Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/25
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Item Asynchronous video messaging promotes family involvement and mitigates separation in neonatal care(BMJ, 2020-09-14) Kirolos, Sandy; Sutcliffe, Lynsey; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Abernethy, Carolyn; Shanmugalingam, Shanthi; Bauwens, Nicole; Orme, Judith; Thomson, Kirsty; Grattan, Rosemary; Patel, NeilObjective: To evaluate the parent and staff experience of a secure video messaging service as a component of neonatal care. Design: Multicentre evaluation incorporating quantitative and qualitative items. Setting: Level II and level III UK neonatal units. Population: Families of neonatal inpatients and neonatal staff. Intervention: Use of a secure, cloud-based asynchronous video messaging service to send short messages from neonatal staff to families. Evaluation undertaken July–November 2019. Main outcome measures: Parental experience, including anxiety, involvement in care, relationships between parents and staff, and breastmilk expression. Results: In pre-implementation surveys (n=41), families reported high levels of stress and anxiety and were receptive to use of the service. In post-implementation surveys (n=42), 88% perceived a benefit of the service on their neonatal experience. Families rated a positive impact of the service on anxiety, sleep, family involvement and relationships with staff. Qualitative responses indicated enhanced emotional closeness, increased involvement in care and a positive effect on breastmilk expression. Seventy-seven post-implementation staff surveys were also collected. Staff rated the service as easy to use, with minimal impact on workload. Seventy-one percent (n=55) felt the service had a positive impact on relationships with families. Staff identified the need to manage parental expectations in relation to the number of videos that could be sent. Conclusions: Asynchronous video messaging improves parental experience, emotional closeness to their baby and builds supportive relationships between families and staff. Asynchronous video supports models of family integrated care and can mitigate family separation, which could be particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.Item Older adults experiences of learning to use tablet computers: A mixed methods study(Frontiers, 2018-09-03) Vaportzis, Eleftheria; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Gow, Alan J.; Van Der Veer, Gerrit C.Background: We wanted to understand older adults’ experiences of learning how to use a tablet computer in the context of an intervention trial, including what they found helpful or unhelpful about the tablet training, to guide future intervention studies.Item Occupational therapy and complexity: defining and describing practice(Royal College of Occupational Therapists, 2018) Pentland, Duncan; Kantartzis, Sarah; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Witemyre, KristiIn 2016, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (then the College of Occupational Therapists), the professional body for occupational therapists in the United Kingdom, commissioned a review of the document Occupational therapy defined as a complex intervention developed on their behalf by Jennifer Creek and published in 2003. This document had proved useful in describing occupational therapy within education, practice and research, but with considerable changes occurring in these areas as well as in the wider context over the intervening years, a review was considered necessary. Following a call for proposals, a research team from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, was appointed to carry out this review. While initially a revision to Creek’s 2003 publication was the aim of this work, a new, contemporary view of occupational therapy emerged. This new publication describes the process and outcomes of occupational therapy, and it is hoped that it will provide useful guidance for all working within and in partnership with occupational therapy, both today and for some years to come.Item Occupational therapists' perceptions of preterm children's academic difficulties in the early years of mainstream schooling(2012) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, JanItem What are the current challenges of managing cancer pain and could digital technologies help?(BMJ Publishing Group Limited, 2017-05-29) Adam, Rosalind; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; de Bruin, Marijn; Burton, Christopher David; Bond, Christine M.; Murchie, PeterABSTRACT Objectives Pain remains a problem for people with cancer despite effective treatments being available. We aimed to explore current pain management strategies used by patients,caregivers and professionals and to investigate opportunities for digital technologies to enhance cancer pain management. Methods A qualitative study comprising semistructured interviews and focus groups. Patients with cancer pain, their caregivers and health professionals from Northeast Scotland were recruited from a purposive sample of general practices. Professionals were recruited from regional networks. Results Fifty one participants took part in 33 interviews (eight patients alone, six patient/ caregiver dyads and 19 professionals) and two focus groups (12 professionals). Living with cancer was hard work for patients and caregivers and comparable to a 'full-time job'. Patients had personal goals which involved controlling pain intensity and balancing this with analgesic use, side effects, overall symptom burden and social/physical activities. Digital technologies were embraced by most patients, and made living life with advanced cancer easier and richer (eg, video calls with family). Technology was underutilised for pain and symptom management. There were suggestions that technology could support self-monitoring and communicating problems to professionals, but patients and professionals were concerned about technological monitoring adding to the work of managing illness. Conclusions Cancer pain management takes place in the context of multiple, sometimes competing personal goals. It is possible that technology could be used to help patients share individual symptom experiences and goals, thus enhancing tailored care. The challenge is for digital solutions to add value without adding undue burden.Item Older Adults Perceptions of Technology and Barriers to Interacting with Tablet Computers: A Focus Group Study(Frontiers, 2017-10-04) Vaportzis, Eleftheria; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Gow, Alan J.Background: New technologies provide opportunities for the delivery of broad, flexible interventions with older adults. Focus groups were conducted to: (1) understand older adults' familiarity with, and barriers to, interacting with new technologies and tablets; and (2) utilize user-engagement in refining an intervention protocol. Methods: Eighteen older adults (65-76 years old; 83.3% female) who were novice tablet users participated in discussions about their perceptions of and barriers to interacting with tablets. We conducted three separate focus groups and used a generic qualitative design applying thematic analysis to analyse the data. The focus groups explored attitudes toward tablets and technology in general. We also explored the perceived advantages and disadvantages of using tablets, familiarity with, and barriers to interacting with tablets. In two of the focus groups, participants had previous computing experience (e.g., desktop), while in the other, participants had no previous computing experience. None of the participants had any previous experience with tablet computers. Results: The themes that emerged were related to barriers (i.e., lack of instructions and guidance, lack of knowledge and confidence, health-related barriers, cost); disadvantages and concerns (i.e., too much and too complex technology, feelings of inadequacy, and comparison with younger generations, lack of social interaction and communication, negative features of tablets); advantages (i.e., positive features of tablets, accessing information, willingness to adopt technology); and skepticism about using tablets and technology in general. After brief exposure to tablets, participants emphasized the likelihood of using a tablet in the future. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that most of our participants were eager to adopt new technology and willing to learn using a tablet. However, they voiced apprehension about lack of, or lack of clarity in, instructions and support. Understanding older adults' perceptions of technology is important to assist with introducing it to this population and maximize the potential of technology to facilitate independent living.Item Methodological reflections on the use of asynchronous online focus groups in health research(2012) Williams, Sarah; Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Robertson, Ann; Peacock, Susi; McPherson, KerriThe internet is increasingly used as a tool in qualitative research. In particular, asynchronous online focus groups are used when factors such as cost, time or access to participants can make conducting face-to-face research difficult. In this article we consider key methodological issues involved in using asynchronous online focus groups to explore experiences of health and illness. The written nature of internet communication, the lack of physical presence and the asynchronous, longitudinal aspects enable participants who might not normally contribute to research studies to reflect on their personal stories before disclosing them to the researcher. Implications for study design, recruitment strategies and ethics should be considered when deciding whether to use this method.Item Emerging tools in qualitative research methods : asynchronous online discussion and the use of WebCT(2006) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, JanThe use of the Internet as a medium for conducting research is not a new concept and certainly one that is constantly evolving. The online environment represents numerous opportunities for methodological innovations. Online discussions are a permutation- of the traditional focus groups, which have been closely associated to qualitative research and the production of rich, textual data relating to the participants' lives and experiences.Item Occupational therapists' perceptions on the academic difficulties preterm children present with in their first years of mainstream schooling(2007) Giatsi Clausen, Maria; Nicol, Maggie; Gill, Jan