Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Digital Counselling: A Qualitative Descriptive Study
Kaihlaniemi, Juulia; Kääriäinen, Maria; Liljamo, Pia; Tuomikoski, Anna Maria; Oikarinen, Anne (2026-04-05)
John Wiley & Sons
05.04.2026
J.Kaihlaniemi, M.Kääriäinen, P.Liljamo, A.-M.Tuomikoski, and A.Oikarinen, “Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Digital Counselling: A Qualitative Descriptive Study,” Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences40, no. 2 (2026): e70242, https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.70242
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
© 2026 The Author(s). Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic College of Caring Science. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
© 2026 The Author(s). Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic College of Caring Science. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202604132580
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202604132580
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
Background:
This study aims to describe healthcare professionals' perceptions of digital counselling, addressing a significant research gap in existing literature. As digital services become more common in healthcare, digital counselling has become part of healthcare professionals' work. Counselling is carried out using new methods, such as text-based or video-mediated communication, which are transforming the role of healthcare professionals.
Methods:
In this qualitative descriptive study, healthcare professionals (n = 12) working in Digital Care Pathways were recruited for semi-structured interviews using convenience sampling. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis.
Results:
Five main categories were identified: facilitating the use of digital counselling applications, involvement of the patient in care, considering the patient's situation holistically, aiming for reciprocal understanding, and decision-making related to care.
Conclusions:
Digital counselling enables text-based or video-mediated interactive applications, thus involving patients in their self-care. It contains the same elements as traditional counselling, including consideration of the patient's needs, goal orientation, and interactivity, but it has its own characteristics.
Background:
This study aims to describe healthcare professionals' perceptions of digital counselling, addressing a significant research gap in existing literature. As digital services become more common in healthcare, digital counselling has become part of healthcare professionals' work. Counselling is carried out using new methods, such as text-based or video-mediated communication, which are transforming the role of healthcare professionals.
Methods:
In this qualitative descriptive study, healthcare professionals (n = 12) working in Digital Care Pathways were recruited for semi-structured interviews using convenience sampling. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis.
Results:
Five main categories were identified: facilitating the use of digital counselling applications, involvement of the patient in care, considering the patient's situation holistically, aiming for reciprocal understanding, and decision-making related to care.
Conclusions:
Digital counselling enables text-based or video-mediated interactive applications, thus involving patients in their self-care. It contains the same elements as traditional counselling, including consideration of the patient's needs, goal orientation, and interactivity, but it has its own characteristics.
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