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Helping Nursing Homes "At Risk" for Quality Problems: A Statewide Evaluation |
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Objective: To explore user perceptions of videophone communication in different long-term care settings by comparing interview transcripts of a study involving residents of a congregate living facility (CLF) and family members with findings of a case study involving a resident of a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and family member.
Methods: Semistructured interviews by telephone and in person were conducted with residents and family members, with both studies using an interview guide with similar questions. Results: All themes found in the SNF study were also identified in the CLF data. There was consistency between studies in preferences for videophones (over telephones) for affective-oriented conversations and perceptions of acceptable usability. Both yielded generally acceptable technical quality, although 2 of 8 CLU participants' concerns were likely barriers to adoption. Conclusion: Consistency in findings lends validity to the earlier SNF findings and suggests some degree of reliability across these settings. Additional insights were gained in the CLF study, a new context in the resident-family videophone communication literature. The theoretical framework of social presence and communication bandwidth holds promise as applied, but further explication and operationalization are needed. Keywords: Social support, communication, videophone, technology, long-term care Hensel, B., Demiris, G., Parker Oliver, D., & Rantz, M. (2009). A comparison of video-based resident-family communication in a nursing home and a congregate living facility. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association 10(5), 342-347. |