The use oftelehealth in individual's homes is increasing in the United States in an effort to cut cost by limiting admissions to hospitals and/or reduce length of stay. This increase has not been driven by conclusive research findings in support of this technology; furthermore, the majority of research conducted has been in the area of chronic disease management. It is important to expand the knowledge base related to transitioning from an acute illness in the home with telehealth from the individual's perspective.
Due to the lack of empirical data available, phenomenology was used to explore the individual's perceptions in the use of this new health care delivery model. In exploring this new phenomenon, eidetic phenomenology was used to capture the essential structure of the lived experience as told by individuals who had been enrolled in a pilot quantitative telehealth study over the past two years.
The purpose of this study was to describe the "lived experience" of individuals with acute infections transitioning in the home with support by an advance practice nurse (APN) using telehealth in an effort to avoid a hospitalization or to promote an earlier discharge. Purposeful sampling was used to enroll the sample often participants.
Major findings of this study consisted of three Theme Categories: Initial Response, Engaging in Care, and Experiencing the Downside. The essential structure as it relates to the health/illness transition that occurs when an individual with an acute infection is discharged from the hospital to the home supported by telehealth technology revealed an overall positive experience from the ten participants. There was one negative experience in a participant who had two separate telehealth enrollments. This knowledge adds valuable information to future health care providers from the individual's perspective as it relates to understanding the transitional process that occurs with an acute illness from the hospital to the home with support by an APN using telehealth.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UHAWAII/oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/22060 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Marineau, Michelle |
| Contributors | Magnussen, L. |
| Publisher | University of Hawaii at Manoa |
| Source Sets | University of Hawaii at Manoa Libraries |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 122 pages |
| Rights | All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner. |
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