RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Use of Information and Communication Technology to Meet Chronically Ill Patients’ Needs when Living at Home
Lisa Skär*, Siv Söderberg
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 74
Last Page: 78
Publisher ID: TONURSJ-5-74
DOI: 10.2174/1874434601105010074
PMID: 22114659
PMCID: PMC3219877
Article History:
Received Date: 24/8/2011Revision Received Date: 15/9/2011
Acceptance Date: 16/9/2011
Electronic publication date: 26/10/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
The aim of the study was to describe influences, benefits, and limitations in using information and communication technology to meet chronically ill patients’ needs when living at home. The study is a descriptive, exploratory designed pilot study and the intervention was performed using an electronic communication program enabling communication between ill persons and the district nurse in real time by web cam pictures and sound. The participant used the programme once or twice a week from February to August 2008. Data were collected by means of repeated interviews and logbook notes, and were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The results showed that all participants appreciated being able to communicate regardless of time and place and their experiences of using information and communication technology revealed that it created feelings of safety and security. The information and communication technology became a tool in their communication and improved nursing care among seriously chronically ill persons living at home.
