Health Informatics: A Patient‐centered Approach to Diabetes

Citation

Fourie, I. (2011), "Health Informatics: A Patient‐centered Approach to Diabetes", Online Information Review, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 505-506. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521111151522

Barbara Hayes and William Aspray are well qualified to edit a timely publication to draw attention to the value of information technology (IT) in dealing with a chronic disease such as diabetes, which is increasing in a society where printed sources often still feature strongly in the treatment of patients. Following a reference to the US government's decision to invest in the use of IT in health care, the editors put a very apt question – and certainly a question that is addressed by the content of the book: “But do we really know how to spend the money? Will we deploy it effectively? Are technologists and healthcare professionals ready to join forces to create effective new solutions for patients?”

Drawing on the expertise of contributors from a variety of fields, this work explores the problems faced and also report on a number of interesting solutions. The book includes 11 chapters starting with arguments on a research agenda for the socially and institutionally sensitive use of IT to improve health care. This is followed by two chapters on ubiquitous computing (e.g. using mobile technology) and taking the care of diabetes outside the doctor's office. One chapter deals with the potential of ubiquitous computing for chronic disease management, and the other with an iterative discovery approach in designing Ubicomp technologies that assist individuals in managing diabetes. The third part of the book includes chapters on the use of educational gaming in diabetes treatment. The first chapter deals with diabetes and obesity and the potential of videogames. The other chapter reports on using serious gaming to teach adolescents to cope with diabetes.

A fourth part of the book concerns technological explorations in diabetes care. It includes a chapter on relational agents for chronic disease self‐management, and another on designing information to facilitate chronic disease management with a focus on clinician‐patient interaction in diabetes care. The fifth part, on changing the equation in patient access to information, includes a chapter on information and communication technologies for diabetes self‐management and education with a user‐centred perspective, and another chapter on the role of patients with chronic conditions and parents in managing their medical information. The last part of the book deals with methodological and theoretical considerations. The first chapter in this part is on using behaviour change theory to guide and understand technological interventions, and the second on achieving success in research collaborations in health informatics. The strong message throughout the book is the need for health care professionals and IT specialists to work together.

This work is highly recommended to health care professionals from all sectors where they are doing research on reaching patients or where they are in decision‐taking positions related to reaching patients. It is also recommended to researchers in the field of information behaviour wishing to take their research to a level where it might join with other fields to make an actual difference.