Research Unit on Communication, Organization Learning and Aesthetics
RUCOLA
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TreC Project

The research project, funded by Provincia Autonoma di Trento, and coordinated by e-Health Research Unit of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), works on a medical record named “TreC” (an acronym for Cartella Clinica del Cittadino –Citizens’ Clinical Record) and involve RUCOLA Unit in all phases. Such technological artifact is a prototype where RUCOLA Unit is contributing to design of the prototype in order to analyze the processes of its implementation and adoption. The artifact is a technology that use the approach of “Personal Health Record” which will allow people from all the territory of province of Trento to access, manage and share their health information (e.g. lab test) through a secure access web portal. Compared to systems technically similar to it such as those used by physicians, a Personal Health Record is different as it assigns a central role to lay users (citizens) and because of the complex network of actors it aims at connecting (citizens, GPs, hospitals, laboratories, health institutions).

The making of this new technology requires an understanding of both the existing forms of personal health information management of laypeople (citizens) and the working practices of professionals (doctors); moreover, the research requires an attention to the process of coming into being of the technology itself. The research plan involves the development of three phases:

  • Analysis of the profiles of the users of the Personal Health Record, of their strategies in personal health information management at home, of their network of caregivers and their expectation about new forms of communication with health care professionals.
  • Analysis of adoption of information systems by health care professionals, existing forms of communication with patients and willingness to use ICTs to improve them.
  • Requirement analysis for 5 telemonitoring pilot studies and their qualitative assessment.

Researchers: Silvia Gherardi (coordinator and referent), Enrico Maria Piras (Fondazione Bruno Kessler), Alberto Zanutto
Period: 2008-2013
Funding: Fondazione Bruno Kessler