Profiles of eHealth Adoption in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Their Caregivers

(1) Background: Persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) are often characterized as ideal adopters of new digital healthcare trends, but it is worth thinking about whether and which pwMS will be targeted and served by a particular eHealth service like a patient portal. With our study, we wanted to explore needs and barriers for subgroups of pwMS and their caregivers when interacting with eHealth services in care and daily living. (2) Methods: This study comprises results from two surveys: one collecting data from pwMS and their relatives (as informal caregivers) and another one providing information on the opinions and attitudes of healthcare professionals (HCPs). Data were analyzed descriptively and via generalized linear models. (3) Results: 185 pwMS, 25 informal caregivers, and 24 HCPs in the field of MS participated. Nine out of ten pwMS used information technology on a daily base. Individual impairments like in vision and cognition resulted in individual needs like the desire to actively monitor their disease course or communicate with their physician in person. HCPs reported that a complete medication overview, additional medication information, overview of future visits and a reminder of medication intake would be very helpful eHealth features for pwMS, while they themselves preferred features organizing and enriching future visits. (4) Conclusions: A closer look at the various profiles of eHealth adoption in pwMS and their caregivers indicated that there is a broad and robust enthusiasm across several subgroups that does not exclude anyone in general, but constitutes specific areas of interest. For pwMS, the focus was on eHealth services that connect previously collected information and make them easily accessible and understandable.

Adaptation and acculturation: Resettling displaced tribal communities from wildlife sanctuaries in India

Tribal population across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, face violence and abuse in the name of conservation that carries a heavy human cost. A report on the eviction of populations from 34 protected areas in Africa made it evident that the Congo DRC, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic of Congo had displaced whole villages leading to conflict and multiple human rights abuses. Recently in India, around 400 families from Amchang wildlife sanctuary in Assam and 78 families from Satkosia wildlife sanctuary in Odisha were forcefully evicted and their houses demolished. The population thus forcefully evicted from wildlife sanctuaries are subjected to disruption of the original settlement, cultural shift and scattered kinship groups. Studies have also highlighted the consequences of displacement on health since it leads to collapses in mutual help in childcare and deteriorates healthcare trends. The present study was conducted among the displaced tribal communities from wildlife sanctuaries in Odisha and Chhattisgarh States in India. The paper analyzes the acculturation process observed among the displaced tribals and the ways in which they adapted themselves into host communities.

United Arab Emirates as a Global Medical Tourism Destination

UAE is also known as the fastest-growing medical tourism hub due to its most advanced medical technology, affordable treatments cost, and highly specialized doctors with world-class healthcare services. In this context, the Dubai Health Experience (DXH) is developed by Dubai Health Authority as a brand name for global healthcare and medical tourism, which aims to build up Dubai as a medical tourism hub. Dubai Health Experience (DXH) the United Arab Emirates is also widening its opportunity for the medical tourism market in the Gulf Cooperation Council is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula where UAE is itself member country. In this continuation, Dubai Tourism Strategy 2020 is also a strategic roadmap with the target of attracting 20 million visitors per year by 2020. This chapter will reveal the emerging medical tourism and healthcare trends, healthcare policy of UAE, investment in healthcare and medical tourism, government initiatives, public-private partnership, and key initiatives to achieving sustainable development goals.

Challenges to Using Big Data in Health Services Research

Given the shift in current healthcare trends toward digitization of storing information, there has been an increase in the number of studies using administrative databases. These databases provide a powerful tool to conduct research on outcomes, health services, and epidemiology. However, these databases have limitations and biases that should be considered. Given the sensitive information regarding patients’ health in the database, security clearances must be granted before data is accessed. Furthermore, algorithms to link the different variables to create a cohort of people with specific disease are imperfect and may not yield an accurate representation. Due to a large volume of records, a statistically significant finding may be observed, but may provide insignificant clinical results. Despite the current limitations, administrative databases provide powerful data that researchers can use to identify gaps in performance to improve the healthcare system.

Manufacturing Feasibility Evaluation of RFID chips embedded in Artificial Organs

Advances in medical technology rely heavily on the collection and analysis of measured data to facilitate patient diagnosis and business decisions. The healthcare industry, particularly pharmaceuticals and diagnostic processes, has an ongoing need to improve item tracking and data collection to improve the quality of care while reducing cost. This paper primarily focuses on integrating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) inside of artificial organs to provide doctors and nurses a better synopsis of the embedded organ. The remote, non-invasive characteristics of RFID can facilitate the information needs of healthcare without imposing additional burden onto the patient or staff. Properly deployed RFID enabled devices is envisioned to provide convenient and accurate data for artificial organs conditions, and critical information that may be necessary for medical specialist to better serve patients with these organs. This paper describes an all-encompassing RFID tracking system that begins with compliance documentation from implementation duration of the patient’s life. This RFID system can provide data for decision-making and facilitate compliance with FDA imposed e-pedigree requirements. This transcript introduces healthcare trends in order to motivate the need for a biocompatible RFID system. The overall goal of the pending research is to develop biocompatible RFID tag components for use with systems implemented inside artificial organs and continued through the duration of the device as mentioned above. It is envisioned that successful implementation of this technology could improve life expectancy of patients with artificial organs by ten percent.

Abstract 101: Qualitative Evaluation of a State Stroke Registry

Objectives: Set within the California Stroke Registry/California Coverdell Program (CSR/CCP) - a stroke-care-related quality improvement (QI) program, this study sought to do as follows: (1) describe the program’s previous prevention efforts (through quarter 1 [Q1], 2015); (2) explore what factors were influential in bringing about this programmatic state; and (3) investigate what changes could occur, in order to usher in a better future state for the program. Methodology: Starting in quarter 2, 2015, a systematic review of twenty-seven CSR/CCP documents preceded the conduct of fourteen key informant interviews. Subsequently, content and thematic analyses of the CSR/CCP documents and interview transcripts were performed in NVivo, and, using an action research approach, key stakeholders vetted the findings and translated them into recommendations for change. Findings: (1) In terms of the CSR/CCP’s programmatic state through Q1, 2015, it was revealed that, with respect to (a) recruitment (of registry members), (b) program infrastructure, (c) partnerships, and (d) QI activities, there was misalignment not only with the program’s original guiding vision but also with the prevailing national healthcare trends at that time. Of concern was the program’s lack of a functional data collection system to monitor stroke care - a significant and far-reaching liability. (2) With regard to factors that gave rise to this sub-par programmatic state, this study suggested that certain tangible influences (e.g., historical decisions, staffing patterns, operational constraints) and intangible factors (e.g., held beliefs, a lack of visibility, a lack of programmatic fit within the larger organization) had been important. (3) With respect to changes that could enable the CSR/CCP to achieve a more optimal future state, two key recommendations emerged: (a) that the CSR/CCP ought to adopt more explicit knowledge management practices - i.e., capturing, sharing, and using informational assets; and (b) that the CSR/CCP ought to be working cross-functionally - i.e., establishing multi-disciplinary teams, intentionally-focused on specific aspects of the program’s work. Implications: Out of this project came key findings related to knowledge management and cross-functional teams. Taking action in these areas could enable the use of timely, relevant data in driving the change-related efforts of dedicated human and other resources. Such change could lead to an improved programmatic state, one that (1) is more in line with the CSR/CCP’s original guiding vision; and (2) could serve as a model of clinical medicine and public health coming together to improve health at the community level. While becoming consistent with national healthcare trends, an improved programmatic state could also have immediate local benefits, as the CSR/CCP likely would be more effective in its work to improve the quality of stroke care.