Users as Designers of Information Infrastructures and the Role of Generativity

The user role in the design of information systems is increasingly portrayed as active and complex, and the relationships between users and developers are portrayed as blurry. Information systems have become ubiquitous in most work processes, and users typically rely on several large scale information systems tightly integrated into other information systems, machines and work practices. In this paper we propose the notion of generativity as a framework to assess generative socio-technical characteristics of such systems, conceptualized as information infrastructures. Further, the paper will discuss the role these characteristics play in users’ involvement by exploring the ways in which users can contribute as designers and thereby expand on the conceptual views of users and design processes of generative information infrastructures. Empirically, this paper presents the evolution of an information system for cooperation between general practice and hospital laboratories, where users in both settings participated in the design process. The system was designed using agile methods, and design and implementation were continuous and iterative co-existing processes. The case showed that a high degree of generativity in the system itself is a necessary condition for users to make changes. However, in an integrated and complex setting the flexibility of the existing and integrated systems will heavily influence the possibility to make changes. The paper also provides an in-depth illustration of how user and designer roles evolve together with circumstances and relationships. However, we argue that this type of evolvement requires dedicating a considerable amount of time and effort to achieve a climate in which such evolvement can take place. Finally, design is more than just the development of technology. It is also the development of work practices in which users’ contributions are decisive. Designing work practices alongside the design of the technology has given rise to insights that feed directly into the design process. Acknowledging users’ substantial contributions in design processes can aid in refining conceptualizations of users and developers along with bolstering efforts to facilitate appropriate user involvement

Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to Identify Barriers and Facilitators for the Implementation of an Internet-Based Patient-Provider Communication Service in Five Settings: A Qualitative Study

Background: Although there is growing evidence of the positive effects of Internet-based patient-provider communication (IPPC) services for both patients and health care providers, their implementation into clinical practice continues to be a challenge. Objective: The 3 aims of this study were to (1) identify and compare barriers and facilitators influencing the implementation of an IPPC service in 5 hospital units using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), (2) assess the ability of the different constructs of CFIR to distinguish between high and low implementation success, and (3) compare our findings with those from other studies that used the CFIR to discriminate between high and low implementation success. Methods: This study was based on individual interviews with 10 nurses, 6 physicians, and 1 nutritionist who had used the IPPC to answer messages from patients. Results: Of the 36 CFIR constructs, 28 were addressed in the interviews, of which 12 distinguished between high and low implementation units. Most of the distinguishing constructs were related to the inner setting domain of CFIR, indicating that institutional factors were particularly important for successful implementation. Health care providers’ beliefs in the intervention as useful for themselves and their patients as well as the implementation process itself were also important. A comparison of constructs across ours and 2 other studies that also used the CFIR to discriminate between high and low implementation success showed that 24 CFIR constructs distinguished between high and low implementation units in at least 1 study; 11 constructs distinguished in 2 studies. However, only 2 constructs (patient need and resources and available resources) distinguished consistently between high and low implementation units in all 3 studies. Conclusions: The CFIR is a helpful framework for illuminating barriers and facilitators influencing IPPC implementation. However, CFIR’s strength of being broad and comprehensive also limits its usefulness as an implementation framework because it does not discriminate between the relative importance of its many constructs for implementation success. This is the first study to identify which CFIR constructs are the most promising to distinguish between high and low implementation success across settings and interventions. Findings from this study can contribute to the refinement of CFIR toward a more succinct and parsimonious framework for planning and evaluation of the implementation of clinical interventions

Transitions from biomedical to recovery-oriented practices in mental health: a scoping review to explore the role of Internet-based interventions

Abstract Background The Internet is transforming mental health care services by increasing access to, and potentially improving the quality of, care. Internet-based interventions in mental health can potentially play a role in transitions from biomedical to recovery-oriented research and practices, but an overview of what this may entail, current work, and issues that need addressing, is lacking. The objective of this study is to describe Internet-based recovery-oriented interventions (referred to as e-recovery) and current research, and to identify gaps and issues relevant to advancing recovery research and practices through opportunities provided by the Internet. Methods Five iterative stages of a scoping review framework were followed in searching and analyzing the literature. A recovery framework with four domains and 16 themes was used to deductively code intervention characteristics according to their support for recovery-oriented practices. Only Internet-based interventions used in conjunction with ongoing care were included. Results Twenty studies describing six e-recovery interventions were identified and originated in Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and USA. The domain supporting personal recovery was most clearly reflected in interventions, whereas the last three domains, i.e., promoting citizenship, organizational commitment and working relationship were less evident. Support for the formulation and follow-up of personal goals and preferences, and in accessing peer-support, were the characteristics shared by most interventions. Three of the six studies that employed a comparison group used randomization, and none presented definitive findings. None used recovery-oriented frameworks or specific recovery outcome measures. Four of the interventions were specific to a diagnosis. Conclusion Research about how technologies might aid in illuminating and shaping recovery processes is in its formative stages. We recommend that future e-recovery research and innovation attend to four dimensions: evidence-supported interventions, new knowledge about personal recovery, values-based approaches and Internet as a facilitator for organizational transformation. The incremental changes facilitated by e-recovery may help propel a shift in mental health care toward recovery-oriented practices

Patients’ reported reasons for non-use of an internet-based patient–provider communication service: qualitative interview study

BACKGROUND: The adoption of Internet-based patient–provider communication services (IPPC) in health care has been slow. Patients want electronic communication, and the quality of health care can be improved by offering such IPPCs. However, the rate of enrollment in such services remains low, and the reasons for this are unclear. Knowledge about the barriers to use is valuable during implementation of IPPCs in the health care services, and it can help timing, targeting, and tailoring IPPCs to different groups of patients. OBJECTIVE: The goal of our study was to investigate patients’ views of an IPPC that they could use from home to pose questions to nurses and physicians at their treatment facility, and their reported reasons for non-use of the service. METHODS: This qualitative study was based on individual interviews with 22 patients who signed up for, but did not use, the IPPC. RESULTS: Patients appreciated the availability and the possibility of using the IPPC as needed, even if they did not use it. Their reported reasons for not using the IPPC fell into three main categories: (1) they felt that they did not need the IPPC and had sufficient access to information elsewhere, (2) they preferred other types of communication such as telephone or face-to-face contact, or (3) they were hindered by IPPC attributes such as login problems. CONCLUSIONS: Patients were satisfied with having the opportunity to send messages to health care providers through an IPPC, even if they did not use the service. IPPCs should be offered to the patients at an appropriate time in the illness trajectory, both when they need the service and when they are receptive to information about the service. A live demonstration of the IPPC at the point of enrollment might have increased its use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00971139; http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/show/NCT00971139 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6KlOiYJrW)

Exploring Working Relationships in Mental Health Care via an E-Recovery Portal: Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Service Users and Health Providers

Background: The quality of working relationships between service users and health providers is fundamental in the processes of recovery in mental health. How Internet-based interventions will influence these relationships for persons with long-term care needs, and the measures that can be taken to maintain and enhance working relationships through Internet, is still not well understood. Objective: The aim of this study was to gain insights into how service users and health providers experience their working relationships when they are offered the option of supplementing ongoing collaboration with an e-recovery portal. Methods: In this exploratory and descriptive study, an e-recovery portal was used by service users and their health providers in 2 mental health communities in Norway for at least 6 months and at most 12 months (2015-2016). The portal consists of secure messaging, a peer support forum, and a toolbox of resources for working with life domains including status, goals and activities, network map, crisis plan, and exercises. The portal was owned and managed by the service user while health providers could remotely access parts of the service user–generated content. The participants could use the portal in whatever way they wished, to suit their collaboration. Data from 6 focus groups, 17 individual interviews, and an interview with 1 dyad about their experiences of use of the portal over the study period were inductively coded and thematically analyzed. Results: The thematic analysis resulted in 2 main themes: (1) new relational avenues and (2) out of alignment, illustrated by 8 subthemes. The first main theme is about dyads who reported new and enriching ways of working together through the portal, particularly related to written communication and use of the goal module. Illustrative subthemes are ownership, common ground, goals and direction, and sense of presence and availability. The second main theme illuminates the difficulties that arose when service users’ and health providers’ expectations for portal use were not aligned, and the consequences of not addressing these difficulties. Illustrative subthemes are initiative and responsibility, waiting for the other, feeling overwhelmed, and clarifications and agreements. Conclusions: The degree to which dyads benefited from using the e-recovery portal appeared to be mainly associated with the degree to which the dyads’ relations were open and flexible before the portal was introduced. For those who experienced frustrations, the portal may have both exposed and added to suboptimal working relationships. Use of the goal module appeared to strengthen the person-centered nature of collaboration. A key question is how health providers balance between enabling service users’ greater control over their care, without relinquishing responsibility for the quality of the working relationship, also when using an e-recovery portal. Implications for implementation are discussed

How do we deal with multiple goals for care within an individual patient trajectory? A document content analysis of health service research papers on goals for care

Objectives Patients with complex long-term needs experience multiple parallel care processes, which may have conflicting or competing goals, within their individual patient trajectory (iPT). The alignment of multiple goals is often implicit or non-existent, and has received little attention in the literature. Research questions: (1) What goals for care relevant for the iPT can be identified from the literature? (2) What goal typology can be proposed based on goal characteristics? (3) How can professionals negotiate a consistent set of goals for the iPT? Design Document content analysis of health service research papers, on the topic of ‘goals for care’. Setting With the increasing prevalence of multimorbidity, guidance regarding the identification and alignment of goals for care across organisations and disciplines is urgently needed. Participants 70 papers that describe ‘goals for care’, ‘health’ or ‘the good healthcare process’ relevant to a general iPT, identified in a step-wise structured search of MEDLINE, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Results We developed a goal typology with four categories. Three categories are professionally defined: (1) Functional, (2) Biological/Disease and (3) Adaptive goals. The fourth category is the patient's personally defined goals. Professional and personal goals may conflict, in which case goal prioritisation by creation of a goal hierarchy can be useful. We argue that the patient has the moral and legal right to determine the goals at the top of such a goal hierarchy. Professionals can then translate personal goals into realistic professional goals such as standardised health outcomes linked to evidence-based guidelines. Thereby, when goals are aligned with one another, the iPT will be truly patient centred, while care follows professional guidelines. Conclusions Personal goals direct professional goals and define the success criteria of the iPT. However, making personal goals count requires brave and wide-sweeping attitudinal, organisational and regulatory transformation of care delivery