Browsing by Author "Newman, Lareen"
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- ItemDigital technology use among disadvantaged Australians: implications for equitable consumer participation in digitally-mediated communication and information exchange with health services.(2012-05-25) Newman, Lareen; Biedrzycki, Kate; Baum, FranOBJECTIVE To present research findings on access to and use of digital information and communication technologies ICTs by Australians from lower income and disadvantaged backgrounds to determine implications for equitable consumer access to digitally mediated health services and information METHODS Focus groups were held in 2008 09 with 80 residents from lower income and disadvantaged backgrounds in South Australia predominantly of working and family formation age 25 to 55 years Qualitative analysis was conducted on a priori and emergent themes to describe dominant categories RESULTS Access to and use of computers the Internet and mobile phones varied considerably in extent frequency and quality within and across groups due to differences in abilities resources and life experience Barriers and facilitators included English literacy including for native speakers technological literacy education income housing situation social connection health status employment status and trust Many people gained ICT skills by trial and error or help from friends and only a few from formal programs resulting in varied skills CONCLUSION The considerable variation in ICT access and use within lower income and disadvantaged groups must be acknowledged and accommodated by health initiatives and services when delivering digitally mediated consumer provider interaction online health information or online self management of health conditions If services require consumers to participate in a digitally mediated communication exchange then we suggest they might support skills and technology acquisition or provide non ICT alternatives in order to avoid exacerbating health inequities
- ItemAn eHealth Intervention for Patients in Rural Areas: Preliminary Findings From a Pilot Feasibility Study.(2014-06-14) Schrader, Geoffrey; Bidargaddi, Niranjan; Harris, Melanie; Newman, Lareen; Lynn, Sarah; Peterson, Leigh; Battersby, MalcolmBACKGROUND eHealth facilitation of chronic disease management has potential to increase engagement and effectiveness and extend access to care in rural areas OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of an eHealth system for the management of chronic conditions in a rural setting METHODS We developed an online management program which incorporated content from the Flinders Chronic Condition Management Program Flinders Program and used an existing software platform goACT which is accessible by patients and health care workers using either Web enabled mobile phone or Internet enabling communication between patients and clinicians We analyzed the impact of this eHealth system using qualitative and simple quantitative methods RESULTS The eHealth system was piloted with 8 recently hospitalized patients from rural areas average age 63 SD 9 years each with an average of 5 chronic conditions and high level of psychological distress with an average K10 score of 32 20 SD 5 81 Study participants interacted with the eHealth system The average number of logins to the eHealth system by the study participants was 26 4 SD 23 5 over 29 weeks The login activity was higher early in the week CONCLUSIONS The pilot demonstrated the feasibility of implementing and delivering a chronic disease management program using a Web based patient clinician application A qualitative analysis revealed burden of illness and low levels of information technology literacy as barriers to patient engagement
- ItemUse of information and communication technology to provide health information: what do older migrants know, and what do they need to know?(2010-04-02) Goodall, Ken; Ward, Paul; Newman, LareenBACKGROUND Governments and businesses are increasingly using the internet and mobile telephones to disseminate information about services and products However not all population groups have the resources and capabilities to support equality of access to and use of these technologies While Australia s ageing population receives attention in a wide variety of literatures the ageing migrant population has received very little attention in relation to understanding their place in the digital divide It is not known how this group gathers information used in everyday living or what role the internet or mobile phones plays within this At a time when the population is ageing and there is an increasing use of the internet to deliver services and information there is little research on the effects of ethnicity migration socio economic status education or gender of older people on the use of information and communication technology ICT Addressing this should be a priority in Australia which has an old and ageing population that includes many post war migrants from non English speaking European countries AIMS To analyse the views of older migrants living in South Australia with respect to their current information sources their use of ICT and any barriers and enablers to future use of ICT for accessing health information METHODS A qualitative study employing eight focus groups involving 43 older Italian and Greek migrants living in the community in metropolitan or regional settings in South Australia Interviews were held and audio recorded and the English language components transcribed Transcriptions were analysed manually using a grounded theory approach RESULTS Older migrants do not use ICT to a great extent to access information in their everyday lives with many expressing no interest in learning how to do so However they access the information they need to function in society with a desired quality of life from multiple sources by various means Sources include electronic and print media from Australia and their home countries family and acquaintances government departments or service providers Many expressed a preference for receiving information as printed material or directly from another person DISCUSSION Governments or primary healthcare organisations planning to make health information solely available via ICT should be aware that doing so may lead to an increase in information exclusion and the formation of functional knowledge deficits for older migrants At the moment at least our participants do not perceive any functional knowledge deficits as they engage multiple sources to access the information they need for everyday life We recommend that governments and healthcare organisations evaluate the appropriateness of using ICT to directly provide information to older migrants and consider non digital means or the engagement of information brokers when communicating with groups identified as low or non users of ICT