Evaluation of a Telehealthcare Intervention for Patients with COPD:health- and patient-related evaluation of the Danish telecare north trial

Abstract

The healthcare system is facing challenges regarding the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which necessitating alternative ways to treat these patients. Telehealthcare could be this alternative. A range of studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of telehealthcare, but they generally conclude that there is a need for more large-scale studies to obtain sufficient evidence. In this context, a Danish large-scale trial (TeleCare North) was launched in the North Denmark Region in 2012 to enable the management of COPD from patients’ home environments through telehealthcare. The overall aim of this dissertation was to evaluate the TeleCare North trial’s intervention. The PhD thesis focused more specifically on I) developing a trial protocol for the Danish, cluster-randomized, large-scale trial, TeleCare North; II) evaluating the trial’s telehealthcare system, Telekit, in terms of its usability and patient experiences; and III) evaluating the trial’s outcomes regarding health-related quality of life (HRQoL). These focus areas were addressed in seven papers.<br/