Abstract
BackgroundWhile the need for digital health capability and technological innovation in palliative care services is growing rapidly, relatively little is known about the current uptake and views of individual palliative care practitioners. This study aims to explore palliative care practitioners’ current use of and perspectives on digital health innovation in palliative care.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional survey with a web-based questionnaire was used. Participants were multidisciplinary palliative care practitioners in Australia.ResultsSurveys were returned by 170 medical, nursing, and allied health practitioners working in palliative care. Most respondents reported using a variety of digital health technology associated with clinical information systems, mobile devices, SMS text messaging, teleconferencing, and Wi-Fi. These technologies were used for the purpose of communicating with other health professionals, accessing web-based or mobile health palliative care resources, collecting or managing patient data, and providing information or education. However, few reported electronic access to patients’ advance care planning documentation or could update these data. Respondents were moderately confident in their ability to use digital health, held positive beliefs that palliative care could be enhanced through digital health, and were generally supportive of ongoing innovation through digitally-enable models of care. Palliative care providers would most like to see digital health innovations in the areas of client health records, telehealth, and personal health tracking.ConclusionThis is the first national study of digital health in Australian palliative care providers. It contributes new knowledge in this important area of palliative care practice to guide policy and education, whilst informing future directions for research.
Highlights
The combined impacts of population ageing, and emerging global pandemics raise growing concerns about the provision of palliative care, with pressing implications for ongoing innovation and greater use digital health can support the strengthening and scaling up of palliative care worldwide.5 In its Global Strategy on Digital health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines digital health as ‘the field ofMills et al BMC Palliative Care (2021) 20:124 knowledge and practice associated with the development and use of digital technologies to improve health’ [5]
A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to conduct a national survey of Australian medical, nursing, and allied health professionals working in palliative care
One hundred-seventy survey responses were received from palliative care providers across metropolitan, regional/rural and remote areas of Australia, with palliative care doctors, nurses and allied health professionals from each State and Territory represented
Summary
The combined impacts of population ageing, and emerging global pandemics raise growing concerns about the provision of palliative care, with pressing implications for ongoing innovation and greater use digital health can support the strengthening and scaling up of palliative care worldwide. In its Global Strategy on Digital health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines digital health as ‘the field ofMills et al BMC Palliative Care (2021) 20:124 knowledge and practice associated with the development and use of digital technologies to improve health’ [5]. Situating palliative care within this larger scale perspective is becoming more important, given the international trend towards digital health interventions that offer digitally enabled models of care for digital consumers to progress towards a more equitable state of universal health coverage [5]. To this end, many countries, including Australia and across the Americas, have adopted the use of electronic health records and established national digital health strategies to advance innovation and clinical outcomes [7, 8]. This study aims to explore palliative care practitioners’ current use of and perspectives on digital health innovation in palliative care
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
