About

AEC logo colour

Assisted Electronic Communications was a project which looked at the application of media and knowledge technologies in a medical context. The project was funded by the UK Department of Health, under the Information and Communications Technologies Research Initiative. This project aimed to prototype, administer, monitor and evaluate a digital discourse system that would enable heath care professionals within an acute NHS Trust to access and contribute to threaded, asynchronous discussions and themed information.

Photo of medical staff

It also piloted the use of ‘shared social contexts’ and server-side information assistants for information exchange. Currently such applications have been explored in educational and business settings where they have significantly contributed to an increase in access to relevant information and have also facilitated a more participative and efficient decision-making culture.

Prototype

The prototype for the aec project contained a forum, so that people could access and talk with their colleagues about the important NHS document, the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease. 

Infographic about how the prototype interacts via the website, training and staff

The web page was split into two areas: at the bottom were the pages from the document, while above it was either the contents list for the document, or clicking on the “Contents” or “Forum” buttons at the top changed what was displayed. 

Team

Knowledge Media Institute
Peter Scott
Kevin Quick

IHSR, Luton University
Fiona Brooks
Maria Macintyre

Kettering General Hospital – Nursing
Christine Rospopa
Anne Williams
Janette Bennett
Maxine White
Marisa Shrimpling
Lesley Hurst
Rose Patrick

Kettering General Hospital – IM&T
John Harlow
Chris Green

Publications

P. Scott, F. Brooks, K. Quick, M. Macintyre, Christine Rospopa (2004)
Assisted Electronic Communication in Nursing, Final Report, Department of Health 121-7-184.

Scott, P. and Quick, K. (2002) Technologies for Electronically Assisting Nursing Communication, IADIS 2002, Lisbon, Portugal.

Scott, P., Quick, K., Brooks, F. and Macintyre, M. (2001) Electronically Assisting Communication for Health Professionals: engaging with digital documents, WebNet 2001, Orlando, Florida, USA, AACE Publications.

F. Brooks, M. Macintyre, P. Scott (2001) Computer-mediated communication: A means to make create a response to women’s health needs?, Proceedings of the 4th International, Australian Women’s Health Conference. Adelaide, Austrialia.

Brooks, F., Macintyre, M., Quick, K., Scott, P. and Taplin, D. (2001) Reshaping Health Professionals’ Communication: Impacts On Local Policy Development And Service Delivery/Patient Care?, E Health a futurescope. The 3rd International Conference on Advances in the Delivery of Healthcare, London, UK.

Brooks, F., Macintyre, M. and Scott, P. (2000) Exploring the impact of a digital discourse system: a means to make women’s health work more visible, 3rd International Women Work and Computerisation Conference, Vancouver, Canada.