Building a project to last

One of the limitations of many IT-related programs is that there is a horrid underestimation of what it takes to execute a project to its fullest extent. This means that projects are often delay or wholly abandoned because the innovation ideas exceed the capability to deliver. People envision what could be possible, rather than plan for what is realistically possible. Dare to dream, however if we are to reasonably deliver public and population health interventions and tools, we need to balance innovation with realism.

But how do we do this? One is to consult, and consult widely with people that know technology and know its limitations. Secondly, talk to those people who will use the technology. The problem facing many IT interventions is that they are ahead of their time and the average person is incapable of deriving the benefit from it. The third and possibly most important part is creating a shared vision that both developers and end users can agree on for a project and developing a workplan that reflects this shared vision. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is simple enough that, with some careful planning, can be done and done well.

Making cense

The term 'cense' means 'to perfume' in English. In French, cense means "supposed to". So from this, what would a reader conclude this blog to be about -- a need to perfume? Recommended fragrances?? The scoop on CoCo Chanel's latest offering?

The answer is no. Far from it in fact. Cense, as used here, is the name for a project I am initiating on the Critical Evaluation of Networks, Systems and eHealth. Yet the word 'sense' is closer to what I am getting to. Dictionary.com defines sense as 'a general conscious awareness'. This is much closer to what I mean by this. I hope to increase the consciousness around how networks, systems and eHealth can come together. I am a researcher by profession, my stock in trade is technology, research evidence, and critical thinking. Together, they combine to provide me with the tools to analyse how networks can foster collaboration and increase knowledge among the participants in it. Yet networks are embedded in systems, and knowledge is limited in its application unless the system in which it can be applied is supportive. There must be capacity for people to act on information and knowledge for networks to be effective, otherwise it is a lot of sharing for little more than filling up space in the brain. Knowledge is useless without the capability to act and thus we must understand the system to advance knowledge.

Finally, there is this thing called eHealth. This is a pretty arcane term to all but a small band of people in academia and specialized fields of medicine and health sciences. The term itself has a myriad of definitions (see a series of articles in the Journal of Medical Internet Research [http://www.jmir.org] for a glance at some, particularly the recent article by Hans Oh, Carlos Rizo, Murray Enkin and Alex Jadad). Although obscure to most of people in terminology, there is a lot of research that suggests that many people (in the Western world at least) use the Internet as a primary source of health information. Teenagers, the future adults of the world , use the Internet with great frequency for problem solving -- including finding out about health issues. The point is, this is actually a big phenomenon.

Information technology such as the World Wide Web, mobile phones, and PDA's are quickly changing the way researchers collaborate, health practitioners practice, and the public learns about and seeks treatment for health issues. And it's only getting bigger. eHealth is most effective (in my view) when it is networked, and networks are only as effective as the systems they are a part of. So to look at small issues like helping people make decisions about cancer treatment online, we need to look up to the systems level as well as the personal, individual level for knowledge. Hence, this project.

This is my forum for ideas, documentation on the projects I am engaged in, and a chance to muse aloud about what this all means and what it can do for society as a whole. The hope is that this 'censing' of the issues of systems, networks and eHealth will eventually lead to work that makes a pleasant 'odour' to public health and improved health for everyone.