Despite rapid advances in technology, there is currently a complex, and somewhat disjointed approach to the way health information is collected, stored, and organized for both healthcare consumers and professionals. Incompatible electronic medical records from various healthcare providers add to the complexity of a system tasked with delivering a patient’s relevant medical information in a timely manner to the appropriate point of care. Personal health records (PHR) grew out of the efforts to produce an integrated electronic record to manage the multifaceted aspects of healthcare required by both healthcare consumers and professionals. PHRs are a transformative technology with the potential to alter patient-provider relationships in a way that produces a more efficient and cost effective healthcare system as a result of better patient outcomes. PHRs can potentially include a wide variety of users ranging from the lay public to clinical professionals. As such, it is important to identify potential user groups and their corresponding health information needs in order to design PHRs that maximize accessibility, usability, and clinical relevance. This study focused on laypeople who represented a wide age-range of individuals, evenly split in gender, with an above average level of computer literacy. Most of the participants had not used an electronic PHR prior to this study. However, after a hands-on session with PHR software, most participants found it to be easy to use, accompanied with the functionality they expected from such a system. Most participants were satisfied that an electronic PHR would meet their health information needs and would recommend the use of PHRs to family and friends. Anyone in the general public is a potential PHR user. However, this study found that individuals with chronic conditions and those with complex health needs had the most to gain from using a PHR as an integral part of their healthcare routine. This study also demonstrated that an individual’s health condition has a stronger influence on their perceptions about the usefulness of PHRs than does their demographic background (age, education, computer literacy). Finally, this study established that PHRs are considered by participants of the study to be useful tools in meeting their health information needs. / Graduate / 0723 / 0769 / 0984 / dguarin@uvic.ca

D. Litt. et Phil. / The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the information user’s behaviour and proper records management contribute to the performance of an organisation to ensure competitive survival. The purpose of records management in an organisation, the records life cycle in an organisation from the creator to the end-user and electronic records management were thoroughly explored. A survey was conducted to investigate the current position of the records management function at South African National Parks (SANParks) as well as the manner in which records as information sources are used by end-users (employees). Based on the survey results, it was discovered that SANParks as an organisation does not practice sound records management as preached by Section 13 of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act (No. 43 of 1996 as amended). There is no consistency with regard to filing methods and the manner in which records are destroyed or deleted tells that there is no officially appointed records manager at SANParks. Even though information is considered the most vital resource for the future survival of SANParks, records as the main source of information are neglected and managed voluntarily by end-users themselves. There are no control measures for ensuring care and safe custody of records. An e-mail policy, filing procedure manual and disaster recovery plan do not exist. End-users are seen managing records on their own and there is no policy or guideline to ensure proper measurement and effective control of records. The lack of records management at SANParks indirectly affects the information user behaviour of employees to achieve competitive performance. The current means of communication dictates the manner in which records are managed. Since electronic means of communication are used most often, records management at SANParks is drastically shifting from manual to electronic. Recommendations for records management procedures within the context of empirical survey findings, the statutory framework and international standards are made. In conclusion, it is recommended that the records management function should form part of performance appraisal evaluation and that all members of staff should be evaluated in terms of their record-keeping skills.

This paper presents the results of a survey of 30 adults aged 55 and older, who had taken multiple prescription medications in the past two years. The purpose of the study was to determine how older adults manage their medication information currently, what information they save and share, and how they wish to manage medication information in an electronic environment, such as a personal health record. Adults in the survey shared information most frequently with their doctors, and with friends and family. They usually shared basic information about a medication, including its name, dose, and the frequency with which it is taken. Nearly half used an artifact, such as a list, to keep track of and share their information. Nearly a third of participants desired to keep an electronic record, suggesting that a percentage of the older adult population would be open to using electronic records to manage medication information.

Thesis (MCur (Nursing Science))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Based on a multimodal approach combining elements of ethnographic participant/observer methodology, rhetorical genre analysis, and corpus analysis, this study examines trouble ticket discourse as a genre of digital communication (IText), interpreting the findings through the lens of 18 months the author spent working in the environment.Trouble tickets are the basic form of documentation used in call centers. They record details of all actions and interactions in the call center environment that is the setting for this study. One section employs the Ethnography of Communication as a foundational model to provide a rich description of both text and environment. Trouble ticket text is written in a fragmentary style which internal and external audiences alike find difficult to process.The rhetorical moves analysis (Swales 1990) uses the rich description as a basis for interpreting and explaining its findings. Key findings are that trouble tickets are rhetorical, and that they seamlessly incorporate actions by the automated system into the human rhetoric. The corpus analysis builds on both the rich description and rhetorical moves analysis, finding that trouble tickets use grammatical structures differently than traditional spoken and written communication.This study concludes that trouble tickets are used simultaneously for direct and archival communication, are collaboratively concatenative in generation and that a new model is required for understanding the variation between speech, writing and IText. / Department of English

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1974.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University, Iowa.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1952.