Mobile Health Research Group™

Enchancing Patient Management And Clinical Systems In Hospital Ward Settings Using Mobile, Wireless Technologies

(The mWard project)

ARC Linkage Project, LP0455331 (2004-2006)

The mWard project investigated the implementation of wireless devices and applications for patient administration in the Neurosciences ward at Monash Medical Centre. A wireless infrastructure was installed and clinical staff were able to conduct their rounds with notebook computers or PDAs at the patients’ bedside. The research team assessed the acceptance of the new devices and applications by nursing and medical staff. Organisational change issues and new work practice adaptation in a technology-enhanced environment was of particular interest. Outcomes from the project include a set of guidelines and techniques for introducing and managing technology-enhanced patient administration and clinical systems.

Research Team:

• Dr Linda Dawson
• Associate Professor Julie Fisher
• Dr Liza Heslop
• Dr Stephen Weeding

Research Associates:

• Dr Andrew Howard
• Mr David Ramsay
• Dr Andrew Rothfield
• Ms Lyn Wallace

mWard was featured in the following publications:

Publications:

• Dawson, L., Fisher, J., Weeding, S., Heslop, L. and Howard, A. (2009) “Action Research in emerging technologies in Health Information Systems: creating a mobile information environment in a hospital ward”, in Proceedings of 8th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, Valletta, Malta, (to appear).
• Heslop, L., Weeding, S., Dawson, L., Fisher, J. and Howard, A. (2009) "Implementation Issues For Mobile-Wireless Infrastructure And Mobile Health Care Computing Devices For A Hospital Ward Setting", Journal of Medical Systems, in press.
• Fisher, J., Dawson, L., Weeding, S and Heslop, L. (2006) “Implementing a mobile wireless environment in a hospital ward: encouraging adoption by nursing staff” in Proceedings of the 19th Bled e-Conference, Bled, Slovenia, June 5 - 7, 2006
  
• Fisher, J., Dawson, L., Heslop, L. and Weeding, S. (2006) “Information management in the mobile hospital work domain” in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information Management & Business (IMB 2006), Sydney, Australia, February 13-16, 2006
  
• Dawson, L., Fisher, J. and Heslop, L. (2005) “Investigating the potential improvement of patient management systems in hospital ward settings using mobile, wireless technologies” in Proceedings of the First European Conference on Mobile Government (Euro mGov 2005), Sussex University, Brighton, UK, July 10-12, 2005
  
• Heslop, L, Howard, A, Fernando, J, Rothfield, A & Wallace, L, (2003) Wireless communications in acute health care ” Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. 2003 Vol 9 94) pp187-193

This ARC Linkage Project operated under the following ethics application(s): Southern Health Human Research Ethics Committee (SH-HREC) Research Project Application No. *04046A: Enchancing Patient Management And Clinical Systems In Hospital Ward Settings Using Mobile, Wireless Technologies. This application was approved by Monash University's Standing Committee on Ethics in Research Involving Humans (SCERH) following the procedure for Coordinated Reviews of Multi-centre research with Southern Health.