User Perceptions of the Telemedicine Programme in Nursing Homes - The Singapore Perspective

H. J. Toh, J. Chia, E. Koh, K. Lam, G. C. Magpantay, C. M. De Leon, J. A. Low

2015

Abstract

Geriatric care is a holistic approach to caring for older persons with complex health problems, so as to meet their long term care needs and maintain their independence for as long as possible. Due to a scarcity of geriatricians, Telegeriatrics was piloted in December 2010 by an acute hospital in Singapore to improve access to geriatric specialists for nursing homes. This preliminary study explores the perspectives of users from the NHs and the acute hospital on two aspects of Telegeriatrics – the telemedicine consultation and the nurse training programme. Seven focus group discussions and two semi-structured moderate interviews were conducted with a total of 24 participants. Thematic content analysis was applied to identify important themes and new themes that emerged during the coding process. The most commonly recognised benefits were increased access to specialist care, reduced need for hospitalizations, improved quality of care, and enhanced nursing skills and knowledge. However, the greatest barriers as perceived by the users were the lack of personal touch, technical issues, and medico-legal issues. The users expressed general acceptance of Telegeriatrics in providing geriatric care. They were aware of its limitations and challenges, but also recognized it as a promising way of providing consultation and strengthening nursing skills.

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Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Toh H., Chia J., Koh E., Lam K., Magpantay G., De Leon C. and Low J. (2015). User Perceptions of the Telemedicine Programme in Nursing Homes - The Singapore Perspective . In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - Volume 1: ICT4AgeingWell, ISBN 978-989-758-102-1, pages 97-105. DOI: 10.5220/0005436900970105


in Bibtex Style

@conference{ict4ageingwell15,
author={H. J. Toh and J. Chia and E. Koh and K. Lam and G. C. Magpantay and C. M. De Leon and J. A. Low},
title={User Perceptions of the Telemedicine Programme in Nursing Homes - The Singapore Perspective},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - Volume 1: ICT4AgeingWell,},
year={2015},
pages={97-105},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0005436900970105},
isbn={978-989-758-102-1},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - Volume 1: ICT4AgeingWell,
TI - User Perceptions of the Telemedicine Programme in Nursing Homes - The Singapore Perspective
SN - 978-989-758-102-1
AU - Toh H.
AU - Chia J.
AU - Koh E.
AU - Lam K.
AU - Magpantay G.
AU - De Leon C.
AU - Low J.
PY - 2015
SP - 97
EP - 105
DO - 10.5220/0005436900970105