Cermak Carly A, Read Heather, Jeffs Lianne
Science of Care Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
JMIR Form Res. 2024 May 28;8:e53056. doi: 10.2196/53056.
The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in inpatient and outpatient health care settings. Digital tools were used to connect patients, families, and providers amid visitor restrictions, while web-based platforms were used to continue care amid COVID-19 lockdowns. What we have yet to learn is the experiences of health care providers (HCPs) regarding the use of ICT that supported changes to clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aim of this paper was to describe the experiences of HCPs in using ICT to support clinical care changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper is reporting on a subset of a larger body of data that examined changes to models of care during the pandemic.
This study used a qualitative, descriptive study design. In total, 30 HCPs were recruited from 3 hospitals in Canada. One-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted between December 2022 and June 2023. Qualitative data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach to identify themes across participants.
A total of 30 interviews with HCPs revealed 3 themes related to their experiences using ICT to support changes to clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included the use of ICT (1) to support in-person communication with patients, (2) to facilitate connection between provider to patient and patient to family, and (3) to provide continuity of care.
HCP narratives revealed the benefits of digital tools to support in-person communication between patient and provider, the need for thoughtful consideration for the use of ICT at end-of-life care, and the decision-making that is needed when choosing service delivery modality (eg, web based or in person). Moving forward, organizations are encouraged to provide education and training on how to support patient-provider communication, find ways to meet patient and family wishes at end-of-life care, and continue to give autonomy to HCPs in their clinical decision-making regarding service delivery modality.
新冠疫情成为推动信息通信技术（ICT）在住院和门诊医疗环境中应用的催化剂。在访客限制期间，数字工具被用于连接患者、家属和医护人员，而基于网络的平台则在新冠疫情封锁期间用于持续提供医疗服务。我们尚未了解的是医护人员（HCPs）在新冠疫情期间使用支持临床护理变革的ICT方面的经历。
本文旨在描述医护人员在新冠疫情期间使用ICT支持临床护理变革的经历。本文报告的是一组更大数据中的一个子集，该组数据研究了疫情期间护理模式的变化。
本研究采用定性描述性研究设计。总共从加拿大的3家医院招募了30名医护人员。在2022年12月至2023年6月期间进行了一对一的半结构化访谈。使用归纳主题法对定性数据进行分析，以确定参与者之间的主题。
对医护人员进行的30次访谈揭示了与他们在新冠疫情期间使用ICT支持临床护理变革的经历相关的3个主题。这些主题包括使用ICT（1）支持与患者的面对面沟通，（2）促进医护人员与患者以及患者与家属之间的联系，以及（3）提供持续护理。
医护人员的叙述揭示了数字工具在支持患者与医护人员面对面沟通方面的好处，在临终护理中使用ICT需要深思熟虑，以及在选择服务提供方式（如基于网络或面对面）时所需的决策。展望未来，鼓励各组织提供关于如何支持患者与医护人员沟通的教育和培训，找到在临终护理中满足患者和家属愿望的方法，并继续在医护人员关于服务提供方式的临床决策中给予他们自主权。
