Bridging the eHealth chasm: Towards a synergy between academia and practice in eHealth implementation

This thesis explores the dynamic intersection between psychology, eHealth, and implementation science. Its main aim is to investigate the implementation of eHealth and eMental health technologies, with a specific focus on the context of informal care. Furthermore, the studies included in this thesis took place during the COVID-19 pandemic that, apart from dramatically impacting everyone’s lives between 2020 and 2022, offered an interesting scenario to study implementation in. Thus, the concepts of i) eHealth and eMental health, ii) informal care, iii) implementation science will be introduced, and, in the spirit of blooming where one is planted, the possible role of COVID-19 in the implementation of eHealth will be discussed. The chapters contained in this thesis have multiple focuses and consider different angles, keeping the fil rouge of implementation of eHealth and eMental health technologies. More specifically, the thesis moves from the understanding that often eHealth is not reaching its full potential due to implementation issues (i.e. the eHealth chasm). Therefore, it aims at gaining insights into how to mitigate these issues by drawing from real life examples. As the title suggests, the chapters include both technologies developed by academia and practice, hinting at how a collaboration between the two might contribute to a better uptake of eHealth and eMental health technologies.