Make Your Garden Grow: Designing a Physical Activity Estimation Improvement Game

We present a novel game and virtual world based application that is aimed at improving the physical activity estimation skills of parents. It has been well established that lack of proper estimation of preschool children’s activity levels may be one of the main causes for childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has several long term health effects ranging from cardio-vascular disease to type II diabetes and obese preschool children are at risk for later life. We have developed an application that caters to both the parent and the child and uses a virtual garden as a fledgling ecosystem controlled both by the parent and the child. By using a low-cost activity monitoring device and combining the data collected from the device with the estimation inputs from the parent the ecosystem manifests into real life-like visualizations that are updated on a daily basis. The goal of the design is to promote a two way intervention: 1)provide parents with a tool to daily estimate and monitor their child’s activity levels and 2)motivate the child to achieve built in goals and keep the ecosystem lively and flourishing. We believe that our design will lead to improved outcomes in physical activity levels as well as long term retention and reuse by the parents. In this paper we are providing the design of the system and in future plan to present the results of a pilot trial

Towards a Home-based Virtual Reality Game System to Promote Exercise

This paper presents the design and usability testing results for a home-based virtual reality game system that aims to promote exercise with the spin machine. The novelty of our approach lies in the design of the game mechanics that promote increased calorific output among the participants and the ease of setup with any commercially available Virtual Reality (VR) sensor. The paper describes the motivation behind the developed system, the design details of the games created to promote the use of the system and the results from a usability test conducted with 37 participants

Developing a Bilingual, Computer-Tailored, HPV Vaccination Promotion Intervention Targeting Latino Parents

In this paper we present an innovative, computer-tailored application aimed at increasing Latino parents\u27 intention to vaccinate their adolescent children against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Latinas have the highest age-adjusted incidence rate for HPV-associated cervical cancer compared with their counterparts in other racial/ethnic groups. HPV vaccines offer hope against HPV-associated diseases. Because parental consent is required for children under age 18 to receive t h e HPV vaccination in most U. S. states, parents\u27 attitudes and intention to have their children vaccinated are keys for promoting HPV vaccination. As health care providers often find it challenging to provide HPV vaccination education in clinical settings due to competing demands, we developed a computer-tailored application as an innovative and feasible approach to address this gap. The preliminary data suggest that our design is promising for increasing Latino parents\u27 intention to vaccinate their adolescent children. In this paper we will provide the design of the application, preliminary findings and future plans

A Complex Systems Framework Approach Towards Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards

Multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs) are universally recommended and have been used in treatment of late stage cancers. Tumor boards have the advantage of including all the stakeholders in the decision making process and improving quality of care, however several studies have pointed to their lack of efficiency and tend to be lackluster while not producing the desired benefits for the participants. In this paper we present the design of a web based immersive framework for collaborative decision making that has the potential to improve several inefficiencies in conducting tumor boards and improve overall clinical outcomes. We present the design of our framework and use late stage cancer treatment as an example to explain its software components and its role in improving communication, treatment time and the overall decision making process. The framework which has been successfully used in other collaborative decision-making environments has the potential to transform how tumor boards could dramatically improve the quality of cancer care in the future

Interactive Cause and Effect Comic-Book Storytelling for Improving Nutrition Outcomes in Children

Obesity among children and adolescents is increasingly becoming a major public health problem. Poverty and lower socio-economic status as well as lack of parental awareness regarding a balanced diet and adequate exercise all contribute towards childhood obesity. Unfortunately minority children have been especially vulnerable, among them inner-city Latino children continue to have the highest incidence rates of overweight and obesity; hence targeted intervention for this population group is of paramount importance. Access and affordability of smartphones and mobile internet devices provide an opportunity to create nutrition education interventions that can significantly impact and change attitude and knowledge regarding healthy diet and exercise. In this paper we present the design of a comic book style interactive storytelling mobile application that creates multiple cause and effect scenarios that the child can role play and learn from. The novelty and innovation lies in the design of the application to begin at a clinical setting while requiring completion at home and involving significant participation by the parent and the child

Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Game-Based Intervention Targeting Latino Children for Improving Obesity Outcomes

This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a hybrid clinic plus home based intervention targeting Latino children to improve obesity outcomes. The intervention applies motivational game based learning and behavior change theories during design. Latino American children are the main target group for this study as they have significantly high obesity rates due to socio-economic conditions and lack of awareness. There have been several interventions that have targeted game based strategies in the clinic to promote health outcomes and some have even targeted obesity problems, however to our knowledge this is the first effort that adds an inhome component to the clinical intervention. We discuss in detail the challenges faced while designing and implementing this hybrid clinical trial. Finally, we present the evaluation results from a randomized clinical trial that recruited 101 children

Development and Use of a Tablet-Based Resuscitation Sheet for Improving Outcomes During Intensive Patient Care

Data documentation from resuscitation events in hospitals, termed code blue events, utilizes a paper form, which is institution-specific. Problems with data capture and transcription exists, due to the challenges of dynamic documentation of patient, event and outcome variables as the code blue event unfolds. We hypothesize that an electronic version of code blue real-time data capture would lead to improved resuscitation data transcription, and enable clinicians to address deficiencies in quality of care. To this effect, we present the design of a tablet-based application and its use by 20 nurses at the Mayo Clinic hospital. The results showed that the nurses preferred the tablet application over the paper based form. Furthermore, a qualitative survey showed the clinicians perceived the electronic version to be more accurate and efficient than paper-based documentation, both of which are essential for an emergency code blue resuscitation procedure

Usability of a Smartphone Application to Support the Prevention and Early Intervention of Anxiety in Youth

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric problems in youth, fail to spontaneously remit, and place some youth at risk for additional behavioral and emotional difficulties. Efforts to target anxiety have resulted in evidence-based interventions but the resulting prevention effects are relatively small, often weakening over time. Mobile health (mHealth) tools could be of use to strengthen the effects of anxiety prevention efforts. Although a large number of mHealth apps have been developed, few have been evaluated in terms of usability prior to clinical effectiveness testing. Because usability is one of the main barriers to mHealth usage and adoption, the objective of this research was to evaluate the usability of a smartphone application (app) corresponding to an indicated prevention and early intervention targeting youth anxiety. To accomplish this, 132 children (M age = 9.65; 63% girls) and 45 service providers (M age = 29.13, 87% female) rated our app along five established dimensions of usability (ease of use, ease of learning, quality of support information, satisfaction, and stigma) using a standardized group-based testing protocol. Findings showed that the app was highly and positively rated by both youth and providers, with some variations (lower ratings when errors occurred). Path analyses findings also showed that system understanding was significantly related to greater system satisfaction, but that such relation occurred through the quality of support information offered by the app

Dry eye syndrome in patients of diabetes with and without diabetic retinopathy

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) can lead to Diabetic retinopathy. Dry Eye Syndrome is commonly seen in diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was assessment of dry eye in patients with and without diabetic retinopathy.Methods: The study was conducted in the department of Ophthalmology and Rural and Urban centres of Community Medicine, Narayan Medical College and Hospital, Sasaram, Bihar. All cases of Type 2 diabetes mellitus over six months period were considered for the study. The diabetic patients were divided into two groups, one with diabetic retinopathy and others without diabetic retinopathy. All patients were subjected to McMonnie’s questionnaire and clinical evaluation including tear film studies like Schirmer’s test and Tear Film Break Up Time (TBUT).Results: 60 diabetic patients were enrolled for the study, 30 had evidence of diabetic retinopathy while 30 had no evidence. The most common dry eye symptom reported was foreign body sensation (96.7%). All Signs of dry eye disorder were found more commonly in patients with diabetic retinopathy as compared to those without diabetic retinopathy. Mcmonnie’s scores correlates well with both Schirmer’s basic secretion test (BST) and TBUT.Conclusions: Dry eye syndrome must be diagnosed in diabetic patients. Periodic screening of diabetic patients should be carried out to evaluate diabetic retinopathy and its complications.

A Pilot Study of Computerized, Tailored Intervention to Promote HPV Vaccination in Mexican-Heritage Adolescents

This study examined feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a computer-tailored intervention aimed at promoting HPV vaccination in Mexican-heritage adolescents aged 11-17. Among 46 Mexican-heritage parents who had one or more eligible children who had not received HPV vaccines, 91% (n = 42) completed the intervention and assessments via touchscreen tablet computers in a vaccine clinic. Mean knowledge scores increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention. After the intervention, 95% (n = 40) of parents intended to get their children vaccinated; 50% (n=21) of them consented to vaccination immediately, resulting in 24 adolescents being vaccinated at that time. All parents reported learning via tablets to be easy; two nurses reported that intervention delivery in the clinic was feasible. Mean acceptability rating was high (M = 3.56, range 1 - 4). This tailored intervention proved to be feasible and acceptable, and it showed preliminary short-term effects on intent and getting the first HPV vaccine dose