University of Twente Student Theses
How technology can be supportive and motivating for patients with chronic heart failure
Groeneveld, R.G.A. (2019) How technology can be supportive and motivating for patients with chronic heart failure.
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| Abstract: | Background: eHealth is an important factor in the self-management of chronically ill patients. Even though there are many existing theories on how to persuade users into using eHealth technologies, adherence is not always optimal. This study aims to find factors that influence chronic heart failure (CHF) patients in their self-management, and see how eHealth can be deployed to be more supportive and help motivate chronically ill patients in their self-management. This study made use of a case example called 'mijn Health e-Portal', or mijnHEP for short. By discussing the mijnHEP it was determined how the elements of eHealth were experienced amongst patients. In addition possible opportunities for improvement of this platform were uncovered. Methods: This study used qualitative structured interviews (n=10) which consisted of 2 parts. In the first part patients were asked about their experiences in living with their illnesses. In the second part patients were ask to orientate themselves on the mijnHEP platform and describe their experiences with eHealth interventions like the case example. This way, data was gathered to identify bottlenecks in chronic self-care management and uncover what role eHealth can fulfill in this aspect. Results: The interviews provided two kinds of results, those specific to the mijnHEP platform and those related towards self-management and eHealth in general. The results specific to the mijnHEP platform were formulated into 47 requirements. Six bottlenecks in the self-management of CHF patients were identified: dealing with mental stress, lack of introduction into cardiac rehabilitation programs, lack of acknowledgement, trust in technologies, coordination between healthcare providers, and the level of control of their own rehabilitation. The patients also described the participation of their health care providers in eHealth interventions as an important factor to their adherence. Conclusion: eHealth interventions have the potential to be of added value in the self-management of chronically ill patients. To keep up adherence levels in eHealth interventions, it seems these kinds of technologies benefit from a multidisciplinary implementation. In addition, there should be attention towards the involvement of social circles of CHF patients, in order to create awareness of the illnesses. Furthermore, the goals and functions of eHealth platforms should be clear, to increase ease of use. The introduction users get to these platforms seems to be another vital aspect in the success of eHealth platforms. A key principle in resolving these kinds of bottlenecks is a personalized approach in addressing the needs and wishes elicited from all of the stakeholders involved. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Clients: | Vital10, Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
| Faculty: | TNW: Science and Technology |
| Subject: | 70 social sciences in general |
| Programme: | Health Sciences MSc (66851) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/77885 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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