Cultural analysis

There is limited understanding of how cultural aspects influence the acceptance and use of eHealth solutions in healthcare.

Culture is a shared social construct and a dynamic process co-created between groups of people, however large. In this light, culture can be analyzed in an individual (e.g. parents, healthcare staff), organizational (e.g. healthcare units), regional, national or international level. The lack of cultural understanding can contribute to communication barriers between healthcare professionals and families of sick children.

Studies show difficulties for older individuals, ethnic minorities, and individuals with low socio-economic status to adopt the new technology as these groups have a lower e-health literacy (the ability to search, find, understand, and evaluate health information from electronic sources and apply knowledge obtained to address or resolve a health problem), and poorer access to and use of the Internet, compared to others.

It is important to understand the socio-cultural barriers that can affect the use of e-health solutions in vulnerable population groups. In order for e-health solutions to be effective and sustainable, cultural aspects need to be integrated into the development and implementation.

This project examines the relationship between culture and satisfaction with e-health care, with the aim of preventing potential differences in health care vulnerable groups in different countries.

The project is part of the FORTE-funded research program eChildhealth.