Nursing home residents who used videoconferencing to keep in touch with family members felt it enriched their lives, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing .
Thirty-four residents from ten nursing homes took part in the study. The 18 women and 16 men had an average age of 75.
All of them said the experience enriched their lives, just under two-thirds said it was the second-best option to family visiting and a third said it gave them a true picture of family life.
"A trained research assistant helped the residents speak to their spouse, child or grandchild using SKYPE or MSN" explains co-author Professor Yun-Fang Tsai, Chair of the School of Nursing at Chang Gung University in Taiwan. "At the end of the three-month study period, all the participants took part in in-depth interviews."
The average videoconferencing session lasted just under 12 minutes. Twelve per cent took place daily, 47 per cent weekly, 23 per cent monthly and 18 per cent occasionally.
The residents were very positive about the experience. They said it gave them a chance to be part of family life, see relatives who had moved abroad and allay anxieties if relatives were unable to visit. Comments included:
Some of the residents felt slightly anxious or self-conscious about using the equipment as they were unfamiliar with computers and found it strange to see their family on a screen rather than in person. Comments included:
"We were very pleased with the positive reactions this initiative received" says Professor Tsai. "In fact, the researchers often arrived to find the residents had been waiting for them for half an hour, keen to ensure they didn't miss their slot!
"It proved a simple way to enrich the lives of people in nursing homes and enable them to be part of family life. We would also be keen to see this expanded so that families could also become part of their relative's nursing home life.
"Residents needed some time to get used to the programme, and had to have help to use the equipment, but the benefits were considerable and could easily be replicated in a wide range of residential care settings."
Notes to editors
Older nursing home residents' experiences with videoconferencing to communicate with family members. Hsiu-Hsin Tsai and Yun-Fang Tsai. Journal of Clinical Nursing . 19, pp1538-1543. (June 2010). DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03198.x
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Journal of Clinical Nursing