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Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: The strain on health care services is increasing due to an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions. eHealth could contribute to optimise effective and efficient care to older adults with one or more chronic health conditions in the general practice. A...

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Autores principales: Vergouw, Johannes William, Smits-Pelser, Hanneke, Kars, Marijke C., van Houwelingen, Thijs, van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke, Kort, Helianthe, Bleijenberg, Nienke
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cambridge University Press 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7737186/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33263272
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1463423620000547
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author Vergouw, Johannes William
Smits-Pelser, Hanneke
Kars, Marijke C.
van Houwelingen, Thijs
van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke
Kort, Helianthe
Bleijenberg, Nienke
author_facet Vergouw, Johannes William
Smits-Pelser, Hanneke
Kars, Marijke C.
van Houwelingen, Thijs
van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke
Kort, Helianthe
Bleijenberg, Nienke
author_sort Vergouw, Johannes William
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The strain on health care services is increasing due to an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions. eHealth could contribute to optimise effective and efficient care to older adults with one or more chronic health conditions in the general practice. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify the needs, barriers and facilitators amongst community-dwelling older adults (60+) suffering from one or more chronic health conditions, in using online eHealth applications to support general practice services. METHODS: A qualitative study, using semi-structured followed by think-aloud interviews, was conducted in the Netherlands. The semi-structured interviews, supported by an interview guide were conducted and analysed thematically. The think-aloud method was used to collect data about the cognitive process while the participant was completing a task within online eHealth applications. Verbal analysis according to the Chi approach was conducted to analyse the think-aloud interviews. FINDINGS: A total of n = 19 older adults with a mean age of 73 years participated. The ability to have immediate contact with the GP on important health issues was identified as an important need. Identified barriers were non-familiarity with the online eHealth applications and a mismatch of user health needs. The low computer experience resulted in non-familiarity with the online eHealth applications. Faltering applications resulted in participants refusing to participate in the use of online eHealth applications. Convenience, efficiency and the instant availability of eHealth via applications were identified as important facilitators. CONCLUSION: To improve the use and acceptability of eHealth applications amongst older adults in the general practice, the applications should be tailored to meet individual needs. More attention should be given to improving the user-friendliness of these applications and to the promotion of the benefits such as facilitating older adults independent living for longer.
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spelling pubmed-77371862020-12-21 Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study Vergouw, Johannes William Smits-Pelser, Hanneke Kars, Marijke C. van Houwelingen, Thijs van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke Kort, Helianthe Bleijenberg, Nienke Prim Health Care Res Dev Research BACKGROUND: The strain on health care services is increasing due to an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions. eHealth could contribute to optimise effective and efficient care to older adults with one or more chronic health conditions in the general practice. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify the needs, barriers and facilitators amongst community-dwelling older adults (60+) suffering from one or more chronic health conditions, in using online eHealth applications to support general practice services. METHODS: A qualitative study, using semi-structured followed by think-aloud interviews, was conducted in the Netherlands. The semi-structured interviews, supported by an interview guide were conducted and analysed thematically. The think-aloud method was used to collect data about the cognitive process while the participant was completing a task within online eHealth applications. Verbal analysis according to the Chi approach was conducted to analyse the think-aloud interviews. FINDINGS: A total of n = 19 older adults with a mean age of 73 years participated. The ability to have immediate contact with the GP on important health issues was identified as an important need. Identified barriers were non-familiarity with the online eHealth applications and a mismatch of user health needs. The low computer experience resulted in non-familiarity with the online eHealth applications. Faltering applications resulted in participants refusing to participate in the use of online eHealth applications. Convenience, efficiency and the instant availability of eHealth via applications were identified as important facilitators. CONCLUSION: To improve the use and acceptability of eHealth applications amongst older adults in the general practice, the applications should be tailored to meet individual needs. More attention should be given to improving the user-friendliness of these applications and to the promotion of the benefits such as facilitating older adults independent living for longer. Cambridge University Press 2020-12-02 /pmc/articles/PMC7737186/ /pubmed/33263272 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1463423620000547 Text en © Cambridge University Press 2020 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research
Vergouw, Johannes William
Smits-Pelser, Hanneke
Kars, Marijke C.
van Houwelingen, Thijs
van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke
Kort, Helianthe
Bleijenberg, Nienke
Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study
title Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study
title_full Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study
title_fullStr Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study
title_short Needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards eHealth in general practice: a qualitative study
title_sort needs, barriers and facilitators of older adults towards ehealth in general practice: a qualitative study
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7737186/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33263272
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1463423620000547
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