◽  
Todd W Sands ◽  
Lisa Paolatto ◽  
Ivan Nicoletti ◽  
Madonna Ferrone
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Pulmonary Function ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Group ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Test Quality ◽  
European Respiratory Society

BACKGROUND: Primary care office spirometry can improve access to testing and concordance between clinical practice and asthma guidelines. Compliance with test quality standards is essential to implementation.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of spirometry performed onsite in a regional primary care asthma program (RAP) by health care professionals with limited training.METHODS: Asthma educators were trained to perform spirometry during two 2 h workshops and supervised during up to six patient encounters. Quality was analyzed using American Thoracic Society (ATS) 1994 and ATS/European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2003 (ATS/ERS) standards. These results were compared with two regional reference sites: a primary care group practice (Family Medical Centre [FMC], Windsor, Ontario) and a teaching hospital pulmonary function laboratory (London Health Sciences Centre [LHSC], London, Ontario).RESULTS: A total of 12,815 flow-volume loops (FVL) were evaluated: RAP – 1606 FVL in 472 patient sessions; reference sites – FMC 4013 FVL in 573 sessions; and LHSC – 7196 in 1151 sessions. RAP: There were three acceptable FVL in 392 of 472 (83%) sessions, two reproducible FVL according to ATS criteria in 428 of 469 (91%) sessions, and 395 of 469 (84%) according to ATS/ERS criteria. All quality criteria – minimum of three acceptable and two reproducible FVL according to ATS criteria in 361 of 472 (77%) sessions and according to ATS/ERS criteria in 337 of 472 (71%) sessions. RAP met ATS criteria more often than the FMC (388 of 573 [68%]); however, less often than LHSC (1050 of 1151 [91%]; P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers with limited training and experience operating within a simple quality program achieved ATS/ERS quality spirometry in the majority of sessions in a primary care setting. The quality performance approached pulmonary function laboratory standards.

Nutrition in Primary Health Care: Using a Delphi Process To Design New Interdisciplinary Services

2006 ◽  
Vol 67 (S1) ◽  
pp. S14-S29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Brauer ◽  
Linda Dietrich ◽  
Bridget Davidson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Delphi Process ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Modified Delphi ◽  
Nutrition Services ◽  
Key Features

Purpose: A modified Delphi process was used to identify key features of interdisciplinary nutrition services, including provider roles and responsibilities for Ontario Family Health Networks (FHNs), a family physician-based type of primary care. Methods: Twenty-three representatives from interested professional organizations, including three FHN demonstration sites, completed a modified Delphi process. Participants reviewed evidence from a systematic literature review, a patient survey, a costing analysis, and key informant interview results before undertaking the Delphi process. Statements describing various options for services were developed at an in-person meeting, which was followed by two rounds of e-mail questionnaires. Teleconference discussions were held between rounds. Results: An interdisciplinary model with differing and complementary roles for health care providers emerged from the process. Additional key features addressing screening for nutrition problems, health promotion and disease prevention, team collaboration, planning and evaluation, administrative support, access to care, and medical directives/delegated acts were identified. Under the proposed model, the registered dietitian is the team member responsible for managing all aspects of nutrition services, from needs assessment to program delivery, as well as for supporting all providers’ nutrition services. Conclusions: The proposed interdisciplinary nutrition services model merits evaluation of cost, effectiveness, applicability, and sustainability in team-based primary care service settings.

scholarly journals Substance Use Among Older People Living With HIV: Challenges for Health Care Providers

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Deren ◽  
Tara Cortes ◽  
Victoria Vaughan Dickson ◽  
Vincent Guilamo-Ramos ◽  
Benjamin H. Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Living With Hiv

scholarly journals Patient Choice of Health Care Providers in China: Primary Care Facilities versus Hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e1846844
Author(s):  
Anwen Zhang ◽  
Zlatko Nikoloski ◽  
Sarah Averi Albala ◽  
Winnie Yip ◽  
Jin Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Patient Choice ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Facilities

Patient Flow or the Patient’s Journey? Exploring Health Care Providers’ Experiences and Understandings of Implementing a Care Pathway to Improve the Quality of Transitional Care for Older People

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110038
Author(s):  
Cecilie Fromholt Olsen ◽  
Astrid Bergland ◽  
Jonas Debesay ◽  
Asta Bye ◽  
Anne Gudrun Langaas
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Transitional Care ◽  
Care Pathway ◽  
Patient Flow ◽  
Care Pathways ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Care For Older People

Internationally, the implementation of care pathways is a common strategy for making transitional care for older people more effective and patient-centered. Previous research highlights inherent tensions in care pathways, particularly in relation to their patient-centered aspects, which may cause dilemmas for health care providers. Health care providers’ understandings and experiences of this, however, remain unclear. Our aim was to explore health care providers’ experiences and understandings of implementing a care pathway to improve transitional care for older people. We conducted semistructured interviews with 20 health care providers and three key persons, along with participant observations of 22 meetings, in a Norwegian quality improvement collaborative. Through a thematic analysis, we identified an understanding of the care pathway as both patient flow and the patient’s journey and a dilemma between the two, and we discuss how the negotiation of conflicting institutional logics is a central part of care pathway implementation.

Benefits, Challenges, and Social Impact of Health Care Providers’ Adoption of Social Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110257
Author(s):  
Md Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽  
Jennifer (M.I.) Loh
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Use Of Social Media

With the advent of telecommunication technologies and social media, many health care professionals are using social media to communicate with their patients and to promote health. However, the literature reveals a lacuna in our understanding of health care professionals’ perception of their behavioral intentions to use innovations. Using the Unified Technology Acceptance Framework (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Australian health care experts to uncover their intent and actual use of social media in their medical practices. Results revealed that social media tools offered five significant benefits such as (i) enhanced communication between health care professionals and their patients, (ii) community support, (iii) enabled e-learning, (iv) enhanced professional network, and (v) expedited health promotion. However, result also revealed barriers to social media usage including (i) inefficiency, (ii) privacy concerns, (iii) poor quality of information, (iv) lack of trust, and (v) blurred professional boundary. Peer influence and supporting conditions were also found to be determinants of social media adoption behaviors among health care professionals. This study has important implications for health care providers, patients, and policy makers on the responsible use of social media, health promotion, and health communication. This research is also among the very few studies that explore Australian health care professionals’ intent and actual use of innovations within a health care setting.

scholarly journals Patient Suffering in Chronic Digestive Diseases: Will Primary Care-Specialist Collaboration With Effective Interactive Communication and Integrative Medicine in the Plan of Care Improve Quality of Life?

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 989-993
Author(s):  
Andrew Thomas ◽  
Annie Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Physician Visits ◽  
Digestive Diseases ◽  
Care Specialist

Acute and chronic digestive diseases are causing increased burden to patients and are increasing the United States health care spending. The purpose of this case report was to present how nonconfirmatory and conflicting diagnoses led to increased burden and suffering for a patient thus affecting quality of life. There were many physician visits and multiple tests performed on the patient. However, the primary care physician and specialists could not reach a confirmatory diagnosis. The treatment plans did not offer relief of symptoms, and the patient continues to experience digestive symptoms, enduring this burden for over 2 years. The central theme of this paper is to inform health care providers the importance of utilizing evidence-based primary care specialist collaboration models for better digestive disease outcomes. Consistent with patient’s experience, the authors propose to pilot/adopt the integrative health care approaches that are proven effective for treating digestive diseases.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document