Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · May 2013
ReviewTechnology-based interventions for mental health in tertiary students: systematic review.
Mental disorders are responsible for a high level of disability burden in students attending university. However, many universities have limited resources available to support student mental health. Technology-based interventions may be highly relevant to university populations. Previous reviews have targeted substance use and eating disorders in tertiary students. However, the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for other mental disorders and related issues has not been reviewed. ⋯ The findings of this review indicate that although technological interventions targeting certain mental health and related problems offer promise for students in university settings, more high quality trials that fully report randomization methods, outcome data, and data analysis methods are needed.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · May 2013
Perceptions of family physician trainees and trainers regarding the usefulness of a virtual community of practice.
Training for Australian general practice, or family medicine, can be isolating, with registrars (residents or trainees) moving between rural and urban environments, and between hospital and community clinic posts. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), groups of people sharing knowledge about their domain of practice online and face-to-face, may have a role in overcoming the isolation associated with general practice training. ⋯ General practice registrars and supervisors are interested in using a private online network, or VCoP, for work and training purposes. Important considerations are the extent to which concerns such as privacy and usefulness may be overcome by training and support to offset some other concerns, such as time barriers. Participants at an early stage in their training are more receptive to using an online network. More senior registrars and supervisors may benefit from more training and promotion of the online network to improve their receptiveness.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · May 2013
Prevalence of behavior changing strategies in fitness video games: theory-based content analysis.
Fitness video games are popular, but little is known about their content. Because many contain interactive tools that mimic behavioral strategies from weight loss intervention programs, it is possible that differences in content could affect player physical activity and/or weight outcomes. There is a need for a better understanding of what behavioral strategies are currently available in fitness games and how they are implemented. ⋯ Behavioral strategies for increasing self-efficacy and self-regulation are common in home console fitness video games. Social support and reinforcement occurred in approximately half of the studied games. Strategy prevalence varies by console type, partially due to greater feedback afforded by camera-based controllers. Experimental studies are required to test the effects of these strategies when delivered as interactive tools, as this medium may represent an innovative platform for disseminating evidence-based behavioral weight loss intervention components.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Apr 2013
A data encryption solution for mobile health apps in cooperation environments.
Mobile Health (mHealth) proposes health care delivering anytime and anywhere. It aims to answer several emerging problems in health services, including the increasing number of chronic diseases, high costs on national health services, and the need to provide direct access to health services, regardless of time and place. mHealth systems include the use of mobile devices and apps that interact with patients and caretakers. However, mobile devices present several constraints, such as processor, energy, and storage resource limitations. The constant mobility and often-required Internet connectivity also exposes and compromises the privacy and confidentiality of health information. ⋯ This paper proposed a data encryption solution for mobile health apps, called DE4MHA. The data encryption algorithm DE4MHA with cooperation mechanisms in mobile health allow users to safely obtain health information with the data being carried securely. These security mechanisms did not deteriorate the overall network performance and the app, maintaining similar performance levels as without the encryption. More importantly, it offers a robust and reliable increase of privacy, confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of their health information. Although it was experimented on a specific mHealth app, SapoFit, both DE4MHA and the cooperation strategy can be deployed in other mHealth apps.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Apr 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialMultilevel growth curve analyses of treatment effects of a Web-based intervention for stress reduction: randomized controlled trial.
Stress is commonly experienced by many people and it is a contributing factor to many mental and physical health conditions, However, few efforts have been made to develop and test the effects of interventions for stress. ⋯ The results from this randomized controlled trial suggest that a Web-based intervention can reduce levels of stress in a normal population and that both mindfulness and procrastination may be important components included in future eHealth interventions for stress.