Research projects within U-CARE
Professor Louise von Essen
Title: Testing (ENGAGE) and evaluation (CHANGE) of a web-based, guided, self-help program based on cognitive behavioral therapy for parents of children treated for cancer
Description: A web-based, guided, self-help program to decrease worry and depression among parents of children treated for cancer is tested and evaluated.
Title: Economic and psychiatric consequences of a child’s cancer disease for fathers and mothers (ECCO)
Description: Economic and psychiatric consequences of a child’s cancer disease for fathers and mothers respectively are investigated.
Title: Development and testing of a web-based, guided, self-help program for young people diagnosed with cancer during adolescence (FUNCA)
Description: A web-based, guided, self-help program for young people diagnosed with cancer during adolescence is developed and tested.
Title: Increasing guardians’ adherence to children’s follow-up care after treatment for leukemia in Tanzania: Development and feasibility of a mobile Health intervention (GuardiansCan)
Description: Mobile health support to increase guardians’ adherence to children’s care after treatment for leukemia in Tanzania is developed and tested together with guardians.
Docent Maria Hägglund
Title: Beyond implementation of eHealth
Description: The main objective of this research is to explore key factors that will affect implementation and adoption of collaborative eHealth, that is eHealth that is used by both patients and healthcare professionals, and to propose concrete interventions or tools to ensure widespread adoption of such eHealth. One of the more discussed collaborative eHealth tools that have been implemented in recent years, both in Sweden and internationally, is the patient accessible electronic health record (PAEHR), or open notes as referred to in the United States. We will use the implementation of PAEHRs or open notes in the United States and in Sweden as our example case.
Title: ePrIm – Development of recommendations for implementation of eHealth in primary care based on case studies
Description: The main objective of the project is to study how implementation of eHealth in primary care affects work processes, perceived work environment, and healthcare professionals’ health and based on this further develop recommendations and guidelines for digitalisation of primary care.
Title: Evaluation of mobile health technologies utilized for rural healthcare workers in South Africa and Sweden
Description: The aim of this research is to evaluate different aspects of mobile IT-systems used by community health workers and healthcare professionals in rural home care, in both SA and Sweden. The evaluation will include the impact of these mHealth technologies as used by CHW and health care professionals on specific health care indicators.
Title: Nordic eHealth for Patients: Benchmarking and Developing for the Future
Description: The project aims to identify the challenges and opportunities in digitalisation of health services, especially when national portals are implemented to give patients online access to their electronic health records (PAEHR) and increase self-management and transparency in healthcare. The project has partners in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and the USA. The goal is to enable further digitalisation of the public health sector by providing concrete feedback to the national authorities in the respective countries, provide guidelines and frameworks for design, implementation and evaluation of personal eHealth services (PeHS).
Title: PACESS – patient-centered assessment of patients’ online access to electronic health records
Description: Patient accessible EHRs (PAEHRs) are often heralded as important means for patient empowerment – but we aim to further explore if and how this empowerment takes place. One hypothesis is that only patients who are already empowered use the service, leaving other patients without the potential benefits. Therefore we will explore the benefit of having online access to EHRs and how the design and use of these eHealth services can be improved to empower more people.
PhD Kine Johansen
Title: Briding the gap
Description: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 5-6% of children, affects motor proficiency, which interferes with the performance of everyday activities and participation. Without appropriate support, children with DCD are at increased risk of poor health and well-being. However, Swedish school-aged children with DCD lack access to physiotherapy. The overall purpose of the project is therefore to develop and test a school-based intervention to promote participation among children with DCD.
Title: DCD in adulthood
Description: By following up the children who were enrolled in the Neonatal follow-up (NUF) project at University Children's Hospital in the late '80s, we aim to investigate how motor difficulties in childhood affect health and well-being over time. The cohort consists of neonatal care recipients born from 1986 to 1989, who underwent repeated assessments from birth up to 10 years of age. Current data has been collected through interviews, registers and an online survey.
Title: Motor performance in infants with cerebral palsy (CP) and early indicators of CP
Description: To enable early detection of children with CP we need to learn more about how CP manifest during infancy. Thus, we are conducting a study aiming to describe the motor performance in infants with CP using the Structured Observation of Motor Performance in Infants (SOMP-I), as well as investigate if there are quality deviations that can be use as early indicators or red flags for CP.
Docent Erik Olsson
Title: Better glycaemic control for patients with Diabetes Type 2 with a Smartphone Application: A Feasibility Study
Description: The study examines the usability and acceptability of a smartphone application (Sukaribit) and the feasibility of a larger future study. Participants with type 2 diabetes use the smartphone application, which is a monitoring tool, for two months. Feasibility, such as recruitment rate, and acceptability, such as adherence to treatment, is evaluated. In addition, it is tested how the intended outcome measures for a larger study are affected, such as long-term blood sugar values, diabetes distress and diabetes self-management.
Title: Testing of a web-based, therapist-guided, cognitive behavioral therapy program for patients with symptoms of stress or anxiety after a myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronaries (e-SMINC)
Description: This study evaluates a web-based, guided, self-help program, based on cognitive behavioral therapy, for patients experiencing stress or anxiety after a myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronaries (i.e. MINOCA) or Takotsubo, which is a different diagnosis with similar characteristics. Participants work with support of an e-therapist with the program via the U-CARE Platform for up to10 weeks. Main outcomes are levels of stress and anxiety.
Title: Myocardial infarction before fifty-five (MIFF)
Description: In this project, the situation of young people (<55 years) who suffer a myocardial infarction is investigated. The project focuses on investigating the role of psychosocial stress as a risk factor for continued cardiovascular disease. The study is partially funded by the Swedish patient organisation Riksförbundet HjärtLung.
Title: The importance of beta-blockers for quality of life and wellbeing after a myocardial infarction (RQoL)
Description: In the study it is examined whether treatment with beta-blockers has an effect on quality of life, well-being, heart-related anxiety, worry, depression and sexual function. Participants answer questions via the U-CARE Platform shortly after the heart attack and then again two and twelve months later.
PhD Joanne Woodford
Title: Development and feasibility of an integrated parenting and behavioral activation internet administered intervention for the mother-infant relationship and postpartum depression (Baby&Me)
Description: The overall aim is to integrate behavioural parenting strategies to support mothers to engage in positively reinforcing infant interactions into an existing internet-administered behavioral activation intervention for postpartum depression and examine procedural, methodological and clinical uncertainties regarding study procedures and the intervention.
Title: Behavioural activation based guided self-help for depression in people with dementia living in the community: Development, feasibility and evaluation (PROMOTE II)
Description: The overall aim is to adapt, explore methodological and clinical uncertainties, and examine the clinical and cost effectiveness of a novel behavioural activation based guided self-help intervention for people with dementia experiencing low mood/depression.
Title: Recognising the Forgotten Many: Psychological support for female adult-child caregivers of older parents (e-Daughters)
Description: The overall aim is to develop and explore methodological and clinical uncertainties, of a novel e-Mental Health intervention for daughters providing support to at least one older parent that is both acceptable and feasible.