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Biomedical subjects

Aaron E Carroll

Publications and source records attributed to Aaron E Carroll.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

The implementation of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) based patient record and charting system: lessons learned.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) offer many potential advantages to clinicians. A number of systems have begun to appear for all types of PDAs that allow for the recording and tracking of patient information. PDAs allow information to be both entered and accessed at the point of care. They also allow information entered away from a central repository to be added or "synced" with data through the use of a wireless or wired connection. Few systems, however, have been designed to work in the client/server environment. Even fewer have been designed as point of care additions to already existing enterprise systems. This paper describes the issues encountered in deploying such a system for use in the University of Washington Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The lessons learned could be applied to other institutions that will seek to add handheld technology to information systems in the future.

Computers, Handheld↗
PubMedDate not supplied

What adolescents with type I diabetes and their parents want from testing technology: a qualitative study.

The presence of diabetes in an adolescent can significantly affect his/her normal development. Mobile technology may offer the ability to lessen this negative impact. We wished to learn from adolescents with diabetes and their parents how monitoring systems that incorporated mobile communication technology could potentially help to reduce hassles associated with testing, improve compliance, and ease adolescent-parent conflict about testing behavior. We recruited adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years, living with type 1 diabetes mellitus and their parents for focus groups. Qualitative analysis of the focus group data followed a set procedure. From the discussions, the following themes were identified: issues with blood glucose monitoring and desired technology. Elements of desired technology included hardware requirements, software requirements, communication, and miscellaneous requirements. The reported needs of this end-user group can help others to leverage maximally the capabilities of new and existing technology to care for children managing chronic disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The role of significant others in adolescent diabetes: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of how diabetes influences adolescents' perceptions of quality of life in general and their relationships with parents, peers, school, and their physician. METHODS: The authors recruited adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years living with type 1 diabetes mellitus from a midwestern metropolitan area. Qualitative analysis of the focus group data followed a set procedure: (1) audio review of the tapes, (2) reading through the transcriptions, (3) discussions among investigators, (4) determination of conceptual themes, and (5) assignment of relevant responses to appropriate thematic constructs. RESULTS: The 5 focus groups involved 31 adolescents. From the discussions that occurred within the 5 focus groups, the following themes were identified: personal perceptions of living with diabetes (which included living with diabetes, testing and injections, and blood sugar fluctuations), impact on relationships (which included relationships with their parents, their friends/peers, and their physician), and impact on school. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes in adolescence is fraught with equal and opposite demands. One consequence of this internal push/pull is that adolescents become more afraid to do appropriate developmental activities. This can have a significant impact on their normal progression to independence and adulthood, ironically at odds with the increased responsibility they have had to assume throughout their lives to care for their disease. Much of the clinical time and research still focuses on the devices of diabetes care: testing and treatment. While these are important tools in improving the outcomes of people with diabetes, they will have little impact on the adolescent until the developmental consequences of diabetes on their lives are simultaneously addressed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Perceptions about computers and the internet in a pediatric clinic population.

BACKGROUND: A digital divide with respect to computer and Internet access has been noted in numerous studies and reports. Equally important to ownership is comfort with computers and Internet technology, and concerns about privacy of personal data. OBJECTIVE: To measure how households in a pediatric clinic vary in their attitudes toward computers, concerns about Internet confidentiality, and comfort using the Internet and whether these views are associated with household income or education. DESIGN/METHODS: A phone survey was administered to a population-based sample of parents with children aged 0 to 11 years. All children received medical care from a community-based clinic network serving patients in King County, Wash. RESULTS: Eighty-eight percent of respondents used a computer once a week or more, and 83% of respondents reported favorable feelings toward computers. Although 97% of respondents were willing to share personal information over the Internet, many respondents considered data security important. While household income and parental education were associated with comfort and familiarity with computers, the effect is small. Respondents who already owned a computer and had Internet access did not differ in their perceptions according to socioeconomic or educational attainment. CONCLUSIONS: Most families like using computers and feel comfortable using the Internet regardless of socioeconomic status. Fears about the digital divide's impact on the attitudes of parents toward computers or their comfort using the Internet should not be seen as a barrier to developing Internet-based health interventions for a pediatric clinic population.

Adult↗