Completing a life: comfort level and ease of use of a CD-ROM among seriously ill patients.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate use of a CD-ROM titled Completing a Life among patients diagnosed with serious illnesses for comfort level with content and ease of computer use.

DESIGN:
A prospective pilot study collected a convenience sample of 50 people diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses during a six-month period.

SETTING:
The hematology/oncology department of a large healthcare system located in a metropolitan area in the midwestern United States.

SAMPLE:
Convenience sample of 50 patients diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses. Of the patients enrolled (age range = 38-93 years), 72% were female, 68% were Caucasian, 50% were diagnosed with breast cancer or nonsolid tumors, and 40% were newly diagnosed.

METHODS:
Subjects viewed the CD-ROM and completed pre- and post-intervention surveys.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES:
Comfort level with educational media, comfort level of information viewed, and areas of CD-ROM viewed compared to age and stage of illness.

FINDINGS:
Ninety percent of patients reported that they were somewhat or very comfortable with the CD-ROM as a learning tool, and ease of use was rated at 98%. Patients' comfort level with the material increased from 76% to 90% after they viewed the CD-ROM.

CONCLUSIONS:
The pilot study suggests that the Completing a Life CD-ROM can be used with patients facing serious or life-limiting illnesses as an additional resource tool for information.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING:
Nurses typically provide the bulk of educational material for their patients. With limited resources available regarding management of life-limiting illnesses, this resource may provide an excellent addition to resources currently available.

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Author information

Author/s: Lambing, Angela (A); Markey, Carolyn Anne (CA); Neslund-Dudas, Christine M (CM); Bricker, Leslie J (LJ);

Affiliation: Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Center, Henry Ford Health System, Detriot, MI, USA. alambin1(-atsign-)hfhs.org

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article

Journal: Oncology nursing forum (Oncol Nurs Forum), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Sep; vol 33 (issue 5) : pp 999-1006

Dates: Created 2006/09/06; Completed 2006/10/11; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 16955127, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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