title: Negotiating technology-mediated interaction in health care.
abstract: The health-care sector is increasingly faced with different forms of technology that are introduced to mediate interaction, thus fully or partially replacing face-to-face meetings. In this article we address health personnel's experiences with three such technologies, namely: electronic messages, video conferences and net-based discussion forums. Drawing on Goffman's perspectives on interaction and frame, we argue that when technologies are introduced to mediate interaction, new frames for understanding and making sense of situations are created. These new frames imply new ways of organising and making sense of experience, and requireworkby the participants in the interaction. In this article, based on interviews from two Norwegian research projects, we investigatehealth personnel's work to make sense of technology-mediated interaction in health care.We discuss this work represented in four categories: how to perform in a competent manner, how to negotiate immediacy, how to enable social cues and how to establish and maintain commitment. Concluding, we argue that the introduction of mediating technologies redefines what is considered up-to-date, 'good' health-care work and challenges health personnel to change (some of) their work practices and moves, as a result, far beyond simple interventions aimed at making work more efficient.
authors: Department of Adult Learning and Counselling, Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) , Trondheim, Dragvoll, 7491 Norway.
authors: Erna
authors: E
authors: Håland
authors: SINTEF Technology & Society , P.O. Box 4760 Sluppen, Trondheim, 7465 Norway . E-mail: Line.Melby@sintef.no ; Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo , P.O. Box 1130 Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway.
authors: Line
authors: L
authors: Melby
keywords: home care services; negotiations; technology-mediated interaction; work