Access to health care perceived by parents caring for their child at home supported by eHealth—a directed approach introducing aperture
Hylén, Mia LU ; Nilsson, Stefan LU ; Kristensson-Hallström, Inger LU ; Kristjánsdóttir, Gudrún LU
; Stenström, Pernilla
LU
and Vilhjálmsson, Rúnar
LU
(2022)
In BMC Health Services Research
22(1).
- Abstract
Background: In recent years a variety of eHealth solutions has been introduced to enhance efficiency and to empower patients, leading to a more accessible and equitable health care system. Within pediatric care eHealth has been advocated to reduce emergency and hospital outpatient visits, with many parents preferring eHealth to physical visits following the transition from hospital to home. Still, not many studies have focused on access from the parental perspective. Therefore, the aim of the study was to analyze access to health care as perceived by parents when caring for their child at home, with conventional care supported by eHealth following pediatric surgery or preterm birth. Methods: Twenty-five parents who went home with their... (More)
Background: In recent years a variety of eHealth solutions has been introduced to enhance efficiency and to empower patients, leading to a more accessible and equitable health care system. Within pediatric care eHealth has been advocated to reduce emergency and hospital outpatient visits, with many parents preferring eHealth to physical visits following the transition from hospital to home. Still, not many studies have focused on access from the parental perspective. Therefore, the aim of the study was to analyze access to health care as perceived by parents when caring for their child at home, with conventional care supported by eHealth following pediatric surgery or preterm birth. Methods: Twenty-five parents who went home with their child following hospitalization and received conventional care supported by eHealth (a tablet) were interviewed in this qualitative study. Directed content analysis was used, guided by a framework for dimensions of access previously described as: approachability, acceptability, affordability, appropriateness, and availability. Results: All dimensions of access were present in the material with the dimensions of approachability, appropriateness and acceptability most frequently emphasized. The dimensions highlighted a strong acceptance of eHealth, which was perceived by the parents as beneficial, particularly access to communication with health care personnel familiar to them. The chat function of the tablet was often mentioned as positive. A new dimension was also identified: “aperture.” It is defined by the pathways by which communication is transmitted in cyberspace, and these pathways are not easily visualized for parents submitting information, therefore generating concerns. Conclusions: Parents generally experienced good access to the eHealth-supported health care. Describing access through its dimensions complemented previous descriptions of eHealth in pediatric care and gave new insights. As such, the new dimension of “aperture”, the indeterminate opening of pathways of communication reflecting the uncertainty of not comprehending cyberspace, could be further evaluated. The dimensional framework of access is recommended when evaluating eHealth in the future. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04150120.
(Less)
- author
- Hylén, Mia
LU
; Nilsson, Stefan
LU
; Kristensson-Hallström, Inger
LU
; Kristjánsdóttir, Gudrún
LU
; Stenström, Pernilla
LU
and Vilhjálmsson, Rúnar
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Access, eHealth, Health care, Neonatal, Pediatric care, Surgery
- in
- BMC Health Services Research
- volume
- 22
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 1008
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:35941653
- scopus:85135550908
- ISSN
- 1472-6963
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12913-022-08398-0
- project
- eHealth as an aid for facilitating and supporting self-management in families with long-term childhood illness – development, evaluation and implementation in clinical practice
- Tablets as part of e-health - a safe bridge between the hospital and the home of the newly operated child?
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a15a48a0-e97c-4d47-a72e-02b5c2611d43
- date added to LUP
- 2022-10-06 11:07:06
- date last changed
- 2024-06-27 21:19:22
@article{a15a48a0-e97c-4d47-a72e-02b5c2611d43,
abstract = {{<p>Background: In recent years a variety of eHealth solutions has been introduced to enhance efficiency and to empower patients, leading to a more accessible and equitable health care system. Within pediatric care eHealth has been advocated to reduce emergency and hospital outpatient visits, with many parents preferring eHealth to physical visits following the transition from hospital to home. Still, not many studies have focused on access from the parental perspective. Therefore, the aim of the study was to analyze access to health care as perceived by parents when caring for their child at home, with conventional care supported by eHealth following pediatric surgery or preterm birth. Methods: Twenty-five parents who went home with their child following hospitalization and received conventional care supported by eHealth (a tablet) were interviewed in this qualitative study. Directed content analysis was used, guided by a framework for dimensions of access previously described as: approachability, acceptability, affordability, appropriateness, and availability. Results: All dimensions of access were present in the material with the dimensions of approachability, appropriateness and acceptability most frequently emphasized. The dimensions highlighted a strong acceptance of eHealth, which was perceived by the parents as beneficial, particularly access to communication with health care personnel familiar to them. The chat function of the tablet was often mentioned as positive. A new dimension was also identified: “aperture.” It is defined by the pathways by which communication is transmitted in cyberspace, and these pathways are not easily visualized for parents submitting information, therefore generating concerns. Conclusions: Parents generally experienced good access to the eHealth-supported health care. Describing access through its dimensions complemented previous descriptions of eHealth in pediatric care and gave new insights. As such, the new dimension of “aperture”, the indeterminate opening of pathways of communication reflecting the uncertainty of not comprehending cyberspace, could be further evaluated. The dimensional framework of access is recommended when evaluating eHealth in the future. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04150120.</p>}},
author = {{Hylén, Mia and Nilsson, Stefan and Kristensson-Hallström, Inger and Kristjánsdóttir, Gudrún and Stenström, Pernilla and Vilhjálmsson, Rúnar}},
issn = {{1472-6963}},
keywords = {{Access; eHealth; Health care; Neonatal; Pediatric care; Surgery}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{BMC Health Services Research}},
title = {{Access to health care perceived by parents caring for their child at home supported by eHealth—a directed approach introducing aperture}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08398-0}},
doi = {{10.1186/s12913-022-08398-0}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2022}},
}