Many caregivers who use health IT tools to help care for family members or friends believe emerging technologies such as mobile health devices and personal health records will significantly benefit them and their care recipients, according to a recent study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and UnitedHealthcare, InformationWeek reports.
The study was based on a November online survey of 1,000 caregivers who provide at least five hours per week of unpaid care to an adult relative or friend. All of the caregivers in the survey use the Internet or some other technology to help provide care.
Expected Benefits
In response to questions about the expected benefits of using health IT tools, the researchers found that:
Top Three Tools
The survey also identified three health IT tools that appeared to have the greatest potential to improve care because they appealed to a large number of caregivers and had minimal barriers to adoption. The top three tools identified were:
Perceived Barriers
Although many caregivers saw promise in health-related technologies that were not in the top three tools, more than half said certain barriers would prevent them from using the tools.
The most commonly reported obstacle was price, with 37% of respondents saying that they believed the tools would be expensive.
Some respondents also reported a concern that the care recipient might not be receptive to trying new technologies.
Addressing the Concerns
The study identified three strategies that could encourage caregivers to try new health care technologies. The survey found that:
Source: iHealthBeat
Comments are closed.
Copyright 2015 - Pulse Practice Solutions | 615.425.2719