Design and Content Quality of Alcohol-Related German, French and Italian Self-Tracking Applications

Background: Research on the increasing use of mobile technology in the addiction field is mainly focused on data collection and brief interventions. The acceptance and outcomes of autonomous self-tracking and self-governance as key elements for behavior change are under-researched. Purpose/Objectives: The objective of the study was to conduct a quality assessment of design and content features of self-tracking smartphone applications related to alcohol use, available in German, Italian, or French. Methods: A total of 25 self-tracking applications were identified, of which 17 could be assessed with the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), the System Usability Scale (SUS), and an additional content quality checklist based on the theoretical self-change framework (n = 13). Results: The scale design analysis showed a rather positive picture. Using the SUS, only six cases were below the reference average (x = 68), and three were clearly above average. Application of the MARS showed higher scores among the self-tracking applications in this study than among the health applications reviewed in the original MARS study. Better design quality goes together with better basic content quality. However, a closer look at the "interactivity scores" and the "risk/information barometer," as well as at the individual subtopics of the 10-point content checklist revealed major shortcomings. Conclusions/Importance: Improvements are necessary for consumer information in app stores, increased availability of alcohol-related self-tracking applications, transparent quality assurance regarding evidence-based content, and user-friendly design quality, to provide guidance for potential users on how to successfully navigate a highly unstable digital environment.

[Nursing co-ordination and partners around the patient]

To meet today's challenges and prepare for the future, our health system's "My Health 2022" strategic plan recommends development of prevention and health promotion and better access to quality care. This requires development of co-ordinated exercise between professionals and support structures and further development of digital and e-health.

Implementing patient-reported outcome surveys as part of routine care: lessons from an academic radiation oncology department

Patient reported outcomes (PROs) are reports of health conditions that come directly from patients. Use of PROs has been associated with improved patient outcomes, enhanced quality of life, and reduced end-of-life spending. Yet there are still outstanding questions regarding the process of implementing PRO collection in routine practice. In this article, we describe the experience of selecting and implementing PROs in a multisite, multidisease academic medical center-based radiation oncology practice and demonstrate that such large-scale rollout is feasible. We establish that PROs can be implemented with minimal to no workflow delays, are generally seen as valuable by clinicians, and can enhance patient-doctor communication. We additionally detail the challenges involved in selecting clinically relevant PRO questionnaires and the centrality of physician buy-in, easy data access, and clear workflows to successful implementation.

Why decision support systems are important for medical education

During the last decades, the inclusion of digital tools in health education has rapidly lead to a continuously enlarging digital era. All the online interactions between learners and tutors, the description, creation, reuse and sharing of educational digital resources and the interlinkage between them in conjunction with cheap storage technology has led to an enormous amount of educational data. Medical education is a unique type of education due to accuracy of information needed, continuous changing competences required and alternative methods of education used. Nowadays medical education standards provide the ground for organising the educational data and the paradata. Analysis of such education data through education data mining techniques is in its infancy, but decision support systems (DSSs) for medical education need further research. To the best of our knowledge, there is a gap and a clear need for identifying the challenges for DSSs in medical education in the era of medical education standards. Thus, in this Letter the role and the attributes of such a DSS for medical education are delineated and the challenges and vision for future actions are identified.

[Mitosis in regenerating comb row and the double-nucleated cells of Ctenophora]

Background

Conservative scoliosis therapy in the form of assisted physiotherapeutic scoliosis exercises is supplemented by self-contained training at home, depending on the approach (eg, Schroth, the Scientific Exercises Approach to Scoliosis). Complex exercises, lack of awareness of the importance of training, and missing supervision by therapists often lead to uncertainty and reduced motivation, which in turn reduces the success of home-based therapy. Increasing digitalization in the health care sector offers opportunities to close this gap. However, research is needed to analyze the requirements and translate the potential of digital tools into concrete solution concepts.

Objective

The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential for optimizing home-based scoliosis therapy in terms of motivation, assistive devices, and digital tools.

Methods

In collaboration with the Institute of Physiotherapy at the Jena University Hospital, a survey was initiated to address patients with scoliosis and physical therapists. A digital questionnaire was created for each target group and distributed via physiotherapies, scoliosis forums, the Bundesverband für Skoliose Selbsthilfe e. V. newsletter via a link, and a quick response code. The survey collected data on demographics, therapy, exercise habits, motivation, assistive devices, and digital tools. Descriptive statistics were used for evaluation.

Results

Of 141 survey participants, 72 (51.1%; n=62, 86.1%, female; n=10, 13.9%, male) patients with scoliosis with an average age of 40 (SD 17.08) years and 30 scoliosis therapists completed the respective questionnaires. The analysis of home-based therapy showed that patients with scoliosis exercise less per week (2 times or less; 45/72, 62.5%) than they are recommended to do by therapists (at least 3 times; 53/72, 73.6%). Patients indicated that their motivation could be increased by practicing together with friends and acquaintances (54/72, 75%), a supporting therapy device (48/72, 66.7%), or a digital profile (46/72, 63.9%). The most important assistive devices, which are comparatively rarely used in home-based therapy, included balance boards (20/72, 27.8%), wall bars (23/72, 31.9%), mirrors (36/72, 50%), and long bars (40/72, 55.6%). Therapists saw the greatest benefit of digital tools for scoliosis therapy in increasing motivation (26/30, 87%), improving home therapy (25/30, 83%), monitoring therapy progress (25/30, 83%), and demonstrating exercise instructions (24/30, 80%).

Conclusions

In this study, we investigated whether there is any potential for improvement in home-based scoliosis therapy. For this purpose, using online questionnaires, we asked patients with scoliosis and therapists questions about the following topics: exercise habits, outpatient and home-based therapy, motivation, supportive devices, and digital tools. The results showed that a lack of motivation, suitable training equipment, and tools for self-control leads to a low training workload. From the perspective of the patients surveyed, this problem can be addressed through community training with friends or acquaintances, a supportive therapy device, and digital elements, such as apps, with training instructions and user profiles.