TY - JOUR

T1 - Crossing boundaries in the delivery of healthcare – a qualitative study of an eHealth intervention in relation to boundary object theory

AU - Saidi, Trust

AU - Mork, Erlend

AU - Aminoff, Sofie

AU - Lobban, Fiona

AU - Romm, Kristin Lie

PY - 2023/12/31

Y1 - 2023/12/31

N2 - With the increasing trend of digitalisation in the health sector, eHealth is being deployed to facilitate interaction between health professionals and service users without physical contact or close proximity. It became prominent during the COVID-19 era when mobility for physical meetings was restricted. Focusing on a video-supported digital toolkit, REACT-NOR, this study explored the experiences of caregivers and supporters in relation to the notion of boundary object. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 supporters and 11 caregivers to gather first-hand experience on the use of the digital tool. It emerged from the study that the use of REACT-NOR made a huge difference for the involved parties by bridging the knowledge gap between supporters and caregivers. The use of the video in particular was useful in engaging and emotionally connecting the supporters and caregivers, resulting in an exciting digital experience. The effectiveness of the digital tool can be explained in the context of a boundary object in that it facilitated the processes of transferring, translating and transforming knowledge. The tool exhibited the attributes of dynamism, flexibility, standardisation and shared structure, which resonates with the notion of a boundary object. An understanding of how boundary objects work is crucial especially with remote care, as depicted in this study, due to the fact that the transfer of knowledge involves multiple processes such as sharing of new and existing knowledge, translation to make it accessible to others and transformation to render it usable across different boundaries.

AB - With the increasing trend of digitalisation in the health sector, eHealth is being deployed to facilitate interaction between health professionals and service users without physical contact or close proximity. It became prominent during the COVID-19 era when mobility for physical meetings was restricted. Focusing on a video-supported digital toolkit, REACT-NOR, this study explored the experiences of caregivers and supporters in relation to the notion of boundary object. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 supporters and 11 caregivers to gather first-hand experience on the use of the digital tool. It emerged from the study that the use of REACT-NOR made a huge difference for the involved parties by bridging the knowledge gap between supporters and caregivers. The use of the video in particular was useful in engaging and emotionally connecting the supporters and caregivers, resulting in an exciting digital experience. The effectiveness of the digital tool can be explained in the context of a boundary object in that it facilitated the processes of transferring, translating and transforming knowledge. The tool exhibited the attributes of dynamism, flexibility, standardisation and shared structure, which resonates with the notion of a boundary object. An understanding of how boundary objects work is crucial especially with remote care, as depicted in this study, due to the fact that the transfer of knowledge involves multiple processes such as sharing of new and existing knowledge, translation to make it accessible to others and transformation to render it usable across different boundaries.

KW - REACT-NOR

KW - Boundary object

KW - psychosis

KW - caregivers

KW - supporters

U2 - 10.1177/20552076231196970

DO - 10.1177/20552076231196970

M3 - Journal article

VL - 9

JO - DIGITAL HEALTH

JF - DIGITAL HEALTH

SN - 2055-2076

ER -