Search results for "Digital Health"
showing 10 items of 32 documents
Development of digital health messages for rural populations in Tanzania: Multi- And interdisciplinary approach
2021
Background Health workers have traditionally delivered health promotion and education to rural communities in the Global South in paper leaflet formats or orally. With the rise of digital technologies, health promotion and education can be provided in innovative and more effective formats, which are believed to have a higher impact on disease prevention and treatment. Objective The aim of this tutorial is to illustrate how a multi- and interdisciplinary approach can be applied in the design process of digital health messages for use in the Global South. Methods The multi- and interdisciplinary team of the Non-discriminating access for Digital Inclusion (DigI) project digitalized and custom…
An Intelligent Empowering Agent (IEA) to Provide Easily Understood and Trusted Health Information Appropriate to the User Needs
2023
AbstractMost members of the public, including patients, usually obtain health information from Web searches using generic search engines, which is often overwhelming, too generic, and of poor quality. Although patients may be better informed, they are often none the wiser and not empowered to communicate with medical professionals so that their care is compatible with their needs, values, and best interests. Intelligent Empowering Agents (IEA) use AI to filter medical information and assist the user in the understanding of health information about specific complaints or health in general. We have designed and developed a prototype of an IEA that dialogues with the user in simple language, c…
On-Line Retrieval of Health Information Based on Language Complexity, Information Customization and Information Quality
2021
Abstract. A patient, nowadays, acquires on-line health information mainly by means of a search engine. Generic search engines have been shown to be limited and unsatisfactory, at times, because of their generic searches that overload users with the amount of results. Moreover, they are not able to provide customized information to different types of users. At the same time, specific search engines mostly work on medical literature and provide extracts from medical journals that are mainly useful for medical researchers and experts. As a consequence, the found health information may or may not help a user (mainly a non-expert one) for a full comprehension of what he/she is looking for (e.g.,…
Utilizing digital tools to support face-to-face care : Examining uptake within the practices of Australian psychologist
2020
Societal adoption of mobile phones and other digital devices, and the resulting widespread digital literacy, allows for new possibilities in approaching and supporting faceto-face therapy. In this study, we examined the application of digital communication tools and media within therapeutic care by 33 psychologists across Australia. Uses of digital technologies were analyzed with a focus on both the approaches applied within face-to-face therapy sessions and those occurring as an adjunct to these sessions. In contrast to online counseling, established upon a foundation of digital technologies, the study results indicate that the use of technology in face-to-face therapy is still emerging bu…
Developing the "Choosing Health" Digital Weight Loss and Maintenance Intervention: Intervention Mapping Study
2022
Background Digital health promotion programs tailored to the individual are a potential cost-effective and scalable solution to enable self-management and provide support to people with excess body weight. However, solutions that are widely accessible, personalized, and theory- and evidence-based are still limited. Objective This study aimed to develop a digital behavior change program, Choosing Health, that could identify modifiable predictors of weight loss and maintenance for each individual and use these to provide tailored support. Methods We applied an Intervention Mapping protocol to design the program. This systematic approach to develop theory- and evidence-based health promotion …
Elena+ Care for COVID-19, a Pandemic Lifestyle Care Intervention: Intervention Design and Study Protocol
2021
Background: The current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is an emergency on a global scale, with huge swathes of the population required to remain indoors for prolonged periods to tackle the virus. In this new context, individuals' health-promoting routines are under greater strain, contributing to poorer mental and physical health. Additionally, individuals are required to keep up to date with latest health guidelines about the virus, which may be confusing in an age of social-media disinformation and shifting guidelines. To tackle these factors, we developed Elena+, a smartphone-based and conversational agent (CA) delivered pandemic lifestyle care intervention.Methods: Elena+ utilizes varied…
2021
Background: The current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is an emergency on a global scale, with huge swathes of the population required to remain indoors for prolonged periods to tackle the virus. In this new context, individuals' health-promoting routines are under greater strain, contributing to poorer mental and physical health. Additionally, individuals are required to keep up to date with latest health guidelines about the virus, which may be confusing in an age of social-media disinformation and shifting guidelines. To tackle these factors, we developed Elena+, a smartphone-based and conversational agent (CA) delivered pandemic lifestyle care intervention.Methods: Elena+ utilizes varied…
What Are We Measuring When We Evaluate Digital Interventions for Improving Lifestyle? A Scoping Meta-Review
2022
Background: Lifestyle Medicine (LM) aims to address six main behavioral domains: diet/nutrition, substance use (SU), physical activity (PA), social relationships, stress management, and sleep. Digital Health Interventions (DHIs) have been used to improve these domains. However, there is no consensus on how to measure lifestyle and its intermediate outcomes aside from measuring each behavior separately. We aimed to describe (1) the most frequent lifestyle domains addressed by DHIs, (2) the most frequent outcomes used to measure lifestyle changes, and (3) the most frequent DHI delivery methods.Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA-…
2020
Background Digital health technologies hold promise to enhance patient-related outcomes, to support health care staff by reducing their workload, and to improve the coordination of care. As key users of digital health technologies, health care workers are crucial to enable a meaningful digital transformation of health care. Digital health literacy and digital skills should become prerequisite competencies for health professionals to facilitate the implementation and leverage the potential of digital technologies to improve health. Objective We aimed to assess European medical students’ perceived knowledge and opinions toward digital health, the status of digital health implementation in me…
Disability assessment using Google Maps.
2021
Objectives To evaluate the concordance between Google Maps® application (GM®) and clinical practice measurements of ambulatory function (e.g., Ambulation Score (AS) and respective Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)) in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Materials and methods This is a cross-sectional multicenter study. AS and EDSS were calculated using GM® and routine clinical methods; the correspondence between the two methods was assessed. A multinomial logistic model is investigated which demographic (age, sex) and clinical features (e.g., disease subtype, fatigue, depression) might have influenced discrepancies between the two methods. Results Two hundred forty-three pwMS were …