About the project
Systemic Lupus Erytemathosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory systemic disease typically affecting young women in their childbearing age, with a significant impact on Quality of Life (QoL) and on activities of daily living.
The assessment of SLE in clinical practice might be difficult as the disease is characterized by multi-organ involvement and a complex clinical picture, with a wide range of manifestations and a unpredictable relapsing and remitting course.
From one side, the physician-driven evaluation of disease activity and/or organ damage is not strongly associated with QoL measures; on the other side, patients may not be aware of clinically important signs of disease activity if not accompanied by symptoms. Discordance between patients and physicians may have important consequences on patient care and on the outcomes of disease.
The INTEGRATE project has the aim to bridge the communication gap between patients and physicians and to develop a new strategy for the monitoring and treatment of SLE, relying on the integration of patient-reported data to the traditional physician evaluation.
The project is expected to lead to the improvement of the active participation of the patient in the care process, a better patient’s control over health and a significant improvement of the clinical outcomes of the disease.
Starting from the paradigm of SLE and mapping existing IT-systems useful for the management of SLE, INTEGRATE can create an innovate e-Health system potentially applicable to other chronic complex diseases.