Exploratory pilot testing of the psychometric properties of the person engagement index instrument among older, community-dwelling adults

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Person Engagement Index with community dwelling older adults and determine the factors that impact this population’s capacity to engage in healthcare. This non-experimental pilot evaluation of the psychometrics of the Person Engagement Index was performed in a convenience sample of 100 community-dwelling older adults. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using dimension reduction to determine the underlying structure of a person’s capacity to engage in healthcare. Results indicated good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha=.882 for the overall scale. Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted resulting in a five-factor solution. Four of the five subscales exceeded Cronbach’s alpha \u3e .70 threshold for internal consistency. Cronbach’s alpha results for the five domains were: (Knowledge of Healthcare Status) =.886, (Proactive Approach to Healthcare) =.780, (Motivation to Manage Healthcare) =.742, (Psychosocial Support for Healthcare) =.658 and (Technology Use in Healthcare) =.796. Results suggest that the Person Engagement Index instrument is a valid and reliable instrument to measure a person’s capacity to engage in healthcare among community dwelling older adults. Testing in different settings with other populations and over time is warranted to further explore the reliability and validity of the Person Engagement Index for different subgroups and its sensitivity to changes in health status that may impact a person’s capacity to engage in care

Delivering an In-Home Exercise Program via Telerehabilitation: A Pilot Study of Lung Transplant Go (LTGO)

We evaluated the feasibility, safety, system usability, and intervention acceptability of Lung Transplant Go (LTGO), an 8-week in-home exercise intervention for lung transplant recipients using a telerehabilitation platform, and described changes in physical function and physical activity from baseline to post-intervention. The intervention was delivered to lung transplant recipients in their home via the Versatile and Integrated System for TeleRehabilitation (VISYTER). The intervention focused on aerobic and strengthening exercises tailored to baseline physical function. Participants improved walk distance (6-minute walk distance), balance (Berg Balance Scale), lower body strength (30-second chair stand test) and steps walked (SenseWear Armband®). No adverse events were reported. Participants rated the program highly positively in regard to the technology and intervention. The telerehabilitation exercise program was feasible, safe, and acceptable. Our findings provide preliminary support for the LTGO intervention to improve physical function and promote physical activity in lung transplant recipients.

PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND MOBILE HEALTH INTERVENTION: IMPACT ON LONG-TERM OUTCOMES AFTER LUNG TRANSPLANTATION

Identifying and intervening on modifiable risk factors may improve outcomes in lung transplantation (LTx), which, despite recent improvements, remain suboptimal. Evidence suggests that two modifiable risk factors, psychiatric disorders and nonadherence, may improve LTx outcomes in the short-term; however, neither has been explored in the long-term. Therefore, the overarching goal of this dissertation was to determine the long-term impact of these modifiable risk factors and intervention to attenuate them. First, we examined the relationship of pre- and early post-transplant psychiatric disorders on LTx-related morbidity and mortality for up to 15 years post-LTx. Our sample included 155 1-year LTx survivors enrolled in a prospective study of mental health post- LTx. We found that depression during the first year post-LTx increased risk of BOS, mortality and graft loss by nearly twofold, and that pre-transplant depression and pre- and post-transplant anxiety were not associated with clinical outcomes. Next, we examined the impact of a mobile health intervention designed to promote adherence to the post-LTx regimen, PocketPATH, on long-term LTx-related morbidity, mortality and nonadherence. We conducted two follow-up studies to the original yearlong randomized controlled trial in which participants assigned to PocketPATH showed improved adherence to the regimen, relative to usual care. Among the 182 LTx recipients (LTxRs) who survived the original trial, we found that PocketPATH had a protective indirect effect on mortality by promoting LTxRs’ communication with the LTx team during the first year. Among the 104 LTxRs who completed the follow-up assessment, we found that PocketPATH’s adherence benefits over the first year were not sustained into the long-term, although LTxRs assigned to PocketPATH were more likely than LTxRs assigned to usual care to perform the home self-care tasks of the regimen at follow-up. Median time since LTx for participants in both follow-up studies was 4.2 years (range, 2.8-5.7 years). This dissertation presents an important first step toward identifying and intervening on modifiable risk factors to improve long-term LTx outcomes. Mobile health technologies offer limitless potential to target these risk factors and others. More work is needed to determine specific features and long-term patient engagement strategies that will optimize and sustain intervention effectiveness

Daily Burdens of Recipients and Family Caregivers after Lung Transplant

Lung transplant recipients are prescribed a complex medical regimen that is thought to be-burdensome and to interfere with daily activities of recipients and family caregivers. Yet empirical studies describing the activities that lung transplant recipients and their family caregivers perform on a typical day and the emotions associated with performing these activities are lacking

Quality of recipient-caregiver relationship and psychological distress are correlates of self-care agency after lung transplantation

Self-care behaviors are crucial for following the complex regimen after lung transplantation, yet little is known about recipients’ levels of self-care agency (the capability and willingness to engage in self-care behaviors) and its correlates. We examined levels of self-care agency and recipient characteristics (socio-demographics, psychological distress, quality of relationship with primary lay caregiver, and health locus of control) in 111 recipients. Based on Perceived Self-Care Agency scores, recipients were assigned to either the low or high self-care agency comparison group. Characteristics were compared between groups to identify characteristics likely to be associated with lower self-care agency. Mean (S.D.) score for self-care agency (scale range 53–265) was 223.02 (22.46). Recipients with lowest self-care agency scores reported significantly poorer quality of caregiver relationships (p < .001) and greater psychological distress (p < .001). After controlling for psychological distress, the quality of the recipient-caregiver relationship remained significantly associated with self-care agency. Every one-point decrease in the quality of caregiver relationship increased the risk of low self-care agency by 12%. Recipients with poorer caregiver relationships and greater psychological distress may need additional support to perform the self-care behaviors expected after lung transplantation

An Intervention Fidelity Framework for Technology-Based Behavioral Interventions

Despite the proliferation of health technologies, descriptions of the unique considerations and practical guidance for evaluating intervention fidelity of technology-based behavioral interventions are lacking

Clinical trials of health information technology interventions intended for patient use: Unique issues and considerations

BACKGROUND: Despite the proliferation of health information technology (IT) interventions, descriptions of the unique considerations for conducting randomized trials of health IT interventions intended for patient use are lacking. PURPOSE: Our purpose is to describe the protocol to evaluate Pocket PATH (Personal Assistant for Tracking Health), a novel health IT intervention, as an exemplar of how to address issues that may be unique to a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate health IT intended for patient use. METHODS: An overview of the study protocol is presented. Unique considerations for health IT intervention trials and strategies are described to maintain equipoise, to monitor data safety and intervention fidelity, and to keep pace with changing technology during such trials. LESSONS LEARNED: The sovereignty granted to technology, the rapid pace of changes in technology, ubiquitous use in health care, and obligation to maintain the safety of research participants challenge researchers to address these issues in ways that maintain the integrity of intervention trials designed to evaluate the impact of health IT interventions intended for patient use. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience evaluating the efficacy of Pocket PATH may provide practical guidance to investigators about how to comply with established procedures for conducting RCTs and include strategies to address the unique issues associated with the evaluation of health IT for patient use

The Use of Technology to Support Precision Health in Nursing Science

PurposeThis article outlines how current nursing research can utilize technology to advance symptom and self‐management science for precision health and provides a roadmap for the development and use of technologies designed for this purpose.ApproachAt the 2018 annual conference of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Research Centers, nursing and interdisciplinary scientists discussed the use of technology to support precision health in nursing research projects and programs of study. Key themes derived from the presentations and discussion were summarized to create a proposed roadmap for advancement of technologies to support health and well‐being.ConclusionsTechnology to support precision health must be centered on the user and designed to be desirable, feasible, and viable. The proposed roadmap is composed of five iterative steps for the development, testing, and implementation of technology‐based/enhanced self‐management interventions. These steps are (a) contextual inquiry, focused on the relationships among humans, and the tools and equipment used in day‐to‐day life; (b) value specification, translating end‐user values into end‐user requirements; (c) design, verifying that the technology/device can be created and developing the prototype(s); (d) operationalization, testing the intervention in a real‐world setting; and (e) summative evaluation, collecting and analyzing viability metrics, including process data, to evaluate whether the technology and the intervention have the desired effect.Clinical RelevanceInterventions using technology are increasingly popular in precision health. Use of a standard multistep process for the development and testing of technology is essential.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151985/1/jnu12518.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151985/2/jnu12518_am.pd

The Effectiveness of Smartphone App–Based Interventions for Assisting Smoking Cessation: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundSmoking is a leading cause of premature death globally. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by 11%-34%. Smartphone app–based smoking cessation (SASC) interventions have been developed and are widely used. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of smartphone-based interventions for smoking cessation is currently equivocal. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to synthesize the evidence for the effectiveness of smartphone app–based interventions for smoking cessation. MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of smartphone interventions for smoking cessation based on the Cochrane methodology. An electronic literature search was performed using the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases to identify published papers in English or Chinese (there was no time limit regarding the publication date). The outcome was the smoking abstinence rate, which was either a 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate or a continuous abstinence rate. ResultsA total of 9 randomized controlled trials involving 12,967 adults were selected for the final analysis. The selected studies from 6 countries (the United States, Spain, France, Switzerland, Canada, and Japan) were included in the meta-analysis between 2018 and 2022. Pooled effect sizes (across all follow-up time points) revealed no difference between the smartphone app group and the comparators (standard care, SMS text messaging intervention, web-based intervention, smoking cessation counseling, or apps as placebos without real function; odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% CI 0.99-1.56, P=.06, I2=73.6%). Based on the subanalyses, 6 trials comparing smartphone app interventions to comparator interventions reported no significant differences in effectiveness (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.85-1.26, P=.74, I2=57.1%). However, the 3 trials that evaluated the combination of smartphone interventions combined with pharmacotherapy compared to pharmacotherapy alone found higher smoking abstinence rates in the combined intervention (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.38-2.33, P=.74, I2=7.4%). All SASC interventions with higher levels of adherence were significantly more effective (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.20-1.84, P<.001, I2=24.5%). ConclusionsThis systematic review and meta-analysis did not support the effectiveness of delivering smartphone-based interventions alone to achieve higher smoking abstinence rates. However, the efficacy of smartphone-based interventions increased when combined with pharmacotherapy-based smoking cessation approaches. Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42021267615; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=26761

Promoting Patient and Caregiver Engagement in Self-Management of Chronic Illness

status: publishe