Conduct a review of the literature. Include at least five (5) research articles and/or evidence-based guidelines. Address the following questions/bullets in completing this section:
- Conduct a review of the literature.
- Provide the highlights from the research.
- Synthesize the literature on the topic.
- Summarize how the project will contribute to knowledge by filling in gaps, validating, or testing knowledge.
- Cite references in this section per APA and list the reference in the References section at the end of the form.
How digital health technologies may enhance the quality of care for older adults literature review
Ienca et al. (2021) study expounds on how digital health technologies may enhance the quality of care for older adults. Digital health solutions such as intelligent assistive technology (IAT) have been designed purposefully to meet the needs of the elderly. These diverse technologies comprise of software and hardware tools, activity tracking, and self-monitoring systems. According to Subrahmanya et al. (2021), data science is an interdisciplinary field that facilitates the extraction of knowledge and insights using scientific methods, machine learning algorithms, big data, and data mining techniques. Also, data science helps in processing, analysis, management, and assimilation of large, fragmented data, which helps in clinical decision making, thus enhancing the quality of patient care (Subrahmanya et al., 2021). Data sciences help healthcare professionals understand the outcome of medical care, identify diseases at the initial stage thus improvising cost-effective treatment plan.
Shagerdi et al. (2022) study explores the opportunities for using health information technology (HIT) in the emergency department (ED) to enhance the quality of care for the elderly. Common health challenges experienced by the elderly when receiving care in ED includes prolonged waiting time for treatment and discharge, and difficulty obtaining the health history of the patient due to challenges associated with most of the elderly patients such as hearing problems and impairments (Shagerdi et al., 2022). Lack of care optimization in ED may lead to an increased readmission rate, compromise of patient safety, and high mortality and morbidity. The use of HIT in geriatric emergency medicine may be helpful in care support, including follow-up arrangements, process management, and prevention of adverse events. HIT may also support providers in decision-making by increasing the availability of information (Shagerdi et al., 2022). Some HIT systems includes Electronic Health Records (EHRs), mobile health (mHealth), telehealth, assistive technology, and sensors.
According to Cordeiro (2021), digital technologies and data science have acted as the basis for revolutionizing the healthcare system, including transforming how diseases are analyzed and managed. This includes potentiating the collection, analysis, sharing, and interpretation of health data and facilitating the adoption of timely and precise caring interventions (Cordeiro, 2021). Fulmer et al. (2021) add that advancement in data science and technology has enhanced the development of skills and knowledge needed to provide excellent preventive clinical care.
Highlights from the Research
The research shows that technology and data science provides a framework for enhancing the quality of care for elderly patients. This is by facilitating decision-making processes in healthcare while increasing patient support throughout the treatment plan. Data science, for instance, is an important field that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of health data handling. Healthcare professionals can accurately predict the anticipated outcome of the adopted treatment plan by using data science techniques such as data mining, big data, and machine learning algorithms. Also, HIT acts as a basis for optimizing health outcomes for elderly patients by actively supporting them in the entire treatment plan to reduce the possibility of adverse events.
Synthesis of the Literature on the Topic
The literature provides convergent results on the impact of technology and data science in enhancing patient care for elderly adults. Ienca et al. (2021) and Shagerdi et al. (2022) present digital technology as a promising tool for improving the quality of care for the elderly patient while dealing with prevalent challenges such as long waiting times and a high volume of patients. Subrahmanya et al. (2021) literature on the use of data science in healthcare is similar to that of Cordeiro (2021) and Fulmer et al. (2021), where data science is identified as an efficient field for increasing knowledge and insight into the effects of the disease through practical analysis and management. When adopted in geriatric settings, data science and technology produce positive results in all literature. This is by streamlining communication between staff while ensuring that patient receives appropriate care services.
Contribution of the Project
The project will be instrumental in filling the prevalent gaps in the use of data science and technology to improve patient care for the elderly who do not have access to healthcare or medical information. For instance, it will evaluate the possible causes of loopholes that may have led to the disconnection of the elderly patients to health and medical information, thus ensuring that the adopted technological and data science systems are developed considering the inefficiencies. The project will also expound on possible challenges to adopting technology and data science in the geriatric setting and how they may be mitigated. Some areas of interest include patients’ perception of using HIT and data science in care provision, medical illiteracy, and current developments on the use of data science and digital technologies in the geriatric setting. Finally, the project will present effective interventions for integrating IATs and data science with the prevalent healthcare technological systems without compromising the quality
References
Cordeiro, J. V. (2021). Digital technologies and data science as health enablers: an outline of appealing promises and compelling ethical, legal, and social challenges. Frontiers in Medicine, 8, 647897. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.647897
Fulmer, T., Reuben, D. B., Auerbach, J., Fick, D. M., Galambos, C., & Johnson, K. S. (2021). Actualizing Better Health And Health Care For Older Adults: Commentary describes six vital directions to improve the care and quality of life for all older Americans. Health Affairs, 40(2), 219-225. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01470
Ienca, M., Schneble, C., Kressig, R. W., & Wangmo, T. (2021). Digital health interventions for healthy aging: a qualitative user evaluation and ethical assessment. BMC geriatrics, 21, 1-10. https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-021-02338-z
Shagerdi, G., Ayatollahi, H., & Hemmat, M. (2022). Opportunities for using health information technology for elderly care in the emergency departments: a qualitative study. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 19(1). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9013223/
Subrahmanya, S. V., Shetty, D. K., Patil, V., Hameed, B. M., Paul, R., Smriti, K., Naik, N., & Somani, B. K. (2021). The role of data science in healthcare advancements: Applications, benefits, and future prospects. Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -), 191(4), 1473–1483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-021-02730-z
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