Guest Editors
- Vance Wilson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Diane Strong, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Introduction
Patient-Centered E-Health (PCEH) is an emerging discipline that would benefit from receiving much more research attention. As a starting point, we use Wilson’s (2009) definition of PCEH as the combination of three themes:
- Patient-focus: PCEH applications are developed primarily based on needs and perspectives of patients.
- Patient-activity: PCEH application designs assume that patients can participate meaningfully in providing and consuming information about, and of interest to, them.
- Patient-empowerment: PCEH applications assume that patients want to, and are able to, control far-ranging aspects of their health care via a PCEH application.
Although e-health applications have become common, most applications focus on the needs of healthcare providers and organizations, rather than the e-health services that patients actually desire. This is not surprising because most Health IT and health and medical informatics research has necessarily started with the development and integration of electronic records and related systems, rather than delivering e-health to patients.
Our objectives in creating this special section are to explore, clarify, and expand the emerging PCEH field. We are soliciting papers from all research perspectives and disciplines and from all parts of the world.
Conventional research articles are welcome, as are submissions that support research and researchers, a key mission of the CAIS Information Systems and Healthcare Department (Wilson, 2004). We specifically invite submissions in the following areas.
Submissions of PCEH Research
- Conceptual articles, including those that build on, critique, or replace the working definition of PCEH presented by Wilson (2009)
- Review articles assessing the status or trajectory of PCEH research
- Application of theories, methods, design principles, and/or practices of user-centered design and other relevant disciplines to the PCEH context
- Qualitative and quantitative empirical studies of PCEH
- Design research
- Case studies
- Teaching cases
Submissions Supporting PCEH Research and Researchers
- Instrument development and adaptation of instruments to the PCEH context
- Literature reviews and annotated bibliographies
- Tutorials related to PCEH
- Panel discussions related to PCEH
Timetable
- Submit abstract for comment by June 30, 2012 (recommended but not required)
- Submit paper by October 1, 2012
- Reviews returned to authors by November 10, 2012
- Revise and resubmit by January 7, 2013*
- Final decisions by February 11, 2013*
- Special section papers published during March 2013*
* Papers that are not revised and returned by January 7, 2013 or are not accepted for publication by February 11, 2013 will be invited to continue in the review process for publication within the Information Systems and Healthcare Department of CAIS
Review Process
Papers will have two rounds of peer review by scholars with knowledge of, and interest in, e‑health. The first round will provide developmental guidance for improving those papers that show potential to be accepted for the special section. Final selections for the Special Section will be made from the second-round submissions.
Submission Instructions
Submissions to the special section will be handled outside the CAIS Manuscript Central review system. All submissions should be delivered in MSWord format, following APA guidelines. Submit as an email attachment to vancewilson@gmail.com.
References
Wilson, E. V. (2004). Editorial statement: Information systems and healthcare department. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 13(27), 456-458.
Wilson, E. V. (2009). Patient-Centered E-Health. Hershey, PA, IGI Publications.