Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
ReviewEducational technologies in problem-based learning in health sciences education: a systematic review.
As a modern pedagogical philosophy, problem-based learning (PBL) is increasingly being recognized as a major research area in student learning and pedagogical innovation in health sciences education. A new area of research interest has been the role of emerging educational technologies in PBL. Although this field is growing, no systematic reviews of studies of the usage and effects of educational technologies in PBL in health sciences education have been conducted to date. ⋯ This literature review demonstrates the generally positive effect of educational technologies in PBL. Further research into the various applications of educational technology in PBL curricula is needed to fully realize its potential to enhance problem-based approaches in health sciences education.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyElectronic versus paper-based assessment of health-related quality of life specific to HIV disease: reliability study of the PROQOL-HIV questionnaire.
Electronic patient-reported outcomes (PRO) provide quick and usually reliable assessments of patients' health-related quality of life (HRQL). ⋯ The electronic PROQOL-HIV introduces minor modifications to the original paper-based version, following International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ePRO Task Force guidelines, and shows good reliability and face validity. Patients can complete the computerized PROQOL-HIV questionnaire and the scores from the paper or electronic versions share comparable accuracy and interpretation.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
A case study of the New York City 2012-2013 influenza season with daily geocoded Twitter data from temporal and spatiotemporal perspectives.
Twitter has shown some usefulness in predicting influenza cases on a weekly basis in multiple countries and on different geographic scales. Recently, Broniatowski and colleagues suggested Twitter's relevance at the city-level for New York City. Here, we look to dive deeper into the case of New York City by analyzing daily Twitter data from temporal and spatiotemporal perspectives. Also, through manual coding of all tweets, we look to gain qualitative insights that can help direct future automated searches. ⋯ While others have looked at weekly regional tweets, this study is the first to stress test Twitter for daily city-level data for New York City. Extraction of personal testimonies of infection-related tweets suggests Twitter's strength both qualitatively and quantitatively for ILI-ED prediction compared to alternative daily datasets mixed with awareness-based data such as GSQ. Additionally, granular Twitter data provide important spatiotemporal insights. A tweet vector-map may be useful for visualization of city-level spread when local gold standard data are otherwise unavailable.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialAn Internet- and mobile-based tailored intervention to enhance maintenance of physical activity after cardiac rehabilitation: short-term results of a randomized controlled trial.
An increase in physical activity for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cardiac rehabilitation has multiple therapeutic benefits, including decreased mortality. Internet- and mobile-based interventions for physical activity have shown promising results in helping users increase or maintain their level of physical activity in general and specifically in secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases and cardiac rehabilitation. One component related to the efficacy of these interventions is tailoring of the content to the individual. ⋯ Because of the small sample size and the high attrition rate at the follow-up visits, we cannot make conclusions regarding the efficacy of our approach, but the results indicate that the tailored version of the intervention may have contributed to the long-term higher physical activity maintained after cardiac rehabilitation by participants receiving the tailored intervention compared with those receiving the nontailored intervention.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2014
ReviewSocial media: a review and tutorial of applications in medicine and health care.
Social media are dynamic and interactive computer-mediated communication tools that have high penetration rates in the general population in high-income and middle-income countries. However, in medicine and health care, a large number of stakeholders (eg, clinicians, administrators, professional colleges, academic institutions, ministries of health, among others) are unaware of social media's relevance, potential applications in their day-to-day activities, as well as the inherent risks and how these may be attenuated and mitigated. ⋯ The role of social media in the medical and health care sectors is far reaching, and many questions in terms of governance, ethics, professionalism, privacy, confidentiality, and information quality remain unanswered. By following the guidelines presented, professionals have a starting point to engage with social media in a safe and ethical manner. Future research will be required to understand the synergies between social media and evidence-based practice, as well as develop institutional policies that benefit patients, clinicians, public health practitioners, and industry alike.