Staying connected and informed: Online resources and virtual communities of practice supporting palliative care during the novel coronavirus pandemic

Mills, Jason; Li, Chi; Fullerton, Sonia; Chapman, Michael; Jap, James; Sinclair, Craig; Collins, Anna; Campbell, E. J. M.

doi:10.1080/09699260.2020.1759876

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For instance, mobile devices to facilitate spiritual support for patients and video visits to enhance their communication with families [ 33 ]. Real-time global communication and a variety of online resources have been mobilised through virtual communities of practice using various digital platforms such as webinar, blog or social media (see for example, Twitter #pallicovid ) [ 34 ]. The rapid implementation of telehealth consultations has been reported as both feasible and cost-effective, particularly in the case of social distancing restrictions and resource supply limitations in personal protective equipment [ 35 , 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative care providers’ use of digital health and perspectives on technological innovation: a national study

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background While the need for digital health capability and technological innovation in palliative care services is growing rapidly, relatively little is known about the current uptake and views of individual palliative care practitioners. This study aims to explore palliative care practitioners’ current use of and perspectives on digital health innovation in palliative care. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey with a web-based questionnaire was used. Participants were multidisciplinary palliative care practitioners in Australia. Results Surveys were returned by 170 medical, nursing, and allied health practitioners working in palliative care. Most respondents reported using a variety of digital health technology associated with clinical information systems, mobile devices, SMS text messaging, teleconferencing, and Wi-Fi. These technologies were used for the purpose of communicating with other health professionals, accessing web-based or mobile health palliative care resources, collecting or managing patient data, and providing information or education. However, few reported electronic access to patients’ advance care planning documentation or could update these data. Respondents were moderately confident in their ability to use digital health, held positive beliefs that palliative care could be enhanced through digital health, and were generally supportive of ongoing innovation through digitally-enable models of care. Palliative care providers would most like to see digital health innovations in the areas of client health records, telehealth, and personal health tracking. Conclusion This is the first national study of digital health in Australian palliative care providers. It contributes new knowledge in this important area of palliative care practice to guide policy and education, whilst informing future directions for research.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative care providers’ use of digital health and perspectives on technological innovation: a national study

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…11 12 More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly limited physical interactions and meetings for sharing of expertise, and therefore, the relevance and utility of VCoPs is more evident. 13 VCoPs provide the opportunity to stay connected and informed, by the sharing of emerging resources and dissemination of research on health issues. 13 VCoPs use a wide variety of media to establish a virtual collaborative space including social media sites, videoconferencing and websites.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 VCoPs provide the opportunity to stay connected and informed, by the sharing of emerging resources and dissemination of research on health issues. 13 VCoPs use a wide variety of media to establish a virtual collaborative space including social media sites, videoconferencing and websites. 14 The creation of VCoPs means that health professionals who are geographically dispersed, 15 can use virtual communities for learning, support, continuing professional education, knowledge management and information sharing.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual communities of practice to improve clinical outcomes in healthcare: protocol for a 10-year scoping review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionVirtual communities of practice (VCoPs) use a common online platform to provide healthcare professionals with the opportunity to access highly specialised knowledge, build a professional support network and promote the translation of research evidence into practice. There is limited reporting of how best to design and administer VCoPs within healthcare organisations. The primary aim of this scoping review is to identify the best methods used to establish and maintain VCoPs. Findings shall be used to develop a flexible framework to guide the establishment and facilitation of a VCoP for healthcare professionals to ensure the translation of falls prevention clinical guidelines into practice.Methods and analysisA five-stage scoping review process will be followed based on Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and refined by the Joanna Briggs Institute Methodology. An initial limited search of PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature will identify relevant studies and assist with search term development. This will be followed by a search of five online databases to identify papers published from January 2010 until November 2020. Papers will be independently screened by two reviewers, and data extracted and analysed using a reporting framework. Qualitative data will be analysed thematically and numerical synthesis of the data will be conducted.Results and disseminationThe results of this scoping review will highlight the best ways to design and manage VCoPs in healthcare organisations. The findings will be presented at relevant stakeholder workshops, conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.

show abstract

“…Furthermore, a pre-COVID study reports that palliative care staff generally had favourable attitudes toward video visits and telehealth for home consultations 17 . Outside of hospital, researchers have also identified how online resources and virtual communities have helped to support palliative care professionals and the public during the pandemic 18,19 . Furthermore, these technologies further complement existing initiatives to improve palliative care delivery through technological innovation 10,20 .…”

Section: Data Security Privacy and Ethical Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the use of video communication technology in a hospital specialist palliative care team during the COVID-19 pandemic

Crosby¹,

Hanchanale²,

Stanley³

et al. 2021

AMRC Open Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Healthcare professionals’ use of video communication technology has increased during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, due to infection control restrictions. Currently there is little published data about the experiences of specialist palliative care teams who are using technology to communicate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this evaluation was to describe the experience of a UK based hospital specialist palliative care team, who were using video communication technology to support care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online survey was distributed to the specialist palliative care team at a University teaching hospital in the North West of the UK. We asked participants to provide their views on the scope of use, barriers and future opportunities to use technology for communication in hospital palliative care. Results: The survey was completed by 14 healthcare professionals. Participants indicated that the most common reasons for using the technology was to receive team updates (n= 14, 100%), participate in multidisciplinary team meetings (n=14, 100%), for education (n=12, 86%) and to facilitate cross-site working (n=9, 64%). We identified barriers to using the technology, which were summarised as: (1) user-based difficulties; (2) inadequate technological infrastructure; (3) data security, privacy and ethical concerns; and (4) concerns regarding staff wellbeing. Participants stated that technology can potentially improve care by improving communication with hospital and community teams and increasing access to education. We have used these findings to develop recommendations to help palliative care teams to implement this technology better in clinical practice. Conclusion: Video communication technology has the potential to improve specialist palliative care delivery; however, it is essential that healthcare organisations address the existing barriers to using this technology, to ensure that these systems work meaningfully to improve palliative care for those who are most vulnerable beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

Staying connected and informed: Online resources and virtual communities of practice supporting palliative care during the novel coronavirus pandemic

Cited by 19 publications

References 3 publications

Palliative care providers’ use of digital health and perspectives on technological innovation: a national study

Palliative care providers’ use of digital health and perspectives on technological innovation: a national study

Virtual communities of practice to improve clinical outcomes in healthcare: protocol for a 10-year scoping review

Evaluating the use of video communication technology in a hospital specialist palliative care team during the COVID-19 pandemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About