scholarly journals Use of Health Apps and Wearable Devices: Survey Among Italian Associations for Patient Advocacy (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Mosconi ◽  
Silvia Radrezza ◽  
Emanuele Lettieri ◽  
Eugenio Santoro
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Treatment Compliance ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Medical Reports ◽  
Health Care Advocacy

BACKGROUND Technological tools such as Web-based social networks, telemedicine, apps, or wearable devices are becoming more widespread in health care like elsewhere. Although patients are the main users, for example, to monitor symptoms and clinical parameters or to communicate with the doctor, their perspective is seldom analyzed, and to the best of our knowledge, no one has focused on the patients’ health care advocacy associations’ point of view. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess patients’ health care advocacy associations’ opinions about the use, usefulness, obstacles, negative aspects, and impact of health apps and wearable devices through a Web-based survey. METHODS We conducted a Web-based survey through SurveyMonkey over nearly 3 months. Participants were contacted via an email explaining the aims of the survey and providing a link to complete the Web-based questionnaire. All the 20 items were mandatory, and the anonymized data were collected automatically into a database. Only fully completed questionnaires were considered for analysis. RESULTS We contacted 1998 patients’ health care advocacy associations; a total of 258 questionnaires were received back (response rate 12.91%), and 227 of the received questionnaires were fully completed (completion rate 88.0%). Informative apps, hospital apps for viewing medical reports or booking visits, and those for monitoring physical activity are the most used. They are considered especially useful to improve patients’ engagement and compliance with treatment. Wearable devices to check physical activity and glycemia are the most widespread considering, again, their benefits in increasing patients’ involvement and treatment compliance. For health apps and wearable devices, the main obstacles to their use are personal and technical reasons; the risk of overmedicalization is considered the most negative aspect of their constant use, while privacy and confidentiality of data are not rated a limitation. No statistical difference was found on stratifying the answers by responders’ technological level (P=.30), age (P=.10), and the composition of the association’s advisory board (P=.15). CONCLUSIONS According to responders, health apps and wearable devices are sufficiently known and used and are considered potential supports for greater involvement in health management. However, there are still obstacles to their adoption, and the developers need to work to make them more accessible and more useful. The involvement of patients and their associations in planning services and products based on these technologies (as well as others) would be desirable to overcome these barriers and boost awareness about privacy and the confidentiality of data.

scholarly journals Development and Application of a Web-based Integrated Support Service Program for Infertile Women

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 004695802110285
Author(s):  
Jummi Park ◽  
Nayeon Shin
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Nursing Education ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Support Service ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Health Care Information ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Infertile Women

Online-based infertility education provides a health management system to patients using electronic information and technology and no face-to-face interaction with patients and experts. This is a study to develop a web-based integrated support service system to meet the health care and nursing needs of infertile women. To develop a system that is most suitable and practically helpful to infertile women, who are end users of this system, research was conducted. This education system consists of introduction to women’s health care, information on women’s health, information on organizations for women, community for infertile women, and request for consultation for health management and nursing education of infertile women. This study introduced and applied a user-centered design that maximizes the value of use by first understanding the user’s convenience and needs when developing a program.

scholarly journals Impact of a Wearable Device-Based Walking Programs in Rural Older Adults on Physical Activity and Health Outcomes: Cohort Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Il-Young Jang ◽  
Hae Reong Kim ◽  
Eunju Lee ◽  
Hee-Won Jung ◽  
Hyelim Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Wearable Device ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

BACKGROUND Community-dwelling older adults living in rural areas are in a less favorable environment for health care compared with urban older adults. We believe that intermittent coaching through wearable devices can help optimize health care for older adults in medically limited environments. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate whether a wearable device and mobile-based intermittent coaching or self-management could increase physical activity and health outcomes of small groups of older adults in rural areas. METHODS To address the above evaluation goal, we carried out the “Smart Walk” program, a health care model wherein a wearable device is used to promote self-exercise particularly among community-dwelling older adults managed by a community health center. We randomly selected older adults who had enrolled in a population-based, prospective cohort study of aging, the Aging Study of Pyeongchang Rural Area. The “Smart Walk” program was a 13-month program conducted from March 2017 to March 2018 and included 6 months of coaching, 1 month of rest, and 6 months of self-management. We evaluated differences in physical activity and health outcomes according to frailty status and conducted pre- and postanalyses of the Smart Walk program. We also performed intergroup analysis according to adherence of wearable devices. RESULTS We recruited 22 participants (11 robust and 11 prefrail older adults). The two groups were similar in most of the variables, except for age, frailty index, and Short Physical Performance Battery score associated with frailty criteria. After a 6-month coaching program, the prefrail group showed significant improvement in usual gait speed (mean 0.73 [SD 0.11] vs mean 0.96 [SD 0.27], P=.02), International Physical Activity Questionnaire scores in kcal (mean 2790.36 [SD 2224.62] vs mean 7589.72 [SD 4452.52], P=.01), and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions score (mean 0.84 [SD 0.07] vs mean 0.90 [SD 0.07], P=.02), although no significant improvement was found in the robust group. The average total step count was significantly different and was approximately four times higher in the coaching period than in the self-management period (5,584,295.83 vs 1,289,084.66, P<.001). We found that participants in the “long-self” group who used the wearable device for the longest time showed increased body weight and body mass index by mean 0.65 (SD 1.317) and mean 0.097 (SD 0.513), respectively, compared with the other groups. CONCLUSIONS Our “Smart Walk” program improved physical fitness, anthropometric measurements, and geriatric assessment categories in a small group of older adults in rural areas with limited resources for monitoring. Further validation through various rural public health centers and in a large number of rural older adults is required.

Adaptive Multi-Services System for Maternal and Child Health Care on Mobile Application (AM-Care)

2012 ◽  
pp. 263-280
Author(s):  
Walisa Romsaiyud ◽  
Wichian Premchaiswadi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Maternal And Child Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Care Services ◽  
And Child Health

Addressing efforts towards the improvement of maternal and child health management can often prove to be problematic in context to successfully obtaining healthcare and medical treatment information from health care professionals. In this regard, the authors propose an adaptive multi-service system that contains fully integrated health care services, medical treatment services, and maternal and child health management. The system utilized both web-based and mobile technology for implementing the application. A practical framework for generating individual maternal and child health care is also presented from data repositories and fully integrated functional health care services to support an improved quality of life for both mother and children. The application, namely AM-Care, consists of the three main components, i.e., Control Centre Component, Web-based Components, and Mobile Components. Also, AM-Care has the important add-on features such as emergency services and warning services.

scholarly journals A Combination of Indoor Localization and Wearable Sensor–Based Physical Activity Recognition to Assess Older Patients Undergoing Subacute Rehabilitation: Baseline Study Results (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramin Ramezani ◽  
Wenhao Zhang ◽  
Zhuoer Xie ◽  
John Shen ◽  
David Elashoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Activity Recognition ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Random Forests ◽  
Energy Intensity ◽  
Indoor Localization ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Wearable Devices

BACKGROUND Health care, in recent years, has made great leaps in integrating wireless technology into traditional models of care. The availability of ubiquitous devices such as wearable sensors has enabled researchers to collect voluminous datasets and harness them in a wide range of health care topics. One of the goals of using on-body wearable sensors has been to study and analyze human activity and functional patterns, thereby predicting harmful outcomes such as falls. It can also be used to track precise individual movements to form personalized behavioral patterns, to standardize the concept of frailty, well-being/independence, etc. Most wearable devices such as activity trackers and smartwatches are equipped with low-cost embedded sensors that can provide users with health statistics. In addition to wearable devices, Bluetooth low-energy sensors known as BLE beacons have gained traction among researchers in ambient intelligence domain. The low cost and durability of newer versions have made BLE beacons feasible gadgets to yield indoor localization data, an adjunct feature in human activity recognition. In the studies by Moatamed et al and the patent application by Ramezani et al, we introduced a generic framework (Sensing At-Risk Population) that draws on the classification of human movements using a 3-axial accelerometer and extracting indoor localization using BLE beacons, in concert. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to examine the ability of combination of physical activity and indoor location features, extracted at baseline, on a cohort of 154 rehabilitation-dwelling patients to discriminate between subacute care patients who are re-admitted to the hospital versus the patients who are able to stay in a community setting. METHODS We analyzed physical activity sensor features to assess activity time and intensity. We also analyzed activities with regard to indoor localization. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare demographic variables and sensor feature variables in outcome groups. Random forests were used to build predictive models based on the most significant features. RESULTS Standing time percentage (P<.001, d=1.51), laying down time percentage (P<.001, d=1.35), resident room energy intensity (P<.001, d=1.25), resident bed energy intensity (P<.001, d=1.23), and energy percentage of active state (P=.001, d=1.24) are the 5 most statistically significant features in distinguishing outcome groups at baseline. The energy intensity of the resident room (P<.001, d=1.25) was achieved by capturing indoor localization information. Random forests revealed that the energy intensity of the resident room, as a standalone attribute, is the most sensitive parameter in the identification of outcome groups (area under the curve=0.84). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that a combination of indoor localization and physical activity tracking produces a series of features at baseline, a subset of which can better distinguish between at-risk patients that can gain independence versus the patients that are rehospitalized.

scholarly journals Digital mental health apps for self-management of depression: a scoping exploration on awareness, attitude, and user experience among professional course students

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 3594
Author(s):  
Sree T. Sucharitha ◽  
Aravind Manoharan ◽  
Velusamy Dhanuraja ◽  
Arunadevi Kasi ◽  
Suganya Ezhilarasan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Self Management ◽  
User Experiences ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Care Services

Background: Globally, depressive disorders are ranked as the single largest contributor to non-fatal health loss (7.5% of all years lost due to disability-YLD). In India, provision of quality mental health care services remains a challenge due to severe deficiency of qualified care givers. Harnessing the potential of digital technologies and smart phone apps need to be explored to address the existing gaps in mental health care services. This study aims to describe the awareness, attitudes and user experiences of mental health apps among professional course students.Methods: A mixed-methods study methodology was adapted involving medical professional students of a tertiary teaching hospital in South India. A web-based survey assessed the awareness, attitudes and usage of mental health apps. Further, in-depth interviews (30) were conducted among selective app users (20) and non-users (10) to gain insights about the user experiences.  Results: Among 898 respondents for the web-based survey, majority were female (513,57.1%), aged between 18-25 years (801,89.2%) undergraduates (673,74.9%), undertaking professional courses in medicine and allied health sciences (633,70.6%). 273 (30.4%) respondents were aware of apps and 86 (9.6%) were ever users. Novel interactive platforms, privacy and agency for self-care are the major factors for using the apps however data confidentiality and authenticity of the app-based information were identified as major concerns limiting app usage.Conclusions: The study found the utilization of mental health apps as self-management tool for depression gaining slow traction among professional course students.

Adaptive Multi-Services System for Maternal and Child Health Care on Mobile Application (AM-Care)

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walisa Romsaiyud ◽  
Wichian Premchaiswadi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Maternal And Child Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Child Health Care ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Care Services ◽  
And Child Health

Addressing efforts towards the improvement of maternal and child health management can often prove to be problematic in context to successfully obtaining healthcare and medical treatment information from health care professionals. In this regard, the authors propose an adaptive multi-service system that contains fully integrated health care services, medical treatment services, and maternal and child health management. The system utilized both web-based and mobile technology for implementing the application. A practical framework for generating individual maternal and child health care is also presented from data repositories and fully integrated functional health care services to support an improved quality of life for both mother and children. The application, namely AM-Care, consists of the three main components, i.e., Control Centre Component, Web-based Components, and Mobile Components. Also, AM-Care has the important add-on features such as emergency services and warning services.

scholarly journals Physicians’ Perceptions of Chatbots in Health Care: Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Palanica ◽  
Peter Flaschner ◽  
Anirudh Thommandram ◽  
Michael Li ◽  
Yan Fossat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Treatment Compliance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Health Clinics ◽  
Use Of Health Care

BACKGROUND Many potential benefits for the uses of chatbots within the context of health care have been theorized, such as improved patient education and treatment compliance. However, little is known about the perspectives of practicing medical physicians on the use of chatbots in health care, even though these individuals are the traditional benchmark of proper patient care. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of physicians regarding the use of health care chatbots, including their benefits, challenges, and risks to patients. METHODS A total of 100 practicing physicians across the United States completed a Web-based, self-report survey to examine their opinions of chatbot technology in health care. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to examine the characteristics of participants. RESULTS A wide variety of positive and negative perspectives were reported on the use of health care chatbots, including the importance to patients for managing their own health and the benefits on physical, psychological, and behavioral health outcomes. More consistent agreement occurred with regard to administrative benefits associated with chatbots; many physicians believed that chatbots would be most beneficial for scheduling doctor appointments (78%, 78/100), locating health clinics (76%, 76/100), or providing medication information (71%, 71/100). Conversely, many physicians believed that chatbots cannot effectively care for all of the patients’ needs (76%, 76/100), cannot display human emotion (72%, 72/100), and cannot provide detailed diagnosis and treatment because of not knowing all of the personal factors associated with the patient (71%, 71/100). Many physicians also stated that health care chatbots could be a risk to patients if they self-diagnose too often (714%, 74/100) and do not accurately understand the diagnoses (74%, 74/100). CONCLUSIONS Physicians believed in both costs and benefits associated with chatbots, depending on the logistics and specific roles of the technology. Chatbots may have a beneficial role to play in health care to support, motivate, and coach patients as well as for streamlining organizational tasks; in essence, chatbots could become a surrogate for nonmedical caregivers. However, concerns remain on the inability of chatbots to comprehend the emotional state of humans as well as in areas where expert medical knowledge and intelligence is required.

Physical Activity Support Predicts Safety-Net Patients’ Digital Health-Care Engagement: Implications for Patient Care Delivery

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-315
Author(s):  
Sharon S. Laing ◽  
Ryan Sterling ◽  
Carlota Ocampo
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Health Care Engagement

Purpose: Assess relationship among health services received and patients’ digital health-care engagement. Design: Quantitative cross-sectional survey study. Setting: Community health centers in Washington state and DC. Sample: N = 164 adult safety-net patients. Intervention: Not applicable Measures: Outcomes were knowledge and use of health apps. Predictors were health service access (access to specialists and health information); health service delivery (healthy eating and physical activity counsel); health service satisfaction; and perceived service value. Analysis: Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses. Odds ratios (OR) reported for 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Response rate was 35%. Of all, 71% were knowledgeable of smartphone use for wellness and 48% used health apps. Physical activity (PA) counseling predicted knowledge and health apps use. Respondents receiving PA counseling were 2.61 times more likely to be knowledgeable about using smartphones for health promotion (OR = 2.61; P = .047; 95% CI: 1.01-6.73). Respondents receiving PA counseling were 2.89 times more likely to use health apps (OR = 2.89; P = .022; 95% CI: 1.17-7.17). Health information access predicted health apps use; respondents with easy access to general health information were 0.29 times as likely to use health apps (OR = 0.29; P = .043; 95% CI: 0.09-0.96). Conclusion: Targeted preventive care support encourages digital health-care engagement. mHealth may supplement health-care needs outside clinics.

scholarly journals Bridging Learning in Medicine and Citizenship During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Telehealth-Based Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-111
Author(s):  
Viviane Boaventura ◽  
Jedson dos Santos Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Social Distancing

Background. COVID-19 presented great challenges for not only those in the field of health care but also those undergoing medical training. The burden on health care services worldwide has limited the educational opportunities available for medical students due to social distancing requirements.Objective. In this paper, we describe a strategy that combines telehealth and medical training to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods. A toll-free telescreening service, Telecoronavirus, began operations in March 2020. This service was operated remotely by supervised medical students and was offered across all 417 municipalities (14.8 million inhabitants) in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Students recorded clinical and sociodemographic data by using a web-based application that was simultaneously accessed by medical volunteers for supervision purposes, as well as by state health authorities who conducted epidemiological surveillance and health management efforts. In parallel, students received up-to-date scientific information about COVID-19 via short educational videos prepared by professors. A continuously updated triage algorithm was conceived to provide consistent service.Results. The program operated for approximately 4 months, engaging 1396 medical students and 133 physicians. In total, 111,965 individuals residing in 343 municipalities used this service. Almost 70,000 individuals were advised to stay at home, and they received guidance to avoid disease transmission, potentially contributing to localized reductions in the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the program promoted citizenship education for medical students, who were engaged in a real-life opportunity to fight the pandemic within their own communities. The objectives of the education, organization, and assistance domains of the Telecoronavirus program were successfully achieved according to the results of a web-based post-project survey that assessed physicians' and students' perceptions.Conclusions. In a prolonged pandemic scenario, a combination of remote tools and medical supervision via telehealth services may constitute a useful strategy for maintaining social distancing measures while preserving some practical aspects of medical education. A low-cost tool such as the Telecoronavirus program could be especially valuable in resource-limited health care scenarios, in addition to offering support for epidemiological surveillance actions.

scholarly journals THE IMPORTANCE OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THIS PLAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
ALEXANDRU ANDREI GHERMAN ◽  
DAN MONEA ◽  
LEON GOMBOS ◽  
ADRIAN PATRASCU
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Free Time ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Motor Activities ◽  
Leisure Physical Activity

ABSTRACT: Introduction The concept of free time has evolved over the centuries according to various socially organized models. Thus, it was found that mankind has always enjoyed a certain type of leisure organization, various forms and activities of organization. Objective The study aims to identify a concept of physical education for free time, stimulating the desire to exercise, developing the spirit of initiative, ensuring continuity in the practice of motor activities. Methods Major benefits of web-based questionnaires and surveys are that they do not require the administration of materials in person, are accessible world-wide, and are therefore available cross-culturally. Results A majority of the subjects (68.5%) view a healthy diet as “very important” for a sport point of view. If we were to couple this with the “important” answer to this question we would find that a vast majority (94.4%) view diet and nutrition as a key component of physical activity. Conclusions Leisure physical activity helps for a healthy lifestyle, regardless of the profession you practice. Through this paper we intend to create a guide in the practice of physical leisure activities and to help in their practice. Nevertheless, many different types of exercise have been shown to be beneficial, including aerobic training, resistance or strength training, walking, hopping, swimming, aquatic exercise, as well as exercises to improve flexibility and balance for a healthy lifestyle.

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