Is telemonitoring an option against shortage of physicians in rural regions? attitude towards telemedical devices in the North Rhine-Westphalian health survey, Germany

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>General practitioners (GP) in rural areas of Germany are struggling to find successors for their private practices. Telemonitoring at home offers an option to support remaining GPs and specialists in ambulatory care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed the knowledge and attitude towards telemedicine in the population of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, in a population-based telephone survey.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 2,006 participants, 734 (36.6%) reported an awareness of telemedical devices. Only 37 participants (1.8%) have experience in using them. The majority of participants were in favour of using them in case of illness (72.2%). However, this approval declined with age. These findings were similar in rural and urban areas. Participants who were in favour of telemedicine (n = 1,480) strongly agreed that they would have to see their doctor less often, and that the doctor would recognize earlier relevant changes in their vital status. Participants who disliked to be monitored by telemedical devices preferred to receive immediate feedback from their physician. Especially, the elderly fear the loss of personal contact with their physician. They need the direct patient-physician communication.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The fear of being left alone with the technique needs to be compensated for today's elderly patients to enhance acceptance of home telemonitoring as support for remaining doctors either in the rural areas or cities.</p

Im Dienst der öffentlichen Gesundheit - Entwicklungslinien von den hygienisch-bakteriologischen Untersuchungsämtern bis zum Landeszentrum Gesundheit NRW

Mekel OCL, Fehr R, Gesundheit Nordrhein-Westfalen L, Barrenberg E. Im Dienst der öffentlichen Gesundheit - Entwicklungslinien von den hygienisch-bakteriologischen Untersuchungsämtern bis zum Landeszentrum Gesundheit NRW. LZG.NRW; 2012

Physical activity in DYNAMO-HIA

This report summarizes the approaches, data sources, references and procedures used by the NRW Centre for Health (LZG.NRW) to obtain age- and gender-specific data on physical activity exposure levels in NRW, as well as age- and gender-specific relative risks for selected health outcomes associated with physical activity. These data are essential for the dynamic modelling of future prevalence rates of insufficient physical activity levels and related diseases, taking potential health gains of intervention measures into account. The resulting modelled estimates may support decision-makers when deciding for action strategies, policies and specific population focus groups, aiming at maximum health gains for (parts of) the population