TY - JOUR

T1 - Involving patients with E-health

T2 - the dialogic dynamics of information filtration work

AU - Nielsen, Karen Dam

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - With e-health technologies, patients are invited as co-producers of dataand information. The invitation sparks new expectations, yet often results indisappointments. With persistent ambitions to involve patients by means of e-health,it seems crucial to gain a better understanding of the nature, sources and workings ofthe expectations that come with being invited. I analyse the use of an e-health systemfor ICD-patients, focusing on how patients sought to serve as information providers.Continuing STS-research on invisible work in technology use, I show how using thesystem involved complex work of filtering information. I argue that this ‘filtrationwork’ was inherently dialogic, that is, characterized by receiver-orientation and theanticipation of response and guided by different communicative projects. For thepatients, filtration work thus, first of all, required certain skills and knowledge aboutthe infrastructure of care. Secondly, it entailed the expectation that the system—for better or for worse—would facilitate not just information sharing but open up adialogue, which glaringly contrasted with the clinicians’ expectations of being ableto better manage dialogue. I suggest that understanding the dialogic dynamics and‘overflows’ of information filtration work can help unpack the challenges of facilitating(patient) participation with e-health and other filtration devices.

AB - With e-health technologies, patients are invited as co-producers of dataand information. The invitation sparks new expectations, yet often results indisappointments. With persistent ambitions to involve patients by means of e-health,it seems crucial to gain a better understanding of the nature, sources and workings ofthe expectations that come with being invited. I analyse the use of an e-health systemfor ICD-patients, focusing on how patients sought to serve as information providers.Continuing STS-research on invisible work in technology use, I show how using thesystem involved complex work of filtering information. I argue that this ‘filtrationwork’ was inherently dialogic, that is, characterized by receiver-orientation and theanticipation of response and guided by different communicative projects. For thepatients, filtration work thus, first of all, required certain skills and knowledge aboutthe infrastructure of care. Secondly, it entailed the expectation that the system—for better or for worse—would facilitate not just information sharing but open up adialogue, which glaringly contrasted with the clinicians’ expectations of being ableto better manage dialogue. I suggest that understanding the dialogic dynamics and‘overflows’ of information filtration work can help unpack the challenges of facilitating(patient) participation with e-health and other filtration devices.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 28

SP - 29

EP - 52

JO - Science Studies

JF - Science Studies

SN - 2243-4690

IS - 2

ER -