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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Televisits
— sustaining long distance family relationships among institutionalized elders through technology | | Author(s) | M A Mickus, C C Luz |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 6, no 4, November 2002 |
| Pages | pp 387-396 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Telephone ; Information technology ; Family relationships ; Geographical distance ; Social surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The role of social support to the health of older people is well documented, and is particularly important for isolated nursing home residents. This US study tests the feasibility of using low-cost videophones to enhance communication between nursing home residents and their families. 10 pairs of residents and family members received videophones and engaged in regular televisits for 6 months. All participants completed brief surveys before and after the study, regarding the frequency and quality of contacts. A post-study survey also assessed ease and satisfaction with using videophones. Findings include identification of technical and design problems, possible solutions, factors affecting actual use of equipment, and conditions under which benefits of use may be optimal. Categories for estimating potential actual users are suggested. The study demonstrates that videophones can be used successfully by a wide range of frail nursing home residents and can enhance social interactions, regardless of distance. Affordable videophone technology offers the potential for reduced isolation among institutional elders and others with distance and mobility barriers. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-021216235 A |
| Classmark | UJ: UVB: DS:SJ: RJ: 3F: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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