Care at a Distance: On the Closeness of Technology

Abstract

Reviews the book, Care at a Distance: On the Closeness of Technology by Jeanette Pols (2012). The book uses an ethnographic approach to reflect the pros and cons of telecare as experienced both by patients and deliverers of health care particularly nurses. The contents are divided into three parts. Norms and nightmares, knowledge and promises and routines and efficiencies. This book takes an ethnographic approach to better understand technological innovations in healthcare from the perspectives of intervention users and deliverers to gain insight into the acceptability and usability of telecare devices. The author has focused on ongoing telecare projects in the Netherlands, designed for people with asthma, cancer and heart failure. The book focuses on three types of innovative care practices. An automated device linked to a telephone for monitoring symptoms, webcam supported management, allowing for social support via peer interactions and a monitoring device for people with heart failure. The author has made a clear distinction between telecare and telemedicine, and the latter has been excluded from the analysis. The book elucidates how both recipients and deliverers accept, adapt and interact with telecare, drawing on quotes from patients and healthcare professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)