PhD defence
Promoting Health Education and Behavior Change for Chronic Lung Disease：Potential for eHealth and Insights from a Global Perspective
- C. Sun
- Date
- Wednesday 28 October 2026
- Time
- Location
-
Academy Building
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden
Supervisor(s)
- Prof.dr. N. H. Chavannes
- dr. E. Meijer
- dr. M. J. Kasteleyn
Summary
Drawing on three countries with distinct socioeconomic, geographic and healthcare contexts, using questionnaires, interviews, a literature review and an interventional study design, this thesis provided a global perspective on health education needs and behavioral challenges related to chronic lung disease (CLD), examined the potential of eHealth (the use of information and technology in healthcare) for supporting CLD health education and behavior change. Specifically, this thesis:
1) identified misbeliefs, misperceptions and several behavioral challenges regarding CLD in Kyrgyzstan, such as prevalent smoking, risk fuels use, delayed help-seeking among community members, restricted and experience-based helping behaviors and rarely using guidelines among healthcare professionals due to lack of resources;
2) assessed eHealth literacy (eHL), referring to the ability to seek, assess and apply online health information, and its associated factors among Chinese general population, such as digital access, socioeconomic status, and attitudes towards eHealth;
3) provided an overview of existing literature on digital health education for CLD, and reported delivery mediums, educational content, intervention mechanisms, and outcomes;
4) examined whether individual illness perceptions and eHL could influence the effectiveness of a digital inhaler for asthma patients in Dutch primary care.
These findings underscore the importance of tailoring health education to local needs and contexts, and ensuring the inclusiveness and equity of eHealth. To maximize the potential for eHealth, it is recommended to invest in digital infrastructure, engage end users in the development and evaluation of eHealth, incorporate established behavior change techniques, and provide technical support for populations with lower digital skills.
PhD dissertations
Approximately one week after the defence, PhD dissertations by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through the Leiden Repository, that offers free access to these PhD dissertations. Please note that in some cases a dissertation may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later.
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General information
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