title: Telecare for the elderly--community nurses' experiences in Taiwan.
abstract: Advances in science, technology, and healthcare have contributed to the global growth of an aging population. With a concomitant decline in birth rate, the increasing need for elder care cannot be met effectively by traditional care models as fewer caregivers are available. This study adopted a qualitative research method, and 13 nurses who have experiences in telecare were interviewed in a regional hospital in northern Taiwan. Data were content analyzed to explore nurses' perceptions of telecare services. Five major themes were identified: (1) provision of individualized care, (2) increasing job requirements and stress, (3) working with a collaborative care model, (4) understanding concerns of the elderly, and (5) foreseeing future challenges. The participants identified the advantages of telecare services for the elderly and recognized a new opportunity for health management in the future population and social changes. The use of technology to provide telecare may offer an effective supplement for elder care services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Ting-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mary Etta
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mills
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D048108:Nursing Informatics; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013624:Taiwan; D017216:Telemedicine