Planning a holistic summative eHealth evaluation in an interdisciplinary and multi-national setting: a case study and propositions for guideline development

Monika Jurkeviciute,Henrik Eriksson,Amia Enam,Johanna Torres-Bonilla

doi:10.1186/s12911-021-01399-9

Abstract

BackgroundSummative eHealth evaluations frequently lack quality, which affects the generalizability of the evidence, and its use in practice and further research. To guarantee quality, a number of activities are recommended in the guidelines for evaluation planning. This study aimed to examine a case of an eHealth evaluation planning in a multi-national and interdisciplinary setting and to provide recommendations for eHealth evaluation planning guidelines.MethodsAn empirical eHealth evaluation process was developed through a case study. The empirical process was compared with selected guidelines for eHealth evaluation planning using a pattern-matching technique.ResultsPlanning in the interdisciplinary and multi-national team demanded extensive negotiation and alignment to support the future use of the evidence created. The evaluation planning guidelines did not provide specific strategies for different set-ups of the evaluation teams. Further, they did not address important aspects of quality evaluation, such as feasibility analysis of the outcome measures and data collection, monitoring of data quality, and consideration of the methods and measures employed in similar evaluations.ConclusionsActivities to prevent quality problems need to be incorporated in the guidelines for evaluation planning. Additionally, evaluators could benefit from guidance in evaluation planning related to the different set-ups of the evaluation teams.

Highlights

Summative eHealth evaluations frequently lack quality, which affects the generalizability of the evidence, and its use in practice and further research
The growing number of eHealth evaluation studies does not compensate for the limited quality in several studies [7], and it becomes challenging to compare evidence between relevant studies to continuously learn in organizations and research communities, and to generalize knowledge [8]
We focused on the planning stage of eHealth evaluation

Summary

Introduction

Summative eHealth evaluations frequently lack quality, which affects the generalizability of the evidence, and its use in practice and further research. This study aimed to examine a case of an eHealth evaluation planning in a multi-national and interdisciplinary setting and to provide recommendations for eHealth evaluation planning guidelines. EHealth, an information and communication technology that supports healthcare provision [1], is being piloted increasingly in healthcare settings, to understand. The growing number of eHealth evaluation studies does not compensate for the limited quality in several studies [7], and it becomes challenging to compare evidence between relevant studies to continuously learn in organizations and research communities, and to generalize knowledge [8]. The social aspects of eHealth evaluation teams are becoming increasingly important because more evaluations are conducted in interdisciplinary and multi-national set-ups [10]. The collaborating parties need to align their goals, agendas, and interests [10], and to build consensus [14]

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