Computer graphics data conditioning

Graphics data conditioning program expedites engineering analysis of flight data and ensures timely correction of measurement errors. By adding interactive computer graphic displays to existing data conditioning programs, computational results are immediately visible, enabling on-line intervention and control of computer processing

How patients contribute to an online psychoeducation forum for bipolar disorder: a virtual participant observation study

Background: In a recent exploratory randomized controlled trial, an online psychoeducation intervention for bipolar disorder has been found to be feasible and acceptable to patients and may positively impact on their self-management behaviors and quality of life. Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate how these patients contribute to an online forum for bipolar disorder and the issues relevant for them. Methods: Participants in the intervention arm of the Bipolar Interactive PsychoEDucation (“BIPED”) trial were invited to contribute to the Beating Bipolar forum alongside receiving interactive online psychoeducation modules. Within this virtual participant observation study, forum posts were analyzed using thematic analysis, incorporating aspects of discourse analysis. Results: The key themes which arose from the forum posts included: medication, employment, stigma, social support, coping strategies, insight and acceptance, the life chart, and negative experiences of health care. Participants frequently provided personal narratives relating to their history of bipolar disorder, life experiences, and backgrounds, which often contained emotive language and humor. They regularly sought and offered advice, and expressed encouragement and empathy. The forum would have benefitted from more users to offer a greater support network with more diverse views and experiences. Conclusions: Online forums are inexpensive to provide and may offer peer support and the opportunity for patients to share their experiences and explore issues related to their illness anonymously. Future research should focus on how to enhance patient engagement with online health care forums

COPe-support - a multi-component digital intervention for family carers for people affected by psychosis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Psychosis often causes significant distress and impacts not only in the individuals, but also those close to them. Many relatives and friends ('carers') provide long-term support and need resources to assist them. We have co-produced a digital mental health intervention called COPe-support (Carers fOr People with Psychosis e-support) to provide carers with flexible access to high quality psychoeducation and interactive support from experts and peers. This study evaluates the effectiveness of COPe-support to promote mental wellbeing and caregiving experiences in carers. METHODS: This study is a single-blind, parallel arm, individually randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing COPe-support, with attention control. Both groups continue to receive usual care. COPe-support provides interactive web-based psychoeducation on psychosis-related issues, wellbeing-promotion and network support through forums. The attention-control is a non-interactive online information resource pack. Carers living in England are eligible if they provide at least weekly support to a family member or close friend affected by psychosis, and use internet communication (including emails) daily. All trial procedures are run online, including collection of outcome measurements which participants will directly input into our secure platform. Following baseline assessment, a web-based randomization system will be used to allocate 360 carers to either arm. Participants have unlimited access to the allocated condition for 40 weeks. Data collection is at three time points (10, 20, and 40 weeks after randomization). Analyses will be conducted by trial statisticians blinded to allocation. The primary outcome is mental wellbeing measured by Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), at 20 weeks. As well as an intention-to-treat analysis, a complier average causal effect (CACE) analysis will be conducted to estimate the intervention effect in participants who have accessed COPe-support content twice or more. The secondary objectives and analysis will examine other health and caregiving-related outcomes and explore mechanisms. In a process evaluation, we will interview 20% of the intervention arm participants regarding the acceptability of COPe-support. We will explore in detail participants' usage patterns. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of COPe-support in promoting wellbeing and caregiving experiences in carers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The RCT is registered with the Current Controlled Trials registration (ISRCTN 89563420, registration date: 02/03/2018)

"It's Not Too Aggressive": Key Features of Social Branding Anti-Tobacco Interventions for High-Risk Young Adults.

Purpose. Peer crowd-targeted campaigns are a novel approach to engage high-risk young adults in tobacco use prevention and cessation. We elicited the perspectives of young adult key informants to understand how and why two social branding interventions were effective: (1) "COMMUNE," designed for "Hipsters" as a movement of artists and musicians against Big Tobacco, and (2) "HAVOC," designed for "Partiers" as an exclusive, smoke-free clubbing experience. Design. Qualitative study (27 semistructured qualitative phone interviews). Setting. Intervention events held in bars in multiple U.S. cities. Participants: Twenty-seven key informants involved in COMMUNE or HAVOC as organizers (e.g., musicians, event coordinators) or event attendees. Measures. We conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews. Participants described intervention events and features that worked or did not work well. Analysis. We used an inductive-deductive approach to thematically code interview transcripts, integrating concepts from intervention design literature and emergent themes. Results: Participants emphasized the importance of fun, interactive, social environments that encouraged a sense of belonging. Anti-tobacco messaging was subtle and nonjudgmental and resonated with their interests, values, and aesthetics. Young adults who represented the intervention were admired and influential among peers, and intervention promotional materials encouraged brand recognition and social status. Conclusion. Anti-tobacco interventions for high-risk young adults should encourage fun experiences; resonate with their interests, values, and aesthetics; and use subtle, nonjudgmental messaging

EFFECT OF DUAL-TRACK INTERACTIVE NURSING INTERVENTION MODEL ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE

Background: Elderly patients with coronary heart disease often suffer adverse psychological reactions, such as anxiety and depression. The dual-track interactive nursing model is a nursing intervention aimed to provide specific and community nursing. For patients with chronic diseases, this model can improve the patients’ self-management and rehabilitation. The effect of this model on the mental health of patients with chronic diseases has been unanimously recognized by researchers. In this study, a dual-track interactive nursing model intervention was conducted on the anxiety and depression in elderly patients with coronary heart disease to verify the psychological effect of the model. Subjects and methods: From June 2018 to June 2019, 136 elderly patients with coronary heart disease (mean age of 63.5±8.26 years) from three communities in Changsha, Hunan Province, China were selected as subjects. A total of 53 and 50 patients were identified in the intervention and the control groups, respectively. The control group underwent routine longitudinal referral, whereas the intervention group was subjected to a two-track interactive nursing model intervention. The Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and related questionnaires were used to monitor and compare the two groups before and after the intervention and employed for scoring and comparative analysis. Results: After the intervention, the mental health scores of the intervention group in total score, somatization, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, and paranoia are significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). The intervention group has scored significantly higher in coping style but significantly lower in negative coping than the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The application of the dual-track interactive nursing model intervention in the management of patients with coronary heart disease can improve the self-management and the mental health of patients with coronary heart disease

Engagement design in studies on pregnancy and infant health using social media: Systematic review

Social media utilization is prevalent among reproductive-age women. The literature on how researchers engage women in studies using social media platforms is scarce. This systematic review analyzed participant engagement design in studies using social media and focused on pregnancy and infant health. Methods: A literature search of EBSCO and PubMed databases was conducted. Included studies had to be completed with quantitative data, focus on pregnancy, postpartum or infant health, and use social media in the research process. A matrix of three engagement designs (passive, interactive, independent) and three research processes (recruitment, data analysis, intervention) was used for analysis. Findings: Thirty-one articles that reported 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Of these, four were randomized controlled trials (RCT), four were non-RCT interventions, and 22 were observational/descriptive studies. The main purpose of using social media was for recruitment (n = 16), data analysis (n = 6), intervention (n = 8), or both recruitment and intervention (n = 1). Passive engagement was a fundamental design approach in all studies to access a data source that was either the participant or the data provided by the participants in social media. Interactive engagement, mostly for recruitment and intervention, was to engage participants in completing study enrollment or in interacting with the study team or fellow participants. Independent engagement involved off-line activities and appeared sporadically in intervention studies. Conclusions: Passive and interactive engagement designs are more frequently used than independent engagement design. Researchers should select suitable designs when studying pregnancy and infant health using social media

Co-creating a tailored public health intervention to reduce older adults’ sedentary behaviour

Objective: The increasing health care costs associated with an ageing population and chronic disease burden are largely attributable to modifiable lifestyle factors that are complex and vary between individuals and settings. Traditional approaches to promoting healthy lifestyles have so far had limited success. Recently, co-creating public health interventions with end-users has been advocated to provide more effective and sustainable solutions. The aim of this study was to document and evaluate the co-creation of a public health intervention to reduce sedentary behaviour in older adults. Design: Community-dwelling older adults (N = 11, mean age = 74 years) and academic researchers attended 10 interactive co-creation workshops together. Setting: Workshops took place on university campus and the co-creators completed fieldwork tasks outside the workshops. Method: Workshops were informed by the Participatory and Appreciative Action and Reflection methodology. Data were collected using field notes, video recording and worksheet tasks. Analysis was conducted using a qualitative content analysis approach. Results: The co-creators developed a tailored intervention delivered through a mode congruent with older adults' lives. Key elements of the intervention included (1) education on sedentary behaviour, (2) resources to interrupt sedentary behaviour, (3) self-monitoring, (4) action planning and (5) evaluating the benefits of interrupting sedentary behaviour. Conclusion: Co-creation is a feasible approach to develop public health interventions; however, it is limited by the lack of a systematic framework to guide the process. Future work should aim to develop principles and recommendations to ensure co-creation can be conducted in a more scientific and reproducible way. The effectiveness and scalability of the intervention should be assessed

Immersive Learning Environments for Computer Science Education

This master\u27s thesis explores the effectiveness of an educational intervention using an interactive notebook to support and supplement instruction in a foundational-level programming course. A quantitative, quasi-experimental group comparison method was employed, where students were placed into either a control or a treatment group. Data was collected from assignment and final grades, as well as self-reported time spent using the notebook. Independent t-tests and correlation were used for data analysis. Results were inconclusive but did indicate that the intervention had a possible effect. Further studies may explore better efficacy, implementation, and satisfaction of interactive notebooks across a larger population and multiple class topics

Evaluation of the impact of a school gardening intervention on children's fruit and vegetable intake: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Current academic literature suggests that school gardening programmes can provide an interactive environment with the potential to change children’s fruit and vegetable intake. This is the first cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate whether a school gardening programme can have an effect on children’s fruit and vegetable intake. Methods: The trial included children from 23 schools; these schools were randomised into two groups, one to receive the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)-led intervention and the other to receive the less involved Teacher-led intervention. A 24-hour food diary (CADET) was used to collect baseline and follow-up dietary intake 18 months apart. Questionnaires were also administered to evaluate the intervention implementation. Results: A total of 641 children completed the trial with a mean age of 8.1 years (95% CI: 8.0, 8.4). The unadjusted results from multilevel regression analysis revealed that for combined daily fruit and vegetable intake the Teacher-led group had a higher daily mean change of 8 g (95% CI: −19, 36) compared to the RHS-led group -32 g (95% CI: −60, −3). However, after adjusting for possible confounders this difference was not significant (intervention effect: −40 g, 95% CI: −88, 1; p = 0.06). The adjusted analysis of process measures identified that if schools improved their gardening score by 3 levels (a measure of school gardening involvement - the scale has 6 levels from 0 ‘no garden’ to 5 ‘community involvement’), irrespective of group allocation, children had, on average, a daily increase of 81 g of fruit and vegetable intake (95% CI: 0, 163; p = 0.05) compared to schools that had no change in gardening score. Conclusions: This study is the first cluster randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate a school gardening intervention. The results have found very little evidence to support the claims that school gardening alone can improve children’s daily fruit and vegetable intake. However, when a gardening intervention is implemented at a high level within the school it may improve children’s daily fruit and vegetable intake by a portion. Improving children’s fruit and vegetable intake remains a challenging task