Self-Service System for the Family Members of ICU Patients: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Family members of intensive care unit patients are often experience high anxiety and require more information about the patients. However, most Taiwanese healthcare institutions currently face manpower shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the task of providing additional services to meet family members’ needs and relieve their stress was deferred by some healthcare institutions. The self-service system, known to be effective and efficient in other industries, was recommended for use in the healthcare industry. This study aims to explore an intensive care unit self-service system (ICU-SSS) designed for the family members of ICU patients. This study investigates the feasibility of the system by following a mixed method approach, including qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. Firstly, interviews with five family members and five ICU staff members of a case hospital were conducted to identify the need to develop an ICU-SSS for the family member. Secondly, a survey was completed by 30 family members to evaluate the system. The interview results reveal nine categories of family members’ needs and the survey results show that the ICU family members assigned acceptable scores to all the ICU-SSS functions, except the importance of “Logistical information”. Based on these findings, the scientific and practical implications are discussed.

Development and Testing of the Smart Healthcare Prototype System through COVID-19 Patient Innovation

“…Gerli’s research focuses on analyzing the 50 e-health applications proposed by the European Union during the COVID-19 epidemic and outlines three issues (i.e., user orientation, participation, legality and equity) [ 23 ]. Patients and healthcare professionals can also learn online via virtual reality through IoMT technology [ 29 , 38 ]. During the COVID-19 epidemic, information security concerns about data breaches plagued the healthcare industry.…”