A participatory process to design an app to improve adherence to anti-osteoporotic therapies: A development and usability study

Objective: The aim of the study was to develop an app to improve patients’ adherence to therapy for osteoporosis and to test its usability. Methods: In Phase I, the app functions needed to improve medication adherence were identified through a focus group with six patients with osteoporosis and a joint interview with two bone specialists. The app prototype was then developed (Phase II) and refined after its feasibility testing (Phase III) for 13–25 days by eight patients. Finally, the app underwent usability testing (Phase IV) for 6 months by nine other patients. The mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) was used to collect the assessment of the app by the 17 patients. Results: The final version of the app provided information on osteoporosis, allowed patients to contact the bone specialist for an additional consultation, and generated a reminder for taking medications accompanied by feedback on adherence. The assessment of the app was positive but evaluations differed between the feasibility and usability testing, with the former displaying a significantly (p ≤.05) better assessment across all MAUQ items. Conclusions: In this study, we tested an app for improving adherence to medical therapies in patients with osteoporosis. The usability testing revealed a lower “patient-centered” performance of the app as compared to that observed during the feasibility phase. Future developments of the study include increasing the testing cohort and adding a technical support during the usability testing

The Integrated HV, LV and Liquid Radiator Control System for the HMPID in the ALICE Experiment at LHC

The complexity and the underground location of the new generation experiments (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb) at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) requires a reliable and user friendly control system to operate such large detectors remotely. Control system experts at CERN are deeply involved in developing the JCOP (Joint Controls Project) 'Framework', a software running in the PVSSII SCADA1 (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system, that will provide a homogeneous and ready to use tool for the control system developers of the LHC experiments. The High Momentum Particle Identification Detector (HMPID), one of the ALICE2 sub-detectors, is being equipped with a Detector Control System (DCS) developed within the JCOP Framework. In this paper the basic features and the first results of the DCS prototype are presented

R&D in ALICE: The CsI-based RICH high momentum particle identification detector

We report on the R&D studies performed on a CsI-based RICH detector with a liquid perfluorohexane radiator running pure methane at atmospheric pressure. The development, initiated by the CERN RD26 project in 1993, has been pursued in the framework of the ALICE/HMPID collaboration. A prototype of the detector under construction for ALICE is taking data since two years in the STAR experiment at RHIC

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

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