EHealth
Discussion
eHealth as a field of research
LUCA CAMERINI & YUJUNG NAM:
"The Internet is one of the most widely adopted communication technologies in the world today (2009). The communicative practices within the healthcare systems are no exception. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than 75 percent of American adults have used the Internet to find medical information (Pew Internet & American Life Report, 2008). Similar data can be seen amongst European countries (Internet World Stats, 2009). The Internet is not only used to locate health information, but also to locate treatment plans, buy drugs, and keep track of health data. The widespread use of the Internet for such a variety of purposes demonstrates the need for a systematic approach to the study of its impact on the healthcare system and the individuals who navigate it. For this reason, a new field of research, eHealth, has been created. Currently, one of the most widely recognized definitions of eHealth states that it is the use of emerging information and communication technology, especially the Internet, to improve or enable health and healthcare (Eng, 2001). According to Eysenbach (2005), this field has grown in the intersection of medical informatics, public health, and business and is defined as referring to health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies. The scope of eHealth, according to these definitions, is very large and includes technologies that might not necessarily be web-based.
A literature review conducted by Oh, Rizo, Enkin, and Jaded (2005) found more than 51 definitions for the term. They also found that despite the terminological disagreement a number of these definitions have common characteristics including the use of technology as the main communication channel and a focus on health-related issues. The combination of these two components results in eHealth interventions, which Bennett and Glasgow (2009) defined as “systematic treatment/prevention programs, usually addressing one or more determinants of health (frequent health behaviors), delivered largely via the Internet (although not necessarily web-based), and interfacing with an end user.”
Source: Chapter 6 on eHealth, from New Intersections of Internet Research