Title: Measuring body temperature wirelessly: acceptance in a hospital environment and possible surveillance implications

Authors: Jiří Mertl; David Tolar

Addresses: New Technologies – Research Centre, Department of Man-Machine Interaction, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitni 8, 301 00, Plzen, Czech Republic ' New Technologies – Research Centre, Department of Man-Machine Interaction, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitni 8, 301 00, Plzen, Czech Republic

Abstract: In this study, we present measuring and monitoring body temperature using a device that can gather data about temperature and send them wirelessly to a router that sends the data to a computer where the patients' temperatures can be read. The computer can also create a temperature timeline for assessing patients' temperature history and alert staff when any monitored patient has a high temperature. We employed the participative approach throughout the developing and testing process and conducted a research using a mixed-methods approach focused on acceptance of the device in a hospital environment. We found out that the device could be implemented in a hospital practice without any major technical problem, except for attachment of the device, but it poses a potential ethical problem, as the wireless thermometer can contribute to surveillance culture/atmosphere. Thus, excessive surveillance as an ethical issue needs to be addressed rather than technical issues.

Keywords: body temperature; mixed methods; participatory design; surveillance; wireless thermometer.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEH.2021.117831

International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, 2021 Vol.11 No.4, pp.331 - 347

Received: 29 Jul 2020
Accepted: 25 Feb 2021
Published online: 27 Sep 2021 *

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