Les attitudes des parents à l’égard de l’informatique et leur appréciation de l’utilisation du logiciel Vie familiale et impact de la maladie

Le logiciel Vie familiale et impact de la maladie intègre quatre tests adaptés pour l'intervention en service social et donne une rétroaction immédiate à l'utilisateur sur dix résultats présélectionnés. Cet article décrit1) les attitudes des parents d'enfants atteints d'une maladie chronique à l'égard de l'utilisation de l'ordinateur comme support à l'intervention clinique et 2) leurs réactions à la suite de l'utilisation interactive du logiciel. Même lorsqu'ils ont peu ou pas d'expérience avec les ordinateurs, les parents font une évaluation positive du programme Vie familiale, quels que soient leur âge, leur sexe ou leur degré d'instruction.The software Family Life and Impact of an lllness integrates four psychosocial tests adapted to social work intervention and provides immediate feedback to the user often selected scores. This article describes 1) the attitudes of the parents of chronically ill children to computer technology used as a support to clinical practice and 2) their reactions to the interactive software. Even when they have little or no experience with computers/ the parents make a positive evaluation ofthe Family Life program, regardless of their age, sex or education

État des connaissances à l’origine de l’utilisation du logiciel Vie familiale et impact de la maladie : attitudes et motivation de la clientèle et préoccupation des professionnels

L'utilisation de l'ordinateur dans l'intervention en service social se répand de plus en plus même si elle est encore assez peu fréquente dans notre milieu. Un exemple de ce type d'application correspond au développement et à l'utilisation du logiciel Vie familiale et impact de la maladie auprès des parents d'enfants atteints de fibrose kystique à l'hôpital Sainte-Justine à Montréal et au Centre hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CHUL) à Québec entre 1989 et 1991. En vue de l'utilisation directe et interactive de ce logiciel avec les parents, il a été nécessaire de déterminer quelles devaient être les conditions à respecter pour assurer le succès de l'expérimentation. On se devait donc de faire le point de l'état des connaissances sur les résistances et les attentes de la clientèle à l'égard de la nouvelle technologie, sur les préoccupations des professionnels envers les applications cliniques de l'informatique et sur la motivation des utilisateurs à se servir des ordinateurs sur une base longitudinale. Les résultats de cette exploration sont communiqués dans cet article avant que soient présentés, en dernier lieu, le contenu du logiciel et son mode d'utilisation

Long-distance assessment of high-risk sexual behavior: A comparative analysis of postal, telephone, electronic mail and internet administrations

With the continuing improvement and development of technology, research methods have struggled to keep up with the changing times in terms of demonstrating the utility of newer technology. The development and continued improvement of the Internet presents an opportunity to explore the utility of this mode of administration for the assessment of these sensitive behaviors. This study examined the use of long-distance methods of high-risk sexual behavior assessment and compared the more traditional methods of mailed surveys and telephone interviews to newer and more technological methods of electronic mail and Internet. Seven hundred and eighty participants were randomly assigned into four groups. Each group received the Sexual History Survey in a different long-distance assessment method (i.e., postal, telephone, electronic mail, and Internet). The four groups were compared to one another on accuracy of data, unit and item response rates, perceived intrusiveness, enjoyment of method, and use of resources. Results demonstrate that the telephone group appeared to respond in a more socially desirable manner than the other groups in responses to high-risk sexual behavior items but demonstrated the highest unit and item response rates due to the methodology of the study and the perseverance of the principal investigator. However, the technological methods demonstrated favorable unit and item response rates when compared to the postal method. There were no group differences in perceived intrusiveness of the study, but participants did report that the technological methods were more enjoyable to take and they also demonstrated the highest amount of method loyalty when queried about method choice upon readministration. The technological methods also tended to cost the least per response received and used the least amount of the principal investigator’s time to develop and administer. Finally, the speed at which responses were received via the technological means was far superior to the rate of the traditional methods. These findings support the use of the Internet in the assessment of high-risk sexual behaviors and also suggest that the use of the Internet may lead to more accurate responses and better data quality

A behavioural analysis of the adoption and use of interactive computer systems by senior managers

The purpose of this research has been to make a contribution to knowledge about those processes and phenomena which influence the use of computer-based decision systems by senior managers for their own decision activities. In the course of the thesis, research questions are addressed which relate to the nature of the role of the directly-accessed computer in the working life of the top manager, and especially to the factors which influence computer adoption and use. A review of relevant literature enabled gaps in existing knowledge about senior managerial computer use to be identified, and indicated the potential value of exploratory research. A programme of interviews was devised and executed which enabled the exploration of the research problem across a sample of senior managers from private and public organizations. It is felt that the methodology of performing intra- and inter-organizational comparisons among computer-exposed managers was fundamental to achieving new insights into managerial behaviours. Following qualitative and qualitative analysis of the research data, a dynamic behavioural model of the computer adoption process in large organizations is proposed together with a description of salient behavioural features at key points in the process. This theoretical model contributes to an understanding of the nature and circumstances of the senior managerial behaviours associated with direct computer use

Computer assisted medical history taking

In this thesis a study is described which was performed to explore the possibilities of computer-assisted history taking to support patient care. A system was developed by which the patient himself enters his medical data into a computer. The system enables an unexperienced user, i.e. a patient, to answer questions asked to him by an "intelligent" computerized questionnaire. In developing this system, use has been made of a fourthgeneration programming package. The system appeared to be user-friendly and was easily adaptable in the pilot phase of the study. During automated history-taking. 99 patients were presented with the medical questionnaire on the screen of a computer terminal in the form of multiple choice questions. By pressing one of several function keys, the patient could indicate his answer. His choice appeared immediately as full text on the screen for verification. At the end of a session, all answers were immediately printed and given to the patient for further verification. All patients had a regular history taken directly after the automated interview. The conventional history was written in the medical record. The doctor had no prior knowledge about the contents of the computerized intervie