288 9 Chapter 9 CONCLUDING REMARKS This dissertation demonstrated how end-users and stakeholders can be actively involved in the development and evaluation of eHealth. It emphasized the importance of facilitating the expression of people’s needs and including the voices of those who stand to benefit the most from eHealth but are often overlooked. Through participatory design, we successfully demonstrated how to design eHealth solutions to meet people’s needs, foster mutual understanding, and promote reciprocity. Additionally, we explored the potential of persuasive game in facilitating behaviour change and highlighted the importance of stakeholder involvement for sustainable implementation. Finally, we provided future researchers with a tool to identify eHealth literacy needs and ways to include individuals with limited health literacy in eHealth design, which are essential components for achieving equitable eHealth. In conclusion, we must keep in mind the proverbial wisdom that “A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.” The digitalisation of healthcare is an ongoing process which requires us to take different viewpoints in how we develop and evaluate digital health interventions and consider ethical perspectives. It necessitates a critical examination of the research paradigms guiding the development and evaluation of eHealth. Reflecting on our work, this dissertation does not provide a simple solution for how to develop and evaluate eHealth interventions, but rather builds upon the knowledge and scholarships of those who have preceded us in this rapidly evolving field. Above all, we invite and encourage discussions and open dialogues among researchers, designers, ethics, and most importantly those directly impacted by these eHealth technologies. It is Saturday afternoon, June 20, 2020. Mrs. V sits in her garden. Next to her lies her new smartphone. With a satisfied smile, she gazes at the screen. After four instruction sessions with her buddy from ‘Blijf in Beeld’, she has managed to video call her friend in the eastern part of the country. It took effort and did not come naturally, but through practice, perseverance, and simply giving it a try, she succeeded. She glances at the time on her smartphone. It’s a quarter past five. The doctor’s office is closed, but she realizes that she might be able to schedule an appointment through the online patient portal. As a little bird flies by, she contemplates on how good it feels to be connected once more and decides that it is a fantastic feeling to have the sense of fully participating in society again.
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