DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE E-CARE PORTAL HEALTH EDUCATION FOR HYPERTENSION

Abstract

The great challenge for the coming decades will be the improvement of therapy adherence for patients with hypertension, diabetes, and chronic diseases. Given the high treatment costs of these diseases for the Brazilian public health system, prevention and adherence become a priority. There are technology tools that can be used to improve communication between the health professional and the patient and thus enhance the effectiveness of the treatment. One of the many types of technology now available is education technology, which is an online repository of data providing a solid basis for health care professional-patient interface. Objective: The aim of this study was to report the building of the Health Education for Hypertension E-Care Portal. Method: This is a descriptive study of the effort that went into investigating adequate technology for an E-Care portal and building it. Three teams collaborated to make the website:the pedagogical team, relying on a research project entitled ""Therapy adherence through education technology applied to hypertensive patients"" carried out at the Heart Institute (InCor), University of Sao Paulo Medical School (FMUSP); the technological team, consulting with the Department of Telemedicine, FMUSP; and the graphic design team from the Distance Learning Nucleus, Sao Camilo University Center. Results: Creation of learning objects and interactions, such as videos with multi-professional interviews (nurse, nutritionist, psychologist, and physical trainer); debates among medical specialists (cardiologist, nephrologist, and neurologist); scripts for automated interactive behavioral situations resulting in an interactive questionnaire with computer-generated imagery; and scripts for three short films to induce behavior changes and therapy adherence by raising awareness: ""Loving others but not taking care of oneself is useless,"" ""Almost means not enough,"" and ""Overcoming obstacles to achieve quality of life."" The underlying technology was that of the virtual man. Also, 3D human body parts (heart, kidneys, and brain) were created to be used in the short films along with explanatory narratives. Conclusion: The use of the technological interactive resources created for the database should provide measurable information on the patients' acquired knowledge and enable the website users to develop enough self-confidence to care for their own health and deal with their problems.