It is important to state, that in this study (and appears, that even wider in the western world) e-Health as a concept means web-based health-aware websites mainly. In Estonia, we think of E-health as digital prescriptions, online registration for the GP etc - all in all, I would think that the concept of E-health is more innovative in Estonia than eg in this research.
But contrary, the article focused on a even more interesting study - how would and will interactive media affect people's health-related actions and what is the success rate over the traditional media. As expected, interactivity and personification of the message is more successful in instituting a healthy behavior from the person and I believe, that this is not the only field, where interactivity in a medium would benefit good intentions towards mankind.
--
According to the authors of the study, half of industrialized countries population suffers from diseases because of actions they take upon themselves. New media and it´s communication channels have proven to be successful in acknowledgements of health risks and reducing these kinds of self-destructive actions by different studies.
The need to take action against this kind of behavior lies on the The World Health Organization stated fact, that 10 behavioral factors (damage that we choose upon us) make 50% of causes for diseases. WHO reports and the national health frameworks propose that health communication should be the primary strategy to influence people’s behavior.
Past research done it that field provides a large body of evidence that new communication technologies and an enhanced understanding of the communication needs of targeted audiences can significantly alter health behaviors associated with for example cancer risk reduction.
"It is our view that traditional health communication is frequently insufficient to engage people to change behavior within the complex contexts of their lives. “E-health communication,” health promotion efforts that are mediated by computers and other digital technologies may have great potential to promote desired behavior changes through unique features such as mass customization, interactivity, and convenience."
In the research, it was stated that both theory and empirical studies highlight the need to customize communication so that it more closely fits people’s personal characteristics and social settings. "Currently, much communication is delivered to the general public with “one size fits all” messages.," the researchers stated. Rice (2001) asserts that interactivity may be the attribute of communication with the greatest implication for health promotion, because it provides the user with control and a way to participate. This idea is supported by recent research that identifies “self-efficacy” and “perceptions of control” to be the most powerful mediators of behavioral change (Bull, Holt, Kreuter, Clark, & Scharff, 2001).
The e-health revolution has produced an ever-increasing number of new communication channels and strategies, such as: health information on the Internet, computer assisted learning, Internet radio and television, interactive voice recognition, online support groups, online collaborative communities, information tailored by computer technologies, computer-controlled in-home telephone counseling, CD-Rom's and DVD-Rom's, bio-metric assessment and transmission, and patient-provider e-mail contact.
All of these have become to life based on the statement, that interactivity and participation are hypothesized to increase self-efficacy and sense of control, the strongest known mediators of behavioral change.
"One outcome (of using new media) is that mass and interpersonal features can
now be combined – as a “hybrid medium” – in communication initiatives. For example, a health care organization can send highly personalized information to patients en masse. Likewise, patients can query their health providers at their convenience and in their own words. People with rare diseases can create online communities and even set up collaborative research programs. People can be developers as well as receivers of information. The Internet is the first “many to many” medium in history."
One of the examples the researchers used for descriptive purposes, was CHESS (web-based interactive health system in US) and it's user-base satisfaction level among users. Women subjects reported high usage of CHESS and that it improved their feelings of empowerment and motivation and reduced negative emotions such as fear, stress and anger. The CHESS group showed reduced health care visits and hospitalizations as compared with the control group outcomes.
It was also stated by the researchers, that (at least in US) health awareness is the main factor, which thrives people to use Internet. "Health information is a priority for Internet users. In the US in February 2003, 78% of 109 million online users (52% of all US adults) searched for health information online. (Harris Interactive, 2003). Users primarily searched for information about immediate health problems (91%); only 13% looked for ways to prevent health problems."
Even if nations understand the value of extensive, interactive health media, the applications still need to be developed. However, according to Eng (2001), there are few sustainable e-health revenue models outside of those for clinical care. Fisher (1995) concludes that because “free market forces” are not sufficient to develop e-health applications in the near term, government support is essential to promote highly effective communication.
In conclusion it was stated that E-health communication, mediated by computers and other digital technologies, has the potential to extend and amplify the impact of traditional health promotion media by "linking, personalizing, and expanding the coverage of health promotion messages".
Link to text:
http://classweb.gmu.edu/gkreps/820/026.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment