eHealth Research Theory and Development

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the social and technological context from which eHealth applications have arisen, the psychological principles on which they are based, and the key development and evaluation issues relevant to their successful intervention.

Integrating how eHealth applications can be used for both mental and physical health issues, it presents a complete guide to what eHealth means in theory, as well as how it can be used in practice. Inspired by the principles and structure of the CeHRes Roadmap, a multidisciplinary framework that combines and uses aspects from approaches such as human-centred design, persuasive technology and business modelling, the book first examines the theoretical foundations of eHealth and then assesses its practical application and assessment.

Including case studies, a glossary of key terms, and end of chapter summaries, this ground-breaking book provides a holistic overview of one of the most important recent developments in healthcare. It will be essential reading for students, researchers and professionals across the fields of health psychology, public health and design technology.

Prof. Dr. Lisette van Gemert-Pijnen is Professor in Persuasive Health Technology at the University of Twente, The Netherlands and Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She founded the Centre for eHealth and Wellbeing Research (www.cewr.nl). Her research focuses on the development and the implementation of persuasive eCoaching systems to increase trust, engagement and adherence to eHealth technologies, and to foster implementation of these technologies in practice.

Dr. Saskia M. Kelders is Assistant Professor at the Centre for eHealth of the University of Twente, The Netherlands and Wellbeing Research and Extraordinary Professor at the Optentia research focus area of the North-West University, South Africa.

Hanneke Kip is a PhD student at the Centre for eHealth and Wellbeing Research of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, with a background in psychology and an interest in behaviour change and improvement of mental healthcare via technology. Her current research focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation of eHealth technologies in forensic mental healthcare.

Prof. Dr. Robbert Sanderman is Professor in Health Psychology at both the University of Groningen and at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. His research focuses on psychological and social adaptation to chronic life-threatening illness and on the use of psychological interventions, including eHealth tools.