Reducing negative emotions in children using social robots: systematic review

Background: For many children, visiting the hospital can lead to a state of increased anxiety. Social robots are being explored as a possible tool to reduce anxiety and distress in children attending a clinical or hospital environment. Social robots are designed to communicate and interact through movement, music and speech. Objective: This systematic review aims at assessing the current evidence on the types of social robots used and their impact on children’s anxiety or distress levels when visiting the hospital for outpatient appointments or planned admissions. Methods: Databases such as MEDLINE, PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, PsychINFO and Google Scholar were queried for papers published between January 2009 and August 2020 reporting the use of social robots interacting with children in hospital or clinical environments. Results: A total of 10 studies were located and included. Across these 10 studies, 7 different types of robots were used. Anxiety and distress were found to be reduced in the children who interacted with a social robot. Conclusions: Overall, the evidence suggests that social robots hold a promising role in reducing levels of anxiety or distress in children visiting the hospital. However, research on social robots is at an early stage and requires further studies to strengthen the evidence base

The worldwide impact of telemedicine during COVID-19: current evidence and recommendations for the future.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has emerged worldwide as an indispensable resource to improve the surveillance of patients, curb the spread of disease, facilitate timely identification and management of ill people, but, most importantly, guarantee the continuity of care of frail patients with multiple chronic diseases. Although during COVID-19 telemedicine has thrived, and its adoption has moved forward in many countries, important gaps still remain. Major issues to be addressed to enable large scale implementation of telemedicine include: (1) establishing adequate policies to legislate telemedicine, license healthcare operators, protect patients' privacy, and implement reimbursement plans; (2) creating and disseminating practical guidelines for the routine clinical use of telemedicine in different contexts; (3) increasing in the level of integration of telemedicine with traditional healthcare services; (4) improving healthcare professionals' and patients' awareness of and willingness to use telemedicine; and (5) overcoming inequalities among countries and population subgroups due to technological, infrastructural, and economic barriers. If all these requirements are met in the near future, remote management of patients will become an indispensable resource for the healthcare systems worldwide and will ultimately improve the management of patients and the quality of care

Using apps to support the self-management of hypertension in Saudi Arabia

Background: Hypertension is a chronic condition that affects one billion adults globally will affect an estimated 1.56 billion by 2025. Its prevalence in Saudi Arabia is particularly high and is the main risk factor for death. Hypertension can be greatly improved by effective self-management. Smartphone apps offer potential solutions to aid self-management, and their availability has hugely increased recent years. An increasing number of studies have advocated their use in clinical settings. This increase in commercial hypertension apps, and the growing enthusiasm for their use in patient care urgently necessitates research to identify those that are most suited to facilitating the self-management of hypertension in Saudi Arabia. Purpose: The aim of this PhD research was to review available apps for the self-management of hypertension based on their effectiveness, privacy and security, and their theoretical underpinning, to identify the most suitable apps for use in the Saudi context, and to evaluate the usability and acceptance of the most suitable app among Saudi patients. Methods: This PhD consists of four studies. A systematic review explored the usability and effectiveness of apps in supporting self-management of hypertension (Study 1). An app store review was carried out to review available hypertension self-management apps in the most common app stores, and identify their functionalities, privacy and security characteristics, and theoretical backgrounds (Study 2). A systematic selection approach was used to identify the most suitable, effective and secure apps, which were then explored via a qualitative study to identify the most suitable app for the Saudi context (Study 3). Finally, a mixed methods study amongst Saudi hypertension sufferers evaluated the acceptance and usability of the selected app in both a real-life context and a controlled setting (Study 4). Results: Study 1 identified apps with the potential to be effective in supporting hypertension self-management, and found that apps are more likely to be effective if they have more comprehensive functionalities. Study 2 found 186 such apps, but few of them (n=30) are likely to be effective, and most of them did not meet current standards of privacy and security, and were lacking a sound theoretical bases. In Study 3, the systematic selection approach, identified 5 apps that are likely to be effective, and that have adequate privacy and security measures. These 5 apps were assessed in a qualitative study with patients and doctors, who identified three apps as more suitable, with Cora health app rated highest in participants’ ratings. Study 4 found that the Cora health app can be acceptable and usable in the self-management of hypertension, but there are some issues that could be improved. Conclusion: This PhD study demonstrates that the selected app is usable and acceptable in the self-management of hypertension and has the potential to be effective. Future research would be required to assess the app’s effectiveness in a larger study with longer follow up periods

The Use of Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Mobile Apps for Supporting a Healthy Diet and Controlling Hypertension in Adults: Systematic Review

BackgroundUncontrolled hypertension is a public health issue, with increasing prevalence worldwide. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is one of the most effective dietary approaches for lowering blood pressure (BP). Dietary mobile apps have gained popularity and are being used to support DASH diet self-management, aiming to improve DASH diet adherence and thus lower BP. ObjectiveThis systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of smartphone apps that support self-management to improve DASH diet adherence and consequently reduce BP. A secondary aim was to assess engagement, satisfaction, acceptance, and usability related to DASH mobile app use. MethodsThe Embase (OVID), Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar electronic databases were used to conduct systematic searches for studies conducted between 2008 and 2021 that used DASH smartphone apps to support self-management. The reference lists of the included articles were also checked. Studies were eligible if they (1) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or pre-post studies of app-based interventions for adults (aged 18 years or above) with prehypertension or hypertension, without consideration of gender or sociodemographic characteristics; (2) used mobile phone apps alone or combined with another component, such as communication with others; (3) used or did not use any comparator; and (4) had the primary outcome measures of BP level and adherence to the DASH diet. For eligible studies, data were extracted and outcomes were organized into logical categories, including clinical outcomes (eg, systolic BP, diastolic BP, and weight loss), DASH diet adherence, app usability and acceptability, and user engagement and satisfaction. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias tool for RCTs, and nonrandomized quantitative studies were evaluated using a tool provided by the US National Institutes of Health. ResultsA total of 5 studies (3 RCTs and 2 pre-post studies) including 334 participants examined DASH mobile apps. All studies found a positive trend related to the use of DASH smartphone apps, but the 3 RCTs had a high risk of bias. One pre-post study had a high risk of bias, while the other had a low risk. As a consequence, no firm conclusions could be drawn regarding the effectiveness of DASH smartphone apps for increasing DASH diet adherence and lowering BP. All the apps appeared to be acceptable and easy to use. ConclusionsThere is weak emerging evidence of a positive effect of using DASH smartphone apps for supporting self-management to improve DASH diet adherence and consequently lower BP. Further research is needed to provide high-quality evidence that can determine the effectiveness of DASH smartphone apps

The worldwide impact of telemedicine during COVID-19: current evidence and recommendations for the future

During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has emerged worldwide as an indispensable resource to improve the surveillance of patients, curb the spread of disease, facilitate timely identification and management of ill people, but, most importantly, guarantee the continuity of care of frail patients with multiple chronic diseases. Although during COVID-19 telemedicine has thrived, and its adoption has moved forward in many countries, important gaps still remain. Major issues to be addressed to enable large scale implementation of telemedicine include: (1) establishing adequate policies to legislate telemedicine, license healthcare operators, protect patients’ privacy, and implement reimbursement plans; (2) creating and disseminating practical guidelines for the routine clinical use of telemedicine in different contexts; (3) increasing in the level of integration of telemedicine with traditional healthcare services; (4) improving healthcare professionals’ and patients’ awareness of and willingness to use telemedicine; and (5) overcoming inequalities among countries and population subgroups due to technological, infrastructural, and economic barriers. If all these requirements are met in the near future, remote management of patients will become an indispensable resource for the healthcare systems worldwide and will ultimately improve the management of patients and the quality of care