by Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, on August 12th, 2010 | 4 Comments »
We are planning to launch again our survey to Physicians, Nurses and Pharmacists with the collaboration of their Professional Associations of Barcelona. Therefore, we are redesigning the questionnaires and checking our multivariate analysis. Following the published paper entitled “The integration of Information and Communication Technology into medical practice”, we have send to a peer-review journal another paper focused on Nurses. Below you can find the main figures:
Table 5 revealed that cluster one (4.58%) is composed of those nurses who make greater use of ICT and the Internet for access to clinical and scientific information. The nurses within this cluster are also more likely to use ICT as a resource for publishing and international contact on national and international information. This first profile represents those nurses who place high emphasis on ICT in that it forms an integral part of their practice. This group is thus referred to as representing ‘Integrated nurses’. In other words, ICT and the Internet has become an important tool to be used in the delivery of care for the ‘integrated nurse’.
Cluster two (95.42%) is characterised by a distinctive set of features. The second profile represents those nurses who place less emphasis on ICT so that it is used to support their daily work only when required. This group are consequently labelled ‘Non-integrated nurses’.
Statistical analysis of the relationship between the two profiles (see Table 6 of the presentation) revealed that ‘Integrated nurses’ are more likely than ‘Non-integrated nurses’ to carry out research activities, to consider the Internet is ‘very useful’ to their nursing practice and to recommend that their patients use online health information. ‘Non-integrated nurses’ are more likely than ‘integrated nurses’ to be only engaged in delivering nursing care and to believe that patients use of online information will have little impact on their treatment their or understanding of their condition.
Finally, it was found that all the variables included have a significance explanatory power regarding the integration of ICT within nursing practice (see Table 7). It was observed that an ‘emphasis on international information’, performance ‘research activities’ and ‘the perception that health information available on the Internet’ was relevant to nursing played a positive and significance role in the probability of being an ‘Integrated nurse’.
Acknowledgements
The research reported is part of a broad study supported by Departament de Salut de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia Health Department) and directed by Prof. Manuel Castells. Survey launched is a result of a collaboration between the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute at Open University of Catalonia and the Nurses Association of Barcelona (Col·legi Oficial de Infermeres de Barcelona).
by Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, on July 20th, 2010 | 6 Comments »
Lately, I have been checking systematic literature reviews about Chronic Disease Management, Remote Monitoring and Treatment and Information and Communication Technologies:
Whitten, P. S., Mair, F. S., Haycox, A., May, C. R., Williams, T. L., & Hellmich, S. (2002). Systematic review of cost effectiveness studies of telemedicine interventions. Bmj, 324(7351), 1434–1437.
Louis, A. A., Turner, T., Gretton, M., Baksh, A., & Cleland, J. G. F. (2003). A systematic review of telemonitoring for the management of heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail, 5(5), 583–590.
Jaana, M., & Pare, G. (2007). Home telemonitoring of patients with diabetes: a systematic assessment of observed effects. J Eval Clin Pract, 13(2), 242–253.
Pare, G., Jaana, M., & Sicotte, C. (2007). Systematic review of home telemonitoring for chronic diseases: the evidence base. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 14(3), 269–277.
Jaana, M., Pare, G., & Sicotte, C. (2009). Home telemonitoring for respiratory conditions: a systematic review. Am J Manag Care, 15(5), 313–320.
I do not want to reproduce all the abstract here, but some common trends could be identified:
Lack of cost-effectiveness analysis;
Lack of Randomized Controlled Trials;
Difficulties in extrapolating or comparing the results;
Patients satisfaction and acceptance of the technology.
To sum up, following Pare et al. (2007) “Home telemonitoring of chronic diseases seems to be a promising patient management approach that produces accurate and reliable data, empowers patients, influences their attitudes and behaviors, and potentially improves their medical conditions. Future studies need to build evidence related to its clinical effects, cost effectiveness, impacts on services utilization, and acceptance by health care providers”.
The purpose of this paper is to identify how health professionals view public use of the Internet and whether new forms of communication are emerging with the following objectives:
To identify the utilisation, experience, expertise, barriers and expectations that doctors, nurses and community pharmacists have with the Internet and the email.
To identify the experience and expectations that doctors, nurses and community pharmacists have with patients using the Internet.
To identify factors that can enhance the integration of the recommendation of health information available on the Internet and the email within the health professional / patients relationship.
Any reference, suggestion, recommendation… about the presentation will be appreciated.
by Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, on February 2nd, 2010 | 12 Comments »
I’m delighted to present my book: Health and the Network Society published by Ariel now available at the book stores. I perfectly know that it would not become a best-seller but I hope it could contribute just a little to foster new debates and further research on ICT and Health.Health systems are embedded within technological, economic, social and cultural changes of our current social structure: the network society. This book is based on empirical research about the transition of the Catalan health system towards the network society. The results show how the interaction between the technological, economic, organizational, social and cultural dimensions are facilitating the emergence of new profiles of citizens, patients and healthcare professionals. The determinants that shape these new profiles allow us to identify the inhibitors and drivers of Industrial healthcare systems towards the Network healthcare systems.
Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)
Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva and Michael Hardey - Health professionals, the Internet and Internet informed patients
The practice of medicine and health care has been increasingly influence by and made use of the Internet as a source of information, communication and social interaction. This paper examines how doctors, nurses and community pharmacists use the Internet and how this shapes their interaction with patients. It is based on data from surveys of doctors, nurses and pharmacists working within the Catalan National Health Care System (CNHS) that were carried out during 2006. The consequent data provides an extensive and detailed quantitative database that is amenable to multivariate statistical analysis. This analysis is described and from it the manner in which the different health professions engage with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Internet is identified. It is suggested that the Internet should now be understood as part of mundane work and that professionals have recognised that it can be an important source of information and support for patients. There appears to be a cumulative effect whereby the more engaged with ICTs practitioners become the more likely they recognise and respond to patients who want to discuss and use resources and information from the Internet.
Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)
Digital technologies and the Internet are increasingly changing how people understand their health, how health care is organised and delivered to patients and opening up new scientific approaches and innovations. For example, health care records are being digitised and made available though various devices to users in most nations with a centralised health care system. Developments in genetics, imaging technologies, cloning and stem cell research are changing how health is understood and the treatments available to individuals. Such changes in the organisation of health and medical knowledge are increasingly engaging with the public through information that is made available on the Internet.
The Internet is now a vast repository of information about health and well-being. Supported by Web 2.0 resources, the Internet has increasingly included information about health, illness and lifestyles provided by individuals. As more of the public become connected through computers and mobile devices new opportunities are created for the publication of health information and advice. However, the diversity of health information raises questions about quality and the impact incorrect or poor information may have on individuals. There is already evidence that the doctor-patient relationship is changing in the face of developments in Information and Communications Technologies. In addition, while people are the advice people may choose to follow may not necessarily result in health behaviours. For example, men defined as obese may share information available on the Internet to remain ‘big and fat’ despite medical advice to the contrary.
The desire to provide a seamless inter-agency service built around the needs of individual people (and more broadly clients and patients of national health and welfare services) is a common aspiration in most countries with a centralised welfare system. Developments in Telecare have seen the growth of ‘smart homes’ that enable people to live safely at home through various monitoring and intervention systems. Such monitoring devices are also being used by people in pursuit of healthy bodies through exercise. The iPod or iPhone can, for example, be used to monitor running and other physical activity. These technologies raise questions to do with the privacy and ownership of information. In other words information technology has become both directly and indirectly part of everyday life for many people and those who play a part in their lives.
In this broad context, the aim of this workshop is seeking to understand how, for whom and to what extend changes in the material conditions of health information and communication is transforming the generation of medical knowledge, the conception of health and the demand and provision of healthcare delivery.
To reach this aim, the workshop is organized in discussion sessions where social researchers will present their recent research results, methodologies and experiences with enough time for rich interaction among the participants.
Michael Hardey - Consuming professions: user-review websites and health services
Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva and Michael Hardey - Health professionals, the Internet and Internet informed patients
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:00 Conclusions of the workshop
Thanks indeed to the participants, to IN3 for the support and to Laura Vidal for her wonderful organization work. See also information available at IN3.
by Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, on June 25th, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I have finished to check the proof of my article entitled Opportunities and challenges of Web 2.0 within the health care systems: an empirical exploration for Informatics for Health and Social Care (An International Journal of Informatics in Health Care).
Here goes the abstract:
The Internet has become one of the main drivers of e-health. Whilst its impact and potential is being analysed, the Web 2.0 phenomenon has reached the health field and has emerged as a buzzword that people use to describe a wide range of online activities and applications. The aims of this article are: to explore the opportunities and challenges of the Web 2.0 within the health care system and to identify the gap between the potential of these online activities and applications and the empirical data. The analysis is based on: online surveys to physicians, nurses, pharmacist and patient support groups; static web shot analysis of 1240 web pages and exploration of the most popular Web 2.0 initiatives. The empirical results contrast with the Web 2.0 trends identified. Whereas the main characteristic of the Web 2.0 is the opportunity for social interaction, the health care system at large could currently be characterised by: a lack of interactive communication technologies available on the Internet; a lack of professional production of health care information on the Internet, and a lack of interaction between these professionals and patients on the Internet. These results reveal a scenario away from 2.0 trends.
The article has been done with Miquel Angel Mayer and Joan Torrent, colleagues from Interdisciplinary Research Group on ICTs (i2TIC), and will be published on September 2009.
by Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, on June 11th, 2009 | No Comments »
I just want to share my presentation “Healthcare system 2.0: from industrial healthcare to network healthcare”. It could be also entitled “From information to interaction, from citizen to networked citizen, from physicians to networked physicianas… Healthcare in transition to Network Society”. I have to congratulate Kroniker, Sanidad 2.0 and Healthcare Department of Euskadi, specially Dr. Rafael Bengoa, for their wonderful job as organizers and support of the conference.
My presentation was based on a research carried out in Catalonia. Our analysis suggests a transition from industrial healthcare system to network healthcare systems with clear gaps and divides:
From plane and low quality health web pages (more than 50% of the 1240 web pages analysed) to interactive health websites (just 5% of them)
From excluded citizens who do not have access to ICT, do not use the Internet and do not care about them, to network citizens, who have access to many ICT devices and use the Internet to read/write, share ideas and socialize.
From traditional physicians (70%) to network physicians (30%), who use Hospital Information System intensively, who use the Internet to spread information, to search national and international research information, to communicate with patients and healthcare professionals to sum up the Internet is embedded on their work routines as interactive space.
As you have already noticed the presentation is in Spanish. I have translated the last two slides. The first one summarizes the drivers of this transition from citizens and healthcare professionals point of view:
SATSU, in the Department of Sociology, “is a specialist unit dedicated to rigorous analysis of the social dynamics informing contemporary and prospective science and technology. It has an established international reputation as a centre of excellence in three areas: the sociology of the biosciences, mobilities, informatics and space, and science and technology governance. the Department of Sociology” directed by Andrew Webster.
As a part of my visiting at SATSU, Darren Reed has invited me to teach a seminar in his course entitled Exemplary Empirical Studies in Social Informatics in the MSc Social Informatics and Management. My intervention was about how the research I have been involved in the past years was developed. So it is not about the research results but about research processes. Here goes the slides:
Finally, I would like to thank all the wonderful people I have met at SATSU for their kindness. It was so easy to settle into the unit. Of course, special thanks indeed to Michael Hardey.
by Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, on March 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »
Lately I haven’t posted because I have been developing my thesis site to spread the results of the research. The site is in Spanish and the discussion will be in Spanish too. Here goes the video of my presentation (it’s also in Spanish if somebody likes to subtitle it, will be very welcome).
I’m sorry but I do not have enough time to translate the whole document, but I have started to write some papers in English so soon I’ll be sharing some parts of them for a kind of peer review taking into account the restrictions of the Journals.
"The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission"
