Iterative Design and Usability Testing of the iMHere System for Managing Chronic Conditions and Disability

A novel mobile health platform, Interactive Mobile Health and Rehabilitation (iMHere), is being developed to support wellness and self-management among people with chronic disabilities. The iMHere system currently includes a smartphone app with six modules for use by persons with disabilities and a web portal for use by medical and rehabilitation professionals or other support personnel. Our initial clinical research applying use of this system provides insight into the feasibility of employing iMHere in the development of self-management skills in young adults (ages 18-40 years) with spina bifida (Dicianno, Fairman, McCue, Parmanto, Yih, et al., 2015). This article is focused on describing the iterative design of the iMHere system including usability testing of both the app modules and clinician portal. Our pilot population of persons with spina bifida fostered the creation of a system appropriate for people with a wide variety of functional abilities and needs. As a result, the system is appropriate for use by persons with various disabilities and chronic conditions, not only spina bifida. In addition, the diversity of professionals and support personnel involved in the care of persons with spina bifida (SB) also enabled the design and implementation of the iMHere system to meet the needs of an interdisciplinary team of providers who treat various conditions. The iMHere system has the potential to foster communication and collaboration among members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team, including individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities, for client-centered approach to support self-management skills.

Wheat-free for the wrong reasons? College students' attitudes and information sources pertaining to the gluten-free diet

2016 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The gluten-free diet has grown popular over the past years, with more people on the diet than simply celiac patients. Health professionals were concerned by the high number of people on the diet for reasons other than celiac disease because of dietary deficiencies that stem from eating gluten-free. Health scholars believed that misleading media messages touting the weight-loss and general health benefits of the diet were leading to the popularity of the gluten-free diet. However, these statements were not supported by research. In the pursuit of knowledge, research questions were developed for attitudes and information sources of the diet. Agenda setting and framing theory were used to examine survey results to better understand the possible influence media sources are having on attitudes towards the diet. To achieve a better understanding of attitudes and sources of information about the gluten-free diet, an online survey was given to 351 college students assessing their attitudes and both interpersonal and media information sources. College students were chosen as the study population based on their proclivity for fad dieting, changes in eating habits, and issues with weight. Results indicated that while students neither believed the diet was healthy nor unhealthy for everyone, they did hold negative attitudes about gluten-free as a fad diet, and believed others thought the diet was annoying and healthy. Search engine results were the most popular source of gluten-free diet information, and health type media sources were the most preferred type of media. Friends and family were the most used sources of interpersonal information, and health care providers were the least used interpersonal source of information. Students who had celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity were more likely to find gluten-free information on a search engine, on followed blogs or websites, and in magazine articles; these students were also more likely to discuss the diet with friends, family, and a health care provider. Implications and recommendations for future research were also discussed

A Research on the Classification and Applicability of the Mobile Health Applications

Mobile health applications are applied for different purposes. Healthcare professionals and other users can use this type of mobile applications for specific tasks, such as diagnosis, information, prevention, treatment, and communication. This paper presents an analysis of mobile health applications used by healthcare professionals and their patients. A secondary objective of this article is to evaluate the scientific validation of these mobile health applications and to verify if the results provided by these applications have an underlying sound scientific foundation. This study also analyzed literature references and the use of mobile health applications available in online application stores. In general, a large part of these mobile health applications provides information about scientific validation. However, some mobile health applications are not validated. Therefore, the main contribution of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the usability and user-perceived quality of mobile health applications and the challenges related to scientific validation of these mobile applications.This work was funded by FCT/MCTES through national funds and when applicable co-funded EU funds under the project UIDB/EEA/50008/2020 (Este trabalho é financiado pela FCT/MCTES através de fundos nacionais e quando aplicável cofinanciado por fundos comunitários no âmbito do projeto UIDB/EEA/50008/2020)

In network: Gaming theory as a strategy for building digital health literacy

This dissertation examines how theories and rhetorics from game studies create deeper understanding of the literacy needs for writers in the networked, multimodal environment surrounding American health care. I combine video game and social network theories to explore how computational algorithms and protocols interact with social networks in the communication of high-stakes knowledge. Gaming theory is a timely tool with which to address health literacy because contemporary medical communication flows through and is shaped by a technologically mediated system that can be understood as a set of rules both supporting and constraining action. My work demonstrates the importance of game studies to literacy scholarship by showing the rhetorical dimensions of networked health information and play. This dissertation includes in-depth case studies on the formation of knowledge around gluten sensitivity, vaccine refusal, and rhetorical constructions of diagnosis in networked media. It concludes with a plan for how we can incorporate network theories informed by game studies in Writing in Disciplines and Writing across the Curriculum instruction on medical writing and other high-stakes professional discourse. The literacies supported by this approach will train writers in the ability to think more ably and ethically across a variety of language communities.Doctor of Philosoph

Erectile dysfunction and mobile phone applications: Quality, content and adherence to European Association guidelines on male sexual dysfunction

Introduction: Nowadays numerous mobile health applications (MHA) have been developed to assist and simplify the life of patients affected by erectile dysfunction (ED), however the scientific quality and the adherence to guidelines are not yet addressed and solved. Materials and methods: On 17 January 2022, we conducted a search in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.We reviewed all mobile apps from iTunes App Store and Google Play Store for ED and evaluated different aspects as well as their usage in screening, prevention, management, and their adherence to EAU guidelines. Results: A total of 18 apps were reviewed. All apps are geared towards the patient and provide information about diagnoses and treatment of ED. Conclusions: MHA represent an integral part of patients' lives, and apps providing services for male sexual dysfunction are constantly increasing. Despite this the overall quality is still low. Although many of these devices are useful in ED, the problems of scientific validation, content, and quality are not yet solved. Further work is needed to improve the quality of apps and developing new accessible, user designed, and high-quality apps

Premature ejaculation in the era of mobile health application: A current analysis and evaluation of adherence to EAU guidelines

Introduction: Several mobile health applications (MHAs) have been developed to assist and improve the quality of life of patients affected by premature ejaculation, but the scientific quality and adherence to guidelines are not yet addressed. Materials and methods: On 25 May 2022, we conducted a search in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. We reviewed all mobile apps from Apple App Store and Google Play Store for premature ejaculation and evaluated their usage in screening, prevention, management, and adherence to EAU guidelines. Results: In total 9 MHA were reviewed. All MHAs are geared towards the patient and provide information about diagnoses and treatment of PE. The mean score were 2.87, 3.69, 2.77, 2.55, 2.86 for Engagement, Functionality, Aesthetics, Information, and Subjective quality respectively. MHAs reported low and medium adherence to EAU guidelines. Conclusions: MHAs provide different services in many medical fields, including male sexual dysfunction. Their development is constantly increasing, but the problems of scientific validation, content, and quality are not yet solved. Much future research is necessary to improve the quality of the apps and promote new user designed, and high-quality apps

The Health Impacts of Nursing Shift Work

This descriptive pilot study was intended to evaluate negative outcomes of shift work stress in nursing. Objective analysis of waist-hip-circumference ratios (WHR) and subjective survey reports were utilized to assess whether differences existed in expressed stress, stress related health disorders, and stress associated behaviors among day shift, night shift, and rotating shift registered nurses (RNs). Statistical analysis of the WHRs indicates that no statistical difference exists in the results from this study across the three nursing shifts. Nonetheless, survey reports do suggest that variance exists between nursing shifts. For example, stress related health problems appear to be most prevalent with night shift and rotating shift nurses. Rotating shift RNs had the highest percentage of nurses with one or more health disorders, the highest percentage of bacterial or viral infections over the past 12 months, and the highest number of sick calls in the past 12 months. Rotating shift RNs also reported the highest prevalence of stress associated behaviors with the exception of motor vehicle crashes, which were reported most often from day shift nurses. The literature reviewed as well as the data collected in this study supports that expressed stress does vary among day shift, night shift, and rotating shift RNs. Although the quantifiable data supports the presence of higher stress on day shifts, the WHR tool is unfortunately affected by many variables and as such may have provided unreliable results. This tool needs to be further analyzed with a larger sample size and possibly with a better control of variables prior to accepting results of the collected WHR data. The results indicate that nurses, particularly those working rotating shifts, could benefit from stress reduction interventions. Moreover, future research should continue evaluating deleterious health effects of nursing shift work, and efficacy of stress reduction interventions in nursing. Stress reduction interventions including education and practice changes should be implemented at individual, facility, community, and federal levels to improve the health of nurses as well as the safety of patients

The challenges of control groups, placebos and blinding in clinical trials of dietary interventions

High-quality placebo-controlled evidence for food, nutrient or dietary advice interventions is vital for verifying the role of diet in optimising health or for the management of disease. This could be argued to be especially important where the benefits of dietary intervention are coupled with potential risks such as compromising nutrient intake, particularly in the case of exclusion diets. The objective of the present paper is to explore the challenges associated with clinical trials in dietary research, review the types of controls used and present the advantages and disadvantages of each, including issues regarding placebos and blinding. Placebo-controlled trials in nutrient interventions are relatively straightforward, as in general placebos can be easily produced. However, the challenges associated with conducting placebo-controlled food interventions and dietary advice interventions are protean, and this has led to a paucity of placebo-controlled food and dietary advice trials compared with drug trials. This review appraises the types of controls used in dietary intervention trials and provides recommendations and nine essential criteria for the design and development of sham diets for use in studies evaluating the effect of dietary advice, along with practical guidance regarding their evaluation. The rationale for these criteria predominantly relate to avoiding altering the outcome of interest in those delivered the sham intervention in these types of studies, while not compromising blinding.</jats:p