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Health Innovations and Technology

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 August 2020) | Viewed by 4032

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. TRANZO Scientific Center for Care and Wellbeing, TS Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
2. Fontys School for Allied Health Professions, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interests: technology acceptance; health care; technological and social innovation; implementation; co-creation; multi-stakeholder perspective
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As a result of demographic changes, worldwide, the relative and absolute number of older people has substantially increased. At the same time, the prevalence of chronic diseases forms a significant challenge for health care. Technological development (in the broadest sense) is, on the one hand, strongly related to these demographic changes. On the other hand, it is also considered as a solution to cope with chronic disease, and specifically for the support of living independently despite old age. In general, it bears the promise to improve the quality of health care and quality of life.

The actual use of technological innovations (e.g., eHealth) in the context of health care, as well as the nature of chronic health problems, which often are part of multi-morbidity and complex health conditions, are complicated. For technology to be implemented in health care programmes and to be part of daily living, many stakeholders have to be considered. Not only for the patients themselves, but also for the formal and informal caregivers, as well as, for example, technological, organisational, financial, and policy stakeholders. All parties have a perspective on these innovations, and only if these perspectives are well aligned, technological innovations have the potential for success (i.e., adding value to health care and supporting quality of life for persons with chronic conditions).

This Special Issue welcomes studies and reviews that consider the perspectives of several stakeholders on technological innovations for chronic disease conditions. All chronic conditions can be addressed. As for stakeholders, especially from the perspectives of patients, their informal and formal caregivers that make use of innovative technologies that are used to support the autonomy and self-management of patients with chronic health conditions, both community living and in nursing homes, are important. In addition, the perspectives of other parties who are part of the studies of the views of (informal) caregivers and patients with chronic diseases, are appreciated. The goal of this Issue is to provide an overview of what it takes, starting with the primary stakeholders, to establish sustainable, personalised chronic health care that improves quality of life and quality of health care.

This Special Issue will provide readers with state-of-the-art theory and practical information on human and social perspectives that determine the uptake of technological innovations in the daily life of persons living with a chronic condition.

Prof. Dr. Eveline J.M. Wouters
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • Health care
  • Chronic conditions
  • Technology use
  • Multi-stakeholder perspective
  • Acceptance and implementation theory
  • Barriers and facilitators for technology uptake
  • Formal and informal caregivers and patients’ perspectives

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1903 KiB  
Article
The Perspectives of Professional Caregivers on Implementing Audio-Based Technology in Residential Dementia Care
by Maarten Houben, Rens Brankaert, Gail Kenning, Berry Eggen and Inge Bongers
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(17), 6333; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176333 - 31 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3617
Abstract
Music and familiar everyday sounds can be meaningful for people with dementia by providing benefits such as evoking memories and emotions or prompting social interactions with caregivers or relatives. Motivated by this potential, researchers and designers are investigating how to leverage these beneficial [...] Read more.
Music and familiar everyday sounds can be meaningful for people with dementia by providing benefits such as evoking memories and emotions or prompting social interactions with caregivers or relatives. Motivated by this potential, researchers and designers are investigating how to leverage these beneficial effects of sound in care environments through audio-based technology. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of how audio-based technology can be successfully implemented within everyday care practice. In this paper, we present the outcome of three participatory workshops with 18 professional caregivers to explore how audio-based technology can add value to existing care processes and activities in residential dementia care. During the participatory workshops, professional caregivers (1) mapped existing care activities; (2) linked findings in research with practice, and (3) designed scenarios for the Vita sound cushion. Care professionals indicate how audio-based technology can support existing care practice by influencing the mood of residents and by supporting social interaction during moments of care, daytime activities, or situational sessions. This study bridges research findings with insights from practice, contributing to a shared understanding of opportunities for embedding audio-based technology in dementia care. These opportunities motivate future research to implement and evaluate audio-based technology in residential dementia care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Innovations and Technology)
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