eHealth as an Aid for Facilitating and Supporting Self-management in Families With Long-term Childhood Illness

Brief Summary

The overall aim is twofold: 1) to stretch the borderline regarding the present knowledge of clinical and economic cost-effectiveness of eHealth as an aid for facilitating and supporting self-management in families with long-term childhood illness, and 2) to develop a sustainable multidisciplinary research environment for advancing, evaluating, and implementing models of eHealth to promote self-management for children and their families. A number of clinical studies are planned for, covering different parts of paediatric healthcare. The concept of child-centred care is essential. Experienced researchers from care science, medicine, economics, technology, and social science will collaborate around common issues. Expertise on IT technology will analyse the preconditions for using IT; economic evaluations will be performed alongside clinical studies; and cultural and implementation perspectives will be used to analyse the challenges that arise from the changes in relations among children, family and professionals, which may occur as a result of the introduction of eHealth. Child health is not only important in itself. Investments in child health may also generate significant future gains, such as improved educational and labour market performance. Six complex, long-term and costly challenges in paediatric healthcare are planned for, involving eHealth technology such as interactive video consultation, pictures, on-line monitoring, and textual communication. The research follows an international framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions in healthcare. End-users (families) and relevant care providers (professionals in health and social care) will participate throughout the research process. The overall aim is certainly to analyse eHealth as an aid for facilitating and supporting self-management. However, the plan also includes the research issue whether eHealth at the same time improves the allocation of scarce health care- and societal resources.