Telecare at Home: Anticipating conflicting norms in telemonitoring technologies for chronic patients

The Telecare at Home project, funded by NWO, is an interdisciplinary collaboration between three groups at the University of Twente, Science, Technology and Policy Studies, Philosophy and BSS/RMT.

Background

Many promising eHealth innovations are designed, engineered and trialled but fail to reach routine clinical use. This project conducts the first constructive ethical technology assessment with social scientists, philosophers, and engineers working together in parallel during the development of telemedicine systems and applications. The goal is to design telemedicine systems that not only work well technically but that also fulful the socio-technical criteria that are prerequisite to successful implementation into the healthcare system and into society.

Research

This research project aims to increase understanding of how engineers can anticipate conflicting norms concerning surveillance and autonomy implied in telemonitoring technologies. These devices can monitor or diagnose patients at home by the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and may improve the quality of health care. The adoption of these technologies implies a transition in health care because they challenge existing distributions of tasks and responsibilities, including norms of care. The research team will conduct a constructive, ethical technology assessment to investigate the design and use practices of telemonitoring devices for chronic patients. Based on these insights they will develop tools that can support engineers to find a balance between surveillance by technological devices and control and autonomy of patients and nurses. The research is a collaborative project between social scientists, philosophers, and engineers.

Project Manager: Nelly Oudshoorn, Faculty of Management and Governance: n.e.j.oudshoorn@utwente.nl

Research themes

From Human Sensory-Motor Function to Patient-Practitioner Interaction

Principal Investigator tracks

Val Jones - Body Area Networks for m-health; Mobile and distributed Clinical Decision Support.

Funding

NWO

People involved

Nelly Oudshoorn

Peter-Paul Verbeek

Hermie Hermens

Val Jones

Asle Kiran

Ivo Maathuis

Links to be added.

Timespan

October 2009-October 2013

Publications

EEMCS Prints

Project website

To be added.