A usability study of pharmacists’ perceptions toward an online course for respiratory infections and antibiotic use

Digital tools in healthcare have been rapidly emerging over the past decade, with these tools consisting of clinical decision support systems, diagnostic tools or educational materials, such as e-learning courses. eHealthResp comprises an online course, primarily aiming to support physicians and pharmacists on the management of upper respiratory tract infections. In order to assure the quality of the online course, not only in terms of scientific content, but also in terms of user-friendliness, it shall be evaluated by a group of pilot users prior to its implementation. This article focuses on the usability assessment of the eHealthResp online course by community pharmacists, in order to efficiently determine and maximize its educational impact and overall user-friendliness. A questionnaire, based on the System Usability Scale, was distributed among pharmacists, giving them the opportunity to fully explore the website. Overall, pharmacist’s evaluation/experience on the usability of the eHealthResp online course was rated excellent (mean score of 83,75 points), with individual scores ranging from 55 to 100 points on a 1-100 scale, together with positive overall assessments regarding ease of use, complexity, functionalities integration and consistency.publishe

M-Learning: Content Tool for Accounting

Independency of time and space are often named as the main advantages of e-Learning. The basic requirement of e-Learning is a Personal Computer (PC), and therefore a real independency of time and space is not given. Even with a notebook these independencies are not fulfilled, because a real independency of time and space means learning wherever and whenever you want to learn. Hardly anyone carries his notebook or his PC with him all the time. Due to certain requirements eLearning fulfils just partly this demand of independency. Mobile learning (MLearning), the next generation of the computer-aided and multimedia-based learning, is based on mobile phones. The market penetration of mobile phones in Malaysia is at a level of 81% and the numbers are rising. It can be said, that the great majority of the population has a mobile phone and carries it with them most of the time. Because of this fact the independency of time and space for learning is fulfilled to nearly a hundred percent. As a consequence the main advantage of mobile learning is learning wherever and whenever you want to learn. You can use idle periods for learning. For example: The times while you are traveling, while you are waiting for the bus or while you are waiting at the restaurant or at the trainstation. Nearly every unused and wasted time can now be used for efficient and effective learning. Therefore mobile learning will be an important instrument for lifelong learning, because it will help us to use our time more efficiently

Frictionless Authentication Systems: Emerging Trends, Research Challenges and Opportunities

Authentication and authorization are critical security layers to protect a wide range of online systems, services and content. However, the increased prevalence of wearable and mobile devices, the expectations of a frictionless experience and the diverse user environments will challenge the way users are authenticated. Consumers demand secure and privacy-aware access from any device, whenever and wherever they are, without any obstacles. This paper reviews emerging trends and challenges with frictionless authentication systems and identifies opportunities for further research related to the enrollment of users, the usability of authentication schemes, as well as security and privacy trade-offs of mobile and wearable continuous authentication systems.Comment: published at the 11th International Conference on Emerging Security Information, Systems and Technologies (SECURWARE 2017

The Adoption of Wearables for a Healthy Lifestyle: Can Gamification Help?

Wearables are a novel device category that promotes healthy lifestyles, providing consumers with unforeseen health monitoring capabilities. Gamification, on the other hand, is an intriguing phenomenon that seeks to motivate people by applying game design elements to non-gaming contexts like healthcare. While increasing literature is available on wearables in healthcare and gamification in healthcare, thus far, little attention has been paid to the combination of both concepts. In this paper we take a first step towards closing this gap by looking at how gamification of health apps can provide consumers with a motivating and enticing interaction concept to drive the adoption of wearables for a healthy lifestyle. Thereby, we apply a technological and consumer market lens and analyze rich data from 40 interviews and an online survey. Our results highlight that although people show high interest in wearables and gamification, their combined added value is still unknown among potential consumers. A practical contribution of this paper is that industry should make the functionality and relevance much more clear. Activity tracking and fitness & health functionality are perceived as most important by (potential) consumers. \

Fall Prediction and Prevention Systems: Recent Trends, Challenges, and Future Research Directions.

Fall prediction is a multifaceted problem that involves complex interactions between physiological, behavioral, and environmental factors. Existing fall detection and prediction systems mainly focus on physiological factors such as gait, vision, and cognition, and do not address the multifactorial nature of falls. In addition, these systems lack efficient user interfaces and feedback for preventing future falls. Recent advances in internet of things (IoT) and mobile technologies offer ample opportunities for integrating contextual information about patient behavior and environment along with physiological health data for predicting falls. This article reviews the state-of-the-art in fall detection and prediction systems. It also describes the challenges, limitations, and future directions in the design and implementation of effective fall prediction and prevention systems

Conditions of everyday technology use and its Interplay in the lives of older adults with and without dementia

Background: Increased reliance on technology in society incurs a risk that older adults with and without dementia could become excluded from participating in aspects of everyday life in and outside home. This thesis responds to a gap in present understanding about the conditions for Everyday Technology (ET) use (i.e. ticket machines, smartphones) in different international and geographical contexts. By generating new knowledge about the interplay of these conditions on participation, practical information and guidance follow to support both dementia- and age-friendliness as well as general inclusivity in society. Aim: To illuminate the conditions, particularly different country and geographical contexts, of ET use and the interplay of these conditions with participation and inclusion in everyday life both in and outside the home for older adults living with and without mild stage dementia. Methods: Participants with dementia (n =99) and with no known cognitive impairment (n =216) were recruited in the US (sub-study i, n =114), Sweden (sub-study i, n =73, ii, n =69), and England (sub-studies i, iv, n =128, rural sub-study iii, n =10). These four cross-sectional studies used multiple predominantly quantitative methods (i, ii, iv) and a case study approach also involved qualitative data (iii). Structured home-based interviews used the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire to map respondents’ use of technologies, and the Participation in Activities and Places Outside Home Questionnaire to investigate the amount and pattern of participation outside home. Qualitative data included fieldnotes, observations, annotated maps and more. The findings of the four studies were synthesised using an approach to triangulation. Findings: The triangulation approach yielded three themes: 1) Dementia as a condition of ET use, 2) National, geographical, public and home context as a condition of ET use, 3) Interplay of conditions with participation.1) Dementia was generally not found to be a condition that impacted the challenge of ETs, however groups with dementia typically regarded less ETs to be relevant. There were notable exceptions in both instances. 2) The varying social, infrastructural, and service conditions surrounding national and geographic contexts were seen to shape the constitution and use of ETs outside home. 3) There was a complex interplay between the conditions of ET use and participation outside home. Close and distant human relationships, structural inequalities and transportation options were implicated as stabilising and de-stabilising everyday life. Conclusions: Insights are provided into the interplay between the conditions of ET use and participation in everyday life outside home among older adults with and without dementia. These insights provide opportunities for many different people in societies, communities, neighbourhoods and household to take action. Reducing any friction that people encounter when using ETs in public places and allowing opportunities for manualised participation in occupations outside home could lead to a more inclusive everyday life

Scalable and Vision Free User Interface Approaches for Indoor Navigation Systems for the Visually Impaired

This thesis introduces scalable and vision free user interface approaches for indoor navigation systems for the visually impaired. Using an Android Smartphone that runs the indoor navigation system – Percept Application with accessibility features, the blind user obtains navigation instructions generated automatically by our navigation generation algorithm to the chosen destination when touching specific landmarks tagged with Near Field Communication tags. This thesis also introduces an Orientation & Mobility Survey Tool that can help O&M Instructors survey the building and deploy such indoor navigation system. The system was deployed and tested in a large building at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst