About SMILe

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) is a curative treatment for patients with a variety of malignant and non-malignant hematological diseases, such as acute leukemia or aplastic anemia.

Over the last two decades, improvements in treatment and supportive care have led to rising numbers of transplants and long-term alloSCT survivors. However, alloSCT survivors have a high risk of early complications or late effects such as infections and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), as well as psychosocial symptoms such as fatigue, depression or emotional distress. This additionally challenges patient’s self-management or adherence following health behavior recommendations e.g medication adherence. Indeed, initially cured patients frequently turn into chronically ill who can benefit from an integrated model of care, which addresses not only biomedical but also behavioral and psychosocial dimensions in follow-up care.

Additionally, eHealth-facilitation showed promise in improving clinical outcomes in cancer or organ transplant patients. However, successful implementation and sustainability of innovative eHealth -facilitated care models require the combined use of implementation-, behavioral-, and computer science methods.

The overall aim of the SMILe project is the development, implementation and testing of an Integrated Care Model for SteM cell transplantatIon faciLitated by eHealth (SMILe-ICM).