Usability and Feasibility Study of a Remote Cognitive Behavioral Therapy System with Long-Term Unemployed Women

We present the results of the use of a cognitive behavioral therapeutic intervention tool to improve the mental, physical, and social health of a group of long-term unemployed women in Spain. Method: We sent automated text messages (SMS) to the mobile phones of long-term unemployed women selected at random from public social services. During a 28-day intervention period, women received four daily automated text messages on her mobile phone on a predetermined hourly schedule. We measured depression symptoms at the start and end of the intervention and we analyzed qualitative data to determine the acceptability of a remote SMS program. Results: Depression symptoms using the Personal Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), went from an average of 13.8 at baseline to 4.9 at the end of 28 days (p = 0.89). One hundred percent of the women reported that they liked receiving the text messages and most found them helpful

Towards elderly social integration using a multimodal human-computer interface

This paper presents a multimodal prototype application that aims to promote the social integration of the elderly. The application enables communication with their social network through conferencing and social media services, using natural interaction modalities, like speech, touch and gestures. We begin by discussing the requirements and design guidelines that were taken into account for the development of the prototype. We also present the key elements of the development stage and the results of a usability study conducted with ten elderly volunteers. The usability study reveals that such a multimodal solution can simplify accessibility to the considered services. Results indicate that this system is simpler, more natural and more enjoyable than the current user interfaces. Furthermore, the natural interaction modalities of the proposed prototype, allow elderly to be more efficient and have a better user experience, thus contributing with an easier and faster way for this population to join the information era.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The Mobile Generation: Global Transformations at the Cellular Level

Every year we see a new dimension of the ongoing Digital Revolution, which is enabling an abundance of information to move faster, cheaper, in more intelligible forms, in more directions, and across borders of every kind. The exciting new dimension on which the Aspen Institute focused its 2006 Roundtable on Information Technology was mobility, which is making the Digital Revolution ubiquitous. As of this writing, there are over two billion wireless subscribers worldwide and that number is growing rapidly. People are constantly innovating in the use of mobile technologies to allow them to be more interconnected. Almost a half century ago, Ralph Lee Smith conjured up "The Wired Nation," foretelling a world of interactive communication to and from the home that seems commonplace in developed countries today. Now we have a "Wireless World" of communications potentially connecting two billion people to each other with interactive personal communications devices. Widespead adoption of wireless handsets, the increasing use of wireless internet, and the new, on-the-go content that characterizes the new generation of users are changing behaviors in social, political and economic spheres. The devices are easy to use, pervasive and personal. The affordable cell phone has the potential to break down the barriers of poverty and accessibility previously posed by other communications devices. An entire generation that is dependant on ubiquitous mobile technologies is changing the way it works, plays and thinks. Businesses, governments, educational institutions, religious and other organizations in turn are adapting to reach out to this mobile generation via wireless technologies -- from SMS-enabled vending machines in Finland to tech-savvy priests in India willing to conduct prayers transmitted via cell phones. Cellular devices are providing developing economies with opportunities unlike any others previously available. By opening the lines of communication, previously disenfranchised groups can have access to information relating to markets, economic opportunities, jobs, and weather to name just a few. When poor village farmers from Bangladesh can auction their crops on a craigslist-type service over the mobile phone, or government officials gain instantaneous information on contagious diseases via text message, the miracles of mobile connectivity move us from luxury to necessity. And we are only in the early stages of what the mobile electronic communications will mean for mankind. We are now "The Mobile Generation." Aspen Institute Roundtable on Information Technology. To explore the implications of these phenomena, the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program convened 27 leaders from business, academia, government and the non-profit sector to engage in three days of dialogue on related topics. Some are experts in information and communications technologies, others are leaders in the broader society affected by these innovations. Together, they examined the profound changes ahead as a result of the convergence of wireless technologies and the Internet. In the following report of the Roundtable meeting held August 1-4, 2006, J. D. Lasica, author of Darknet and co-founder of Ourmedia.org, deftly sets up, contextualizes, and captures the dialogue on the impact of the new mobility on economic models for businesses and governments, social services, economic development, and personal identity

Information technologies that facilitate care coordination: provider and patient perspectives

Health information technology is a core infrastructure for the chronic care model, integrated care, and other organized care delivery models. From the provider perspective, health information exchange (HIE) helps aggregate and share information about a patient or population from several sources. HIE technologies include direct messages, transfer of care, and event notification services. From the patient perspective, personal health records, secure messaging, text messages, and other mHealth applications may coordinate patients and providers. Patient-reported outcomes and social media technologies enable patients to share health information with many stakeholders, including providers, caregivers, and other patients. An information architecture that integrates personal health record and mHealth applications, with HIEs that combine the electronic health records of multiple healthcare systems will create a rich, dynamic ecosystem for patient collaboration

Social Media And Health: Implications For Primary Health Care Providers

This report is the second deliverable of the ?Digital Inclusion and Social Knowledge Media for Health: Frameworks and Roadmaps? project. The first discussed the concept of social and digital exclusion whilst this report focuses on the emerging phenomenon of social media. The report outlines current knowledge on the users and usages of social media for health and goes on to discuss social media in the context of a continuing focus (ref. D1.1) on the areas of mental health, smoking cessation and teenage lifestyles. The report concludes with an outline of an approach to a ?social media strategy? and with suggestions for directions for future research

Improving elderly access to audiovisual and social media, using a multimodal human-computer interface

With the growth of Internet and especially, the proliferation of social media services, an opportunity has emerged for greater social and technological integration of the elderly. However, the adoption of new technologies by this segment of the population is not always straightforward mainly due to the physical and cognitive difficulties that are typically associated with ageing. Thus, for elderly to take advantage of new technologies and services that can help improve their quality of life, barriers must be broken by designing solutions with those needs in mind from the start. The aim of this work is to verify whether Multimodal Human-Computer Interaction (MHCI) systems designed with Universal Accessibility principles, taking into account elderly specific requirements, facilitate the adoption and access to popular Social Media Services (SMSs) and Audiovisual Communication Services, thus potentially contributing to the elderly social and technological integration. A user study was initially conducted in order to learn about the limitations and requirements of elderly people with existing HCI, concerning particularly SMSs and Audiovisual Communication Services, such as Facebook or Windows Live Messenger (WLM). The results of the study, basically a set of new MHCI requirements, were used to inform further development and enhancement of a multimodal prototype previously proposed for mobility-impaired individuals, now targeting the elderly. The prototype allows connecting users with their social networks through a text, audio and video communication service and integrates with SMSs, using natural interaction modalities, like speech, touch and gesture. After the development stage a usability evaluation study was conducted. The study reveals that such multimodal solution could simplify accessibility to the supported services, through the provision of simpler to use interfaces, by adopting natural interaction modalities and by being more satisfying to use by the elderly population, than most of the current graphical user interfaces for those same services, such as Facebook.Com o crescimento da Internet e, especialmente, das redes sociais surge a oportunidade para uma maior integração social e tecnológica dos idosos. No entanto, a adoção de novas tecnologias por essa população nem sempre é simples, principalmente devido às dificuldades físicas e cognitivas que estão associadas com o envelhecimento. Assim, e para que os idosos possam tirar proveito das novas tecnologias e serviços que podem ajudar a melhorar sua qualidade de vida, essas barreiras devem ser ultrapassadas desenhando soluções de raiz com essas necessidades em mente. O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar se interfaces humano-computador multimodais desenhadas com base em princípios de Acessibilidade Universal, tendo em conta requisitos específicos da população idosa, proporcionam um acesso simplificado a serviços de média social e serviços de comunicação audiovisuais, potencialmente contribuindo para a integração social e tecnológica desta população. Um estudo com utilizadores foi inicialmente conduzido a fim de apurar as necessidades especiais desses utilizadores com soluções de software, mais especificamente serviços de média social e serviços de conferência, como o Facebook ou o Windows Live Messenger. Os resultados do estudo foram utilizados para planear o desenvolvimento de um protótipo multimodal proposto anteriormente para utilizadores com mobilidade reduzida. Este permite ligar utilizadores às suas redes sociais através de um serviço de conferência por texto, áudio e vídeo, e um serviço integrado de média social, usando modalidades de interação natural, como o toque, fala e gestos. Após a fase de desenvolvimento foi realizado um estudo de usabilidade. Esse estudo revelou que este tipo de soluções pode simplificar a acessibilidade aos serviços considerados, dado ter interfaces mais simples, por adotar modalidades de interação mais naturais e por ser mais gratificante do que a maioria das interfaces gráficas atuais para os mesmos serviços, como por exemplo o Facebook

Jockey Club Age-Friendly City Project : Action plan : Islands

In response to the global ageing population, the World Health Organization (the “WHO”) devised the concept of “Global Age-friendly Cities” in 2005 to encourage cities all around the world to develop a healthy and comfortable living environment with age-friendly facilities and provide sufficient community support and health care services which benefit the older people, family and society. In order to proactively tackle the challenges of an ageing population and promote the concept of an age-friendly city, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust launched the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project (“Project”) in 2015 in partnership with four gerontology research institutes of local universities, including CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, Sau Po Centre on Ageing of the University of Hong Kong, Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies of Lingnan University (“LU APIAS”), and Institute of Active Ageing of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The four institutes have formed professional teams under this project to support eighteen districts in Hong Kong to adopt a bottom-up and district-based approach to develop age-friendly communities. Under the Project, LU APIAS conducted a baseline assessment, which comprised questionnaire surveys, focus group interviews and field observation from July 2015 to February 2016 in order to provide relevant information to the Islands District Council and other district stakeholders on the existing age-friendliness of the Islands District, Hong Kong (“District”). Senior residents in the District have also been recruited as ambassadors to spread the messages of age-friendly city. Training workshops and seminars have been arranged to equip them with necessary skills and knowledge to perform qualitative research by making assessment in the District with reference to the eight domains of the “Age-friendly City”. Meanwhile, the residents are encouraged to express their views regarding age-friendly facilities and measures in the community. LU APIAS has compiled the results of baseline assessment, including questionnaire surveys, focus groups and observations by the ambassadors, into a baseline assessment report. The report, together with this action plan for improving the age-friendliness of the District, will be submitted to WHO for joining its Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities