Do superfast broadband and tailored interventions improve use of eHealth and reduce health related travel?
type: CreativeWork
description: Do superfast broadband and tailored interventions improve use of eHealth and reduce health related travel? Introduction – eHealth has been shown to have promising health outcomes in numerous areas, however many people remain digitally excluded and therefore suffer an inequality in health service provision. Lack of internet infrastructure, personal skills, and service provision have been identified as potential barriers to eHealth but as yet there is no good evidence of the significance of these barriers and the impact of interventions to improve them. This PhD aimed to assess impact on eHealth uptake of three interventions (i) superfast broadband, (ii) a tailored booklet to help participants improve personal internet skills and support, (iii) GP interventions to improve health service provision of eHealth. A subsidiary aim was to assess the impact on miles travelled. Methods - In a cluster quasi-randomised factorial controlled trial, 1388 households from 78 postcodes were sampled in 2013 from the 20088 Cornish postcodes and allocated to the 8 (2X2X2) arms of the study. A unique sampling method was used to prevent contamination between arms. Comparison of ‘eHealth readiness’ and ‘miles travelled’ from baseline to 18-month follow-up between the 8 arms of the study was used to assess the impact of interventions. Interventions were tailored based on responses from the initial baseline survey and designed using aspects of the theory of diffusion of innovations. An overall eHealth Readiness score (0-10) was obtained from a validated self-completed questionnaire combining four sub-scales (Personal, Provision, Support, Economic). The standard deviation of the eHealth Readiness score represents a measure of eHealth inequalities. Findings – No significant differences were shown between each intervention arm of the study, either singly or in combination (all p>.05). eHealth Readiness significantly improved over the 18-month trial period (M=4.36 vs M=4.59, t(235)=4.18 p<.001, C…
abstract: Do superfast broadband and tailored interventions improve use of eHealth and reduce health related travel? Introduction – eHealth has been shown to have promising health outcomes in numerous areas, however many people remain digitally excluded and therefore suffer an inequality in health service provision. Lack of internet infrastructure, personal skills, and service provision have been identified as potential barriers to eHealth but as yet there is no good evidence of the significance of these barriers and the impact of interventions to improve them. This PhD aimed to assess impact on eHealth uptake of three interventions (i) superfast broadband, (ii) a tailored booklet to help participants improve personal internet skills and support, (iii) GP interventions to improve health service provision of eHealth. A subsidiary aim was to assess the impact on miles travelled. Methods - In a cluster quasi-randomised factorial controlled trial, 1388 households from 78 postcodes were sampled in 2013 from the 20088 Cornish postcodes and allocated to the 8 (2X2X2) arms of the study. A unique sampling method was used to prevent contamination between arms. Comparison of ‘eHealth readiness’ and ‘miles travelled’ from baseline to 18-month follow-up between the 8 arms of the study was used to assess the impact of interventions. Interventions were tailored based on responses from the initial baseline survey and designed using aspects of the theory of diffusion of innovations. An overall eHealth Readiness score (0-10) was obtained from a validated self-completed questionnaire combining four sub-scales (Personal, Provision, Support, Economic). The standard deviation of the eHealth Readiness score represents a measure of eHealth inequalities. Findings – No significant differences were shown between each intervention arm of the study, either singly or in combination (all p>.05). eHealth Readiness significantly improved over the 18-month trial period (M=4.36 vs M=4.59, t(235)=4.18 p<.001, C…
author: Abbott-Garner, Philip
language: eng
keywords: eHealth, telemedicine, Quasi RCT, Cluster, PERQ, ehealth readiness, Travel, CO2
date published: 2017-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:50:23Z
provider: University of Plymouth
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Plymouth