Incentivizing the Use of Quantified Self Devices: The Cases of Digital Occupational Health Programs and Data-Driven Health Insurance Plans

Initially designed for a use in private settings, smartwatches, activity trackers and other quantified self devices are receiving a growing attention from the organizational environment. Firms and health insurance companies, in particular, are developing digital occupational health programs and data-driven health insurance plans centered around these systems, in the hope of exploiting their potential to improve individual health management, but also to gather large quantities of data. As individual participation in such organizational programs is voluntary, organizations often rely on motivational incentives to prompt engagement. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms employed in organizational settings to incentivize the use of quantified self devices. We therefore seek, in this exploratory paper, to offer a first structured overview of this topic and identify the main motivational incentives in two emblematical cases: digital occupational health programs and data-driven health insurance plans. By doing so, we aim to specify the nature of this new dynamic around the use of quantified self devices and define some of the key lines for further investigation

Enklare sjukvårdsrådgivning med mobil app : designförslag och utvärdering

Det finns olika valmöjligheter för att söka sjukvårdsrådgivning, bland annat att ringa in till vårdgivare eller att söka information om olika symptom via internet. Det vanligaste alternativet människor idag använder för sjukvårdsrådgivning är via telefon, främst genom att kontakta 1177. Dock saknas det ett lättåtkomligt alternativ via mobil teknik. Denna studie tjänar att undersöka vad för behov och möjligheter det finns för en sjukvårdsrådgivningsapplikation. Vidare tjänar studien att undersöka vilka ytterliga funktioner en sådan tjänst ska inneha. Baserat på om det finns ett behov och vilka funktioner bör existera, tjänar studien att utveckla en mobil applikation vilket möter behoven och kraven. I studien visar resultatet att det finns ett behov för ytterligare ett alternativ för sjukvårdsrådgivning. Behoven kan uppnås genom utveckling av en mobil applikation. Vidare visar resultatet vilka funktioner ansågs nödvändiga av de tilltänkta användarna. Designprocessen utgår från en målinriktad designmetod och där applikationen utformas efter viktiga designprinciper för beteendeförändrande system. Studien har även en avgränsad målgrupp vilket fungerar som de primära användarna. De primära användarna fungerar såsom det främsta verktyget för designutvecklingen och har använts för datainsamling via intervjuer och testsessioner. Baserat på resultaten kunde en prototyp designas och utvecklas samt utvärderas. Detta ledde till en slutgiltig design av produkten vilket nådde upp till användarnas behov och förväntningar.There are different options for seeking healthcare advice, such as calling a health care provider or by searching for information about different symptoms online. The most common option people today use for healthcare advice, is by calling ta healthcare center, mainly 1177. There is however no easy accessible option for mobile technology. This study serves to examine the needs and possibilities for a healthcare service application for a mobile phone. Furthermore, the study serves to examine what additional features such service shall hold. Based on whether there is a need and what function there should exist, the study serves to develop a mobile application that meets the need and requirements. The result of the study, shows that there is a need for an additional option for healthcare services. The needs can be achieved through the development of a mobile application. Furthermore, the results indicates which features deemed to be necessary by the potential users. The design process, proceeds from a goal-oriented design method and where the application is developed along the key design principles of a behaviour-change system. The study also has defined target group that serves as the primary users. The primary users serves as the primary tools for the design development, and has been used for data collection through interviews and testing sessions. Based on the results, a prototype could be designed, developed and also evaluated. This led to a final design of the product that also reached up to the users’ needs and expectation

Clinical experience with the European Ankylosing Spondylitis Infliximab Cohort (EASIC) : long-term extension over 7 years with focus on clinical efficacy and safety

Objective : Knowledge on the long-term effects of anti-TNF therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is still limited. Our objective was to study the long-term efficacy and safety of anti-TNF therapy in AS. Methods : After having completed the first part of the EASIC trial a total of 71 patients were enrolled into this 96-week extension study. Patients were treated with the same dosages and dosing intervals of infliximab as in the EASIC core study. Efficacy was assessed by using standardised assessment tools such as BASDAI, BASFI, BASMI, patient global assessment, CRP levels and the proportion of patients without any sign of enthesitis or arthritis. Long-term safety was assessed by documenting adverse events (AE), serious adverse events (SAE) and reasons for dropping out. Results : Of the 71 patients included, 64 (90.1%) completed the trial, and 7 discontinued: one was lost to follow-up, 3 withdrew informed consent and in 3 patients therapy was stopped for different reasons: secondary loss of response, recurrent infections and basal cell carcinoma of the skin. The completers showed rather stable low scores of BASDAI (mean 2.4, median 2.52), BASFI (mean 3.1, median 2.76) and BASMI (mean 3.2, median 3) as well as patients global assessment and CRP. The vast majority of patients did not have enthesitis or arthritis. A total of 476 AE were observed, 13 of which were SAE. The majority of these were infections and most of them affected the respiratory tract. Two malignancies occurred: one basal cell carcinoma and one malignant melanoma. These were the only SAE judged to be possibly related to the study drug. Conclusion : Anti-TNF treatment with infliximab is efficacious over long periods of time in patients with AS. The observation of two skin related malignancies, including one melanoma, during the whole study period of 7 years is in line with reports from previous large AS data sets

The European Ankylosing Spondylitis Infliximab Cohort (EASIC) : a European multicentre study of long-term outcomes in patients with ankylosing spondylitis treated with infliximab

Objectives : To study the long-term efficacy and safety of treatment with infliximab in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in a real life setting. Methods : AS patients from 6 European countries who had finished the 2-year trial ASSERT were invited to participate in the open-label investigator-driven study EASIC. At baseline, 2 groups were formed: patients of group 1 had not been treated with infliximab after ASSERT, while those of group 2 had continuously received it. Patients of group I were further subdivided in group I a: patients with a relapse and 1b: in remission. All patients of group la and 2 continuously received infliximab for 96 weeks, mean dose 5 mg/kg, intervals 6-8 weeks. Patients of group 1b were also treated in case of relapse. Results : A total of 103/149 patients (69%) were included in EASIC, 1.3 +/- 0.9 years after the end of ASSERT: 9 in group 1a, 5 in group 1b and 89 in group 2. Most patients were male (83%), mean age 44 years. Most patients of group 2 completed the trial (86%) vs. only 5 of group 1 (33%) mostly due to allergic reactions after readministration of infliximab. In total, there were 22 drop-outs due to 6 adverse events, 4 lack of efficacy, 3 planned pregnancy. All standard assessments indicated beneficial values over time, at week 96 significantly better than at baseline of ASSERT. Conclusion : The majority, of patients were continuously and successfully treated with infliximab for 5 years, whereas discontinuation and reintroduction of therapy was less satisfactory due to the frequent occurrence of hypersensitivity reactions. Anti-TNF therapy with infliximab proved to be effective and safe on a long-term basis