Older nursing home residents' experiences with videoconferencing to communicate with family members.

AIM

This study explored the experiences of older Taiwanese nursing home residents in using videoconferencing to communicate with family members.

BACKGROUND

Enhancing communication between long-term care residents and their family is important. Interactions between residents and their family members can be increased through high-tech videoconferencing programmes.

DESIGN

A qualitative, observational research design was used to gain a deeper understanding of the videoconference experiences of older nursing home residents in Taiwan.

METHODS

In-depth interviews were used to gather information from 34 older residents at 10 nursing homes in northern Taiwan. Participants were asked to describe their three-month experience using videoconference communication with their family in the nursing home. Participants (18 women, 16 men) had an average age of 75.38 (SD 10.19, range 60-95). Verbatim transcripts of audiotaped interviews were analysed by content analysis and Atlas.ti software.

RESULTS

Participants experiences using videoconference communication with family members were captured by four themes: enriched life, second-best option for visiting, life adjustments and true picture of family life.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Our findings may enhance policy makers' and healthcare providers' understanding of older nursing home residents' experience with videoconferencing to communicate with distant family members, thus guiding development and evaluation of nursing home videoconference services to improve older people's lives in nursing homes.