Supporting stimulation needs in dementia care through wall-sized displays

Beside reminiscing, the increasing cognitive decline in dementia can also be addressed through sensory stimulation allowing the immediate, nonverbal engagement with the world through one’s senses. Much HCI work has prioritized cognitive stimulation for reminiscing or personhood often on small screens, while less research has explored sensory stimulation like the one enabled by large displays. We describe a year-long deployment in a residential care home of a wall-sized display, and explored its domestication through 24 contextual interviews. Findings indicate strong engagement and attachment to the display which has inspired four psychosocial interventions using online generic content. We discuss the value of these findings for personhood through residents’ exercise of choices, the tension between generic/personal content and its public/private use, the importance of participatory research approach to domestication, and the infrastructure-based prototype, illustrated by the DementiaWall and its generative quality

Toward a process theory of entrepreneurship: revisiting opportunity identification and entrepreneurial actions

This dissertation studies the early development of new ventures and small business and the entrepreneurship process from initial ideas to viable ventures. I unpack the micro-foundations of entrepreneurial actions and new ventures’ investor communications through quality signals to finance their growth path. This dissertation includes two qualitative papers and one quantitative study. The qualitative papers employ an inductive multiple-case approach and include seven medical equipment manufacturers (new ventures) in a nascent market context (the mobile health industry) across six U.S. states and a secondary data analysis to understand the emergence of opportunities and the early development of new ventures. The quantitative research chapter includes 770 IPOs in the manufacturing industries in the U.S. and investigates the legitimation strategies of young ventures to gain resources from targeted resource-holders.Open Acces

Studies involving people with dementia and touchscreen technology: a literature review

Background: Devices using touchscreen interfaces such as tablets and smartphones have been highlighted as potentially suitable for people with dementia due to their intuitive and simple control method. This population experience a lack of meaningful, engaging activities, yet the potential use of the touchscreen format to address this issue has not been fully realized. Objective: To identify and synthesize the existing body of literature involving the use of touchscreen technology and people with dementia in order to guide future research in this area. Methods: A systematized review of studies in the English language was conducted, where a touchscreen interface was used with human participants with dementia. Results: A total of 45 articles met the inclusion criteria. Four questions were addressed concerning (1) the context of use, (2) reasons behind the selection of the technology, (3) details of the hardware and software, and (4) whether independent use by people with dementia was evidenced. Conclusions: This review presents an emerging body of evidence demonstrating that people with dementia are able to independently use touchscreen technology. The intuitive control method and adaptability of modern devices has driven the selection of this technology in studies. However, its primary use to date has been as a method to deliver assessments and screening tests or to provide an assistive function or cognitive rehabilitation. Building on the finding that people with dementia are able to use touchscreen technology and which design features facilitate this, more use could be made to deliver independent activities for meaningful occupation, entertainment, and fun

A Patient-Facing Dashboard to Promote Shingrix™ Vaccination in a Continuing Care Retirement Community: A Quality Improvement Project

BACKGROUND: Shingles is considered one of the most significant vaccine-preventable diseases of older adults based on its morbidity and public health burden, which increase drastically with age. Adult vaccine awareness and promotion programs are undervalued in the U.S.; in particular, educational programs targeting older adults are needed. Older adults have increasing rates of adoption of health information technology (HIT) to seek guidance and support for their medical needs. Leveraging HIT in the form of clinical dashboards is an option for providing reliable, safe and cost-effective vaccine education to older adults at high risk of vaccine-preventable disease. METHODS: The specific aims of this quality improvement project were to increase knowledge and uptake of recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix™) in older adults of a continuing retirement community (CCRC) through creation of a patient-facing clinical dashboard. The Four Pillars™ practice transformation program was used to guide implementation of the project including utilization of self-report surveys to determine baseline vaccination rates, perceptions of the dashboard and behavioral intention to receive future vaccination. The Patient Portal Acceptance Model (PPAM) was used as a theoretical framework to evaluate respondents’ perceptions of the dashboard across four domains: ease of use, usefulness, self-efficacy, and privacy/security. RESULTS: Respondents reported high levels of education and computer literacy. The majority reported using the internet for over 20 years and over 10 hours per week and 77.8% had used the internet to search for healthcare information within the past year. Baseline Shingrix™ vaccination levels in the CCRC were higher than national average but not at goal rates, and the majority of respondents eligible for vaccination did not plan to receive it. Respondents rated the dashboard moderately high on perceived ease of use, low on concerns about privacy/security, high on ability to use independently (self-efficacy), and low on perceived usefulness. DISCUSSION: The information provided by CCRC residents during development of this dashboard was valuable for elucidating motivators and barriers to HIT use in older adults, who largely view HIT as an adjunct to in-person interaction with a trusted provider. Improving older adults’ perceptions of HIT will be critical in the era of Covid-19, when many high-risk older adults are seeking alternatives to traditional provider visits. Respondents were willing and able to access and navigate the dashboard; however, shingles knowledge did not improve in this small sample. Improvements in the presentation of the material on the dashboard may improve perceptions of usefulness and comprehension of specialized clinical information. CONCLUSION: CCRC residents were receptive to receiving vaccine information via electronic dashboard and expressed interest in using this format as a source of other healthcare information. There is ample opportunity to expand patient-facing dashboards in the CCRC setting to provide a wide array of healthcare education for this population

Quantifying Quality of Life

Describes technological methods and tools for objective and quantitative assessment of QoL Appraises technology-enabled methods for incorporating QoL measurements in medicine Highlights the success factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods This open access book presents the rise of technology-enabled methods and tools for objective, quantitative assessment of Quality of Life (QoL), while following the WHOQOL model. It is an in-depth resource describing and examining state-of-the-art, minimally obtrusive, ubiquitous technologies. Highlighting the required factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods and tools for QoL assessment, it also describes how these technologies can be leveraged for behavior change, disease prevention, health management and long-term QoL enhancement in populations at large. Quantifying Quality of Life: Incorporating Daily Life into Medicine fills a gap in the field of QoL by providing assessment methods, techniques and tools. These assessments differ from the current methods that are now mostly infrequent, subjective, qualitative, memory-based, context-poor and sparse. Therefore, it is an ideal resource for physicians, physicians in training, software and hardware developers, computer scientists, data scientists, behavioural scientists, entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders and administrators who are seeking an up-to-date resource on this subject

TB STIGMA – MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE

TB is the most deadly infectious disease in the world, and stigma continues to play a significant role in worsening the epidemic. Stigma and discrimination not only stop people from seeking care but also make it more difficult for those on treatment to continue, both of which make the disease more difficult to treat in the long-term and mean those infected are more likely to transmit the disease to those around them. TB Stigma – Measurement Guidance is a manual to help generate enough information about stigma issues to design and monitor and evaluate efforts to reduce TB stigma. It can help in planning TB stigma baseline measurements and monitoring trends to capture the outcomes of TB stigma reduction efforts. This manual is designed for health workers, professional or management staff, people who advocate for those with TB, and all who need to understand and respond to TB stigma

Quantifying Quality of Life

Describes technological methods and tools for objective and quantitative assessment of QoL Appraises technology-enabled methods for incorporating QoL measurements in medicine Highlights the success factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods This open access book presents the rise of technology-enabled methods and tools for objective, quantitative assessment of Quality of Life (QoL), while following the WHOQOL model. It is an in-depth resource describing and examining state-of-the-art, minimally obtrusive, ubiquitous technologies. Highlighting the required factors for adoption and scaling of technology-enabled methods and tools for QoL assessment, it also describes how these technologies can be leveraged for behavior change, disease prevention, health management and long-term QoL enhancement in populations at large. Quantifying Quality of Life: Incorporating Daily Life into Medicine fills a gap in the field of QoL by providing assessment methods, techniques and tools. These assessments differ from the current methods that are now mostly infrequent, subjective, qualitative, memory-based, context-poor and sparse. Therefore, it is an ideal resource for physicians, physicians in training, software and hardware developers, computer scientists, data scientists, behavioural scientists, entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders and administrators who are seeking an up-to-date resource on this subject

Circumstances that promote social connectedness in older adults participating in intergenerational programs with adolescents:a realist review

Objectives Limited social connectedness in older adults is a risk factor for poor physical and mental health. Older adults who are socially isolated, lonely and disconnected have a higher risk of chronic illness, depression and premature death. Current literature suggests that improved social connectedness reduces these risks. Intergenerational programmes are an effective way to improve health outcomes. Despite this, there is yet to be a review using realist review methods that seeks to identify the circumstances that promote social connectedness in older adults participating in intergenerational programmes with adolescents.Design A realist review methodology was chosen to account for the complexity of intergenerational interventions. Nine studies were included. In line with realist review methodology, iterative data extraction and analysis was conducted to identify the specific contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of the programmes. Specific circumstances were identified to develop theories relating to improved social connectedness in older adults. Data sources MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL were searched using English language limitation. Eligibility criteria Included participants were aged 65 and over (older adults) and between 13 and 19 years (adolescents) participating in intergenerational programmes from non- familial generations. Studies had to be published in English between 2000 and 2020 and could be quantitative, qualitative or mixed- methods primary research studies.Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers used a bespoke data extraction form. All authors were involved in the synthesis process which used the extracted data to illuminate the contexts, mechanisms and outcomes that underpinned reviewed programmes.Results The nine included studies were set in different contexts, including community organisations, schools and aged care facilities. They used an array of interventions including reminiscence therapy, craft or space for conversation. Despite study heterogeneity, the parallels in psychosocial development between older adults and adolescents were shown to be a likely driver for improved social health outcomes. Programmes most likely to improve social health outcomes were those that acknowledged psychosocial development, were delivered in community settings, leveraged pedagogical frameworks, used trained facilitators and supported participants to build relationships through shared purpose.Conclusions This review contributes a logic model to support the design and development of intergenerational programmes involving adolescents to improve social connectedness in older adults. Future research to test the logic model in practice is needed

Sustainable Technology and Elderly Life

The coming years will see an exponential increase in the proportion of elderly people in our society. This accelerated growth brings with it major challenges in relation to the sustainability of the system. There are different aspects where these changes will have a special incidence: health systems and their monitoring; the development of a framework in which the elderly can develop their daily lives satisfactorily; and in the design of intelligent cities adapted to the future sociodemographic profile. The discussion of the challenges faced, together with the current technological evolution, can show possible ways of meeting the challenges. There are different aspects where these changes will have a special incidence: health systems and their monitoring; the development of a framework in which the elderly can develop their daily lives satisfactorily; and in the design of intelligent cities adapted to the future sociodemographic profile. This special issue discusses various ways in which sustainable technologies can be applied to improve the lives of the elderly. Six articles on the subject are featured in this volume. From a systematic review of the literature to the development of gamification and health improvement projects. The articles present suggestive proposals for the improvement of the lives of the elderly. The volume is a resource of interest for the scientific community, since it shows different research gaps in the current state of the art. But it is also a document that can help social policy makers and people working in this domain to planning successful projects

Participative Urban Health and Healthy Aging in the Age of AI

This open access book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 18th International Conference on String Processing and Information Retrieval, ICOST 2022, held in Paris, France, in June 2022. The 15 full papers and 10 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 33 submissions. They cover topics such as design, development, deployment, and evaluation of AI for health, smart urban environments, assistive technologies, chronic disease management, and coaching and health telematics systems