Designing a mobile augmented memory system for people with traumatic brain injuries

Augmented memory systems help people remember events in their lives. Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) often have memory impairments. We conducted a user study to learn about strategies individuals with TBI use to remember events in their lives. We explored what characteristics individuals with TBI expect of an augmented memory system. We then investigated these aspects in an initial mobile app design, and propose here a concept for a rehearsal application that addresses the issues found in our studies

Designing a mobile augmented memory system for people with traumatic brain injuries

Augmented memory systems help people remember events in their lives. Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) often have memory impairments. We conducted a user study to learn about strategies individuals with TBI use to remember events in their lives. We explored what characteristics individuals with TBI expect of an augmented memory system. We then investigated these aspects in an initial mobile app design, and propose here a concept for a rehearsal application that addresses the issues found in our studies

Towards mHealth Solutions for Asthma Patients

With the recent, rapid growth in mobile-computing technology, mobile health (mHealth) is becoming a popular research topic. mHealth is one of several examples of how using technology in the health sector is being more advanced every day. mHealth is being applied to the care of a broad spectrum of diseases from acute to chronic, such as the flu, asthma, and cancer. Due to the easy-to-understand and friendly user interfaces, mobility and cost effectiveness; a mobile application can be a powerful tool to collect patient information. Asthma is a common disease around the globe. Collecting the proper symptom, trigger, peak-flow and inhaler-consumption information is crucial for assessing the patient’s severity of disease and tailoring treatment for people who suffer from asthma. Collecting and preserving this information on daily basis can help doctors provide a better treatment plan. Also, this information gives the patient an indication about if he/she needs immediate treatment. Collecting this information by using a traditional medium, such as pen and paper often results in lost data or inability to make the date interoperable with the health providers. A mobile application can address these issues as most people carry smartphones. This thesis works towards a solution for a patient centered asthma data collection tool using mHealth. The necessity of a mobile application for asthma patients’ data collection is analyzed in the thesis. Application features, scopes and data representation methods are determined by talking with experts. A state-of-the-art mobile app is designed and implemented. The features of this application are evaluated. The application is capable of serving all the important aspects of data collection for an asthma patient. Finally, the future improvements are analyzed along with the conclusion

Anaesthetists' use of medically related mobile device applications and the evaluation of those most commonly used

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in the branch of Anaesthesiology Johannesburg, 2016.Background: The use of mobile devices and medical software applications (apps) for mobile devices have been increasing amongst medical professionals. Medical apps can be used for a variety of functions and clinical decisions may be made based on the information provided by these apps. However these apps do not need to have a medical professional involved in the development before being made available for use. Little data could be found regarding app use amongst anaesthetists. Objectives: To describe anaesthetists in the Department of Anaesthesiology at the University of the Witwatersrand’s use of medically related mobile device applications and the assessment of the credibility of those most commonly used. Methods: Anonymous and self-administered questionnaires, requesting demographic data and information regarding apps used, were distributed among anaesthetists. From the participants list of apps the five most commonly used were assessed against a credibility template. Results: A total of 127 questionnaires (61% of the department) were distributed with 117 (92.1%) being returned. All participants owned a mobile device, the most popular brand being Apple. There were 99 (84.6%) participants who have used a medical app in their practice. Differences in app use were seen between different age groups, 88.0% in those less than 40 years vs 58.8% in those 40 years or older. More females than males (35.1% vs 22.0%) and more participants younger than 40 years (31.8% vs 10.0%) used an app daily. Daily use of apps varied from 0% to 33.3% among participants with different years of experience. The most commonly used apps were Medscape (61.6%), ECG Guide (10.1%), Qx Calculate (10.1%), The Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesiology (9.1%) and Pedistat (9.1%). Recommendation by a colleague influenced the choice of app in 40.9% of participants. The five most commonly used apps in the department all appeared credible. Conclusions: Mobile devices were owned by all participants and 84.6% made use of medical apps in their practice. The majority of participants used an app at least once a week with the older participants making less use of them. Medscape was the most frequently used app. The five most commonly used apps in the department all appear credible.LG201

Development of a Coding Instrument to Assess the Quality and Content of Anti-Tobacco Video Games

Previous research has shown the use of electronic video games as an effective method for increasing content knowledge about the risks of drugs and alcohol use for adolescents. Although best practice suggests that theory, health communication strategies, and game appeal are important characteristics for developing games, no instruments are currently available to examine the quality and content of tobacco prevention and cessation electronic games. This study presents the systematic development of a coding instrument to measure the quality, use of theory, and health communication strategies of tobacco cessation and prevention electronic games. Using previous research and expert review, a content analysis coding instrument measuring 67 characteristics was developed with three overarching categories: type and quality of games, theory and approach, and type and format of messages. Two trained coders applied the instrument to 88 games on four platforms (personal computer, Nintendo DS, iPhone, and Android phone) to field test the instrument. Cohen's kappa for each item ranged from 0.66 to 1.00, with an average kappa value of 0.97. Future research can adapt this coding instrument to games addressing other health issues. In addition, the instrument questions can serve as a useful guide for evidence-based game development.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco ProductsNational Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Communication and EducationCommunication Studie

Privacy Risks and Security Threats in mHealth apps

mHealth (Mobile Health) applications (apps) have transformed the doctor-patient relationship. They help users with varied functionalities such as monitoring their health, understanding specific health conditions, consulting doctors online and achieving fitness goals. Whilst these apps provide an option of equitable and convenient access to healthcare, a lot of personal and sensitive data about users is collected, stored and shared to achieve these functionalities. Little is known about the privacy and security concerns these apps address. Based on literature review, this paper identifies the privacy risks and security features for evaluating thirty apps in the Medical category across two app distribution platforms in India namely Google Play and App Store. Factors identified through the review formed a basis of the scoring model which helped to arrive at the ‘Privacy Risk Score’ and ‘Safety Score’ for each app. A comparative analysis of the selected apps was performed by studying their privacy policies. The results indicate that adopting these apps pose a risk. Finally, recommendations are provided to consumers such as examining the app before downloading it, customizing the app settings, and to developers to develop robust and transparent privacy policies

Service experiences beyond the direct use: Indirect customer use experiences of smartphone apps

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Co-Designing a Medication Notification Application with Multi-Channel Reminders

Evidence suggests that medication adherence applications (apps) are one of the most effective methods to remind patients to take medication on time. Reminders via apps are overwhelming today, consumers discard using them after a brief period of initial usage, eventually becoming unfavourable towards them and not using them at all. This study aims to qualitatively determine the key features and design of medication reminder apps that facilitate or disrupt usage from the users perceptive. Three focus groups were conducted with participants aged between 15 and 65+ (N= 12). The participants evaluated a smart medication reminder prototype, then sketched and discussed their thoughts and perceptions within the group. Participants identified, 1) Multi-channel reminders, 2) Medication intake acknowledgement for reporting and 3) Seamless addition of medications and associated reminders as important elements. Understanding consumers needs and concerns will inform the future development of medication reminder apps that are acceptable and valuable to consumers

Enhancing Adherence to Prescribed Opioids Using a Mobile-Base Application: A Pilot Study of feasibility in Chronic Non-Cancer Pain

In this study we present feasibility of a mobile monitoring and reporting system that would provide an accurate unbiased screening tool to systematically analyze opioid adherence in Sickle cell disease patients. In addition, the software simultaneously measures pain. The Mobile Applications Rating Scale: a new and validated tool for assessing the quality of health mobile apps for engagement, functionality, aesthetics, information quality, subjective quality, relevance and overall impact was administered post usage to evaluate the application. A total of 28 patients were recruited to review and test the software at one sitting. The majority of the population found the application to be relevant for their care. Patients were also asked to report on the completeness of information within the app, the majority (96%) reported on the application’s completeness while 4% estimated the information to be minimal or overwhelming. The quality of information as it pertains to sickle cell patients was overwhelimingly reported to be relevant (91.7%); only 8.3% found the application to be poorly relevant to sickle cell disease. The application’s performance was positively rated while the ease of its use positively rated at 91.7%. Most participants (85.7%) found the application to be interesting to use while 74% found it entertaining. All users found the application’s navigation to be logical and accurate with consistent and intuitive gestural design. We conclude that surveyed patients believe it is feasible to use a smartphone application specifically targeted to monitor opioid use and behavior in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD)-associated pai