In order to answer concerns about the willingness of older residents to use videoconferencing, researchers in Taiwan demonstrated how it can serve as a conduit for more family involvement. Through in-depth interviewing, the researchers described older nursing home residents’ experiences with a three month-long pilot program that connected family and residents through videoconferencing technologies.
Social support is an important factor in the health and wellness of older adults. For nursing home residents, a crucial element in this equation is the support of friends and family. Family involvement has been shown to beneficial to the quality of life of residents, family, and staff. The problem with family visitation is that high rates of older nursing home residents rarely have visitors, and for most residents the number of visits decreases drastically after the first six months of living in the nursing home.
The telephone has traditionally allowed a minimal level of involvement for family members who live far away from the nursing home resident and for local family members to coordinate visits and check-in on their loved ones. New communication technologies have made family involvement in the lives of nursing home residents possible in ways that were not before. Internet technologies have made more personalized long-distance involvement through video-conferencing.
The researchers’ interviews revealed that videoconferencing represented a small life adjustment, but that it was the second-best option to face-to-face visits. Additionally, it offered a view of family life outside of the nursing home that they do not get to experience. Each participant felt the videoconferencing had enriched their life by adding a sense of excitement and interest to a day that may have otherwise been lonely. One resident reported that, “although it took me a little time to interact with my family, I feel fabulous every time after talking with my son…he also shared some photos with me, the pets in the house, and so on…a lot of things that he might not do in the nursing home.”
Nursing home operators should look for ways to enhance family involvement as they start investing in new technologies. Videoconferencing systems are an interesting way to enhance family involvement.
Source: Tsai, H., Tsai, Y. 2010. Older nursing home residents’ experiences with videoconferencing to communicate with family members. Journal of Clinical Nursing 19: 1538-1543.
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