title: Partners in Care: Design Considerations for Caregivers and Patients During a Hospital Stay.
abstract: Informal caregivers, such as close friends and family, play an important role in a hospital patient's care. Although CSCW researchers have shown the potential for social computing technologies to help patients and their caregivers manage chronic conditions and support health behavior change, few studies focus on caregivers' role during a multi-day hospital stay. To explore this space, we conducted an interview and observation study of patients and caregivers in the inpatient setting. In this paper, we describe how caregivers and patients coordinate and collaborate to manage patients' care and wellbeing during a hospital stay. We define and describe five roles caregivers adopt: companion, assistant, representative, navigator, and planner, and show how patients and caregivers negotiate these roles and responsibilities throughout a hospital stay. Finally, we identify key design considerations for technology to support patients and caregivers during a hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical and Health Informatics University of Washington Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: The Information School University of Washington Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Sonali R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: Biomedical and Health Informatics University of Washington Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Logan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.affiliation: Biomedical and Health Informatics University of Washington Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Shefali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haldar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics School of Medicine University of Washington Seattle, WA ; Division of Nephrology Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Ari H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Pollack
authors.affiliation: The Information School University of Washington Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pratt
keywords: CSCW; Computer Supported Cooperative Work; H.5.3 Group and organization Interfaces; Health; J.3 Life and Medical Sciences; Medical Information Systems; caregiver; caregiving; health informatics; inpatient; medical informatics