Older (65+) patients’ use of e-mail consultations: A Danish qualitative study using a Foucauldian framework
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Bavngaard, Martin V. [1] ; Grønning, Anette [1]
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[1] University of Southern Denmark
University of Southern Denmark
Dinamarca
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- Localización: Catalan journal of communication & cultural studies, ISSN 1757-1898, Vol. 13, Nº. 2, 2021 (Ejemplar dedicado a: The Breakthrough of Digital Health), págs. 179-194
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
In Denmark, e-mail consultations (e-cons) are now supplementing conventional consultations with doctors and raising questions related to self-governing technology from the patient perspective. Interestingly, old patients are the most frequent users of this kind of consultation. This article examines how e-cons affect old people’s relationships with and perceptions of their general practitioners (GPs) regarding trust, self-governance and indirect/direct power. This qualitative study is based on interviews with twenty patients between 66 and 83 years old. Applying a thematic analysis in which four salient themes were identified, the study demonstrates that the patients perceive the GP as powerful, knowledgeable and busy; this corresponds with the power relationship between disciplinary institutions and individuals. At the same time, many patients use e-cons as a technology of self-governance, thereby taking responsibility for their own health while still being able to contact the clinic. In this way, patients achieve the potential for self-management, while clinics maintain their institutional power.
