No abstract

Health services researchers focus on the players, structures and impact of health care in "real life". They investigate how social aspects, financing, organizational structures, technologies and personal attitudes affect the process and outcomes of health care. Qualitative research methods are used here, which address how people act according to their unique living conditions (outside the context of experimental studies). Different methods of debriefing groups are essential for qualitative health services research. In 2 subsequent articles, we aim to outline the diverse facets and possible range of implementation of the above-mentioned methods, in order to highlight the potential of debriefing groups in health services research (focus groups or group discussions) using these methods. In the current article, we would like to encourage researchers to reflect on relevant topics such as the selection of an appropriate method, the planning and undertaking of investigations including sampling methods, and questions regarding ethics and privacy. A follow-up article (in preparation) will deal with theoretical considerations of the term "group", as well as with the process of moderating discussions, methods of analyzing data and (qualitative) online research.

ZusammenfassungDer vorliegende Beitrag ist die Fortsetzung des – ebenfalls im Rahmen der Arbeitsgruppe Qualitative Methoden des Deutschen Netzwerks Versorgungsforschung (DNVF) e.V. entstandenen – ersten Artikels zu Gruppendiskussionen in der Versorgungsforschung. Beginnend mit theoretischen Überlegungen zum Gruppenbegriff wird spezifisches Wissen über Gruppen im Allgemeinen und das Verhalten einzelner Gruppenmitglieder im Besonderen zugrunde gelegt, welches sich insbesondere für die Gestaltung und Interpretation von Interaktionsprozessen im Gruppenkontext relevant zeigt. Es folgen Abschnitte mit Auseinandersetzungen zur Prozesshaftigkeit von Gruppendiskussionen, zu Moderationsstilen und -techniken sowie Reflexionen über mögliche Analysegegenstände und -verfahren. Dabei wird auch die Darstellung von Ergebnissen und Textpassagen diskutiert, in denen das Interaktionsgefüge mehrerer Diskussionsteilnehmer_innen sichtbar wird. Schließlich werden Einblicke in die Besonderheiten, Potenziale und Herausforderungen der Erhebung über Online-Plattformen gewährt. Zusammen geben beide Artikel einen Überblick über die wichtigsten Aspekte der Anwendung von Gruppendiskussionen im Bereich der Versorgungsforschung.

Background Assistive technologies for people with dementia and their relatives have the potential to ensure, improve, and facilitate home care and thereby enhance the health of the people caring or being cared for. The number and diversity of technologies and research have continuously increased over the past few decades. As a result, the research field has become complex. Objective The goal of this scoping review was to provide an overview of the research on technology-assisted home care for people with dementia and their relatives in order to guide further research and technology development. Methods A scoping review was conducted following a published framework and by searching 4 databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and CENTRAL) for studies published between 2013 and 2018. We included qualitative and quantitative studies in English or German focusing on technologies that support people with dementia or their informal carers in the home care setting. Studies that targeted exclusively people with mild cognitive impairment, delirium, or health professionals were excluded as well as studies that solely consisted of assessments without implication for the people with dementia or their relatives and prototype developments. We mapped the research field regarding study design, study aim, setting, sample size, technology type, and technology aim, and we report relative and absolute frequencies. Results From an initial 5328 records, we included 175 studies. We identified a variety of technology types including computers, telephones, smartphones, televisions, gaming consoles, monitoring devices, ambient assisted living, and robots. Assistive technologies were most commonly used by people with dementia (77/175, 44.0%), followed by relatives (68/175, 38.9%), and both target groups (30/175, 17.1%). Their most frequent goals were to enable or improve care, provide therapy, or positively influence symptoms of people with dementia (eg, disorientation). The greatest proportions of studies were case studies and case series (72/175, 41.1%) and randomized controlled trials (44/175, 25.1%). The majority of studies reported small sample sizes of between 1 and 50 participants (122/175, 69.7%). Furthermore, most of the studies analyzed the effectiveness (85/233, 36.5%) of the technology, while others targeted feasibility or usability or were explorative. Conclusions This review demonstrated the variety of technologies that support people with dementia and their relatives in the home care setting. Whereas this diversity provides the opportunity for needs-oriented technical solutions that fit individual care arrangements, it complicates the choice of the right technology. Therefore, research on the users’ informational needs is required. Moreover, there is a need for larger studies on the technologies’ effectiveness that could contribute to a higher acceptance and thus to a transition of technologies from research into the daily lives of people with dementia and their relatives.

BACKGROUND Assistive technologies for people with dementia and their relatives have the potential to ensure, improve, and facilitate home care and thereby enhance the health of the people caring or being cared for. The number and diversity of technologies and research have continuously increased over the past few decades. As a result, the research field has become complex. OBJECTIVE The goal of this scoping review was to provide an overview of the research on technology-assisted home care for people with dementia and their relatives in order to guide further research and technology development. METHODS A scoping review was conducted following a published framework and by searching 4 databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and CENTRAL) for studies published between 2013 and 2018. We included qualitative and quantitative studies in English or German focusing on technologies that support people with dementia or their informal carers in the home care setting. Studies that targeted exclusively people with mild cognitive impairment, delirium, or health professionals were excluded as well as studies that solely consisted of assessments without implication for the people with dementia or their relatives and prototype developments. We mapped the research field regarding study design, study aim, setting, sample size, technology type, and technology aim, and we report relative and absolute frequencies. RESULTS From an initial 5328 records, we included 175 studies. We identified a variety of technology types including computers, telephones, smartphones, televisions, gaming consoles, monitoring devices, ambient assisted living, and robots. Assistive technologies were most commonly used by people with dementia (77/175, 44.0%), followed by relatives (68/175, 38.9%), and both target groups (30/175, 17.1%). Their most frequent goals were to enable or improve care, provide therapy, or positively influence symptoms of people with dementia (eg, disorientation). The greatest proportions of studies were case studies and case series (72/175, 41.1%) and randomized controlled trials (44/175, 25.1%). The majority of studies reported small sample sizes of between 1 and 50 participants (122/175, 69.7%). Furthermore, most of the studies analyzed the effectiveness (85/233, 36.5%) of the technology, while others targeted feasibility or usability or were explorative. CONCLUSIONS This review demonstrated the variety of technologies that support people with dementia and their relatives in the home care setting. Whereas this diversity provides the opportunity for needs-oriented technical solutions that fit individual care arrangements, it complicates the choice of the right technology. Therefore, research on the users’ informational needs is required. Moreover, there is a need for larger studies on the technologies’ effectiveness that could contribute to a higher acceptance and thus to a transition of technologies from research into the daily lives of people with dementia and their relatives.