Affective gaps in eHealth communication: Exploring patient experiences with health data on the eHealth platform sundhed.dk

Abstract

The exploratory study examines how patients in Denmark experience health data on the eHealth platform sundhed.dk. The study takes its starting point in the communicative process taking place between patients as platform users and the eHealth platform as a communicative agent. In dialogue with literature at the intersection of eHealth and communication studies, it develops the analytical lens of affective gaps, connecting Peters notion of communicative gaps with Lupton’s concept of affective atmospheres. Empirically, the study unpacks the complex, often conflicting experiences that arise when patients attempt to make meaning of and engage with their health data. Building on 24 in-depth, purposefully sampled interviews, the article presents a thorough thematic analysis, showing that patients need to simultaneously deal with states of being (1) informed and insecure, (2) confident and frustrated, and (3) in control and in doubt. Receiving health data on eHealth platforms is a complex and often challenging process for patients, provoking profound and at times unsettling experiences, oftentimes creating vulnerabilities. While gaps and uncertainty have always been a part of health communication, eHealth platforms amplify and reconfigure these dynamics, thus presenting novel challenges for patient-healthcare professional communication. In conclusion, the article calls for further research into the communicative user-platform relations that shape patient experiences with health data, positioning patients as the primary receivers of eHealth communication.