Since the discussion about What is eHealth? and the introduction of the next generation of technology Web 2.0 more and more studies stress the importance of theoretical models or frameworks to provide evidence for bridging the gap between medicine and technology to make eHealth usable. However, most existing frameworks focus almost exclusively on one aspect of eHealth, such as technology acceptance or health information quality, rather than on the multi-determinants that influence the success of eHealth applications.
The aim of the present paper is to introduce a Web 2.0 multi-level framework which is the conceptual groundwork for a collaborative tool eHealthWiki aimed at supporting the design, implementation and evaluation of eHealth applications. We suggest that a framework is important for ensuring sustained usage of eHealth and with that to strengthen its evidence. The framework is based on a narrative literature review about current frameworks that are in some extent multi-level focused and on our research experiences with designing and evaluating web-based applications and domotica for disease management.
Our hope is that the present paper stimulates a discussion within the research and care providers’ community about the potentials and the limitations of the multi-level eHealth framework for designing high quality eHealth applications and for a more robust evaluation approach to determine the factors that are essential for successful healthcare technology. This discussion will feed the development of the eHealthWiki; a Web 2.0 tool to support eHealth developers and evaluators. []