János is a 55 years old purchasing agent, living with his wife in a small town in Hungary. He was diagnosed with hypertension 5 years ago and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He lives an inactive lifestyle, both at work and at home. János’ unstable work rhythm leads him to eat irregularly and impedes his ability to regulate his nutrition. His only physical activity is tending to his garden at the weekend. Neither of János’ children live close by meaning they don’t visit regularly. He drinks and smokes daily.
Internet usage
Mobile device skills
Affinity to new tech
Digital Health Literacy
Assistance (ICT use)
What's important to János
– Keeping his job
– Gardening and tending his vineyard
– Social meetings which often involve eating, drinking and smoking
Health concerns
– Diabetes
– Hypertension
– Work stress
– Obesity
– Smoking
– Family history of T2D, hypertension, Acute Myocardial Infarction
Daily living
– He works a sedentary job
– He eats disproportional meals, often skipping lunch and eating high calorie dinners prepared by his wife.
– He watches 2-3 hours of TV a night
– His only physical activity is gardening at the weekend
– Unstable workplace
– Distrust in health and social care systems
– Problems covering the cost of living (loan repayment, co-payment of health care services)
Treatment: medications, therapies, etc.
– 5 pills: hypertension (2), sleeping pill (1), painkiller (1), PPI (1)
– He only wishes to visit the general practitioner in case of complaints rather than regular screenings
Own resources & assets / support
– Smart phone and internet access
– He is moderately tech savvy
– Spouse as family carer
– Access to nature
Care professional concerns
– Poorly managed diabetes and hypertension
– Pulmonology (COPD)
– Obesity
– Alcohol and tobacco consumption
– Urology (erectile dysfunction)
Needs
– János does not feel empowered to manage his conditions. He needs access to a better patient education system to improve his health literacy. Ideally his wife should also be involved as his informal caregiver.
– János would also benefit from a better economic environment to facilitate lifestyle changes such as free (remote) training, facilities, nutrition advice or financial incentives for risk reduction.
– János needs technical support to help him run personal ICT systems.
– János needs an adaptable health care system which responds to his needs flexibly relative to time and urgency.
Developed by
Sonja Müller & Alexandra Prodan empirica GmbH; Maddalena Illario, UNINA; Laszló Rosta, Hungarian Society of Diabetes; Istvan Kósa, National Directorate General for Hospitals; Irén Kántor, Hungarian Society of Diabetes.