The vision for this blog is to create a community of harmonious professionals across the care continuum who encourage each other in exploring digital media as a way to support businesses and families dealing with elder care.
Written on March 10th, 2011 by tasha
A recent review of 120 hospital Facebook pages reveals that they are not using Facebook to its full potential. (The range of hospitals sampled was quite diverse, including large and small, rural and urban, different regions of the country, etc. The methodology was well thought out.)
The purpose of Facebook is to create relationships and community, to inspire conversation. Admittedly, it’s difficult to get people to break their silence and publicly post. Still, useful content that educates or inspires is more likely to prompt conversation than self-promoting announcements. That interchange and discussion—community-building if you will—is the spirit of social networking.
With community-building in mind, here is a summary of the hospital Facebook study: Read the rest of this entry »
Written on February 7th, 2011 by tasha
A survey of 1000 family caregivers of persons over 65 further underscored the monetary impact of caregiving on families:
For more on this study, check out Caring.com.
Despite the hardships, 75% of these family caregivers also said that providing care was a source of pride because they were able to make a difference in someone’s life. This is directly in line with the research findings of Susan Folkman (of Lazarus and Folkman, stress and coping fame) who noted that the negatives and positives of caregiving exist simultaneously in the individual’s experience.
What are you encountering in your dealings with families?
Written on February 2nd, 2011 by tasha
Over the next two weeks we are running a series on family caregiver receptivity to technology solutions.
Check out our factoids on Facebook and subscribe to our periodic e-notes to receive my full analysis of a report on family caregivers and technology released by the National Alliance for Caregiving. Based on the online responses of 1000 technology-using family caregivers, the report looks at their interest and perceived barriers to 12 different categories of technology that could help with caregiving activities:
I was surprised at some of the results. I have worked with family caregivers over the last 15 years and was not aware of some of the misconceptions they seem to hold about technology. And I was in some ways surprised to discover who was most receptive to hi tech solutions. Read the rest of this entry »
Written on January 18th, 2011 by tasha
The Pew Internet and American Life project just released a report in December on the impact of the Internet on patients with cancer, and interestingly, cancer research. Drawing on statistics from their on-going studies, the Cancer 2.0 report illuminates some interesting facts:
Written on December 1st, 2010 by tasha
People who have known me for a long time will remember that the original name of my business was “Let’s Collaborate!” Collaboration has long been a theme of my work, and so I was excited to learn of an article by Ellen Surburg, Director of Bloomington Hospital Home Health and Hospice concerning ways home health and hospice can collaborate more effectively for their own benefits and for the benefit of patients and families.
Ellen’s insights are drawn from research and analysis of quality and payment metrics from the point of view of both providers. I found her explanation of the pressures faced by the two services instructive, as it led to an understanding of how to build a win:win relationship. Read the rest of this entry »
