eHealth in chronic disease self-management

In this project we dived into the conditions that are necessary to be able to continue living independently with a chronic illness via eHealth applications. We combine scientific research with context-specific innovations.

With the general increase in lifespan, the number of chronically ill people increases. This is not only due to the numer of patients confronted with a chronic illness, but also due to an increase in the duration of a patient with a chronic illness. As a result, the pressure on our health care system has increased enormously and the costs of providing care is becoming higher.

The government is withdrawing further and citizens are increasingly actively involved in their treatment or care process. The current wish, but also the necessity, is that people with a chronic illness or disability continue to function independently at home for longer periods of time. This means that they have more control over their own lives and that care costs can remain lower. Innovations to support these processes of living independently for longer and facilitating more direct control are therefore essential.

Within the project 'Institutional embedding of person-oriented approach to eHealth in chronic disease self-management', we investigate the conditions that are necessary for managing a chronic illness with the help of eHealth. In doing so, we not only focus on the needs of the patient, but also focus on the institutional embedding of eHealth from a person-centered approach to care. As a case study we have chosen the artificial pancreas. Through this application, the disease is better regulated so that fewer diabetes-related diseases occur later in life.

The aim of the consortium is to link scientific research to context-specific innovation. From this approach we bring the knowledge from different disciplines together to explore the preconditions for, and the institutional implementation of eHealth.

This project was initiated by the foundation Prevention, Early diagnosis and E-Health (PEE).