Rehabilitation professionals’ perspectives and experiences with the use of technologies for violence prevention: a qualitative study

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Pia Kontos¹  Milos R. Popovic²  Alisa Grigorovich³ 

[1] KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network, Toronto, Canada;Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network, Toronto, Canada;Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada;Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock University, St Catharines, Canada;KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network, Toronto, Canada;

关键词: Electronic flagging;    Cameras;    Alarms;    Occupational health;    Patient safety;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09789-7

 received in 2022-10-04, accepted in 2023-07-05,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThere is growing public policy and research interest in the development and use of various technologies for managing violence in healthcare settings to protect the health and well-being of patients and workers. However, little research exists on the impact of technologies on violence prevention, and in particular in the context of rehabilitation settings. Our study addresses this gap by exploring the perceptions and experiences of rehabilitation professionals regarding how technologies are used (or not) for violence prevention, and their perceptions regarding their efficacy and impact.MethodsThis was a descriptive qualitative study with 10 diverse professionals (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation therapy, nursing) who worked across inpatient and outpatient settings in one rehabilitation hospital. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with all participants. A conventional approach to content analysis was used to identify key themes.ResultsWe found that participants used three types of technologies for violence prevention: an electronic patient flagging system, fixed and portable emergency alarms, and cameras. All of these were perceived by participants as being largely ineffective for violence prevention due to poor design features, malfunction, limited resources, and incompatibility with the culture of care. Our analysis further suggests that professionals’ perception that these technologies would not prevent violence may be linked to their focus on individual patients, with a corresponding lack of attention to structural factors, including the culture of care and the organizational and physical environment.ConclusionsOur findings suggest an urgent need for greater consideration of structural factors in efforts to develop effective interventions for violence prevention in rehabilitation settings, including the design and implementation of new technologies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023