Families in the Netherlands consisting of individuals falling into a variety of racialized migrant categories, are often the focus of governmental scrutiny and scientific curiosity. These ‘migrant families’ are constructed in a variety of ways, all which make it possible to center them as the object of interventions aiming to address their assumed cultural distance and their ‘traditional’ way of life, often within the discourse of ‘integration’ and within government mandated civic integration programmes. The paradox arises when these migrant families, problematized in their traditionality, their ‘unmodernity’, are seen as a threat to the Dutch ‘modern’ families and what are seen as their own national Dutch ‘traditions’. Embracing ‘tradition’ is therefore simultaneously seen as a sign of a lack of progress when attributed to migrant families, while also seen as something which must be protected, as an inherent characteristic of national identity of the modern Dutch nation state. This paper aims to explore this paradox and the constructions of the modern and unmodern family by focusing on the everyday doing of these families, and how they are studied and described in a variety of knowledge production reports. The everyday, and the description and governance of it, is a site which contributes to the (re)production of the logics of modernity, yet it is often ignored or left unseen, perhaps because of its assumed mundanity. What hierarchical descriptions exist in these reports between migrant and Dutch families on how daily family life is organized, enacted in parent child interactions, in gender roles, in community involvement, in celebratory traditions, and in work/leisure activities? How do these everyday activities, act as signifiers of the extent to which the doing of modern values (such as equality, solidarity, participation, and freedom) are enacted in everyday life in migrant vs Dutch families. Understanding these constructions, and the role that scientific research publications play in (re)producing them, will be explored to better understand how the normalization of these logics set the stage for the further scrutiny and discipline of these migranticized families.
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Background: A paradigm shift in health care from illness to wellbeing requires new assessment technologies and intervention strategies. Self-monitoring tools based on the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) might provide a solution. They enable patients to monitor both vulnerability and resilience in daily life. Although ESM solutions are extensively used in research, a translation from science into daily clinical practice is needed. Objective: To investigate the redesign process of an existing platform for ESM data collection for detailed functional analysis and disease management used by psychological assistants to the general practitioner (PAGPs) in family medicine. Methods: The experience-sampling platform was reconceptualized according to the design thinking framework in three phases. PAGPs were closely involved in co-creation sessions. In the ‘understand’ phase, knowledge about end-users’ characteristics and current eHealth use was collected (nominal group technique – 2 sessions with N = 15). In the ‘explore’ phase, the key needs concerning the platform content and functionalities were evaluated and prioritized (empathy mapping – 1 session with N = 5, moderated user testing – 1 session with N = 4). In the ‘materialize’ phase, the adjusted version of the platform was tested in daily clinical practice (4 months with N = 4). The whole process was extensively logged, analyzed using content analysis, and discussed with an interprofessional project group. Results: In the ‘understand’ phase, PAGPs emphasized the variability in symptoms reported by patients. Therefore, moment-to-moment assessment of mood and behavior in a daily life context could be valuable. In the ‘explore’ phase, (motivational) functionalities, technological performance and instructions turned out to be important user requirements and could be improved. In the ‘materialize’ phase, PAGPs encountered barriers to implement the experience-sampling platform. They were insufficiently facilitated by the regional primary care group and general practitioners. Conclusion: The redesign process in co-creation yielded meaningful insights into the needs, desires and daily routines in family medicine. Severe barriers were encountered related to the use and uptake of the experience-sampling platform in settings where health care professionals lack the time, knowledge and skills. Future research should focus on the applicability of this platform in family medicine and incorporate patient experiences.
