Safer@home—Simulation and training: the study protocol of a qualitative action research design

Abstract

IntroductionWhile it is predicted that telecare and other information and communication technology (ICT)-assisted services will have an increasingly important role in future healthcare services, their implementation in practice is complex. For implementation of telecare to be successful and ensure quality of care, sufficient training for staff (healthcare professionals) and service users (patients) is fundamental. Telecare training has been found to have positive effects on attitudes to, sustained use of, and outcomes associated with telecare. However, the potential contribution of training in the adoption, quality and safety of telecare services is an under-investigated research field. The overall aim of this study is to develop and evaluate simulation-based telecare training programmes to aid the use of videophone technology in elderly home care. Research-based training programmes will be designed for healthcare professionals, service users and next of kin, and the study will explore the impact of training on adoption, quality and safety of new telecare services.Methods and analysisThe study has a qualitative action research design. The research will be undertaken in close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team consisting of researchers and managers and clinical representatives from healthcare services in two Norwegian municipalities, alongside experts in clinical education and simulation, as well as service user (patient) representatives. The qualitative methods used involve focus group interviews, semistructured interviews, observation and document analysis. To ensure trustworthiness in the data analysis, we will apply member checks and analyst triangulation; in addition to providing contextual and sample description to allow for evaluation of transferability of our results to other contexts and groups.Ethics and disseminationThe study is approved by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services. The study is based on voluntary participation and informed written consent. Informants can withdraw at any point in time. The results will be disseminated at research conferences, peer review journals, one PhD thesis and through public presentations to people outside the scientific community.

Patient safety risks associated with telecare: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature

“…The terminology related to the use of ICTs in health and social care is inconsistent [ 47 , 48 ], so a number of terms related to ‘telecare’ were used in the search, including ‘telemedicine’ and ‘telehealth’. Of specific interest to our review were studies on the use of videophone or video conferencing equipment [ 46 ] and these and associated terms were also used in the search.…”

“…A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify patient safety risks associated with the use of telecare services in the homecare setting and to investigate whether and how these patient safety risks have been addressed in training. This review is part of a research project aimed at developing and evaluating telecare training programs for healthcare professionals and elderly service users in the home healthcare setting [ 46 ]. Its purpose is to inform the development of these training programs.…”

Improving nurses’ organizational commitment by participating in their performance appraisal process

“…Given change is often resisted, it is necessary to use a method that has the least resistance and impact. Among these, one of the most effective and practical research methods that can meet the goal is participatory action research (Wiig et al, 2014).…”

Preparing for Organizational Change in Home Health Care With Simulation-Based Training

“…The design and development of the training program described here were part of an action research study called Safer@HomedSimulation and training (Wiig et al, 2014). This study was concerned with the development, testing, and evaluation of a work-based training initiative for qualified health care professionals including registered nurses and auxiliary nurses to prepare them for partaking in virtual home health care visits.…”