Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention

BackgroundAn important and challenging part of living with cancer relates to the repeated visits to the hospital. Since how patients cope between these post-diagnostic visits depends partly on the information and support received from their physician during the visits, it is important to make the mo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: van Bruinessen, Inge Renske, van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn M, Snippe, Harm Wouter, Gouw, Hans, Zijlstra, Josée M, van Dulmen, Sandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2014-11-01
Series:JMIR Research Protocols
Online Access:http://www.researchprotocols.org/2014/4/e59/
_version_ 1818901399661969408
author van Bruinessen, Inge Renske
van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn M
Snippe, Harm Wouter
Gouw, Hans
Zijlstra, Josée M
van Dulmen, Sandra
author_facet van Bruinessen, Inge Renske
van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn M
Snippe, Harm Wouter
Gouw, Hans
Zijlstra, Josée M
van Dulmen, Sandra
author_sort van Bruinessen, Inge Renske
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundAn important and challenging part of living with cancer relates to the repeated visits to the hospital. Since how patients cope between these post-diagnostic visits depends partly on the information and support received from their physician during the visits, it is important to make the most of them. Recent findings reinforce the importance of training not only the health care professionals in communication skills, but providing patients with support in communication as well. Delivering such supportive interventions online can have potential benefits in terms of accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and ability to tailor information to personal needs. However, problems with attrition (dropout, non-usage) during the test phase and poor uptake after implementation are frequently reported. The marginal level of engagement of the patient as end user seems to play a role in this. Therefore, recent research suggests integrating theory-based development methods with methods that promote involvement of the patient at an early stage. This paper describes a participatory protocol, used to let patients guide a theory-informed development process. ObjectiveThe objective of this project was to apply a bottom-up inspired procedure to develop a patient-centered intervention with corresponding evaluation and implementation plan. MethodsThe applied development protocol was based on the intervention mapping framework, combined with patient participatory methods that were inspired by the participation ladder and user-centred design methods. ResultsThe applied protocol led to a self-directed online communication intervention aimed at helping patients gain control during their communications with health care professionals. It also led to an evaluation plan and an implementation plan. The protocol enabled the continuous involvement of patient research partners and the partial involvement of patient service users, which led to valuable insights and improvements. ConclusionsThe applied protocol realized patient participation on different levels throughout the entire project. Early involvement, involvement on different levels, and flexibility in terms of planning and setup seem to be preconditions to creating a bottom-up inspired development procedure with (seriously ill) patients. Further research is necessary to find out if a more patient-centered approach improves the implementation and uptake of eHealth interventions. Trial RegistrationNetherlands National Trial Register ID number: NTR3779; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=3779 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6TdfALKxV).
first_indexed 2024-12-19T20:19:08Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4f1b46d8846a479abf6630d01be9c60a
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1929-0748
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-19T20:19:08Z
publishDate 2014-11-01
publisher JMIR Publications
record_format Article
series JMIR Research Protocols
spelling doaj.art-4f1b46d8846a479abf6630d01be9c60a2022-12-21T20:07:03ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482014-11-0134e5910.2196/resprot.3695Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Interventionvan Bruinessen, Inge Renskevan Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn MSnippe, Harm WouterGouw, HansZijlstra, Josée Mvan Dulmen, SandraBackgroundAn important and challenging part of living with cancer relates to the repeated visits to the hospital. Since how patients cope between these post-diagnostic visits depends partly on the information and support received from their physician during the visits, it is important to make the most of them. Recent findings reinforce the importance of training not only the health care professionals in communication skills, but providing patients with support in communication as well. Delivering such supportive interventions online can have potential benefits in terms of accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and ability to tailor information to personal needs. However, problems with attrition (dropout, non-usage) during the test phase and poor uptake after implementation are frequently reported. The marginal level of engagement of the patient as end user seems to play a role in this. Therefore, recent research suggests integrating theory-based development methods with methods that promote involvement of the patient at an early stage. This paper describes a participatory protocol, used to let patients guide a theory-informed development process. ObjectiveThe objective of this project was to apply a bottom-up inspired procedure to develop a patient-centered intervention with corresponding evaluation and implementation plan. MethodsThe applied development protocol was based on the intervention mapping framework, combined with patient participatory methods that were inspired by the participation ladder and user-centred design methods. ResultsThe applied protocol led to a self-directed online communication intervention aimed at helping patients gain control during their communications with health care professionals. It also led to an evaluation plan and an implementation plan. The protocol enabled the continuous involvement of patient research partners and the partial involvement of patient service users, which led to valuable insights and improvements. ConclusionsThe applied protocol realized patient participation on different levels throughout the entire project. Early involvement, involvement on different levels, and flexibility in terms of planning and setup seem to be preconditions to creating a bottom-up inspired development procedure with (seriously ill) patients. Further research is necessary to find out if a more patient-centered approach improves the implementation and uptake of eHealth interventions. Trial RegistrationNetherlands National Trial Register ID number: NTR3779; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=3779 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6TdfALKxV).http://www.researchprotocols.org/2014/4/e59/
spellingShingle van Bruinessen, Inge Renske
van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn M
Snippe, Harm Wouter
Gouw, Hans
Zijlstra, Josée M
van Dulmen, Sandra
Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention
JMIR Research Protocols
title Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention
title_full Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention
title_fullStr Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention
title_full_unstemmed Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention
title_short Active Patient Participation in the Development of an Online Intervention
title_sort active patient participation in the development of an online intervention
url http://www.researchprotocols.org/2014/4/e59/
work_keys_str_mv AT vanbruinesseningerenske activepatientparticipationinthedevelopmentofanonlineintervention
AT vanweelbaumgartenevelynm activepatientparticipationinthedevelopmentofanonlineintervention
AT snippeharmwouter activepatientparticipationinthedevelopmentofanonlineintervention
AT gouwhans activepatientparticipationinthedevelopmentofanonlineintervention
AT zijlstrajoseem activepatientparticipationinthedevelopmentofanonlineintervention
AT vandulmensandra activepatientparticipationinthedevelopmentofanonlineintervention