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Health Informatics Journal
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Organizational communication and awareness: a novel solution for health informatics

Anne Adams

UCL (Interaction Centre), University College London, Remax House, 31-32 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP, UK, A.Adams{at}cs.ucl.ac.uk

Ann Blandford

UCL (Interaction Centre), A.Blandford{at}cs.ucl.ac.uk

Dawn Budd

Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust, D.Budd{at}mkgeneral.nhs.uk

Neil Bailey

Swansea NHS Trust, Neil.Bailey{at}swansea-tr.wales.nhs.uk

As organizations grow larger and more distributed, the problems of maintaining corporate awareness and effective communication channels escalate. The clinical domain poses particular challenges to maintaining good corporate communications because users have limited time to access information and often have negative technology perceptions. This article highlights how a screen saver application, initially designed to increase privacy and security, developed into a new communication medium improving corporate communication across the organization. An ethnographic study of the application within a hospital setting, analysed using grounded theory methods, details the iterative and organic development of the design through ‘community of practice’ involvement. This application and the evolutionary process through which it was developed were found to not only increase awareness of resources, activities and hospital changes but also positively influence users’ perceptions of, involvement in and ownership of general IT developments. User involvement also raised the importance, for the designers, of application usability, quality and aesthetics.

Key Words: communication • communities of practice • organizational awareness • social issues

Health Informatics Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3, 163-178 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1460458205052357
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Introduction to Healthcare Technologies in Practice
Health Informatics Journal, March 1, 2007; 13(1): 5 - 8.
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