Available tools to evaluate digital health literacy and engagement with eHealth resources: A scoping review

Background As eHealth and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) within healthcare becomes widespread, it is important to ensure that these forms of healthcare are accessible to the users. One factor that is key to accessing eHealth is digital health literacy. Objectives This scoping review assesses available tools that can be used to evaluate digital health literacy. Methods A systematic literature search was made in MEDLINE, CINAHL, APA PsychInfo, Ageline, AMED, and APA PsychArticles to present the tools currently in use to assess digital health literacy. A qualitative synthesis of the evidence was carried out using a data charting form created for this review. Extracted data included details of the population of investigation and digital health literacy tool used. A report was produced following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Results In total, 53 papers with adult participants and 3 with adolescent participants (aged between 12 and 19 years) were included in the scoping review. 5 questionnaires were identified that measured digital health literacy or attitudes towards the internet, of which the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) was the most commonly used questionnaire for both adults and children. Two children’s questionnaires were often accompanied by a second task to verify the accuracy of the responses to the eHEALS questions. Conclusions eHEALS is the most commonly used method to assess digital health literacy and assess whether an individual is able to engage actively with eHealthcare or virtual resources. However, care needs to be taken to ensure that its administration does not exclude digitally disadvantaged groups from completing it. Future research would benefit from assessing whether digital health literacy tools are appropriate for use in clinical settings, working to ensure that any scales developed in this area are practical and can be used to support the allocation of resources to ensure that people are able to access healthcare equitably

Experiences of patients and healthcare workers in the NHS pre- and post- Covid-19

This project assesses the benefit that qualitative investigation of experience brings to healthcare research. It does this through: Phase One - Understanding the factors affecting AFO compliance in children with CP People with cerebral palsy (CP) often use ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) to support walking. Some literature suggests that adolescents with CP have low compliance rates (Wingstrand et al., 2014) but little research investigates the experiences of the patient in regard to AFO compliance or explores factors which influence their willingness to wear them. This project developed methodology to investigate AFO compliance in young adults with CP by assessing compliance levels, the biomechanical benefit of the AFO, and interviewing the user about their experiences of the device. A focus group was designed to explore peers’ perceptions of AFOs for context and insight. Phase Two - Investigating the experiences of healthcare staff during the Covid-19 pandemic Covid-19 has significantly affected the world. While the physical impact of the virus is a research priority, the social and psychological effects also require investigation. One of the social impacts which occurred due to the pandemic is the development of boundaries in the workplace. This study investigated the impact of context and the social, psychological, and cultural mechanisms which caused the development of boundaries between staff in an NHS Trust. Diary entries were collected over three months to investigate the experiences of healthcare staff during the early months of the pandemic. In total, 13 participants submitted 97 diary entries. Two interviews were also conducted to gain contextual understanding. Data were analysed thematically and identified four themes, these themes highlighted the development of boundaries within the hospital. From this, it was possible to identify the mechanisms which caused them to emerge. These phases highlight the benefits that exploring individual experience can bring to healthcare research and organisational management

Sensemaking in the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic: A narrative exploration of polarised morality in an NHS Trust

This article presents an analysis of personal diaries kept by health-care staff within a specialist NHS Trust in England during the initial 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It adopts a moral sensemaking perspective to explore how NHS employees mobilised and reframed ideas of right and wrong in order to make sense of unprecedented uncertainty and displacement. By focussing on how the macro and micro politics of the pandemic were played out in the organisation, the study finds that polarised moral judgements were invoked in order to justify and rationalise a broad array of associated emergent emotions, intuitions, behaviours and practices. This polarisation of moral responses could be seen as a desire to bring order out of chaos and put matters back into place following displacement. This is inevitably an ongoing, complex and variegated enterprise whose results can be as often discomforting as they can be reassuring. Indeed, while moral sensemaking was partly beneficial for staff in that it promoted a greater sense of camaraderie and support for others, it also appeared to have darker consequences in terms of staff wellbeing and the development of more impermeable social boundaries across the organisation through processes of moral 'othering'

Implications for the design of a Diagnostic Decision Support System (DDSS) to reduce time and cost to diagnosis in paediatric shoulder instability

Abstract Background Currently the diagnosis of shoulder instability, particularly in children, is difficult and can take time. These diagnostic delays can lead to poorer outcome and long-term complications. A Diagnostic Decision Support System (DDSS) has the potential to reduce time to diagnosis and improve outcomes for patients. The aim of this study was to develop a concept map for a future DDSS in shoulder instability. Methods A modified nominal focus group technique, involving three clinical vignettes, was used to elicit physiotherapists decision-making processes. Results Twenty-five physiotherapists, (18F:7 M) from four separate clinical sites participated. The themes identified related to ‘Variability in diagnostic processes and lack of standardised practice’ and ‘Knowledge and attitudes towards novel technologies for facilitating assessment and clinical decision making’. Conclusion No common structured approach towards assessment and diagnosis was identified. Lack of knowledge, perceived usefulness, access and cost were identified as barriers to adoption of new technology. Based on the information elicited a conceptual design of a future DDSS has been proposed. Work to develop a systematic approach to assessment, classification and diagnosis is now proposed. Trial Registraty This was not a clinical trial and so no clinical trial registry is needed. </jats:sec

Hospital corridors as lived spaces: The reconfiguration of social boundaries during the early stages of the Covid pandemic

This article explores the meanings and uses of a hospital corridor through 98 diary entries produced by the staff of an English specialist hospital during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Drawing on Lefebvre's (1991, The production of space. Blackwell) threefold theorisation of space, corridors are seen as conceived, perceived and lived spaces, produced through and enabling the reconfiguration and reinterpretation of social interactions. The diaries depict two distinct versions of the central hospital corridor: its ‘normal’ operation prior to the pandemic when it was perceived as a social and symbolic space for collective sensemaking and the ‘COVID‐19 empty corridor’ described as a haunting place that divided hospital staff along ostensibly new social and moral boundaries that impacted negatively on lived work experiences and staff relationships. The mobilisation of the central hospital corridor in the daily social construction of meaning and experience during a period of organisational and societal crisis suggests that corridors should not be only seen as a material backdrop for work relationships but as social entities that come into being and are maintained and reproduced through the (lack of) performance of social relations

Upper limb rehabilitation in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD): a patients perspective

Purpose: The study aims to identify exercise programmes used by Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) patients in the community, along with barriers and perceptions. Methods: A web based survey, distributed to patients on the UK FSHD registry, and focus groups were conducted. Thematic analysis was conducted on answers to survey questions supported by focus group notes, from seven FSHD patients. Results: A response rate of 43.6% was achieved with 232 out of 532 patients completing the survey. Only 44.4% engaged with exercises targeting the upper body. The themes from the data were: 1) Understanding of disease mechanism shaping exercise choice 2) Lack of understanding about the condition and how exercise interacts with it 3) Support from professionals 4) Barriers to exercise and 5) Thoughts about future research. Conclusion: Exercise selection was variable amongst FSHD patients. Lack of information, pain, fatigue, availability and access to facilities, cost and time were identified as barriers to exercise. Participants (92.2%) agreed additional research into upper limb exercises is needed and felt a 3-month arm cycling intervention with monthly clinical visits and MRI imaging would be appropriate. Further research is needed to develop evidence based exercise interventions and guidance for upper limb exercise prescription in FSHD.</jats:p

Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy: A Patients' Perspective.

ObjectiveTo identify (1) what exercise modalities people living with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) are undertaking in the community as a part of their ongoing rehabilitation and (2) what future research projects would gain the support of people with FSHD.DesignAn online questionnaire composed of open and closed questions. Conventional content analysis was used for open questions, and quantitative analysis was used for closed questions.SettingOnline questionnaire distributed to a United Kingdom FSHD registry.ParticipantsA total of 232 patients on the United Kingdom FSHD registry (N=232).InterventionsNone.Main outcome measuresNone.ResultsA response rate of 43.6% was achieved with 232 of 532 patients completing the survey. Despite 85.8% (n=199) of patients experiencing shoulder instability that affects daily living, only 44.4% (n=103) engaged with exercises targeting the upper body. The themes from the data were understanding of disease mechanism shaping exercise choice, lack of understanding about the condition and the benefit of exercise, support from professionals, barriers to exercise, and thoughts about future research. Participants (92.2%, n=214) agreed additional research into upper limb exercises is needed and felt a 3-month arm cycling intervention with monthly clinical visits and magnetic resonance imaging would be appropriate.ConclusionsExercise selection was variable among patients with FSHD, and lack of information, pain, fatigue, availability and access to facilities, cost, and time were identified as barriers to exercise. This may account for the limited engagement with upper limb rehabilitation despite the high percentage of shoulder instability in patients with FSHD. Further research is needed to develop evidence-based exercise interventions, and guidance for upper limb exercise prescription in FSHD, and patients are supportive of this

Observational cross-sectional study of the association of poor broadband provision with demographic and health outcomes: the Wolverhampton Digital ENablement (WODEN) programme

ObjectivesThe association between impaired digital provision, access and health outcomes has not been systematically studied. The Wolverhampton Digital ENablement programme (WODEN) is a multiagency collaborative approach to determine and address digital factors that may impact on health and social care in a single deprived multiethnic health economy. The objective of this study is to determine the association between measurable broadband provision and demographic and health outcomes in a defined population.DesignAn observational cross-sectional whole local population-level study with cohorts defined according to broadband provision.Setting/participantsData for all residents of the City of Wolverhampton, totalling 269 785 residents.Primary outcomesPoor broadband provision is associated with variation in demographics and with increased comorbidity and urgent care needs.ResultsBroadband provision was measured using the Broadband Infrastructure Index (BII) in 158 City localities housing a total of 269 785 residents. Lower broadband provision as determined by BII was associated with younger age (p&lt;0.001), white ethnic status (p&lt;0.001), lesser deprivation as measured by Index of Multiple Deprivation (p&lt;0.001), a higher number of health comorbidities (p&lt;0.001) and more non-elective urgent events over 12 months (p&lt;0.001).ConclusionLocal municipal and health authorities are advised to consider the variations in broadband provision within their locality and determine equal distribution both on a geographical basis but also against demographic, health and social data to determine equitable distribution as a platform for equitable access to digital resources for their residents.</jats:sec

Ankle-foot orthosis adherence in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: A scoping review

Background:Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly supplied to children with cerebral palsy (CP) to support their gait. However, usage is reported to decrease through adolescence. Because AFOs can allow users to engage in daily activities and develop their independence, a wider understanding of nonadherence is essential to determining the most appropriate ways to support orthotic prescription for children with CP in the future. This scoping review will present the literature that investigates AFO adherence of children or adolescents with CP and identify potential avenues for future research and practice.A literature search was carried out using the EBSCO and Web of Science databases to identify literature that investigates AFO adherence by children with CP through measurement of AFO usage and exploration of factors that may influence that usage. Papers that investigated AFO adherence in children/adolescents with CP, either through usage or factors that could affect usage, were included in this review. Data were synthesized using a charting form developed for this review. In total, three papers were included in this review. Two included assessments of AFO usage and all three included at least anecdotal references to factors that could influence that usage.Variation in usage time was seen across participants in all studies, although the method used to record usage may influence reported usage values. Key factors that could affect usage were observed in four key categories: physical/AFO-related factors, personal factors, social factors, and situational appropriateness. Adherence is a complex subject, and both measurement of usage and factors that influence usage are key components needed to understand how children engage with their AFO. By better understanding the motivators and barriers to adherence, it is possible to better support the provision of AFOs in the future