Abstract
BackgroundDespite the potential of eHealth services to revolutionize the way healthcare and prevention is provided many applications developed for patients fail to deliver their promise. Therefore, the aim of this study is to use patient journey mapping to explore post-discharge stroke patients’ information needs to propose eHealth services that meet their needs throughout their care and rehabilitation processes.MethodsThree focus groups with younger (<65 years) and older (> = 65 years) stroke patients were performed. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Stroke patients’ information needs was explored using patient journey model.ResultsFour main events (discharge from hospital, discharge from rehab clinic, coming home, and clinical encounters) and two phases (at rehab clinic, at home) have been identified in patients’ post-discharge journey. The main categories identified in this study indicate that patients not only need to have access to health related information about their care and rehabilitation processes but also practical guidance through healthcare and community services. Patients also have different information needs at different events and during different phases. Potential supportive eHealth services were suggested by the researchers considering different parts of the patients’ journeys.ConclusionsPatient journey models and qualitative analysis of patients’ information needs are powerful tools that can be used to improve healthcare from a patient perspective. As patients’ understanding of their illness changes over time, their need of more flexible support throughout the care and rehabilitation processes increases. To design appropriate eHealth services that meet patients’ information needs, it is imperative to understand the current care and rehabilitation processes and identify patients’ information needs throughout their journey.
Highlights
Despite the potential of eHealth services to revolutionize the way healthcare and prevention is provided many applications developed for patients fail to deliver their promise
We focus on the post-discharge stroke patients’ experiences and the results will be presented in form of a patient journey model, followed by an analysis of the patients’ information needs and supportive eHealth services proposed by the authors of this study
The analysis of the patient journey model indicates that post-discharge stroke care can be divided into four main events and two phases (Fig. 3)
Summary
Despite the potential of eHealth services to revolutionize the way healthcare and prevention is provided many applications developed for patients fail to deliver their promise. Koch et al provide a new description of eHealth in 2010: “We see eHealth not in the broader scope of encompassing the entire field of health and medical informatics but as a continuation of the fields of telemedicine and telehealth that in combination with the rising field of consumer informatics has the potential to revolutionize the way healthcare and prevention is provided, shifting the balance of power and responsibility from healthcare professionals to patients and citizens” [9] Another term used in this study is e-services. Despite the potential of eHealth services to revolutionize the way healthcare and prevention is provided, shifting the balance of power and responsibility from healthcare professionals to patients and citizens [9, 11], many applications developed for patients are either designed from a healthcare provider’s perspective or standalone health applications, e.g. mobile apps for activity tracking. Post-discharge stroke patients’ information needs and their need for appropriate eHealth services throughout the patient journey is in focus
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