Project Timescale Plan

 

Summary of my Research at the moment

USAGE OF WEB LOGS IN HOSPICE SETTINGS

 

My name is Nothando B Ngwenya, I am a PhD student at Staffordshire University and I am conducting research and hoping to develop studies to explore the different forms of usages of weblogs in hospice settings. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions in my research. I have drawn up a summary of the main objectives and rationale behind my research.

 

Key Questions:

1. How can technology improve the quality of care for patients in palliative settings?
   
2. How effective and efficient can weblogs be in hospice settings?
   
3. In what ways can hospice blogs be used in end of life care e.g. communication, therapeutic writing, management tool etc
   

 

There has been an increase in research on the use of Information Technology to enhance palliative care. Information systems technologies have been built for various reasons within the healthcare industry and these systems could be extended to hospice settings. Some of these could include symptom management, data collecting and therapeutic writing (Kuziemsky, 2004).

The emergence of online communities has seen a rise in the use of blogs. A web log is defined here as "a frequently updated webpage consisting of brief posts presented and archived in reverse-chronological order" (Schiano, Nardi, Gumbrecht and Swartz, 2004) mainly used as an online journal and can contain text, images, and media objects. Different people use them for different purposes mostly linking to things that interest them personally and engaging in conversation. Web logs vary in content as much as they do in use enabling people to manipulate blogs for their personal use. Other sectors (education, journalism, and business) have seen and experienced success in the use of weblogs which could also3 be experienced in palliative care as well whether for the benefit of the patient or the improvement of the service and care offered.

Some uses and benefits predicted on the use of weblogs would be:

• To help patients get more involved with their care and put them in control as palliative care should be person-centred.
  
• Patients, family members, staff and carers can write therapeutically (Pennebaker, 1986) and possible curb emotional isolation and increase social interaction/networking.
  
• The weblogs could be used as a symptom management tool with patients self-reporting pain and staff documenting medication use.
  
• Weblogs can be a source of information for family members and friends where by they can read about the patients' care and treatment process and professionals can post new research.
  
• Weblogs can give access to palliative care, information and support to people in remote/rural communities.
  
• By reading what other carers post/write, web logs could offer a transfer of knowledge between staff.
  

 

Confidentiality of the patients and staff will be observed at all times. All research will be conducted within NHS Ethical guidelines.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this information. Please send any questions, comments or suggestions to Nothando B Ngwenya at Staffordshire University on 01785353742, or email: n.ngwenya@staffs.ac.uk. You can also contact my supervisors Prof Paul Kingston (p.kingston@staffs.ac.uk) and Prof Stella Mills (s.f.mills@staffs.ac.uk). You can view my weblog on http://weblogsastherapy.blogspot.com

Abstract for conference on the 13th of May 2008

Can Weblogs be a Complementary Therapy in Palliative Care?

There is increasing interest and a growing body of literature that connects creative therapies and well-being. Different schools of thought from both the arts and sciences have tried to explain the connection between creative writing and health benefits with many theories being postulated. There is no single theory that convincingly explains why and how creative writing benefits health, but what is important is the effect on patients' health and sense of well-being, whether self-reported or clinically observed. This research is interested in exploring creative writing within the ever-growing technological era in hospice setting. Technological advances have had a huge impact on people's lifestyles, changing the way individuals communicate. There has been an increasing demand on the use of the internet and computer-mediated communication (CMC) for health benefits giving a rise to a new field known as cyber therapy. We have seen the success of computer-mediated communication in different settings within the health service. We have also seen the positive role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies in palliative care. The imperative question within this research is whether web logs can be used as cyber therapy within the CAM framework in palliative care.

 

Sue Ryder Care Centre for Palliative and End of Life Studies, School of Nursing

PhD Day – Tuesday May 13^th 2008

Venue: Coates Building, A7, University Park Campus, Nottingham