Due to the increase in dual-income families, work-family conflict has become a more prevalent phenomenon in today's society. Home healthcare workers have been previously identified as an employment group that is susceptible to high levels of burnout and low levels of job satisfaction, yet work-family conflict concerns have yet to be examined. Particularly because of the great deal of care being provided within a home, both at work and in life, this population is of particular interest for examining work-family conflict. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the relationships among work-family conflict, job satisfaction, affectivity, and burnout within a sample of rural, home healthcare employees. More specifically, four distinct models are proposed which include the following variables: positive and negative affectivity, number of hours providing care for others outside of work, number of hours worked per week, family-interference with work conflict, work-interference with family conflict, job satisfaction and three facets of burnout (personal accomplishment, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion). While models predicting job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion accounted for the most variance, all four models provided information regarding the direct, indirect and mediating relationships of the aforementioned variables. More specifically, the findings suggest that the two types of work-family conflict uniquely mediate the proposed outcome variables highlighting the importance of examining work-family conflict from a more refined perspective. Exploratory group differences are also examined. This study contributes to a gap in the literature examining individuals' experiences of work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and burnout who are employed in a specific career field. Practical, research, and theoretical implications are discussed.

Loosely coupled workgroups are common in the real world, and workers in these groups are autonomous and weakly interdependent. They have patterns of work and collaboration that distinguish them from other types of groups, and groupware systems that are designed to support loose coupling must address these differences. However, they have not been studied in detail in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and the design process for these groups is currently underspecified. This forces designers to start from scratch each time they develop a system for loosely coupled groups, and they must approach new work settings with little information about how work practices are organized. <br><br> In this dissertation, I present a design framework to improve the groupware design process for loosely coupled workgroups. The framework has three main parts that add a new layer of support to each of the three stages in the general groupware design process: data collection about the target work setting, analysis of the data, and system design based on the analysis results. The framework was developed to provide designers with support during each of these stages so that they can consider important characteristics of loosely coupled work practice while carrying out design for the target group. The design framework is based on information from CSCW and organizational research, and on real-world design experiences with one type of loosely coupled workgrouphome care treatment teams. <br><br> The framework was evaluated using observations, interviews, and field trials that were carried out with multidisciplinary home care treatment teams in Saskatoon Health Region. A series of field observations and interviews were carried out with team members from each of the home care disciplines. The framework was then used to develop Mohoc, a groupware system that supports work in home care. Two field trials were carried out where the system was used by teams to support their daily activities. Results were analyzed to determine how well each part of the design framework performed in the design process. The results suggest that the framework was able to fill its role in specializing the general CSCW design process for loosely coupled groups by adding consideration for work and collaboration patterns that are seen in loosely coupled settings. However, further research is needed to determine whether these findings generalize to other loosely coupled workgroups.

Loosely coupled workgroups are common in the real world, and workers in these groups are autonomous and weakly interdependent. They have patterns of work and collaboration that distinguish them from other types of groups, and groupware systems that are designed to support loose coupling must address these differences. However, they have not been studied in detail in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and the design process for these groups is currently underspecified. This forces designers to start from scratch each time they develop a system for loosely coupled groups, and they must approach new work settings with little information about how work practices are organized. <br><br> In this dissertation, I present a design framework to improve the groupware design process for loosely coupled workgroups. The framework has three main parts that add a new layer of support to each of the three stages in the general groupware design process: data collection about the target work setting, analysis of the data, and system design based on the analysis results. The framework was developed to provide designers with support during each of these stages so that they can consider important characteristics of loosely coupled work practice while carrying out design for the target group. The design framework is based on information from CSCW and organizational research, and on real-world design experiences with one type of loosely coupled workgrouphome care treatment teams. <br><br> The framework was evaluated using observations, interviews, and field trials that were carried out with multidisciplinary home care treatment teams in Saskatoon Health Region. A series of field observations and interviews were carried out with team members from each of the home care disciplines. The framework was then used to develop Mohoc, a groupware system that supports work in home care. Two field trials were carried out where the system was used by teams to support their daily activities. Results were analyzed to determine how well each part of the design framework performed in the design process. The results suggest that the framework was able to fill its role in specializing the general CSCW design process for loosely coupled groups by adding consideration for work and collaboration patterns that are seen in loosely coupled settings. However, further research is needed to determine whether these findings generalize to other loosely coupled workgroups.

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Prevention is a central tenet of modern healthcare. New ways of informing, educating, and allowing patients to keep track of their health are continually developing. Integrating technology that bridges the gap between healthcare providers and their patients is essential in today's digital age. One emerging idea is the use of home healthcare embodied agents. Embodied agents are conservational interfaces that can interact and look like human beings. They can exhibit both verbal and non-verbal language cues and be capable of having a natural conversation. This kind of technology could help both patients and healthcare providers by giving patients a helpful assistant that can educate and take care of particular healthcare needs through conversations with the patient. This could potentially improve patient outcomes, thereby reducing trips to the healthcare provider's office and relieving the burden on physicians and other healthcare providers. This research will focus on home healthcare embodied agents' priorities and the opportunities that this technology can present. A literature review was done to examine the current use of embodied agents in home healthcare settings to establish their present capabilities and applications. Additionally, the strategies/techniques used by home healthcare workers interacting with patients were investigated. By examining the provider-patient relationship and the use of home healthcare embodied agents in tandem, related findings were identified and potential gaps in current research were found that may help direct future exploration.

Bakgrund    Enligt Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting så ska vårdpersonal inom regioner, kommuner och landsting arbeta för införandet av personcentrerad vård (PCV) som arbetssätt. PCV har tre grundpelare: partnerskap, patientberättelse samt dokumentation. Vårda i samråd med personen som behöver vård är grunden i hela den personcentrerade vården. Syfte                                   Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskans tillämpning av personcentrerad vård inom den kommunala hemsjukvården i vården av personer 65 år och äldre. Metod                                 Studien har en beskrivande design med kvalitativ ansats. Huvudresultat                   Ingen av de inkluderade kommunerna tillämpade PCV fullt ut idag. De förutsättningar för en god PCV som sjuksköterskorna beskrev var att de arbetade för att ha personen i fokus. De försökte också skapa en relation till personen och dess anhöriga genom kontinuitet, partnerskap och patientens levnadsberättelse. Hinder för att kunna tillämpa PCV var brist på organisatorisk ledning gällande PCV, bristande kontinuitet, tidsbrist och orealistiska önskemål från personen samt kunskapsbrist om PCV.   Slutsats                              Sjuksköterskorna saknar kunskap om vad PCV innebär inom kommunal hemsjukvård och hur PCV skall tillämpas i det dagliga vårdarbetet. Studien visade på att det är ledningen som präglar vilken vård som ges till dem som vårdades. En ledning som guidar, stöttar och ger förutsättningar till sina sjuksköterskor för att de skall kunna tillämpa PCV är den största förutsättningen för att PCV skall kunna implementeras inom den kommunala hemsjukvården. Det borde vara en rättighet för alla som vårdas att få PCV. / Background                  According to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions should all healthcare professionals within the regions, municipalities and county council work for an introduction of person-centered care (PCC). PCC has three fundamental pillars: partnership, the patient´s story and documentation. Healthcare should be in agreement with the person needing care, it´s the foundation of PCC. Objective                      The objective of the study was to describe the nurse's application of person-centered care in the municipal home healthcare in the care of people aged 65 years and older. Method                              The study has a descriptive design with a qualitative approach. Main results                      The results showed that none of the participating municipalities applied PCC to full extend currently in daily work. The nurses described good conditions for PCC like having focus on the person. The nurses also tried to create a relationship with the patient and their relatives, through continuity, partnership and patient´s life story. The study identified obstacles in the application of PCC like lack of organizational management, continuity and time, unrealistic requests of care from the person and knowledge deficit regarding PCC. Conclusion                         The nurses within municipal home healthcare lacked knowledge regarding PCC and how to apply PCC in daily work. The study showed that it is the management who characterizes the care given. In the application of PCC a necessity is a management who guides, supports and offers relevant conditions for PCC to the nurses. It should be a right for all people receiving care to obtain PCC.

An emerging trend of the healthcare industry is the huge increase in the number of medical devices being used by lay people at home. Home use medical devices range from simple inhalers to very complicated devices such as defibrillators. This research aimed to assist designers in developing home use medical devices by providing information and suggestions regarding lay users and how to address their needs and expectations. For this purpose a qualitative and inductive approach was adopted and several studies were carried out, including: (1) a comprehensive literature review to understand the background of the phenomena; (2) observational studies with 40 lay users (i.e. 10 younger lay users, 10 older lay users, 10 users with mobility and sensory disabilities, and 10 users with cognitive disabilities) in order to identify their characteristics when interacting with products; (3) an online questionnaire survey with 53 designers to understand designers‟ requirements when designing home use medical devices, as well as their expectations for a proposed design support tool; (4) the development of the design support tool; and (5) an evaluation study with 12 professional designers in order to assess the effectiveness of the tool (in a format of a design guidance). This research adopted an inclusive approach which investigated both lay users‟ characteristics and designers‟ perspectives. It has, for the first time, outlined lay user characteristics based on empirical studies with different groups of people. It is also one of few studies focussing on designing home use medical devices; the requirements of professional designers have provided an in-depth insight into the challenges of designing medical devices for use in the home environment. The design guidance, as commended by the designers in the evaluation, was the first comprehensive information source in the UK for the emerging home use medical device field where little support is currently available.

ABSTRACTnformation and telecommunication technologies have been used for medical applications for almost a century: the radio, the phone and the television have been used to provide medical assistance to remote areas like boats located in the sea, oil rigs and other isolated locations. This new use of ICT was given the name of Telemedicine. ISince the 90`s, health care systems have been looking for new ways and alternatives to provide health care than the traditional hospital centers. Information technologies and communication systems have been developed, especially with the deployment of Internet access to most of residential areas, and have brought health care to the electronic age; Carving a new term E-Health.Nowadays Telemedicine is used in several E-health applications for teleconsultation, telediagnosis, telemonitoring and has been successfully tested in teleradiology, telecardiology, teledermatology, telepsychiatry, etc. This technology is used in rural areas, health areas, prisons, home cares, emergencies, wars, etc.This project implements two different parts. The first one is an user application to measure weight and blood pressure from the patient using two Bluetooth-enable measurement devices: the UC-321PBT Precision Health Scale and UA-767PBT Blood Pressure Monitor. The second one implements a web server to store all patients reports with updated information in real time. This information can be consulted through a web page for medical staff in HL7 patient’s report format. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Background: The treatment with parenteral nutrition is used when the nutritional needs can’t be satisfied by enteral nutrition. To eat and drink can be valuable activities that fulfills biological, social, psychological and culturally needs. Problem: Previous research shows that home parenteral nutrition has an impact on life, both for the patient and their family. Nurses experience a lack of knowledge in caring of patients with home parenteral nutrition. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe patients’ experiences of being treated with home parenteral nutrition. Method: A systematic literature study with a descriptive synthesis. Ten qualitative studies were analyzed. Result: Two themes and five subthemes were identified. The themes that were identified were “Possibilities with home parenteral nutrition” and “Difficulties with home parenteral nutrition”. Conclusion: The result shows that being treated with HPN changes the patients’ life in several ways. It gave an opportunity to life and could increase quality of life, even though it came with some restrictions. / Bakgrund: Behandling med parenteral nutrition används då näringsbehovet inte kan tillgodoses genom enteral näringstillförsel. Att äta och dricka kan vara en betydelsefull aktivitet som tillmötesgår biologiska, sociala, psykologiska och kulturella behov. Problem: Tidigare forskning visar att parenteral nutrition i hemmet kan ha stor påverkan på patienterna och deras familjer i vardagen. Sjuksköterskorna upplever en kunskapsbrist i vårdandet av patienter med parenteral nutrition i hemmet. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att behandlas med parenteral nutrition i hemmet. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie med beskrivande syntes. Tio vårdvetenskapliga artiklar analyserades. Resultat: Två teman och fem subteman identifierades. De teman som identifierades var ”Möjligheter med parenteral nutrition i hemmet” och ”Hinder med parenteral nutrition i hemmet”. Slutsats: Det framkom att behandlingen med parenteral nutrition i hemmet förändrade livet på flera sätt. Det gav en möjlighet till liv och kunde ge en förbättrad livskvalitet, dock innefattade behandlingen även en del begränsningar.