We conclude that eHealth-supported self-management integrated into usual care can help patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Oral Anticoagulation Therapy to manage their... Show moreWe conclude that eHealth-supported self-management integrated into usual care can help patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Oral Anticoagulation Therapy to manage their disease. We assume that blended care with total integration of eHealth and usual care will provide better quality of care in the long term. Professional training of healthcare professionals on the care program including self-management supported by eHealth and personal assistance for the patients to guide them through the platform are essential elements to stimulate the use of eHealth. With appropriate training through e-learning or group training, self-management seems safe and reliable for a selected proportion of motivated patients. Even though eHealth-supported self-management was not superior to usual care regarding health status, the studies produced no negative effects, suggesting that eHealth is a safe option for delivery of self-management support and high-quality disease management. The usage of eHealth platforms is better under conditions of perfect integration into usual care and with personal assistance and the coaching of patients. The usage is highest for patients with platforms that add high practical value in daily life. Show less
Treating chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes mellitus is a hot topic that has been discussed widely and investigated extensively, but never solved, due in part to... Show moreTreating chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes mellitus is a hot topic that has been discussed widely and investigated extensively, but never solved, due in part to their high complexity. Integrating disease-related information using a systems approach may help improve our knowledge of stages of the disease, thus improving the accuracy of diagnosing chronic disease. With respect to integrative thinking, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)‒based concepts may provide a suitable holistic model, as TCM describes disease syndromes/phenotypes as an experience-based reference from the systems level. Systems-based metabolomics provides a comprehensive picture of small molecular metabolites as a readout and provides biological interpretations of the pathophysiology of disease. The rapid, highly sensitive, non-invasive measurement of ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) -- which measures spontaneously emitted photons at the surface of the skin--has been proposed for supporting TCM-based diagnostics and for reflecting the whole body’s physiological and pathological status. Combining metabolomics with TCM-based diagnostics will provide a robust model for investigating the biological processes that underlie UPE. This thesis aimed to investigate system-wide perturbations by using/combining metabolomics, UPE and TCM-based diagnostics, to provide i) a systems view of chronic disease, and ii) personalized phenotyping guided by TCM-based principles. Show less
