Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35639448›Full record

ArticleJMIR formative research2022

Telecare Service Use in Northern Ireland: Exploratory Retrospective Cohort Study.

Hala Al-Obaidi, Feras Jirjees, Sayer Al-Azzam, Verity Faith, Mike Clarke, Evie Gardner, Ashley Agus, James McElnay

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR formative research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Hala Al-ObaidiDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9227-0857
Feras JirjeesDepartment of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6265-0808
Sayer Al-AzzamFaculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3414-7970
Verity FaithSchool of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2728-9970
Mike ClarkeSchool of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2926-7257
Evie GardnerNorthern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit, Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland, Belfast, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8487-4415
Ashley AgusNorthern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit, Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland, Belfast, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9839-6282
James McElnaySchool of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1082-9715

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTelecare is a health service that involves the home installation of a number of information technology support systems for individuals with complex needs, such as people with reduced mobility or disabilities and the elderly. It involves the use of sensors in patients' homes to detect events, such as smoke in the kitchen, a front door left open, or a patient fall. In Northern Ireland (NI), outputs from these sensors are monitored remotely by the telecare team, who can provide assistance as required by telephone or through the emergency services. The facilitation of such rapid responses has the aim of promoting early intervention and therefore maintaining patient well-being.

objectiveThe aims of this study were to construct a descriptive summary of the telecare program in NI and evaluate hospital-based service use by telecare patients before and after the installation of telecare equipment.

methodsAn exploratory retrospective cohort study was conducted involving more than 2000 patients. Data analysis included the evaluation of health care use before and after the telecare service was initiated for individual participants. Individuals with data for a minimum of 6 months before and after the installation of the telecare service were included in this analysis.

resultsA total of 2387 patients were enrolled in the telecare service during the observation period (February 26, 2010-February 22, 2016). The mean age was 78 years (median 81 years). More women (1623/2387, 68%) were enrolled in the service. Falls detectors were the most commonly deployed detectors in the study cohort (824/1883, 43.8% of cases). The average number of communications (calls and/or alarms) between participants and the coordinating center was the highest for patients aged ≥85 years (mean 86 calls per year). These contacts were similarly distributed by gender. The mortality rate over the study period was higher in men than women (98/770, 14.4% in men compared to 107/1617, 6.6% in women). The number of nonelective hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and outpatient clinic visits and the length of hospital stays per year were significantly higher (P<.001) after the installation of the telecare equipment than during the period before installation.

conclusionsDespite the likely benefits of the telecare service in providing peace of mind for patients and their relatives, hospital-based health care use significantly increased after enrollment in the service. This likely reflects the increasing health care needs over time in an aging population.

Indexed as

assistive technologyelderly peoplehealthcare useNorthern Irelandtelecare

Identifiers

PMID35639448
PMCPMC9198825

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.