A demanda crescente de usuários de implante coclear (IC) e a distribuição irregular de profissionais especializados no país, tornam necessário o deslocamento de pacientes por longas distâncias para os atendimentos, com consequente aumento dos custos diretos e indiretos do tratamento. A teleconsulta pode ser vista como uma alternativa em potencial para o acesso desta população a estes serviços. O presente ensaio clínico, randomizado, controlado, avaliou a eficácia da teleconsulta síncrona na programação dos sistemas de IC em usuários acompanhados em um Programa de Implante Coclear credenciado pelo Sistema Único de Saúde. Participaram do estudo 79 indivíduos com idades entre nove e 68 anos (média de 21,6), 41 do sexo masculino e 38 do sexo feminino, usuários de IC por um período de 0,58 a 24,75 anos. Estes indivíduos foram divididos em dois grupos, de acordo com o modo de programação do IC: controle (n=40), que realizou o procedimento face a face e experimental (n=39) que realizou a teleconsulta síncrona. Treze fonoaudiólogos sem experiência na programação do dispositivo atuaram como facilitadores das teleconsultas. Os procedimentos de programação do IC englobaram a telemetria de impedância, definição dos níveis de estimulação elétrica, varredura e balanceamento dos eletrodos e ajuste fino da programação. Como medidas de avaliação de resultados foram utilizados o tempo dispendido na consulta, a audiometria em campo livre, o percentual de reconhecimento de sentenças no silêncio e no ruído, o limiar de reconhecimento de sentenças no silêncio e ruído (HINT-Brasil), a avaliação da satisfação com a consulta (escala MISS-21) e de aspectos pertinentes à teleconsulta. Os facilitadores responderam as questões abertas referentes à suas impressões dos atendimentos. Os dados foram analisados por meio de estatística inferencial (testes t de Student, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney e correlação de Spearman). Os resultados mostraram que após a programação do IC, em média, os participantes apresentaram limiares audiométricos abaixo de 30 dB NA. O reconhecimento da fala pós atendimento, respectivamente para os grupos experimental e controle, foram de 81,3% e 83,8% (silêncio) e 57,9% e 58,1% (ruído). No HINT-Brasil os resultados foram, respectivamente, para os grupos experimental e controle 61,4 dB NA e 61,8 dB NA (silêncio) e relação S/R de 9,5 dB NA e 10,4 dB NA (ruído). Os participantes estiveram satisfeitos com a consulta. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos em nenhuma das medidas de resultado. Todos os participantes relataram que teleconsulta pode ser vista como uma alternativa viável ao atendimento face a face e sua aplicação clínica facilitaria a rotina de pacientes usuários de IC. Os facilitadores destacaram a sua importância para o aprendizado e como ferramenta de formação continuada. A teleconsulta síncrona foi eficaz na programação dos sistemas de IC e amplamente aceita pelos usuários e profissionais. / The growing number of cochlear implant (CI) users and the uneven distribution of specialized professionals in the country makes necessary patients traveling over long distances to receive care, with consequent increase in direct and indirect costs of treatment. The telehealth can be viewed as an alternative for this population to access such services. This clinical randomized, controlled clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of synchronous teleconsultation in the programming of CI systems in a Cochlear Implant Program accredited by the National Health System in Brazil. Participate in this study 79 subjects aged between nine and 68 years (average 21.6), 41 males and 38 females, CI users for a period from 0.58 to 24.75 years. The participants were divided into two groups, according to the nature of consultation: control group (n = 40), who performed the CI programming face-to-face and experimental group (n = 39) who performed the CI programming through the synchronous teleconsultation. Thirteen audiologists without experience in CI programming acted as facilitators of teleconsultation. The CI programming procedures encompassed the impedance telemetry, setting of electrical stimulation levels, sweeping and balancing of the electrodes and programming evaluation in live speech mode. The outcome measures were the time spent in consultation, free field audiometry, the percentage of sentence recognition in quiet and in noise, the sentence recognition threshold in silence and noise (HINT-Brazil), satisfaction with the consultation (MISS-21 scale) and aspects related to teleconsultation. The facilitators responded open questions regarding their impressions of the teleconsultations. Data were analyzed using inferential statistics (Student t test, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation). The results showed that after CI programming, on average, the participants had audiometric thresholds below 30 dB HL. The speech perception for the experimental and control groups post CI programming were respectively, 81.3% and 83.8% (in silence) and 57.9% and 58.1% (in noise). In HINT-Brazil the results were, respectively, for the experimental and control groups 61.4 and 61.8 dB (silence) and S/N ratio of 9.5 dB and 10.4 dB (in noise). Participants were satisfied with the teleconsultation. There were no statistically significant difference between the groups in any of the outcome measures. All participants reported that teleconsultation could be a viable alternative to facilitate CI users follow up routine. Facilitators emphasized the importance of teleconsultation for learning and for continuing education. The teleconsultation was effective in programming the CI systems and accepted by users and professionals.

La thèse est une recherche action ; l'action s'articule autour d'une plateforme de télémédecine, évaluée en matière de processus et de résultats dans des publications scientifiques et en matière éthique dans le présent manuscrit. La plateforme de télé-expertise a été crée sur le modèle développé par le collegium telemedicus (https://collegiumtelemedicus.org) et implantée sur les terrains d'intervention de Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), organisation non gouvernementale humanitaire. Le système donne accès à un réseau de spécialistes capables de répondre sous quelques heures aux demandes d'avis spécialisés des soignants en situation d'isolement géographique et / ou dans des zones à faibles ressources. Plus de 4000 cas ont été traités à travers la plateforme confirmant le besoin et l'intérêt du service par les soignants présents sur le terrain. Les évaluations scientifiques montrent que le système est fiable et performant. La majorité des utilisateurs juge le service utile et adapté aux besoins du terrain avec un effet positif sur la prise en charge des patients. L'accès à un spécialiste réduit en outre le sentiment d'isolement des praticiens en leur permettant une gestion collégiale des cas et participe à son éducation dans des domaines spécialisés. Un certains nombre de limites existent toutefois, comme les difficultés de suivi des patients ou l'absence de retour adressé à l'expert impliqué sur l'évolution du cas après son avis. L'action est née sous la double impulsion d'un constat d'une perte de chance en l'absence d'accès aux spécialistes et de l'injustice d'accès aux soins spécialisés en situation d'isolement géographique et dans des zones à faibles ressources. Bien que le droit international plaide pour le meilleur soin pour tous, il le conditionne aux ressources disponibles des populations concernées, signant par là même le constat de son impuissance à faire appliquer le droit qu'il proclame. L'action mise en œuvre grâce au soutien opérationnel de MSF (connaissance du terrain, recrutement des spécialistes volontaires...) apporte une réponse concrète et immédiate à cette injustice. L'évaluation rigoureuse du système relève d'une démarche éthique qui vise à s'assurer d'une utilisation efficiente des ressources dans un contexte où leur allocation est un enjeu éthique majeur. L'analyse a permis d'établir dans quelle mesure l'action respecte les principes éthiques de bienfaisance et de non-malfaisance et comment le principe d'autonomie se trouve renforcé par l'accès aux avis spécialisés en améliorant les « capabilités » individuelles. Enfin, l'action interroge nos pratiques de pays à haut revenus, notamment la place et l'organisation de la médecine spécialisée. Les solutions développées dans les zones à faibles revenus constituent des modèles efficaces et économes, susceptibles de faire évoluer la façon de penser la santé et le modèle de soin dans les pays à haut revenus. / The thesis is an action research; the action is based on a telemedicine platform, evaluated in terms of process and results in scientific publications and ethics issues raised in this manuscript. The tele-expertise platform was created on the model developed by the collegium telemedicus (https://collegiumtelemedicus.org) and implemented on the intervention fields of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a humanitarian non-governmental organization. The system provides access to a network of specialists able to respond within a few hours to requests for expert advice to healthcare providers in situations of geographic isolation and / or in low-resource settings. More than 4000 cases were processed through the platform, confirming the need for and interest in the service by healthcare providers working in difficult environments. The scientific assessments show that the system is reliable and efficient. The majority of users judge the service to be useful and well adapted to the needs in the field with a positive impact on patient management and outcomes. Access to specialists also reduces the sense of isolation of practitioners, allowing them collegial case management and assisting in their education in specialized areas. However, a certain number of limitations exist, such as monitoring patient follow-up or lack of feedback sent to the expert involved on the evolution of the case following the provision of expert advice. The action is born from the loss of opportunity caused by the absence of access to specialists, and the injustice represented by restricted access to specialized care in a situation of geographic isolation or in low-resource settings. International law advocates the best possible care for all, but acknowledges that it depends on the available resources of the targeted populations.Thus international law acknowledges its inability to apply the law that it proclaims. The action was implemented thanks to the operational support of MSF (field experience, volunteer specialists recruitment ...). It provides a concrete and immediate response to the injustice of restricted access to expertise from the field. Rigorous evaluation of the system comes within an ethical approach designed to ensure an efficient use of resources in a context where their allocation is a major ethical issue. The analysis helped to establish the extent to which the action respects the ethical principles of beneficence and non-maleficence, and how the principle of autonomy is reinforced by access to expert advice by improving the "capabilities" of the individual. Finally, the action questions existing high-income country practices, including the establishment and organization of specialized medicine. The solutions developed in low-resources areas are effective and efficient models, likely to change the way of thinking about health and care model in high income countries.

Bakgrund: Diabetes typ 2 är en kronisk sjukdom samt ett globalt folkhälsoproblem. Hälso-och sjukvården i många länder strävar efter att minska diabetesrelaterade komplikationer. Patientens egenvård och självhantering av diabetes typ 2 har en betydande roll i behandlingsförloppet. Digital hälsoteknik och m-hälsa är en resurs som kan möjliggöra att patienter känner sig delaktiga och självständiga i hantering av diabetes typ 2. Dessa hälsoinsatser har potential att öka patientens välbefinnande och livskvalité.   Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva erfarenheter från användning av m-hälsa och digital hälsoteknik bland patienter med diabetes typ 2.   Metod: Allmän litteraturöversikt med tematisk analys som baserades på 11 vetenskapliga originalartiklar med kvalitativ ansats. Resultat: Dataanalysen resulterade i fem teman: Förbättrad egenvård och empowerment, Ökad kunskap och patientcoaching, Integritet, säkerhet och trovärdighet, Tillgänglighet till vårdgivare, samt Utmaningar- kostnad och teknisk erfarenhet. Resultatet visade att det finns både möjligheter och utmaningar med användning av m-hälsa och digital hälsoteknik för patienter med diabetes typ 2. Dessa hälsoresurser kunde stärka patienters förmågan till egenvård som bidrog till ökad egenmakt och självständighet hos patienterna. Slutsats: Patienterna hade en positiv upplevelse av tillämpning av digital hälsoteknik och m-hälsa med avseende på egenvårdaktiviteter samt kunskap och kontroll över sjukdomstillståndet. Digitala hälsovårdstjänster på distans möjliggjorde en lätt och bekväm tillgång till sjukvårdspersonal för patienter med diabetes typ 2. Detta ökade deras tillfredsställelse och minskade behovet av fysiska besök av sjukvårdspersonal. Kostnaden för teknikutrustning samt låga nivåer av digital kompetens begränsade patienters upplevelse av de möjligheter som dessa resurser kan bidra med. En god och jämlik hälsa kan uppnås genom att öka medvetenheten kring de möjligheter som erbjuds av m-hälsa och digital hälsoteknik. / Background: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease and a global public health problem. Healthcare in many countries are working hard to reduce diabetes-related complications. Patient self-care and self-management of type 2 diabetes play a major roll during the treatment. Digital health technology and mHealth are resources that can enable patients to feel involved and independent in the management of type 2 diabetes. These health initiatives have the potential to increase the patient’s well-being and quality of life.  Aim: The aim was to describe experiences of the use of mHealth and digital health technologies among patients with type 2 diabetes.  Method: General literature review with thematic analysis based on 11 original scientific articles with a qualitative approach.  Results: The data analysis resulted in five themes: Improved self-care and empowerment, Increased knowledge and patient coaching, Integrity, safety and credibility, Accessibility to care providers, Challenges- costs and technical experience. The results showed that there are both opportunities and challenges with the use of m-health and digital health technology for patients with type 2 diabetes. These health resources could strengthen patients' ability to self-care which contributed to increased autonomy and independence in patients. Conclusions: The patients had a positive experience of applying digital heath technologies and mHealth regarding to self-care activities as well as knowledge and control over the disease state. Digital health care services in long distance enabled easy and convenient access to healthcare professionals for patient with type 2 diabetes, increased their satisfaction and reduced the need for physical visits by healthcare professionals. The cost of technology equipment and low levels of digital competence limited patients’ experience of the opportunities that might be used of these resources. Good and equal health can be achieved by increasing awareness of the opportunities offered by mHealth and digital health technologies.

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Utvecklingen av digitala kontaktvägar har ökat inom primärvården i Sverige. Detta har lett till att antalet digitala vårdbesök har stigit där fler vårdgivare erbjuder möjligheten för patienter att söka vård digitalt. Telemedicin, medicinsk vård på distans, ökade under Covid-19-pandemin och har visat sig kan hjälpa med förkortning av vårdköer och minska spridning av virus, vilket kan minska belastningen på vården. Samtidigt visar forskning att kommunikation mellan patient och vårdpersonal försvåras vid videosamtal samt att videosamtal kan försvåra diagnossättning för vårdpersonal. Denna studie syftar till att genom åtta semi-strukturerade intervjuer med svenska allmänläkare vidare utforska deras upplevelser och attityder av hur digitala vårdbesök påverkar mötet och relationsbyggandet mellan läkare och patient samt hur det påverkar allmänläkares möjligheter till diagnossättning och upprätthållande av patientsekretess. Resultatet av de transkriberade intervjuerna visar att digitala patientmöten inte kan mäta sig med fysiska när läkare ska bygga en relation med nya patienter samt att fysiska patientmöten ger läkare mest information att använda sig av vid diagnossättning. Det framgår även att läkare upplever att de kan hantera och upprätthålla patientsekretessen vid digitala vårdbesök lika bra som vid fysiska vårdbesök och att den tillgänglighet som digitala patientmöten erbjuder kan användas som komplement till traditionella, fysiska möten. / The development of digital contact routes has increased within primary healthcare in Sweden. This has led to an increase in the number of digital healthcare visits, where more healthcare providers offer the opportunity for patients to seek healthcare digitally. Telemedicine, the provision of remote clinical services, increased during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been shown to help shorten healthcare waiting time and reduce the spread of viruses, which can reduce the burden on healthcare. Simultaneously, research shows that communication between patient and healthcare staff is made more difficult during video calls and that video calls can make diagnosis difficult for healthcare staff. This study aims to, through eight semi-structured interviews with Swedish general practitioners, further explore their experiences and attitudes of how digital healthcare visits affect the meeting and relationship building between doctor and patient, as well as how it affects general practitioners' opportunities for diagnosis and maintaining patient confidentiality. The results of the transcribed interviews show that digital patient meetings cannot measure up to physical ones when doctors have to build a relationship with new patients and that physical patient meetings give doctors the most information to use when making a diagnosis. It also appears that doctors feel that they can manage and maintain patient confidentiality during digital healthcare visits as well as during physical healthcare visits and that the accessibility that digital patient meetings offer can be used as a supplement to traditional, physical meetings.

Telehealth in rural and underserved areas are increasing rapidly due to centralization and cutbacks in healthcare. Since many telehealth studies has a patient-centered focus or organizational perspectives, we find a gap in research regarding practitioners' view in the unique contexts of rural areas. The question we seek to answer is how rural care providers experience telehealth solutions and what factors influence the adoption of its use. A mixed method case study with an interpretative approach is employed, examining a sample of rural cottage hospitals and their healthcare personnel in Northern Sweden. Data is collected through interviews, observations, and an online survey. Our thematic analysis reveals crucial connections between urban and rural settings causing sociocultural barriers. Education and tailored telehealth solutions considering the uniqueness of rural areas are thus recommended. Flaws in routines and interface design also contribute to the lack of interaction, thus the importance of user-centeredness with consideration of the urban-rural-divide and digital literacy disparities is highlighted. By offering insights into the practitioners' perceived experiences and the challenges they face, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of telehealth implementation and utilization in rural areas and provides insights for improving user experience and adoption.

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No description available.

Background: The utilization of telehealth has had a substantial impact on transforming and enhancing the methods by which healthcare is presently delivered. The potential benefits of telehealth in improving the health of vulnerable populations and underserved communities are substantial. The aims of this study were to examine the association between social determinants of health and patient perceptions of their experiences with telehealth. We will analyze how perceptions differ across specialization, race, gender, and other key determinants; examine how patient’s self-rated physical health and mental health influences perceptions and attitudes about telehealth utilization; and evaluate differences in perceptions and attitudes, experience with patient interactions and overall telehealth experiences between mental health providers and non-mental health providers. Methods: A scoping review was completed to explore literature regarding telehealth administration and underserved populations following the PRIMSA-ScR guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression was then conducted to assess the relationship between self-rated mental health and self-rated physical health and the primary predictor variables telehealth usability, telehealth satisfaction, and telehealth experiences. Finally, a mixed-methods study was conducted to evaluate differences in perceptions and attitudes, experience with patient interactions and overall telehealth experiences mental health-care providers and non-mental healthcare providers. Results: The scoping literature review highlights how telehealth is used in diverse settings, but more research needs to be done to determine best practices for both healthcare providers and patients utilizing telehealth. The study focused on self-reported health found significant associations between high mean scores on telehealth usability, telehealth satisfaction, and telehealth experiences and good self-reported mental and physical health. Lastly, the study looking at provider differences highlighted that the reliability of the telemedicine platform, the ability to trust the telemedicine application, and video visits being a convenient form of healthcare delivery was greater for mental healthcare providers than non-mental healthcare providers. Implications: These findings highlight the need for studies examining telehealth satisfaction, telehealth usability and telehealth experiences amongst providers and patients in underserved areas. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of the telehealth access requirements of underserved communities and can aid in the development of evidence-based guidelines for the delivery of telehealth services.

Background: Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with a variety of motor and nonmotor symptoms. Many of these symptoms can be monitored by eHealth solutions, including smartphone apps, wearable sensors, and camera systems. The usability of such systems is a key factor in long-term use, but not much is known about the predictors of successful use and preferable methods to assess usability in patients with PD. Objective: This study tested methods to assess usability and determined prerequisites for successful use in patients with PD. - Methods: We performed comprehensive usability assessments with 18 patients with PD using a mixed methods usability battery containing the System Usability Scale, a rater-based evaluation of device-specific tasks, and qualitative interviews. Each patient performed the usability battery with 2 of 3 randomly assigned devices: a tablet app, wearable sensors, and a camera system. The usability battery was administered at the beginning and at the end of a 4-day testing period. Between usability batteries, the systems were used by the patients during 3 sessions of motor assessments (wearable sensors and camera system) and at the movement disorder ward (tablet app). - Results: In this study, the rater-based evaluation of tasks discriminated the best between the 3 eHealth solutions, whereas subjective modalities such as the System Usability Scale were not able to distinguish between the systems. Successful use was associated with different clinical characteristics for each system: eHealth literacy and cognitive function predicted successful use of the tablet app, and bettermotor function and lower age correlated with the independent use of the camera system. The successful use of the wearable sensors was independent of clinical characteristics. Unfortunately, patients who were not able to use the devices well provided few improvement suggestions in qualitative interviews. Conclusions: eHealth solutions should be developed with a specific set of patients in mind and subsequently tested in this cohort. For a complete picture, usability assessments should include a rater-based evaluation of task performance, and there is a need to develop strategies to circumvent the underrepresentation of poorly performing patients in qualitative usability research.