Investigating the Emotional Context of Pediatric Critical Care Telemedicine Consultations

Patient-present physician-to-physician telemedicine consultations have been shown to be effective, yet diffusion is not widespread. While much prior research has investigated how computer anxiety affects acceptance and usage of telemedicine and other systems, few prior studies have addressed the impact of situational anxiety (e.g., anxiety caused by the stress of treating a critically-ill child under time pressure) or other emotions on telemedicine acceptance and ongoing use. We report on findings from an embedded-cases study of four hospitals that participate in a telemedicine consultation service provided by a rural tertiary-care hospital. Interviews revealed that telemedicine can help clinicians cope with emotions such as anxiety, grief, and anger that arise from the high-stakes pediatric critical care context. Study findings point to design principles for telemedicine and for collaborative systems in other domains, in and beyond health care.