Online Visiting
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Introduction
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, visiting people in a residential care setting has become more difficult. Many of us have been discovering alternative, digital ways of staying in touch, such as over video calls, film clips and FaceTime. As part of the research project ‘Online Visiting’ (Digitaal op bezoek), we would like to hear about your first-hand experiences.
Online visiting
The coronavirus has turned people’s lives upside down – not least, people with a disability who live in a residential care setting. Their contact with family and friends has been abruptly curtailed. They are not allowed to receive visitors (or only very occasionally), nor are they allowed to visit family or friends. This reduction in social contact can have a major impact on the mental and physical health of such residents. The standard advice on how to reduce this impact is to make more use of phone calls or, even better, video calls, so that the callers can see as well as hear each other.
Benefits to practice
However, careful consideration should be given to which forms of contact work for which target groups. What do residents and their families actually want? Do residents enjoy online visits as a supplement to – or substitute for – in-person visits? And what is practically feasible, not only for the residents themselves and their families but also for the healthcare professionals? We are working together with three other academic collaborative centres ’s Heeren Loo (VU Amsterdam), Bartiméus (VU Amsterdam) and Leven met een Verstandelijke Beperking (Tilburg University) and client organisation KansPlus to find out for whom online visiting is both feasible and desirable. To ensure that residents, relatives and healthcare professionals can all make optimal use of the available online visiting options, the Vereniging Gehandicaptenzorg Nederland (VGN), Vilans and the University of Twente have been asked for their input on sustainable implementation.
The objective is to combine scientific knowledge with the hands-on experiences of residents, relatives, professionals and volunteers to develop a set of guidelines for tailored online visiting. By taking into account the prerequisites for online visits and considering what help residential care locations need, we can help to create the best possible online visiting experiences for both residents and their loved ones.
About the researchers
What is your role within the Academic Collaborative Centre related to people with PIMD?
I’m currently a PhD student focusing on the use of technology in people with PIMD. First of all, the project examines the specific types of technology that are being used in people with PIMD and the benefits on their quality of life. Secondly, we want to get a better understanding of the implementation process. Therefore, we study factors related to the implementation of technology in people with PIMD.
What do you hope to achieve?
The main goal is to improve the implementation of technology in people with PIMD and contribute to sustainable use of these technologies. With this, I would like to make life a little bit brighter for people with PIMD and their families. I hope to ease the burden on families, so that they can spend less time making the necessary care arrangements and more time enjoying their day. To achieve this goal, we need to combine our scientific knowledge with the knowledge and experience of the families and healthcare professionals in our target group. Together we can normalise the use of technology in people with PIMD and make sure that they can benefit from technology as well.
What is your role within the Academic Collaborative Centre related to people with PIMD?
I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen, and for my research, I am affiliated with the ACC PIMD. My research focuses on developing and implementing interventions. In addition to this, I also teach in the Department of Special Needs Education.
What do you hope to achieve?
Fortunately, science is no longer something that exists entirely separate from ‘the real world,’ I hope to bring science and practice closer together. By working with experts by experience and healthcare professionals the chances increase that research results will be relevant and applicable.