An Exploration of Intent to Use Telehealth at Home for Patients with Chronic Diseases

Abstract

Telecare is defined as care practiced at a distance. It is an effective strategy for improving the self-health care management of home-patients with chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to explore the intent to use of telehealth patients. The correlation between the self-care behaviors, the intent to use of telehealth, and the effects on physiological indicators of patients with chronic disease at home were studied. A cross-sectional study design employing purposive sampling was selected. The structured questionnaire ‘Telecare Usage Intention Scale and Self-Care Behavior Scale’ were used, ‘HbA1c, glucose levels and monthly blood pressure measurements’ were analyzed in this thirteen month study. The self-care behaviors of the participants were positively correlated with their intent to use telehealth (p < 0.01). The results also indicated that HbA1c, glucose levels and frequency BP measurement of the participants improved significantly after using telecare (p < 0.005). The results indicated a strong intent to use telehealth and positive perception of telecare services by in-home patients with a chronic disease. Telehealth improves the self-care behavior of in-home chronic disease patients and enhances medical professionals’ ability to deliver quality and effective healthcare.

A Digital Health Service for Elderly People with Balance Disorders and Risk of Falling: A Design Science Approach

“…As observed in other studies [14,15,17,36], the participants of the two focus groups highlighted several benefits of a digital rehabilitation service: comfort, closer physicianpatient interaction anywhere, the potential for patient's motivation and engagement with self-care. Additionally, the availability of the tutorial videos with balance exercises was considered as a positive factor, allowing patients to remember the exercises and motivating them to exercise, including outside the home.…”

“…The ageing process has challenged the sustainability of the healthcare systems, including the Portuguese health system [1,5]. To address this, several approaches have been suggested, such as person-centered health systems and use of digital devices [2,3,[14][15][16][17][18] (Figure 1).…”

How Can We Develop an Efficient eHealth Service for Provision of Care for Elderly People with Balance Disorders and Risk of Falling? A Mixed Methods Study

“…To build up a shared ecosystem of health information, the Portuguese Ministry of Health created an Electronic Health Record (EHR) called "Sclínico," which is unfortunately not yet available in all health units of the Portuguese National Health Service (NHS) [40]. More recently, another digital service was made available on the NHS' digital platform to allow the sharing of clinical information between all levels of health care and to These healthcare solutions have revealed the potential to provide quality health services with complete, interoperable data in near real-time [17][18][19][20], and eHealth services with the engagement of patients and families for self and remote management of chronic conditions and prevention of risky behaviors [2,[20][21][22]. Indeed, many researchers have studied the potential of digital sensors to identify early balance deficit and identify fallers among elderly people, improving the data quality of clinical tests and functional scales as the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) and the Berg Balance Scale [23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”

“…These healthcare solutions have revealed the potential to provide quality health services with complete, interoperable data in near real-time [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], and eHealth services with the engagement of patients and families for self and remote management of chronic conditions and prevention of risky behaviors [ 2 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Indeed, many researchers have studied the potential of digital sensors to identify early balance deficit and identify fallers among elderly people, improving the data quality of clinical tests and functional scales as the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) and the Berg Balance Scale [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

“…In order to relieve this pressure, new strategies have been recommended, including person-centered health systems and the utilization of devices and systems supported by Information Systems and Technologies (IST) [2,5,16] (Figure 1). These healthcare solutions have revealed the potential to provide quality health services with complete, interoperable data in near real-time [17][18][19][20], and eHealth services with the engagement of patients and families for self and remote management of chronic conditions and prevention of risky behaviors [2,[20][21][22]. Indeed, many researchers have studied the potential of digital sensors to identify early balance deficit and identify fallers among elderly people, improving the data quality of clinical tests and functional scales as the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) and the Berg Balance Scale [23][24][25][26][27][28][29].…”