Abbreviation: Low SES & eHealth

Healthy behaviors, such as engaging in physical activity and following a healthy diet, are important in the prevention of chronic diseases, but literature shows that such behaviors are less prevalent in groups with a low socioeconomic status. Due to the increasing financial pressure on healthcare systems, eHealth interventions have been widely discussed as a possible solution to improve health behaviors. However, eHealth is considered a cause of health disparities, as it requires digital skills and a specific pro-active attitude towards health and healthcare that is not shared among all socioeconomic classes.

To turn eHealth into a solution for people in low socioeconomic environments, it is necessary to design it in such a way that it fits their needs, preferences and capabilities. Therefore, we aim to develop a guideline that consists of design principles that enhance alignment of eHealth to people with a low socioeconomic status. The development of this guideline will be addressed from both a top-down and bottom-up perspective and is performed within the ‘Medical Delta eHealth & selfmanagement for a healthy society program. The current project focusses on the bottom-up perspective, and will gain insight in the attitude of people with low socioeconomic status towards health, healthcare and eHealth by taking a participatory research approach, which entails the involvement of a community in all phases of the project. The insights will subsequently be translated to design principles. In order to validate these principles, they will be implemented into a redesign process of a cardiac rehabilitation intervention at Capri Cardiac Rehabilitation (Rotterdam).

Scientific Lead

dr. Valentijn Visch (TU Delft)

dr. Rita van den Berg-Emons

Majanka Heijenbrok-Kal

PhD candidate

Jasper Faber

Period

01-09-2019 / 01-09-2023

Research Lines

Physical fitness and lifestyle

Clinical Focus Area

Cardiac Rehabilitation