Counseling Psychology research that supports the use of technology in Long-Term Care

[Connolly]

Hi!

 

 

I am looking for some help putting together a dissertation topic that fits somewhere among this literature/topics and for the field of Counseling Psychology.

 

Here is some literature from various sources as context and then below I’ll ask some questions:

From a Long-Term care model of care that embraces “culture change,” the intent among many culture change facilities is to implement technology but it doesn’t always work out well: The Green House was to embrace ‘‘smart house’’ technology and use a wide range of prosthetic, communication, and educational devices, including interactive television to bring remote family into video contact with elders (Rabig et al. 2006). The use of assistive technology is thus far limited to the lifts, partly because of costs and partly because it is felt that experience in the houses was needed in order to determine what technology was necessary (Rabig et al. 2006).

 

Here are some topics from some symposiums and posters/papers at the last Aging Issues

APA Annual Convention:

 

Symposium: Technology Interventions for Aging, African American, and Hispanic/Latino Clinical Populations

Symposium: Geropsychology, Technology, and Tomorrow

Software Interface: Angela

Discussion: Social Media and Internet Mediated Technology in Long-Term Care

Symposium: Counseling Psychology and Long-Term Care---A Need for Integration

 

Basically I would like to do a dissertation that encourages use of social networking or webcams for elderly to keep in touch with family/friends in long-term care; the focus can be on the family, the patients, the CNA’s, or all three. For example, one idea would be to see whether a basic training on how to use common social networking (definitions and basics inspired by a document like this Staying Connected Technology Options for Older Adults http://www.eldercare.gov/ELDERCARE.NET/Public/Resources/Brochures/docs/N4A_Tech_Brochure_P06_high.pdf) would be more successful than the use of a particular bundled option designed specifically for an elderly population in LTC to be used by family and elderly and supported by staff. A possible software would be:

http://independa.com/products/angela/

Our software interface is delivered to the care recipient through a friendly, simple user interface called Angela. Angela offers a fun and inviting antidote to the number one issue for the elderly looking to remain independent: social isolation. Featuring an expertly designed and easy to use, intuitive interface, Angela comes ready to use with larger screen fonts, higher contrast and brighter colors geared to the needs of the elderly.

By interacting with Angela embedded on the TV or tablet, care recipients have easy and effortless access to:

•           Video chat

•           Integrated health information

•           Important appointment reminders

•           Games

•           Medication reminders

•           Easy family photo and message sharing

•           Community events and dining options

•           And more

Angela is available for televisions or tablets

 

Some questions are:

How might I structure a study like this to be grounded in Counseling Psychology but also have a Gerontology and Organizational components? Would it be a good idea to measure a) CNA’s willingness/behavior of or intent to use software after an intervention b  ) the Elderly’s intent or actual behavior, or c) family members intent/behavior d) loneliness/social connectedness. I am thinking of a sort of training for CNA’s and family members on learning to use and practicing to use a variety of software readily available to all (skype, webcam, in Green Homes using the technology the home claims to supply or a particular kind of bundled service like the Angela above, and testing which one results in better adherence or intent to want to use technology later. I need some ideas for what would be appropriate for a dissertation. What kind of integration do you think this kind of study would take and to what extent should I justify/ provide support for this integration (so the focus stays clearly on Counseling Psych)? Recruiting and measuring three different groups though would be much more difficult than just one. I don’t need to actually test an intervention; any recommendations for other research questions appropriate for a Counseling Psych dissertation that relate to supporting the use of technology for social connectedness in LTC would be appreciated. I have access to Green Homes nearby and it's a culture change model that values technology use.

 

Publication bibliography

Rabig, Judith; Thomas, William; Kane, Rosalie A.; Cutler, Lois J.; McAlilly, Steve (2006): Radical Redesign of Nursing Homes: Applying the Green House Concept in Tupelo, Mississippi. In The Gerontologist 46 (4), pp. 533–539. Available online at 10.1093/geront/46.4.533 .

Edited August 18, 2014 by Connolly