We are planning to launch again our survey to Physicians, Nurses and Pharmacists with the collaboration of their Professional Associations of Barcelona. Therefore, we are redesigning the questionnaires and checking our multivariate analysis. Following the published paper entitled “The integration of Information and Communication Technology into medical practice”, we have send to a peer-review journal another paper focused on Nurses. Below you can find the main figures:

Table 5 revealed that cluster one (4.58%) is composed of those nurses who make greater use of ICT and the Internet for access to clinical and scientific information. The nurses within this cluster are also more likely to use ICT as a resource for publishing and international contact on national and international information. This first profile represents those nurses who place high emphasis on ICT in that it forms an integral part of their practice. This group is thus referred to as representing ‘Integrated nurses’. In other words, ICT and the Internet has become an important tool to be used in the delivery of care for the ‘integrated nurse’.

Cluster two (95.42%) is characterised by a distinctive set of features. The second profile represents those nurses who place less emphasis on ICT so that it is used to support their daily work only when required. This group are consequently labelled ‘Non-integrated nurses’.

Statistical analysis of the relationship between the two profiles (see Table 6 of the presentation) revealed that ‘Integrated nurses’ are more likely than ‘Non-integrated nurses’ to carry out research activities, to consider the Internet is ‘very useful’ to their nursing practice and to recommend that their patients use online health information. ‘Non-integrated nurses’ are more likely than ‘integrated nurses’ to be only engaged in delivering nursing care and to believe that patients use of online information will have little impact on their treatment their or understanding of their condition.

Finally, it was found that all the variables included have a significance explanatory power regarding the integration of ICT within nursing practice (see Table 7). It was observed that an ‘emphasis on international information’, performance ‘research activities’ and ‘the perception that health information available on the Internet’ was relevant to nursing played a positive and significance role in the probability of being an ‘Integrated nurse’.

Acknowledgements

The research reported is part of a broad study supported by Departament de Salut de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia Health Department) and directed by Prof. Manuel Castells. Survey launched is a result of a collaboration between the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute at Open University of Catalonia and the Nurses Association of Barcelona (Col·legi Oficial de Infermeres de Barcelona).

On March 15th to 18th the Ministerial High Level Conference on eHealth and the World Health IT Conference and Exhibition were being held in the same week in a joint initiative called “e-Health Week 2010”. First of all, I would like to congratulate the organizers, specially TICSALUT Foundation and ehealthweek2010, for the very well organized conference and their social media coverage.

The conference was divided into five themes:

• eHealth for Sustainable Healthcare Delivery
• eHealth Addressing Global Challenges through Local Actions
• eHealth works: Here is the Evidence
• eHealth Market: Past and Prospects
• eHealth User Platform

Furthermore,  Paralel sessions and Plenary Sessions were coveraged by @ehealthweek2010 using Twitter #hastag as follow:

Paralel Sessions

• eHealth Governance
• How can IT Help Fight Pandemics
• Is Sustainability of Healthcare Possible without eHealth?
• When Telemedicine does Deliver!
• Embedding eHealth into New Professional Curricula
• Ageing - A Global Challenge
• Empowering the Patient through Information Delivery
• Beyond Technical Interoperability
• eHealth for the Economy
• ICT for a Global Infraestructure for Health Research
• eHealth and Healthcare Org The Chiken and the Egg
• Standards for a Global Scene
• eHealth Procurement
• eHealth for Mental Health

Plenary Sessions

• The ehealth Agenda in the UE
• The right information, at correct place and at the right time
• 2.0 Health care in practice
• EU-US cooperation in eHealth: facing common challenges
• EHealth for urgent public health challenges
• How contributes eHealth in health and well being
• The impact of eHealth in organizations and health personnel
• The dangerous decade. Challenges for system builders national health information
• European market of e-health: dream or reality?

I also had the opportunity to tweet some of the sessions. On one hand, it was a wonderful opportunity for networking and for watching in action how policy-makers, practicioners (specially Hospital managers and IT managers) and the ICT Health industry work together. On the other hand, there was a lack of analytical/empirical presentations so it was remarked by most of the participants that more research is needed. Furthermore, there are many eHealth, mHealth, Health 2.0,…. Health has been always related to technology so probably it is time to delete all the letters and just talk about HEALTH. Nowadays, HEALTH could not be understood without Information and Communication Technologies and these technologies could not be understood without economic, organization, social and cultural changes.

I have collected all the presentations in the same post to summarise the information. Thank you very much indeed to all the participants for these inspiring and wonderful days. I would like also to express my gratitude to Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) for its support.

Workshop: Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition
Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary
Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and
Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)
Data: 26th and 27th November
Place: Meeting room -1A , UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3,
08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

26th November

• Andrew Webster - Innovation in health: a social science perspective
• Michael Morrison - ‘Measuring Innovation - a brief introduction to
  the REMEDiE project’
• Laura Machin - Cord blood banking: initial observations
• Mariann Hardey - Private medical care and the Web
• Eulàlia Hernádez - Providing resources for caregivers trough the
  Internet.
• Flis Henwood - ‘Health-e discourse? Engaging the community in ehealth
  developments for obesity self-management’
• Sue Ziebland - Knowledge is Power? The role of health information

27th November

• Imma Grau - Studying Virtual Communities for patients with chronic
  illnesses, in Forumclinic
• Daniel López - Reframing telecare: an ethical discussion concerning
  ageing-in-place, independence and care.
• Darren Reed - Performativity of Data
• Michael Hardey - Consuming professions: user-review websites and health services.
• Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva and Michael Hardey - Health professionals, the Internet and Internet informed patients.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva and Michael Hardey - Health professionals, the Internet and Internet informed patients

The practice of medicine and health care has been increasingly influence by and made use of the Internet as a source of information, communication and social interaction. This paper examines how doctors, nurses and community pharmacists use the Internet and how this shapes their interaction with patients. It is based on data from surveys of doctors, nurses and pharmacists working within the Catalan National Health Care System (CNHS) that were carried out during 2006. The consequent data provides an extensive and detailed quantitative database that is amenable to multivariate statistical analysis. This analysis is described and from it the manner in which the different health professions engage with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Internet is identified.  It is suggested that the Internet should now be understood as part of mundane work and that professionals have recognised that it can be an important source of information and support for patients. There appears to be a cumulative effect whereby the more engaged with ICTs practitioners become the more likely they recognise and respond to patients who want to discuss and use resources and information from the Internet.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Michael Hardey - Consuming professions: user-review websites and health services

The relationship between doctor and patient was variously regarded as ‘special’, ‘outside’ or otherwise at a distance from other consumer experiences. Since then, the status of doctors has changed and information about health and illness has moved from the confines of the consulting room to the World Wide Web. This presentation considers the recent development of Web 2.0 resources that are constructed around user-generated content about identified health practitioners and services. Web sites where users can both read and write comments about health practitioners and services reflect the broader consumer content industry commonly associated with sites like Amazon and TripAdvisor.

Michael Hardey

Reader in Sociology at the Hull/York Medical School and the Department of Social Sciences, University of Hull. He is also an Associate Director Researcher of the Science and Technology Studies Unit, University of York . His main research interests are in mediated information and relationships. This falls into three broad areas: e-health and in particular the role of the Internet in shaping health beliefs and behaviours; e-body and identity (particularly the representation of the self through new media); and the generation and mediation of information through Web 2.0 resources.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th and 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Flis Henwood’s presentation - ‘Health-e discourse? Engaging the community in e-health developments for obesity self-management’

Drawing on an action-oriented research project exploring and intervening in the lived experiences of those seeking to manage their weight, the paper explores how those engaged in weight management position themselves in relation to e-health discourse, exploring their engagements with dominant understandings of obesity, information and technologies (specifically ICTs) in particular. A case is then made for ‘engagement work’ that can explore and exploit the tensions within the discourse to promote a more progressive model for e-health development –one that supports the emergence of an active, critical and engaged citizen-user (the ‘health-e citizen) rather than the less ambitious but much more ubiquitous neo-liberal consumer-user (or ‘informed patient’).

Flis Henwood

Professor of Social Informatics at the University of Brighton in the UK.  In her early career, she published widely on gender and technology issues, co-editing Technology and In/Equality: Questioning the Information Society (2000) and Cyborg Lives? Women’s Technobiographies (2001). More recently, she has published on the social dynamics of e-Health, including an ‘e-Health’ special issue of the journal Information, Communication and Society (2005) and, most recently,  a co-edited volume entitled Gender, Health and Information Technology in Context (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). Her journal publications have appeared in a range of disciplinary fields including gender studies, sociology of health and medicine, social policy, information systems and media studies.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th and 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Laura Machin’s presentation - Cord blood banking: initial observations

In recent years, the collection and storage of biological resources and data has commanded considerable attention in public policy debate and amongst social scientists interested in potentially new forms of regulatory, ethical and political economy. Much of this attention has focused upon public sector initiatives, such as UK Biobank and the UK Stem Cell Bank, but those less well researched are the emerging forms of commercial and private banking. In particular, are cord blood stem cell banks offering parents the possibility of paying to deposit cord blood stem cells taken at birth. Alongside commercial banks is the public sector banking, which emerged after the first cord blood stem cell transplant in 1988. Both instances raise questions around new forms of consumption, parental responsibility and the changing balances between public and commercial bioscience. In this presentation, I will introduce the aims and objectives of this 2-year project, titled ‘the political and moral economy of cord blood banking’, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. I will also discuss cord blood banking in its current context and present some initial observations from the data collected during the past 10 months.

Laura Machin

Researcher at Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU), University of York. Currently working on the umbilical cord blood banking project and the social and ethical context of embryo donation (to other couples for fertility treatment or stem cell research). Generally, I am interested in the social, ethical, historical aspects of assisted conception techniques - specifically, the roles/notions of the patient/consumer/patient groups, the relationships between and within professions (sociology of professions / boundary-work) and the evolving notion of the family (sociology of the family). I am also keen to develop my policy interests in childbirth and maternity services, and infertility counselling.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th and 27th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Michael Morrison’s presentation - ‘Measuring Innovation - a brief introduction to the REMEDiE project’

In this presentation I will introduce my current work on the Regenerative Medicine in Europe (REMEDiE) project. I aim to describe how we have set about trying to measure and assess European commercial activity in regenerative medicine - including stem cells, gene therapy and tissue engineering. I will discuss some of the difficulties we faced in finding ways to appropriately measure this activity in line with the goals of the work package and provide some details of the different approaches we have employed so far. Much of what I discuss is work in progress so I hope to get some useful and stimulating feedback.

Michael Morrison

Currently working on the FP-7 funded REMEDiE project  at the Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) at York, investigating the networks of commercial innovation in regenerative medicine with a specific focus on European biotechnology. Other research interests include the emergence of new (bio)medical technologies and associated issues including, social shaping of technologies, history of medicine and medical technology, and
(sociology of) bioethics, especially with regards to human enhancement and the commercial application(s) of human tissue-derived products.

“Innovative health technologies: health systems in transition Workshop”

Supported by: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)

Organized by: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute –UOC) and Michael Hardey (Hull/York Medical School – Science and Technology Studies Unit, Department of Sociology, University of York)

Data: 26th November

Place: UOC IN3 building. Av. Canal Olímpic, s/n. Edifici B3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona)

Andrew Webster’s presentation - Innovation in health: a social science perspective

This presentation offers a brief account of the ways in which innovation, and more specifically medical innovation, can be understood from within a social science perspective, illustrating the ways in which innovation has to be seen as an articulation of both old and new assemblages, the broad range of socio-technical relations that make it possible and indeed workable. In light of this discussion, the paper goes on to raise a number of issues that need to be addressed in future policy and practice contexts, relating to the take-up, choice, evaluation and globalisation of innovation.

Andrew Webster

Professor Andrew Webster is Director of the Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU), and Head of Department of Sociology at the University of York. He was Director of the £5m ESRC/MRC Innovative Health Technologies Programme, is member of various national Boards and Committees (including the UK Stem Cell Bank Steering Committee and UK National Stem Cell Network Steering Committee) and was Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Health Select Committee. He is national co-ordinator the ESRC’s £3.5m Stem Cells Initiative (2005-9), and was a member of the Royal Society’s Expert Working Group on Health Informatics. He is currently undertaking externally funded research on stem cells as well as the implementation of pharmacogenetics into clinical practice, and is coordinating a new European (EC) grant on Regenerative Medicine (REMEDiE). He is Co-Editor of the Health Technology and Society Series: Palgrave Macmillan (launched at the Royal Society, October 25 2006). His most recent book is Health, Technology and Society: A Sociological Critique (Palgrave Macmillan) 2007. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in 2006.