A Conceptual Framework of IT based Home Healthcare Context

Health Informatics & Technology Conference

October 20-22, 2014 Double Tree by Hilton Baltimore - BWI Airport, USA

Ahmad Alaiad and Lina Zhou

Posters: J Health Med Informat

Abstract :

Home healthcare initiative aims primarily not only to control healthcare cost through reducing readmission costs and transportation costs but also improve pos-hospitalization healthcare quality and increase patient independency. Today, it is almost unimaginable to consider this initiative without health information technology (HIT). Healthcare that occurs at home is a complex experience in which individuals are expected to perform a range of health care tasks and interact with a vast array of medical devices and technologies in residential settings. Understanding the domain context and boundary of home healthcare is very critical for its success. Little research discusses this context and its surrounding entities to date. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to fill this knowledge gap by proposing a framework of the domain context using qualitative methods. The study?s data was collected through semi structured interviews with 12 stakeholders in the domain including both patients and medical professionals served for or by home healthcare agencies on the east coast in the U.S. Kvale?s approach was used for content analysis, which has seven steps: thematizing, designing, interviewing, transcribing, analyzing, verifying, and reporting. The results of content analysis reveal us to define four major components of the framework including person, task, technology and environment. The results also show how these components interact to each other. All of these components affect the safety and quality of the health care that occurs in the home. The findings are significant for home healthcare providers, technology designers and manufacturers, policy makers and local and federal government. Several theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Biography :

Ahmad Alaiad is a PhD candidate in information systems department at UMBC. His research focuses on health information technology (HIT). He has various publications (around 10) in reputed journals and conferences. Lina Zhou is an associated professor in information system department at UMBC. Her current research interest includes HIT, group communication, and online social networks. She has more than 100 papers in reputed journals and conferences.