Case studies
Region Jämtland Härjedalen uses Evira as digital treatment support for childhood obesity
The childhood obesity team in Region Jämtland Härjedalen uses Evira as digital treatment support for children and young people with obesity. After an initial pilot period, the solution transitioned into the region's regular operations and is now listed as digital treatment support in the region's care programme.
In brief
Childhood obesity team since 2022
The team is part of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Östersund Hospital and is the county's centre of expertise for childhood obesity.
Included in the care programme
Evira is listed as digital treatment support in the region's care programme for obesity in children and young people.
Remote treatment
Large parts of the treatment can be carried out from home, reducing the need for physical visits for families living far from care.
Scales, app and healthcare interface
The solution consists of numberless scales, a mobile app for the family and a digital interface for healthcare professionals.
Obesity is chronic – and treatable
Region Jämtland Härjedalen describes childhood obesity as a chronic but treatable disease. The National Board of Health and Welfare's national guidelines state that treatment should be long-term and family-based, with combined lifestyle intervention as the foundation.
Treatment therefore takes place in the family's daily life over a long period, while physical visits constitute individual points along the way. It is this continuity that the region's digital approach aims to ensure.
Digital treatment as part of specialist care
Since 2022, Region Jämtland Härjedalen has built up a dedicated childhood obesity team within Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The team is located at the Paediatric and Adolescent Clinic in Östersund and functions as the county's centre of expertise for childhood obesity.
The basis of the treatment is combined lifestyle intervention (CLI), where the family receives support in behavioural changes concerning, among other things, eating habits and physical activity. As a complement to the treatment, the team uses Evira.
In the region's care programme, Evira is listed alongside combined lifestyle intervention, physical and digital visits and other treatment options:
“Evira – digital treatment support”
Source: 1
From procured support to ordinary treatment
The region procured Evira as digital support for combined lifestyle intervention. The solution then moved from procured support to becoming part of the regular treatment provided by the childhood obesity team.
The region's follow-up of the childhood obesity team at Östersund Hospital simultaneously shows that the team was reinforced in 2022 and that funding would be incorporated into the ordinary budget process.
On its patient information about childhood obesity, the region currently states:
“We currently use Evira.”
How Evira is used in treatment
In the region's procurement documentation, Evira is described as a digital support system for combined lifestyle intervention treatment. The child weighs themselves at home, and the measurements become accessible to both the family and the treatment team, while the clinic can maintain digital contact with the family.
- numberless scales for the child to weigh themselves on at home
- mobile app for the family
- digital interface for the treatment team
- measurements and contact between physical visits
Source: 3
From home weighing to data in Östersund
Home measurements are automatically sent to Evira and converted into a trend that takes the child's growth into account. The family sees the trend in the app, the treatment team sees the same image in the healthcare interface.
Treatment data from Swedish childhood obesity care is followed up in the quality register BORIS. More data points between visits provide both a better clinical basis and a clearer picture of treatment development over time.
Remote treatment in a geographically large county
For Region Jämtland Härjedalen, the possibility of remote treatment is particularly relevant. The region highlights that treatment can largely be carried out remotely and that the reduced need for physical visits is valuable for families living far from their healthcare provider.
The family can carry out recurring measurements at home while the treatment team monitors progress and maintains contact between visits to the clinic in Östersund.
Continuous support between visits
The childhood obesity team in Östersund themselves describe one of the benefits of this way of working:
“It brings life to the treatment! To be able to provide continuous support and identify both negative and positive trends in good time.”
The family is an expert on their daily life
The treatment responsibility lies with the childhood obesity team, but changes happen at home. With shared data, the conversation becomes concrete: the family and the team work from the same trend and the same period, instead of from memories of the weeks that have passed.
This also means that the team can get in touch when the trend changes, instead of waiting for the next scheduled appointment.
Source: 4
Evira as part of the care model
Evira is currently included in the region’s healthcare programme as digital treatment support and is used as part of the ordinary clinical treatment, together with the expertise of the childhood obesity team. The procurement documentation describes Evira as the only digital tool on the market with precisely this function.
Sources and references
- Region Jämtland Härjedalen – care programme for obesity in children and adolescents
The care programme where Evira is specified as digital treatment support.
- Region Jämtland Härjedalen – follow-up on the strengthening of the obesity team at Östersund Hospital
Committee document on the reinforcement of the childhood obesity team in 2022, staffing and financing for 2023.
- Region Jämtland Härjedalen – procurement assignment "Digital obesity treatment, Evira"
Committee document that names Evira and describes the solution’s components and distance treatment.
- Region Jämtland Härjedalen – patient information on childhood obesity
The region's information for families about digital treatment.
- Region Jämtland Härjedalen – childhood obesity
The region's description of obesity as a chronic but treatable disease.
- The National Board of Health and Welfare – National guidelines for obesity care
National knowledge support for long-term obesity treatment.
- BORIS – national quality register for childhood obesity
The register where Swedish childhood obesity care is followed up.