The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care

Evidence of technological performance, medical improvements and economic effectiveness is generally considered sufficient for judging advances in healthcare. In this paper, I aim to add knowledge about the ways human emotions and professional relations play roles in the processes of accommodating ne...

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Main Author: Anne G. Ekeland
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2015-01-01
Series:Healthcare
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/3/1/20
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spelling doaj-cb92a330ed234a478f36d338121be5dc2020-11-25T02:09:17ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322015-01-0131203510.3390/healthcare3010020healthcare3010020The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based CareAnne G. Ekeland0Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine, University Hospital of Tromsø, P.O. Box 35, N-9038 Tromsø, NorwayEvidence of technological performance, medical improvements and economic effectiveness is generally considered sufficient for judging advances in healthcare. In this paper, I aim to add knowledge about the ways human emotions and professional relations play roles in the processes of accommodating new technologies for quality improvements. A newly-implemented, web-based ulcer record service for patients with chronic skin ulcers constitutes the case. After one year, only a few home care nurses were using the service, interacting with a specialist team. The result was disappointing, but the few users were enthusiastic. An explorative, qualitative study was initiated to understand the users, the processes that accounted for use and how improvements were enacted. In the paper, I expose the emotional aspects of the record accommodation by analyzing the ways emotions were translated in the process and how they influenced the improvements. I contend that use came about through a heterogeneous assemblage of ethical engagement and compassionate emotions stemming from frustration, combined with technological affordances and relations between different professionals. Certain aspects of the improvements are exposed. These are discussed as: (1) reconciliations between the medical facts and rational judgments, on one side, and the emotional and subjective values for judging quality, on the other; and (2) mediation between standardized and personalized care. The healing of ulcers was combined with a sense of purpose and wellbeing to validate improvements. Emotions were strongly involved, and the power of evaluative emotions and professional relations should be further explored to add to the understanding of innovation processes and to validate quality improvements.http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/3/1/20web-based ulcer recordemotional agencyprofessional relationsinnovationimprovement of care
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Anne G. Ekeland
spellingShingle Anne G. Ekeland
The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care
Healthcare
web-based ulcer record
emotional agency
professional relations
innovation
improvement of care
author_facet Anne G. Ekeland
author_sort Anne G. Ekeland
title The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care
title_short The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care
title_full The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care
title_fullStr The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care
title_full_unstemmed The Significance of Emotions and Professional Relations for Accommodating a Web-Based Ulcer Record and Improving Home-Based Care
title_sort significance of emotions and professional relations for accommodating a web-based ulcer record and improving home-based care
publisher MDPI AG
series Healthcare
issn 2227-9032
publishDate 2015-01-01
description Evidence of technological performance, medical improvements and economic effectiveness is generally considered sufficient for judging advances in healthcare. In this paper, I aim to add knowledge about the ways human emotions and professional relations play roles in the processes of accommodating new technologies for quality improvements. A newly-implemented, web-based ulcer record service for patients with chronic skin ulcers constitutes the case. After one year, only a few home care nurses were using the service, interacting with a specialist team. The result was disappointing, but the few users were enthusiastic. An explorative, qualitative study was initiated to understand the users, the processes that accounted for use and how improvements were enacted. In the paper, I expose the emotional aspects of the record accommodation by analyzing the ways emotions were translated in the process and how they influenced the improvements. I contend that use came about through a heterogeneous assemblage of ethical engagement and compassionate emotions stemming from frustration, combined with technological affordances and relations between different professionals. Certain aspects of the improvements are exposed. These are discussed as: (1) reconciliations between the medical facts and rational judgments, on one side, and the emotional and subjective values for judging quality, on the other; and (2) mediation between standardized and personalized care. The healing of ulcers was combined with a sense of purpose and wellbeing to validate improvements. Emotions were strongly involved, and the power of evaluative emotions and professional relations should be further explored to add to the understanding of innovation processes and to validate quality improvements.
topic web-based ulcer record
emotional agency
professional relations
innovation
improvement of care
url http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/3/1/20
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