PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Sixsmith

Publications and source records attributed to A Sixsmith.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

An occupational therapy Internet school.

Four centres in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden have collaborated to provide Internet-based courses for student and professional occupational therapists. The basis of the occupational Therapy Internet School (OTIS) is the concept of the 'virtual college'. This comprises the design and implementation of a sophisticated Internet-based system through which courses can be managed, prepared and delivered on line, and through which students can communicate both with the staff and their peers. The aim is to support and facilitate the whole range of educational activities within a remote electronic environment.

Education, Distance↗

Smart care technologies: meeting whose needs?

Recent funding programmes supporting research and development in telecare have argued for a shift in perspective from a technology-driven approach to one that is needs-led. While this is in the interests of both users and technologists, achieving this goal is not straightforward. This paper outlines some of the conceptual, methodological and practical problems that potentially constrain a needs-led approach and illustrates the emergent issues with a case study of the development of an intelligent home monitoring system to support the independent living of older people. The research indicates clear differences between users and technologists in the way problems, needs and requirements are understood and defined. This in turn has consequences for the way assistive technologies are developed and implemented.

Health Services Research↗