Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
Perceptions of successful cues to action and opportunities to augment behavioral triggers in diabetes self-management: qualitative analysis of a mobile intervention for low-income Latinos with diabetes.
The increasing prevalence of diabetes and the associated cost of managing this complicated disease have a significant impact on public health outcomes and health expenditures, especially among resource-poor Latino patients. Mobile health (mHealth) may be the solution to reaching this group and improving their health. ⋯ This in-depth qualitative analysis of TExT-MED shows that low-income Latino patients will accept text messages as a behavioral intervention. This mHealth intervention acts as a behavioral trigger rather than an education platform. Personalization is an opportunity to enhance these cues to action and further research should be conducted on the ideal forms of personalization.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
Internet and mobile technology use among urban African American parents: survey study of a clinical population.
There is considerable potential for mobile technologies to empower pediatric patients and families by improving their communication with health professionals. National surveys suggest minority parents frequently communicate via mobile technology, but it is uncertain how amenable they are to receiving health care information in this format. Although the low cost and far reach characteristics of mobile health (mHealth) technology makes it advantageous for communication with minority parents, data on acceptance are needed. ⋯ Urban African American parents are active users of the Internet and mobile technology for social interactions, but they are less likely to use it for accessing or communicating health information. However, most parents expressed an interest in receiving health information or utilizing social networking to learn more about health topics. Mobile technology and social networks may be an underutilized method of providing health information to underserved minority populations.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyComparing effects in regular practice of e-communication and Web-based self-management support among breast cancer patients: preliminary results from a randomized controlled trial.
While Web-based interventions have been shown to assist a wide range of patients successfully in managing their illness, few studies have examined the relative contribution of different Web-based components to improve outcomes. Further efficacy trials are needed to test the effects of Web support when offered as a part of routine care. ⋯ In spite of practice variations and moderate use of the interventions, our results suggest that offering Web support as part of regular care can be a powerful tool to help patients manage their illness. Our finding that a nurse-administered IPPC alone can significantly reduce depression is particularly promising. However, the multicomponent intervention WebChoice had additional positive effects.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of virtual patient simulation with mannequin-based simulation for improving clinical performances in assessing and managing clinical deterioration: randomized controlled trial.
Virtual patient simulation has grown substantially in health care education. A virtual patient simulation was developed as a refresher training course to reinforce nursing clinical performance in assessing and managing deteriorating patients. ⋯ A virtual patient simulation for a refreshing training course on assessing and managing clinical deterioration was developed. Although the randomized controlled study did not show that the virtual patient simulation was superior to mannequin-based simulation, both simulations have demonstrated to be effective refresher learning strategies for improving nursing students' clinical performance. Given the greater resource requirements of mannequin-based simulation, the virtual patient simulation provides a more promising alternative learning strategy to mitigate the decay of clinical performance over time.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
ReviewEffectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ehealth interventions in somatic diseases: a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
eHealth potentially enhances quality of care and may reduce health care costs. However, a review of systematic reviews published in 2010 concluded that high-quality evidence on the benefits of eHealth interventions was still lacking. ⋯ The number of reviews and meta-analyses on eHealth interventions in patients with somatic diseases has increased considerably in recent years. Most articles show eHealth is effective/cost-effective or at least suggest evidence is promising, which is consistent with previous findings. Although many researchers advocate larger, well-designed, controlled studies, we believe attention should be given to the development and evaluation of strategies to implement effective/cost-effective eHealth initiatives in daily practice, rather than to further strengthen current evidence.