[Air-l] Panel Proposal

[bl506 at york.ac.uk]

May I invite anyone interested in contributing to the following proposed
panel to contact me please.

Proposed Panel for aoir Conference 2006 

Health Informatics for Older People

This panel is designed to focus upon the convergence of digital technologies
to facilitate health and social care practices for older people. In many
parts of the world networked digital technologies are seen as an important
means to both improve the delivery of clinical and educational services for
older people and also to promote and enable independent care in the
community and home setting. These could include electronic patient records
(EPRs) designed to enable the sharing of information between practitioners
and agencies; the use of  interactive TV, Internet websites, help-lines to
enable users to access information; electronic networks to provide easier
on-line appointments booking; electronic messaging for reminders; the
adoption of mobile technologies; and remote consultations and assessments
through videoconferencing. 

Very often the key policy objectives informing the design and adoption of
ICTs as they relate to the health and social care of older people include
the following:
§	To both acknowledge the importance of older people (aged over 65) as
major users of health and social services together with a recognition that
existing health and social services are fragmented, provide poor services to
older people and are unable to cope with the rising demands of this group;
§	To provide integrated services whereby  health and social service
professionals and organisations share user information;
§	To enable the independent care of older people, whenever possible,
within their own homes and communities;
§	To provide a positive view of old age and include the service user
and their carers in their assessment, diagnosis and care programmes;
§	To share appropriate and easy to use information with older people
through a variety of communication means.

Please contact me or better still send me an abstract of no more than 500
words if you are interested in joining us.

Brian D. Loader
Co-Director, 
Social Informatics Research Unit (SIRU),
Deparment of Sociology,
Wentworth College,
University of York,
Heslington,
York YO10 5DD
Email bl506 at york.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0) 1904 432639
Fax: +44(0) 1904 433043