Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:36:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquiuvototal.pdf: 6365528 bytes, checksum: 4e27c7390c2e3c53b8c85b58dabd1b55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This work presents a monitoring infrastructure for people in a situation of home care through the integration of wireless sensor networks and data processing in embedded systems, enabling a real-time monitoring of the clinical picture of each patient. To perform real-time telemetry, a sensor network with ZigBee technology was set and some biological signals were captured in order to validate the proposed infrastructure. This network performs the capture and transmission of data collected to base stations where a treatment system embedded in an FPGA is instructed to receive data, perform the necessary calculations and send the information obtained through an Ethernet network to a central installed in a monitoring central station. The use of a dedicated processing device such as an FPGA, provides a much greater efficiency than is typically found in general purpose processors and allows the customization of the hardware. Besides, reduces the final cost of the system. It also presented the integration of Arthron and InteliCare. Arthron is tool that works with flow distribution. This integration allows more real experiences of telemedical procedures so that you can have in a single transmission, audio, video, and biological signals. The monitoring system installed in the central station is responsible for storage and display the received data. It will display data in tables and graphs in real time and allow a team of experts make decisions and guide patients and / or their caregivers to perform a certain procedure. / Este trabalho apresenta uma infraestrutura de monitoramento para pessoas em situação de internação domiciliar através da integração de redes de sensores sem fio e processamento de dados em sistemas embarcados, possibilitando um acompanhamento em tempo de execução (online) do quadro clínico de cada paciente. Para realizar a telemetria online, uma rede de sensores com tecnologia ZigBee, foi montada e alguns sinais biológicos foram captados de forma a validar a infraestrutura proposta. Esta rede realiza a captação e envio dos dados coletados até estações base onde um sistema de tratamento embarcado em um FPGA fica encarregado de receber os dados, realizar os cálculos necessários e enviar as informações obtidas, através de uma rede Ethernet, a um sistema central de supervisão instalado em uma central de monitoramento. A utilização de um dispositivo de processamento dedicado, como um FPGA, proporciona ao sistema uma eficiência muito maior do que normalmente é encontrada em processadores de uso geral além de permitir a customização do hardware reduzindo o custo final do sistema. É apresentada também a integração da infraestrutura InteliCare com a ferramenta de distribuição de fluxos Arthron. Esta integração permite tornar mais real a experiência de colaboração em procedimentos médicos de forma que é possível ter numa mesma transmissão, áudio, vídeo e sinais biológicos. O sistema de supervisão instalado na central de monitoramento é responsável por gerenciar o armazenamento e a visualização dos dados recebidos. Ele exibe os dados em tabelas e gráficos em tempo de execução e permitirá que uma equipe de especialistas tome decisões e oriente os pacientes e/ou seus cuidadores para realizar determinado procedimento.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:55:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GlauciaRMAS_TESE.pdf: 2163942 bytes, checksum: 5778dd8818ffc286b87137c2a56b9fc0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-14 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Breast cancer, despite being one of the leading causes of death among women worldwide is a disease that can be cured if diagnosed early. One of the main techniques used in the detection of breast cancer is the Fine Needle Aspirate FNA (aspiration puncture by thin needle) which, depending on the clinical case, requires the analysis of several medical specialists for the diagnosis development. However, such diagnosis and second opinions have been hampered by geographical dispersion of physicians and/or the difficulty in reconciling time to undertake work together. Within this reality, this PhD thesis uses computational intelligence in medical decision-making support for remote diagnosis. For that purpose, it presents a fuzzy method to assist the diagnosis of breast cancer, able to process and sort data extracted from breast tissue obtained by FNA. This method is integrated into a virtual environment for collaborative remote diagnosis, whose model was developed providing for the incorporation of prerequisite Modules for Pre Diagnosis to support medical decision. On the fuzzy Method Development, the process of knowledge acquisition was carried out by extraction and analysis of numerical data in gold standard data base and by interviews and discussions with medical experts. The method has been tested and validated with real cases and, according to the sensitivity and specificity achieved (correct diagnosis of tumors, malignant and benign respectively), the results obtained were satisfactory, considering the opinions of doctors and the quality standards for diagnosis of breast cancer and comparing them with other studies involving breast cancer diagnosis by FNA. / O c?ncer de mama, apesar de ser uma das principais causas de morte entre as mulheres em todo o mundo, ? uma doen?a que pode ser curada se for diagnosticada precocemente. Uma das principais t?cnicas utilizadas na detec??o de c?ncer de mama ? a Fine Needle Aspirate FNA (ou Pun??o Aspirativa por Agulha Fina) que, dependendo do caso cl?nico, necessita da an?lise de v?rios m?dicos especialistas para a efetiva??o do diagn?stico. Entretanto, a realiza??o de tais diagn?sticos e a emiss?o de segundos pareceres t?m sido prejudicadas pela dispers?o geogr?fica dos m?dicos e/ou a dificuldade na concilia??o de tempo para realizar trabalhos em conjunto. Inserindo-se nessa realidade, esta tese de doutorado utiliza intelig?ncia computacional no apoio ? tomada de decis?o m?dica para a realiza??o de telediagn?sticos. Para tanto apresenta um m?todo fuzzy destinado a auxiliar o diagn?stico de c?ncer de mama, capaz de processar e classificar dados extra?dos de esfrega?os de tecidos mam?rios obtidos por FNA. Este m?todo est? integrado a um ambiente virtual para realiza??o de telediagn?stico colaborativo, cujo modelo foi desenvolvido prevendo a incorpora??o de M?dulos de Pr?-Diagn?stico para apoio ? tomada de decis?o m?dica. No desenvolvimento do m?todo fuzzy, o processo de aquisi??o do conhecimento foi realizado pela extra??o e an?lise dos dados num?ricos em base de dados padr?o ouro e por entrevistas e discuss?es com m?dicos especialistas. O m?todo foi testado e validado com casos reais e, em fun??o da sensibilidade e da especificidade alcan?adas (diagn?stico correto de tumores, respectivamente, malignos e benignos), os resultados obtidos foram satisfat?rios, considerando tanto os pareceres de m?dicos e os padr?es de qualidade para diagn?stico de c?ncer de mama quanto a compara??o com outros estudos realizados envolvendo diagn?stico de c?ncer de mama por FNA.

Le développement et l’usage croissants de systèmes pervasifs, dotés de fonctionnalités et de moyens de communication de plus en plus sophistiqués, offrent de fantastiques potentialités de services, en particulier pour l’e-Santé et la télémédecine, au bénéfice de tout citoyen, patient ou professionnel de santé. L’un des challenges sociétaux actuels est de permettre une meilleure exploitation des services disponibles pour l’ensemble des acteurs impliqués dans un domaine donné. Mais la multiplicité des services offerts, la diversité fonctionnelle des systèmes, et l’hétérogénéité des besoins nécessitent l’élaboration de modèles de connaissances de ces services, des fonctions de ces systèmes et des besoins. En outre, l’hétérogénéité des environnements informatiques distribués, la disponibilité et les capacités potentielles des diverses ressources humaines et matérielles (instrumentation, services, sources de données, etc.) requises par les différentes tâches et processus, la variété des services qui fournissent des données aux utilisateurs, et les conflits d’interopérabilité entre schémas et sources de données sont autant de problématiques que nous avons à considérer au cours de nos travaux de recherche. Notre contribution vise à optimiser la qualité de services en environnement ambiant et à réaliser une exploitation intelligente de ressources ubiquitaires. Pour cela, nous proposons un méta-modèle de connaissances des principaux concepts à prendre en compte en environnement pervasif. Ce méta-modèle est basé sur des ontologies décrivant les différentes entités précitées dans un domaine donné ainsi que leurs relations. Puis, nous l’avons formalisé en utilisant un langage standard de description des connaissances. A partir de ce modèle, nous proposons alors une nouvelle méthodologie de construction d’un framework architectural, que nous avons appelé ONOF-PAS. ONOF-PAS est basé sur des modèles ontologiques, une base de règles, un moteur d’inférence, et des composants orientés objet permettant la gestion des différentes tâches et le traitement des ressources. Il s’agit d’une architecture générique, applicable à différents domaines. ONOF-PAS a la capacité d’effectuer un raisonnement à base de règles pour gérer les différents contextes d’utilisation et aider à la prise de décision dans des environnements hétérogènes dynamiques, tout en tenant compte de la disponibilité et de la capacité des ressources humaines et matérielles requises par les diverses tâches et processus exécutés par des systèmes d’information pervasifs. Enfin, nous avons instancié ONOF-PAS dans le domaine de la télémédecine pour traiter le scénario de l’orientation des patients ou de personnes victimes de problèmes de santé en environnement hostile telles que la haute montagne ou des zones géographiquement isolées. Un prototype d’implémentation de ces scénarios, appelé T-TROIE a été développé afin de valider le framework ONOF-PAS. / The growing development and use of pervasive systems, equipped with increasingly sophisticated functionalities and communication means, offer fantastic potentialities of services, particularly in the eHealth and Telemedicine domains, for the benifit of each citizen, patient or healthcare professional. One of the current societal challenges is to enable a better exploitation of the available services for all actors involved in a given domain. Nevertheless, the multiplicity of the offered services, the systems functional variety, and the heterogeneity of the needs require the development of knowledge models of these services, systems functions, and needs. In addition, the distributed computing environments heterogeneity, the availability and potential capabilities of various human and material resources (devices, services, data sources, etc.) required by the different tasks and processes, the variety of services providing users with data, the interoperability conflicts between schemas and data sources are all issues that we have to consider in our research works. Our contribution aims to empower the intelligent exploitation of ubiquitous resources and to optimize the quality of service in ambient environment. For this, we propose a knowledge meta-model of the main concepts of a pervasive environment, such as Actor, Task, Resource, Object, Service, Location, Organization, etc. This knowledge meta-model is based on ontologies describing the different aforementioned entities from a given domain and their interrelationships. We have then formalized it by using a standard language for knowledge description. After that, we have designed an architectural framework called ONOF-PAS (ONtology Oriented Framework for Pervasive Applications and Services) mainly based on ontological models, a set of rules, an inference engine, and object oriented components for tasks management and resources processing. Being generic, extensible, and applicable in different domains, ONOF-PAS has the ability to perform rule-based reasoning to handle various contexts of use and enable decision making in dynamic and heterogeneous environments while taking into account the availability and capabilities of the human and material resources required by the multiples tasks and processes executed by pervasive systems. Finally, we have instantiated ONOF-PAS in the telemedicine domain to handle the scenario of the transfer of persons victim of health problems during their presence in hostile environments such as high mountains resorts or geographically isolated areas. A prototype implementing this scenario, called T-TROIE (Telemedicine Tasks and Resources Ontologies for Inimical Environments), has been developed to validate our approach and the proposed ONOF-PAS framework.

Este estudo trata do desenvolvimento e aplicação de um instrumento de gestão dos fatores indicadores de sustentabilidade de centros de telemedicina e telessaúde. Com base em referencial teórico da administração e na experiência profissional da pesquisadora foram elencadas inicialmente 36 perguntas, categorizadas em 7 áreas de domínio, para avaliação de concordância com 04 pessoas com experiência em telemedicina. As categorias de domínio foram: Institucional, Relacional, Funcional, Econômico-Financeira, Renovação, Técnica-Científica e Bem-Estar Social, que compuseram o roteiro semiestruturado para entrevistas qualitativas individuais de avaliação de desempenho com 10 centros de telemedicina e telessaúde brasileiros, originários das regiões sul, sudeste, norte, nordeste e centro-oeste. As entrevistas foram realizadas em dois momentos distintos, com um intervalo de tempo em torno de 12 meses. Em ambos os momentos foi aplicado o mesmo roteiro aos mesmos entrevistados com o ano de 2007 como períodos de referência de avaliação. As respostas das perguntas de cada centro foram convertidas em valores numéricos. Depois foram apresentados graficamente em forma de um polígono, que tinham morfologia e área própria. Não foi possível comparar os polígonos de um centro com outro. Foi feita a avaliação das diferenças das pontuações das categorias de perguntas entre as 2 entrevistas. Verificou-se que as pontuações nas avaliações feitas na 2ª entrevista foram menores que as da primeira. A esta diferença, foi denominada de fator de ajuste, e foi associado como decorrente da experiência e maturidade adquiridas pelos entrevistados ao longo do tempo. O instrumento foi aplicado para avaliar retrospectivamente a evolução de um centro ao longo de 10 anos de atividades, em cortes bianuais de 1998 a 2008. Essa aplicação do instrumento gerou morfologias e áreas de ocupação do polígono com coerência evolutiva dos traçados. Para completar o monitoramento deste centro foram levantados os acontecimentos relevantes de cada período, o que mostrou a existência de sincronia dos fatos com os indicadores numéricos. Esse procedimento possibilitou verificar que o instrumento desenvolvido foi útil quando aplicado numa mesma instituição ao longo de um período de tempo. O trabalho mostrou que foi possível criar um instrumento que representasse graficamente as 7 categorias de sustentabilidade, e que quando utilizado numa mesma instituição ao longo do tempo, permitiu acompanhar o processo de gestão, principalmente quando complementados com fatos relevantes. Quando utilizado para avaliar o momento atual, foi mostrado a necessidade de uma contra-checagem num período posterior, para evitar falhas de avaliação (fator de ajuste). Quando aplicado com sistemática para levantamento e identificação das características específicas do CTMS, este instrumento pode ser utilizado para fins de desenvolvimento organizacional dos CTMS. / This study is about the development and application of an instrument for the management of indicative factors of the sustainability of the telemedicine and telehealth centers (TMHC). Based on different theoretical sources of data and the professional experience of the researcher, some questions regarding the determinant factors of sustainability of TMHC were elaborated, categorized into 7 groups and submitted to four other telemedicine experts for evaluation. The seven categories were: Institutional, Relational, Functional, Financial, Renovation, Tech-Scientific and Social Welfare, all part of the semi-structured question script to be used as an instrument to carry out individual interviews with the coordinators of ten Brazilian telemedicine and telehealth centers. The interviews were done in two distinct moments at interval of 12 months. The interviews were conducted to the same group of ten people individually to evaluate the year 2007 as reference. The answers were converted into numbers and from numbers in graph form of a polygon. Each TMHC had its own graphic. It was not possible to make any comparison between the TMHC graphics because of the differences of economics, culture and services provided by the different TMHC. In order to analyze the collected data in a different perspective, it was made a comparison of the data collected in the first interview (group a) with the data collected in the second interview (group b). It was verified that the scores of the second evaluation were lower, considered to be under an adjustment factor. This adjustment was associated to the larger experience and maturity the coordinators achieved as time passed by. The instrument was also applied to a 10-year TMHC. Its coordinator answered the same questions taking 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 as the years of evaluation. All the answers were converted into numbers and from numbers to graphics. The 10-year morphologies and relative graphic areas were compared, and . an evolutionary tendency was noticed. To complete the monitoring of this TMHC, the relevant facts over the period of evaluation were registered, which demonstrated a synchronicity with the found sustainability indicators. The study showed that it was possible to develop an instrument that depicted in graph form, the seven categories of sustainability of a TMHC and it was useful to monitor the management process, especially when used in the same institution for a long period of time, and complemented with relevant facts to support the numerical indicators. When used to evaluate the present moment, it was clear that a second evaluation in a later period is necessary, in order to avoid misinterpretation (adjustment factor). When systematically applied, it can also be of utility to identify the specific characteristics of the TMHC in order to support its organizational development.

Background: The iPath telemedicine platform Basel is mainly used for histological and cytological consultations, but also serves as a valuable learning tool. Aim: To study the level of accuracy in making diagnoses based on still images achieved by experienced cytopathologists, to identify limiting factors, and to provide a cytological image series as a learning set. Method: Images from 167 consecutive cytological specimens of different origin were uploaded on the iPath platform and evaluated by four cytopathologists. Only wet-fixed and well-stained specimens were used. The consultants made specific diagnoses and categorized each as benign, suspicious or malignant. Results: For all consultants, specificity and sensitivity regarding categorized diagnoses were 83–92 and 85–93%, respectively; the overall accuracy was 88–90%. The interobserver agreement was substantial (κ = 0.791). The lowest rate of concordance was achieved in urine and bladder washings and in the identification of benign lesions. Conclusion: Using a digital image set for diagnostic purposes implies that even under optimal conditions the accuracy rate will not exceed to 80–90%, mainly because of lacking supportive immunocytochemical or molecular tests. This limitation does not disqualify digital images for teleconsulting or as a learning aid. The series of images used for the study are open to the public at http://pathorama.wordpress.com/extragenital-cytology-2013/.

Die Idealvorstellung eines vollständig digitalisierten Behandlungsalltags rückt mit fortschreitender technologischer und informationeller Entwicklung stetig näher an die Realität. Zu Beginn bestand lediglich die Möglichkeit einer elektronischen Patientenakte, hinzu kamen vielfältige Möglichkeiten der digitalen Bildgebung und wurden schließlich um das Ziel eines vollständigen digitalen Workflows ergänzt. Die Planung der interdisziplinären kieferorthopädischen / kieferchirurgischen Versorgung von Patienten mit Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalten (LKGS) wird momentan noch hauptsächlich analog durchgeführt. Eine volldigitalisierte Behandlungsplanung und –freigabe unter intersektoraler Einbeziehung aller beteiligten Behandler findet nicht statt. Neu entwickelte, digitale kieferorthopädische und –chirurgische Produkte, welche bis vor ein paar Jahren noch nicht denkbar waren, unterstützen den digitalen Workflow maßgeblich. 3D-Scanner und 3D-Fotoaufnahmen erstellen digitale Modelle, deren Daten zur Integration in den digitalen Workflow durch Softwareprozesse verarbeitet werden müssen. Um einen einfachen und strukturierten Zugriff auf die gesamten 3D Daten zu gewährleisten, ist die Idee entstanden, die anfallenden Daten und Unterlagen zu digitalisieren und in einer für diesen Zweck entwickelten Datenbank zu speichern und zu bearbeiten. Die konsequente Verwendung von digitalen 3D-Analysen und der Verzicht auf die aufwändige Erstellung der Diagnostik- und Therapieplanung aus einer Kombination von Gipsmodellen und 2D-Daten (z.B. Röntgenbilder) führen zu einer fundamentalen und richtungsweisenden Veränderung des Behandlungsplanungsprozesses. Räumlich und monetär aufwendige Bearbeitungsprozesse werden eingespart und Behandlungspläne können rascher erstellt werden, da sich alle notwendigen Unterlagen gebündelt in einem System wiederfinden. Weiterhin wird die Strahlenbelastung der Patienten wesentlich verringert, da eine Doppeldiagnostik durch mehrmaliges Anfertigen von Röntgenaufnahmen, DVTs und CTs in verschiedenen Abteilungen vermieden wird. Die Kommunikation, der Austausch und die konsiliarische Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Behandlern erfolgt unter Verwendung der europaweit ersten offenen, überregionalen telemedizinischen Plattform zur Verbesserung der medizinischen Versorgung – CCS TELEHEALTH OSTSACHSEN (THOS). [... aus der Einleitung]

Den ökade användningen av E-Hälsa i Sverige, delvis driven av den rådande Coronaviruspandemin, illustreras tydligt av det digitala vårdmötet - “nätdoktorn”. Lagen om tillgänglighet till digital offentlig service (DOS-lagen) trädde i kraft 2019. Den bestämmer krav för att statliga, regionala, och kommunala aktörer ska säkerställa att tjänsterna de erbjuder är tillgängliga för alla. Om de inte är det ska en redogörelse finnas som förklarar varför, och hur de planerar att åtgärda bristerna. Lagen inkluderar privata aktörer som finansieras med offentliga medel. Den träder först i kraft för mobilapplikationer i slutet av juni 2021. Målet med denna studien var att ta reda på hur tillgängliga dessa privata aktörer faktiskt är, och till vilken grad de riskerar att exkludera människor. Detta målet uppnåddes genom att jämföra de tre mest populära mobila applikationer som erbjuder digitala vårdmöten, emot kriterierna i WCAG 2.1 till nivå AA. Kriterierna testades med två mobiltelefoner: en med operativsystemet Android, och en med iOS. Samtliga applikationer visade sig till stor del inte följa riktlinjerna. En fullständig redogörelse gjordes för vilka applikationer som bröt mot vilka riktlinjer, med relevanta skärmdumpar inkluderade. Resultaten analyserades efter hur detta kan påverka användaren, och diskuterades utefter hur detta kan påverka samhället i stort. Tidigare forskning kring den digitala klyftan, samt tillgång till digital sjukvård, jämfördes med resultaten för att forma studiens slutsatser. Undersökningen visar tydligt att avvikelser från riktlinjerna skapar problem för funktionsvarierade användare, och att endast en av applikationerna erbjuder stöd för fler språk utöver svenska och engelska. Studien instämmer även med tidigare forskare om att framtida forskning och utveckling av E-Hälsa och digital tillgänglighet måste vara användardriven - specifikt driven av funktionsvarierade användare. / The sharp increase in E-Health usage driven by the COVID-19 pandemic has in Sweden most notably been observed in the rise of mobile applications offering remote health care-consultations. The law of accessible digital public service has been in effect since 2019. It compels governmental, regional, and municipal bodies to ensure that their services are accessible for everyone and, if not, to produce a full accounting of how and why. This includes private agents who provide a publicly funded service. This law only starts applying to mobile applications from June in 2021. The aim of the study was to find out how accessible the services these agents provide are, and to what degree they may risk excluding people. The aim was achieved by comparing the three most popular mobile applications that provide remote consultations, against the success criterions of the WCAG 2.1 to level AA. One phone running Android and one running iOS were used in testing. All three applications were found to be largely non-conforming to the guidelines. A full accounting was made of how the tested success criterions were met by each application, with included screenshot examples. The results were analysed in view of the direct implication on the user, and discussed concerning what implications they may have on a societal level. Corollaries were drawn to past research of access to digital healthcare and the digital divide to form conclusions. A lack of accessibility in these applications was concluded to threaten work towards social sustainability. Breaching the guidelines directly creates problems for disabled users, and only one of the applications supports a great range of languages. In agreement with past researchers, future accessibility research and WCAG-analysis is strongly suggested to be user-centered - specifically centered around disabled users.

The thesis discusses how information and communication technologies (ICT or IT), nowadays transforms the form of health and social services. The specific arguments and social events are described, that leads today's health and social services closer to the use of ICT, influence and changes it. The work describes the latest trends linking ICT and social and health services in the areas of e-health, telemedicine, mobile health and assistive technologies. Specific tools and equipment and their practical use are presented. The practical part focuses on the introduction of specific- gadgets tablet care in caring for the elderly. Through direct interviews with caregivers and seniors is investigated how new technology is perceived by caregivers and seniors, how new technology equipment to care are introduced, and what positive and negative impact are the ICT has for facilities and the elderly. Key words assistive technology; eHealth; mHealth; patient engagement; population ageing; senior activation; senior care; telemedicine; touch tablets

E-hälsa är och har varit på framväxt de senaste åren och idag finns mer och mer av vården tillgänglig digitalt. Denna utveckling sker också inom djurvården, men det finns inga vetenskapliga studier som beskriver djurägare som användare av digitala tjänster. För att utveckla riktade och användbara tjänster krävs god kännedom om målgruppen. Syftet med denna studie är att påbörja ämnet inom vetenskapen och kartlägga djurägares behov och inställning till digitala e-hälsotjänster för djur, och därmed skapa insikt kring målgruppens beteende och förväntningar. Denna information kan sedan användas i utvecklingen av tjänster där djurägare är den primära målgruppen. Genom en semistrukturerad explorativ enkätstudie samlades kvalitativa och kvantitativa data om svenska djurägare in. Studien grundades delvis på information från studier inom e-hälsa för människor och digitala vårdmöten. Utifrån den insamlade datan konstruerades fiktiva representativa användarprofiler, i.e. personas. Inom användarcentrerad design och utveckling är personas en välkänd metod för att på ett konkret sätt visualisera en tänkt användares behov och förutsättningar. Totalt 139 personer deltog i enkätstudien varav 39 personer hade använt en digital veterinärvårdstjänst. Majoriteten av deltagarna utgjordes av kvinnor och den största åldersgruppen var 26–45 år. Resultaten visar att djurägare är medvetna konsumenter som väljer djurvård med omsorg, då 62% någon gång aktivt bytt klinik. En överväldigande majoritet har försäkrat sina djur men ändå spelar ekonomiska faktorer stor roll för gruppen och påverkar deras val av djurvård. Resultatet indikerar att djurägare gör en aktiv bedömning innan de kontaktar veterinär, och att digitala veterinärvårdsapplikationer kan fungera som ett stöd i beslutsprocessen gällande om det är nödvändigt att besöka en fysisk klinik eller ej. Gruppen som använt veterinärvårdsapp är generellt mycket nöjda med tjänsten, även om flera påtalar det svåra i att visa upp skadan/djuret i ett videosamtal. / The e-health sector is growing rapidly, with more and more services becoming available to patients that allow them to digitally connect with their healthcare providers. E-health for pets has started to arise as well, but there is no research that covers the perspective of pet-owners as digital users. Good knowledge of the target user is critical for development of digital services that meet the wants and needs of end users. The aim of this study is to begin to remedy this research gap by mapping the mindset of pet owners, so as to provide greater insights into the behaviour and expectation of potential end users. This information can be utilized to further optimize and enhance user experience within development of applications where pet-owners are the target user. A semi-structured survey was created to collect quantitative and qualitative data and the survey sampled a wide range of Swedish pet owners. The survey was to some extent based upon information from studies within e-health for humans, with modifications made to apply to veterinary care. The gathered data was analyzed and used to create fictional user profiles, i.e. personas. Personas is a well-used method to visualize the needs and objectives of target users within user centered design and development. A total of 139 pet owners completed the survey. Only 39 had prior experience with digital veterinary applications. The majority of participants were female, and the largest age group were between 26 and 45 years. The results show that pet owners are aware consumers and carefully elect their pet care providers, as 62% actively have changed veterinary clinic. Even though an overwhelming majority of pet owners had pet insurance, economic factors were a key driver in determining pet care. The results indicate that pet owners evaluates the situation prior to contact with a veterinary, and that a digital veterinary app can be useful for pet owners by providing support in determining whether a visit to a veterinary clinic is necessary or not. Those that had prior experience with digital veterinary apps expressed that they were overall satisfied with the service, although several mentioned that it was difficult to accurately show the animal and the issue through video.

No description available.