Defining Technology Dependence in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this review was to identify current terms and definitions used to identify and describe children and adolescents who require technology. A total of 400 articles published from January 2000 through May 2012 were reviewed; 26 articles met the inclusion criteria. The review included only primary research studies that focused on a child and adolescent sample (birth to 18 years old) who required technology. Current terms and definitions used to describe children and adolescents who require technology include technology and complex care. Technology is a constant in both terminology and definitions, and it differentiates this population from the general population of children with chronic illness and special health care needs. This review highlights the need for better, more detailed descriptions of the population of children and adolescents who require technology in their daily lives.

Children’s complex care needs: a systematic concept analysis of multidisciplinary language

“…Some of the literature focused on complex needs associated with specific illnesses or conditions, including heart failure [86] [130]. In much of the literature reviewed, CCNs were presented as crossing traditional diagnostic boundaries, which prompted the call for the need for clearer definitions of CCNs and the need for more accurate prevalence data [121] to avoid the risk of oversimplification of children's needs [2]. Moreover, such systems posed further difficulties for the unknown population of children lacking a unifying diagnosis, whose uncertain medical status already represented a barrier to service access that emerged as a growing cross-discipline concern [5,11,45,67,92,130,133,138].…”

“…Within the last 30 years, coinciding with changing sociocultural attitudes towards social inclusion [1,7,21,44,48,53,71,114,126], western medical, technological, and pharmaceutical advances have clearly increased the survival and lifespan of children living with once-fatal conditions [33,114]. Nonetheless, it was apparent from the medical [1,2,10,40,45,48,51,54,56,66,73,79,89,103,115] and nursing literature [3,4,21,43,68,69,80,93,121,143] that those advances had also led to a growing pediatric population living with secondary conditions and/or disabilities with CCNs. Further, there was strong cross-disciplinary consensus that social and community service developments had not kept pace with medical progress [19,54,60,69,96,99,107,131,137,143].…”

Recognition and Management of Medical Complexity

“…25 "Technology dependence" usually means that the child requires technology to compensate for the loss of a vital body function. 26 Examples of technologies include supplemental oxygen, ventilators, dialysis machines, and gastrostomy tubes. A child might also be "technology assisted" if he or she uses augmentative communication or assistive devices (eg, a wheelchair for mobility) that compensate for lost functions that are not essential for survival.…”

Technology-dependent Children and Home Care

“…2 Bunun yanı sıra 2009-2010 yıllarında Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nde (ABD) Özel Sağlık Bakım İhtiyacı Olan Çocukların Ulusal Anketi'ne (National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Need) göre Amerika'da 11,2 milyon çocuğun sağlık bakım ihtiyacı olduğu ve bu sayının giderek artacağı öngörülmektedir. 2,3 Ana çocuk sağlığı büroları, genel olarak çocukların fiziksel, gelişimsel, davranışsal, duygusal alandaki sağlık ihtiyaçlarını ve Today, with the rapid development in the field of healthcare technology which is reflected in medicine and patient care, the number of children who are dependent on technological tools and in need of special care, and sustain life in the home environment is rapidly increasing. These children require a multidisciplinary, multifunctional care at home.…”