Alhuwail Dari, Koru Güneş, Nahm Eun-Shim
Department of Information Science, College of Computing Sciences and Engineering, Kuwait University, Kuwait.
Department of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, MD, USA.
J Patient Exp. 2016 Dec;3(4):137-144. doi: 10.1177/2374373517690286. Epub 2016 Dec 1.
From the perspectives of home care patients and caregivers, this study aimed to (a) identify the challenges for better fall-risk management during home care episodes and (b) explore the opportunities for them to leverage health information technology (IT) solutions to improve fall-risk management during home care episodes.
Twelve in-depth semistructured interviews with the patients and caregivers were conducted within a descriptive single case study design in 1 home health agency (HHA) in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
Patients and caregivers faced challenges to manage fall risks such as unmanaged expectations, deteriorating cognitive abilities, and poor care coordination between the HHA and physician practices. Opportunities to leverage health IT solutions included patient portals, telehealth, and medication reminder apps on smartphones.
Effectively leveraging health IT could further empower patients and caregivers to reduce fall risks by acquiring the necessary information and following clinical advice and recommendations. The HHAs could improve the quality of care by adopting IT solutions that show more promise of improving the experiences of patients and caregivers in fall-risk management.
本研究从居家护理患者及其照护者的角度出发，旨在（a）确定在居家护理期间进行更好的跌倒风险管理所面临的挑战，以及（b）探索他们利用健康信息技术（IT）解决方案来改善居家护理期间跌倒风险管理的机会。
在美国大西洋中部地区的一家家庭健康机构（HHA）内，采用描述性单案例研究设计，对患者及其照护者进行了12次深入的半结构化访谈。
患者及其照护者在管理跌倒风险方面面临挑战，如期望未得到管理、认知能力下降以及家庭健康机构与医生诊所之间的护理协调不佳。利用健康IT解决方案的机会包括患者门户、远程医疗以及智能手机上的用药提醒应用程序。
有效利用健康IT可以通过获取必要信息并遵循临床建议，进一步增强患者及其照护者降低跌倒风险的能力。家庭健康机构可以通过采用更有希望改善患者及其照护者在跌倒风险管理方面体验的IT解决方案，来提高护理质量。
