Consumer Health Informatics Assignment
Consumer Health Informatics Assignment
Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) came about decades ago as the shift of healthcare expanded heavily into the community, requiring more patients to become involved in self-management of chronic illnesses or preventative measures. As CHI develops, access and usability does evolve, now available through multiple CHI applications. Some examples of CHI applications include online educational formats, games, telehealth and telemedicine, patient’s personal health records (PHR) or portals, various social media outlets, and mhealth” (Hebda & Hunter, 2019, p 729). CHI is an information technology that is dependent on management and access via the internet through wireless systems and networks. Barriers in individual abilities and access to CHI applications impedes the healthcare consumer in their effort to participate in their self-care management.
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Hebda and Hunter (2019) share that many barriers are common to consumers, as discussed in box 18-2 which includes “concerns about privacy and security, lack of perceived benefit, usability, and Access issues, (no internet-capable device or internet service, physical or cognitive disabilities, literacy issues (basic literacy, computer literacy, health literacy))” (p 735). I’ll further discuss those multiple barriers that negatively impact access to care or ability to self-manage care. A consumer may not have access to the internet, or their internet may have poor connection or only have access on less user-friendly devices. Economic status of the consumer leads to different internet speeds, devices, and lack of 24/7 access. Consumer Health Informatics Assignment
CHI applications may not take into consideration the physical or mental disabilities of a consumer, not having appropriate handicap accessible applications. The CHI applications are not always user-friendly, decreasing usability. If the application is not understandable and easy to navigate, the consumer will not have success in using the applications. Literacy from the consumer can affect their ability to understand the application’s language, topic related or interface related. This could involve basic understanding of reading, or possibly language used in health terms, or computer literacy with the understanding of how to use the computer or device available to the consumer. A consumer who does not see value or positive results from using a CHI application will question its benefit, delaying or preventing its use and self-care management. The benefits may be hidden behind one of the aforementioned barriers of CHI application use. Additionally, a cautious consumer will also be concerned about their privacy, protective of their personal information. If there is a concern about safety, information sharing or exposure outside of a private and professional environment, the consumer will refrain from participation rather than take a unknown risk. In my personal practice, one of the examples that comes to mind right away is through a CHI application of telehealth. As a home health nurse, we would connect patients to telehealth in order to monitor their vital signs and some other clinical data (i.e. pain, blood sugar levels, etc.). In a population that was mostly elder who do not use internet-based technology on a regular basis, we ran into computer literacy barriers with understanding how to use telehealth technology correctly. Consumer Health Informatics Assignment
Once the patients felt confident they could understand these devices in their home, there was also occasional system issues that prevented the sharing of data to the home health agency that would require a phone call or visit to fix the situation. This caused the patients to state the technology was “a hassle” in some cases. Most patients saw the value of telehealth monitoring and reducing re-hospitalizations or emergency room visits, and were eager to participate in learning and using the devices. However, there were a few patients who refused “that technology” right from the beginning or after any technological issues, creating barriers of use, despite education on the how and why of telehealth. Another barrier I saw was the access to internet, as not every patient had internet services in their home due to economic status or geographical location (i.e. deep in the mountains). References: Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (6th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice-Hall/Pearson
