Reading room: Telecare

Recent additions to The King's Fund catalogue

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• SPAs (smart phone applications) - a new form of assistive technology.

  Doughty, Kevin. - By Doughty, Kevin. 2011 PURPOSE: This paper seeks to describe how the special built-in features of modern smart phones can be used to open up the potential of these devices for use as assistive technologies in supporting the independence and quality of life of vulnerable people. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper describes, through a number of relevant examples, how low-cost, downloadable applications enable the camera, the microphone, the accelerometer, the GPS receiver and the touch-screen, to be used for specific assistive purposes. FINDINGS: Smart phones and their applications are capable of providing useful support to a range of vulnerable groups including people with sensory disabilities, diabetics and people suffering from mental health problems, epilepsy or communication issues. It is likely that mobile care services using smart phones will be offered in tandem with home telecare services to extend the independence of the service user from the home to the outside environment. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The paper demonstrates how smart phone applications are capable of transforming a high-performance mobile phone into a number of different assistive devices that can improve the lives of millions of people with and without disability. [Abstract]

• The need for an integrated response to designing and adopting new technologies : proceedings of the International Congress on Telehealth and Telecare, 1–3 March 2011. [Editorial]

  Goodwin, Nick. - By Goodwin, Nick. 2011 In this brief editorial the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Integrated Care gives a brief summary of the International Congress on Telehealth and Telecare (held at The King’s Fund between 1–3 March 2011) and an introduction to the conference abstracts, published by the International Journal of Integrated Care. [KJ]

• A systematic review of digital interactive television systems and their applications in the health and soacial care fields.

  Blackburn, Steven. - By Blackburn, Steven. 2011 We conducted a systematic review of the applications and technical features of digital interactive television (DITV) in the health and social care fields. The Web of Knowledge and IEEE Xplore databases were searched for articles published between January 2000 and March 2010 which related to DITV systems facilitating the communication of information to/from an individual’s home with either a health or social care application. Out of 1679 articles retrieved, 42 met the inclusion criteria and were selected for review. An additional 20 articles were obtained from online grey literature sources. Twenty-five DITV systems operating in health and social care were identified, including seven commercial systems. The most common applications were related to health care, such as vital signs monitoring (68 per cent of systems) and health information or advice (56 per cent of systems). The most common technical features of DITV systems were two-way communication (88 per cent), medical peripherals (68 per cent), on-screen messaging (48 per cent) and video communication (36 per cent). Digital interactive television has the potential to deliver health and social care to people in their own homes. However, the requirement for a high-bandwidth communications infrastructure, the usability of the systems, their level of personalisation and the lack of evidence regarding clinical and cost-effectiveness will all need to be addressed if this approach is to flourish. [Abstract]