scholarly journals use of digital tablets eases the way to compassionate care during the COVID-19 pandemic

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-22
Author(s):  
Belen Herrero ◽  
Valentine Weber ◽  
Erin Kennedy ◽  
Gligorka Raskovic ◽  
Coleen Timm
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Device ◽  
Patient Communication ◽  
Communication Service ◽  
Compassionate Care ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Communication Program ◽  
Services Sociaux ◽  
Dedicated Team ◽  
Digital Tablets

Objective: A patient communication program was implemented as a response to hospitals visiting restrictive policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the program was to facilitate communication between patients and families, mainly through the use of digital tablets; thus program performance was evaluated by selecting the number of calls performed, the average call time, and the percentage of patients that used the program more than once. Methods: A communication service for hospitalized patients who did not have access to a personal electronic device or were unable to use their electronic device was launched at different MUHC hospitals. A dedicated team of re-deployed employees was available to help patients connect with their loved ones using a hospital tablet or telephone. Results: A total of 806 calls were performed between April and November 2020. Eighty one percent of the calls were performed during the non-visitors policy implementation, being video calls preferred over phone calls. The average call time was 15 min, 34% of the patients had a video call with their loved one more than once and 40% of the calls were performed in the intensive care unit. Conclusion: The patient communication program can be described as a new delivery model of compassionate care. It was effective, helped reduce patients’ isolation and met the needs of family members and caregivers during the hospital non-visitors policy directed by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux de Québec during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The role of mobile devices in doctor-patient communication: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 693-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Kashgary ◽  
Roaa Alsolaimani ◽  
Mahmoud Mosli ◽  
Samer Faraj
Keyword(s):  
Medication Adherence ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Device ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Patient Communication ◽  
Doctor Patient Communication ◽  
Phone Calls

Introduction In the last few years, the use of telecommunication and mobile technology has grown significantly. This has led to a notable increase in the utilization of this telecommunication in healthcare, namely phone calls and text messaging (SMS). However, evaluating its global impact on improving healthcare processes and outcomes demands a more comprehensive assessment. In this study, we focused on the role of mobile devices via phone calls and SMS in patient–doctor communication, and aimed to assess its impact on various health outcomes. Methods Major databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Global Health, and Cochrane CENTRAL, were searched for clinical trials that investigated mobile-device technology in any facet of doctor–patient communication published between 1990 and April 2015. A meta-analysis was performed where appropriate. Results Sixty-two articles met our inclusion criteria. Of those, 23 articles investigated mobile appointment reminder technologies, 19 investigated medication adherence, 20 investigated disease-control interventions, and two investigated test-result reporting. Patients who received an appointment reminder were 10% less likely to miss an appointment (relative risk [RR] = 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08–1.15). Mobile interventions increased medication adherence by 22% (RR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.09–1.36). Ten of 20 studies examining disease control reported statistically significant reductions in clinically meaningful endpoints. The use of mobile-device interventions improved forced expiratory volume in one second and hemoglobin A1c percentage in meta-analyses. Conclusion The use of mobile-device technologies exerted modest improvements in communication and health outcomes. Further research is needed to determine the true effect of these technologies on doctor–patient communication.

scholarly journals It Was Heartbreaking . . . It Was Horrible: The Experiences of Nursing Home Residents’ Children During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 94-94
Author(s):  
Vivian Miller ◽  
Nancy Kusmaul ◽  
Jacquelyn Burns ◽  
Ji Hyang Cheon
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Care Partners

Abstract As a result of COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended all outside visitors from entering nursing homes on March 13, 2020. For more than six months, care partners were only permitted in compassionate care situations, so adult children of residents were only able to contact their parents via phone calls, video chats, window visits, and in some cases, limited outdoor visits. Experts have written on the adverse, detrimental impact of this lack of connection and isolation has had on residents. However, the lived experiences from the perspectives of residents’ adult children remain largely absent from the literature. To uncover the experiences of these care partners, semi-structured interviews were conducted (N=12) from December 2020 to February 2021. Adult children shared witnessing their parent’ physical and cognitive decline which they attributed to the lack of visitors. Care partners expressed feeling frustrated that they were unable to observe their parent’s health condition, and could not provide support. Also, many rightfully worried they would never see their loved one again. Findings from this study reveal implications for nursing home leaders and policymakers, such as building infrastructure and systems that both ensure safety and allow care partners to regularly see their residents in long-term care to avoid the unintended adverse consequences of these policies. Further, findings from this research indicate the need for future programs to mitigate and lessen the long-term consequences this isolation has had on both residents and their adult children.

Electronic Cone Illumination with the Conventional Transmission Electron Microscope

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 72-73
Author(s):  
William Krakow
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Device ◽  
Chromatic Aberration ◽  
Objective Lens ◽  
Hollow Cone ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Lissajous Figures ◽  
High Resolution Images ◽  
Imaging Mode ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Transmission Microscope

An electronic device has been constructed which manipulates the primary beam in the conventional transmission microscope to illuminate a specimen under a variety of virtual condenser aperture conditions. The device uses the existing tilt coils of the microscope, and modulates the D.C. signals to both x and y tilt directions simultaneously with various waveforms to produce Lissajous figures in the back-focal plane of the objective lens. Electron diffraction patterns can be recorded which reflect the manner in which the direct beam is tilted during exposure of a micrograph. The device has been utilized mainly for the hollow cone imaging mode where the device provides a microscope transfer function without zeros in all spatial directions and has produced high resolution images which are also free from the effect of chromatic aberration. A standard second condenser aperture is employed and the width of the cone annulus is readily controlled by defocusing the second condenser lens.

Resistance Monitor and Control for Vacuum Evaporation of Metals and Carbon

1976 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 572-573
Author(s):  
Russell L. Steere ◽  
Eric F. Erbe ◽  
J. Michael Moseley
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Device ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Variable Resistor ◽  
Quality Of Results ◽  
Low Contrast ◽  
Evaporation Source ◽  
And Control ◽  
At Will

We have designed and built an electronic device which compares the resistance of a defined area of vacuum evaporated material with a variable resistor. When the two resistances are matched, the device automatically disconnects the primary side of the substrate transformer and stops further evaporation.This approach to controlled evaporation in conjunction with the modified guns and evaporation source permits reliably reproducible multiple Pt shadow films from a single Pt wrapped carbon point source. The reproducibility from consecutive C point sources is also reliable. Furthermore, the device we have developed permits us to select a predetermined resistance so that low contrast high-resolution shadows, heavy high contrast shadows, or any grade in between can be selected at will. The reproducibility and quality of results are demonstrated in Figures 1-4 which represent evaporations at various settings of the variable resistor.

Digital image processing methods applied to the study of annealing time on semiconductor-metal eutectic composites

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 848-849
Author(s):  
J. Hefter
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
Digital Image Processing ◽  
Digital Image ◽  
Electronic Device ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Eutectic Solidification ◽  
Metal Silicide ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Microscopic Studies

Semiconductor-metal composites, formed by the eutectic solidification of silicon and a metal silicide have been under investigation for some time for a number of electronic device applications. This composite system is comprised of a silicon matrix containing extended metal-silicide rod-shaped structures aligned in parallel throughout the material. The average diameter of such a rod in a typical system is about 1 μm. Thus, characterization of the rod morphology by electron microscope methods is necessitated.The types of morphometric information that may be obtained from such microscopic studies coupled with image processing are (i) the area fraction of rods in the matrix, (ii) the average rod diameter, (iii) an average circularity (roundness), and (iv) the number density (Nd;rods/cm2). To acquire electron images of these materials, a digital image processing system (Tracor Northern 5500/5600) attached to a JEOL JXA-840 analytical SEM has been used.

In situ TEM measurements of the electrical properties of interface dislocations

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1338-1339
Author(s):  
F. M. Ross ◽  
R. Hull ◽  
D. Bahnck ◽  
J. C. Bean ◽  
L. J. Peticolas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Properties ◽  
Electronic Device ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Misfit Dislocations ◽  
Electrical Characteristics ◽  
Strained Layer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Interfacial Dislocations

We describe an investigation of the electrical properties of interfacial dislocations in strained layer heterostructures. We have been measuring both the structural and electrical characteristics of strained layer p-n junction diodes simultaneously in a transmission electron microscope, enabling us to correlate changes in the electrical characteristics of a device with the formation of dislocations.The presence of dislocations within an electronic device is known to degrade the device performance. This degradation is of increasing significance in the design and processing of novel strained layer devices which may require layer thicknesses above the critical thickness (hc), where it is energetically favourable for the layers to relax by the formation of misfit dislocations at the strained interfaces. In order to quantify how device performance is affected when relaxation occurs we have therefore been investigating the electrical properties of dislocations at the p-n junction in Si/GeSi diodes.

A Classroom Sign Communication Program for the Severely Handicapped

1981 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-239
Author(s):  
Linda Goodman ◽  
Robin Kroc
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Communication Program ◽  
Severely Handicapped

This article describes a strategy used to teach sign communication to severely handicapped students in the classroom. It recommends that the speech-language pathologist adopt a consultant role in service delivery.

Experiences With and Lessons Learned From Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Support Program for Older Hearing Aid Users and Their Communication Partners in the Hearing Aid Dispensing Setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3S) ◽  
pp. 638-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine F. J. Meijerink ◽  
Marieke Pronk ◽  
Sophia E. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Support Program ◽  
Large Sample Size ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Communication Program ◽  
Communication Partners

Purpose The SUpport PRogram (SUPR) study was carried out in the context of a private academic partnership and is the first study to evaluate the long-term effects of a communication program (SUPR) for older hearing aid users and their communication partners on a large scale in a hearing aid dispensing setting. The purpose of this research note is to reflect on the lessons that we learned during the different development, implementation, and evaluation phases of the SUPR project. Procedure This research note describes the procedures that were followed during the different phases of the SUPR project and provides a critical discussion to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the approach taken. Conclusion This research note might provide researchers and intervention developers with useful insights as to how aural rehabilitation interventions, such as the SUPR, can be developed by incorporating the needs of the different stakeholders, evaluated by using a robust research design (including a large sample size and a longer term follow-up assessment), and implemented widely by collaborating with a private partner (hearing aid dispensing practice chain).

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