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eHealth: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2017) | Viewed by 29695

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Tim Shaw

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on “eHealth” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The venue is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles and communications. For detailed information on the journal, we refer you to http//www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph.

eHealth is impacting on almost all aspects of healthcare. This includes how care is delivered and assessed, how health information is managed, and what online tools and mobile devices are being used to improve and maintain health and wellbeing in a more effective and efficient manner.

This Special Issue is open to present research that demonstrates how eHealth is transforming the way healthcare is delivered through the development of new models of care or innovations that were previously not possible.

This Special Issue represents an effort to capture current developments in this field, and to provide a forum for cutting-edge contributions to the literature.

Prof. Dr. Tim Shaw
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Digital health
eHealth
mobile health
chronic disease
healthcare transformation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5933 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of an mHealth Application for Women Newly Diagnosed with Osteoporosis without Preceding Fractures: A Participatory Design Approach

by Pernille Ravn Jakobsen, Anne Pernille Hermann, Jens Søndergaard, Uffe Kock Wiil and Jane Clemensen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(2), 330; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020330 - 13 Feb 2018

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 6569

Abstract

mHealth is a useful tool to improve health outcome within chronic disease management. However, mHealth is not implemented in the field of postmenopausal osteoporosis even though it is a major worldwide health challenge. Therefore, this study aims to design and develop an mHealth app to support women in self-management of osteoporosis when they are diagnosed without preceding fractures. Participatory design is conducted in three phases. Based on identified needs in the first phase, a prototype is designed and developed in an iterative process in the second phase before the mHealth app is tested in the third phase. This paper focuses on the user activities in phase two and describes how a team of researchers, women, physicians, healthcare professionals, and app designers are involved in the participatory design process. The study shows that participatory design is a viable approach when developing an mHealth app for women with asymptomatic osteoporosis. Results obtained from the workshops and laboratory tests demonstrate the importance of feedback from users in the iterative process, as well as the participation of users and app designers in workshops and laboratory tests to enable mutual learning when developing new mHealth solutions. The regular member-checks and involvement of users helped to identify challenges associated with providing healthcare services through an app. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue eHealth: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare)

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8 pages, 261 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility of e-Health Interventions on Smoking Cessation among Vietnamese Active Internet Users

by Bach Xuan Tran, Xuan Thanh Thi Le, Phuong Ngoc Nguyen, Quynh Ngoc Hoang Le, Hue Thi Mai, Huong Lan Thi Nguyen, Huong Thi Le, Tung Thanh Tran, Carl A. Latkin, Melvyn W.B. Zhang and Roger C.M. Ho

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(1), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010165 - 20 Jan 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 6060

Abstract

Introduction: Although e-health interventions are widely implemented as a supportive measure to smoking cessation, there is a lack of evidence in the feasibility of its application among Vietnamese youths, which is considered to be one of the most frequent internet using populations. This study assessed the quitting attempts among smokers and their preference and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications in a sample of active internet users approached. Methods: A total of 1082 participants were recruited for the online-based survey from August to October 2015 in Vietnam. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, health information seeking behaviors on the internet, smoking status, quitting attempts and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the associated factors with current smoking and willingness to pay for the smoking cessation application. Results: About 11% of participants were current smokers while 73.4% had attempted to quit smoking. Only 26.8% of the individuals indicated that they were willing to utilize a smartphone application to assist them in quitting. Participants who were male, had partners/spouse and lived at other places were more likely to smoke cigarette. Meanwhile, people who spent 50–70% of their online time to read health information were less likely to smoke. Results also show that living with family and never sharing health information on the internet were negatively associated with a participant’s willingness to pay for the smartphone application. Meanwhile, people who highly trusted health information were more likely to be willing to pay for the application. Conclusions: This prevalence of smoking and associated factors can provide potential indicators for creating several public health interventions in the new environment with the increasing development of information technology. This study implies that in order to expand the coverage of smoking cessation interventions, we recommend the integration of e-health interventions with clinical- or telephone-based conventional models by providing smartphone applications and information on the internet from reliable sources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue eHealth: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare)

16 pages, 566 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Emergence and Unfolding of Telemonitoring Practices in Different Healthcare Organizations

by Jannie Kristine Bang Christensen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(1), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010061 - 03 Jan 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4503

Abstract

Telemonitoring, a sub-category of telemedicine, is promoted as a solution to meet the challenges in Western healthcare systems in terms of an increasing population of people with chronic conditions and fragmentation issues. Recent findings from large-scale telemonitoring programs reveal that these promises are difficult to meet in complex real-life settings which may be explained by concentrating on the practices that emerge when telemonitoring is used to treat patients with chronic conditions. This paper explores the emergence and unfolding of telemonitoring practices in relation to a large-scale, inter-organizational home telemonitoring program which involved 5 local health centers, 10 district nurse units, four hospitals, and 225 general practice clinics in Denmark. Twenty-eight interviews and 28 h of observations of health professionals and administrative staff were conducted over a 12-month period from 2014 to 2015. This study’s findings reveal how telemonitoring practices emerged and unfolded differently among various healthcare organizations. This study suggests that the emergence and unfolding of novel practices is the result of complex interplay between existing work practices, alterations of core tasks, inscriptions in the technology, and the power to either adopt or ignore such novel practices. The study enhances our understanding of how novel technology like telemonitoring impacts various types of healthcare organizations when implemented in a complex inter-organizational context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue eHealth: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare)

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3196 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Care Model Design for E-Health: Integration of Point-of-Care Testing at Dutch General Practices

by Bart Verhees, Kees Van Kuijk and Lianne Simonse

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010004 - 21 Dec 2017

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5487

Abstract

Point-of-care testing (POCT)—laboratory tests performed with new mobile devices and online technologies outside of the central laboratory—is rapidly outpacing the traditional laboratory test market, growing at a rate of 12 to 15% each year. POCT impacts the diagnostic process of care providers by yielding high efficiency benefits in terms of turnaround time and related quality improvements in the reduction of errors. However, the implementation of this disruptive eHealth technology requires the integration and transformation of diagnostic services across the boundaries of healthcare organizations. Research has revealed both advantages and barriers of POCT implementations, yet to date, there is no business model for the integration of POCT within general practice. The aim of this article is to contribute with a design for a care model that enables the integration of POCT in primary healthcare. In this research, we used a design modelling toolkit for data collection at five general practices. Through an iterative design process, we modelled the actors and value transactions, and designed an optimized care model for the dynamic integration of POCTs into the GP’s network of care delivery. The care model design will have a direct bearing on improving the integration of POCT through the connectivity and norm guidelines between the general practice, the POC technology, and the diagnostic centre. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue eHealth: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare)

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Review

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708 KiB

Open AccessReview

Interdisciplinary eHealth Practice in Cancer Care: A Review of the Literature

by Anna Janssen, Melissa Brunner, Melanie Keep, Monique Hines, Srivalli Vilapakkam Nagarajan, Candice Kielly-Carroll, Sarah Dennis, Zoe McKeough and Tim Shaw

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(11), 1289; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111289 - 25 Oct 2017

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 6388

Abstract

This review aimed to identify research that described how eHealth facilitates interdisciplinary cancer care and to understand the ways in which eHealth innovations are being used in this setting. An integrative review of eHealth interventions used for interdisciplinary care for people with cancer was conducted by systematically searching research databases in March 2015, and repeated in September 2016. Searches resulted in 8531 citations, of which 140 were retrieved and scanned in full, with twenty-six studies included in the review. Analysis of data extracted from the included articles revealed five broad themes: (i) data collection and accessibility; (ii) virtual multidisciplinary teams; (iii) communication between individuals involved in the delivery of health services; (iv) communication pathways between patients and cancer care teams; and (v) health professional-led change. Use of eHealth interventions in cancer care was widespread, particularly to support interdisciplinary care. However, research has focused on development and implementation of interventions, rather than on long-term impact. Further research is warranted to explore design, evaluation, and long-term sustainability of eHealth systems and interventions in interdisciplinary cancer care. Technology evolves quickly and researchers need to provide health professionals with timely guidance on how best to respond to new technologies in the health sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue eHealth: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare)

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