Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey

Objective: A large number of different types of digital innovations for health and medical care have been developed in Sweden under the concept of eHealth. Employees’ interest is of great importance in determining the success of different new digital interventions and technologies. Purpose: In this...

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Main Authors: Anders Johansson, Bodil Ivarsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2019-11-01
Series:Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2150132719886952
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spelling doaj-259fdf6cd31840ff98041f6ebf6dd43c2020-11-25T03:04:42ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Primary Care & Community Health2150-13272019-11-011010.1177/2150132719886952Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire SurveyAnders Johansson0Bodil Ivarsson1Lund University, Lund, SwedenLund University, Lund, SwedenObjective: A large number of different types of digital innovations for health and medical care have been developed in Sweden under the concept of eHealth. Employees’ interest is of great importance in determining the success of different new digital interventions and technologies. Purpose: In this study, we aimed to elucidate the nurses’ experiences as a first “gatekeeper” in an Internet-based Digital Doctor Reception (DDR) concept. Methods: Our 16 informants were recruited among nurses who participated in a DDR pilot project that was completed in April 2019. A mixed questionnaire survey was used to elucidate the nurses’ experiences of collaboration & challenges, technical functionality, and DDR as an activity. The results were descriptively summarized with index values (IVs, 0-1.0), supplemented with a 10-point Likert-type scale that estimated satisfaction and views regarding personal experiences. Results: Collaboration and challenges were experienced as fairly good (IV, 0.58), and technical functionality was experienced as good (IV, 0.80). The experience of DDR as an activity was described positively with an IV of 0.75. The overall experience of the concept (IV, 0.68), corresponds well to the median satisfaction value of 6.5 (interquartile range, 6-9). Content analysis identified 2 main categories: “Facilitators in using DDR experienced by nurses” and “Barriers in using DDR experienced by nurses.” Nurses generally felt positive about participating in the development of an eHealth service. However, they suggested that DDR triaging should take place at the health care center level. The nurses also observed that certain patient groups were excluded from the DDR concept, and sometimes experienced this new way of triaging as less challenging. Conclusion: The informants in our study generally described satisfaction and an overall good experience with the DDR concept. However, some informants felt that the concept was sometimes more stressful and less challenging compared with normal working methods.https://doi.org/10.1177/2150132719886952
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Anders Johansson
Bodil Ivarsson
spellingShingle Anders Johansson
Bodil Ivarsson
Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
author_facet Anders Johansson
Bodil Ivarsson
author_sort Anders Johansson
title Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey
title_short Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey
title_full Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey
title_fullStr Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey
title_full_unstemmed Nurse Telephone Counseling Services as a “Gatekeeper” in an Internet-Based Digital Doctor Reception: A Mixed Questionnaire Survey
title_sort nurse telephone counseling services as a “gatekeeper” in an internet-based digital doctor reception: a mixed questionnaire survey
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
issn 2150-1327
publishDate 2019-11-01
description Objective: A large number of different types of digital innovations for health and medical care have been developed in Sweden under the concept of eHealth. Employees’ interest is of great importance in determining the success of different new digital interventions and technologies. Purpose: In this study, we aimed to elucidate the nurses’ experiences as a first “gatekeeper” in an Internet-based Digital Doctor Reception (DDR) concept. Methods: Our 16 informants were recruited among nurses who participated in a DDR pilot project that was completed in April 2019. A mixed questionnaire survey was used to elucidate the nurses’ experiences of collaboration & challenges, technical functionality, and DDR as an activity. The results were descriptively summarized with index values (IVs, 0-1.0), supplemented with a 10-point Likert-type scale that estimated satisfaction and views regarding personal experiences. Results: Collaboration and challenges were experienced as fairly good (IV, 0.58), and technical functionality was experienced as good (IV, 0.80). The experience of DDR as an activity was described positively with an IV of 0.75. The overall experience of the concept (IV, 0.68), corresponds well to the median satisfaction value of 6.5 (interquartile range, 6-9). Content analysis identified 2 main categories: “Facilitators in using DDR experienced by nurses” and “Barriers in using DDR experienced by nurses.” Nurses generally felt positive about participating in the development of an eHealth service. However, they suggested that DDR triaging should take place at the health care center level. The nurses also observed that certain patient groups were excluded from the DDR concept, and sometimes experienced this new way of triaging as less challenging. Conclusion: The informants in our study generally described satisfaction and an overall good experience with the DDR concept. However, some informants felt that the concept was sometimes more stressful and less challenging compared with normal working methods.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2150132719886952
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