Computer-based cognitive and socio-emotional training in personal health information management

Personal information management (PIM) pervades every aspect of our lives, including health care. As users of the health care system, we rely on our ability to manage information to combat illness and stay healthy. When seeking help for a health-related problem or question, we navigate a complex system where health services are distributed across multiple clinicians in a variety of specializations and institutions. Within the system, efforts to reduce costs have limited the time clinicians are able to spend with patients. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest of psychopathology for therapeutic uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Researchers and clinicians are carrying out interdisciplinary projects and empirical investigations of computer-based treatments dedicated to the rehabilitation of psychiatric patients. Some projects gave rise to practical implementations in clinical settings, a quite publicized example being the use of virtual reality for treating various forms of phobias and anxiety disorders. Companies specialized in developing software intended for psychotherapy are starting to emerge. Effective management of information is particularly challenging for patients facing conditions (such as cancer) requiring extended outpatient care. For cancer patients, a primary intervention (such as surgery) is generally followed by therapy (such as radiation, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy) that can last additional weeks, months, or years. As a result, they must stay on top of changing treatment regimens while trying to maintain their routine at work and at home.