Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2011
A pilot study of motivational interviewing training in a virtual world.
Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based, patient-centered counseling strategy proven to support patients seeking health behavior change. Yet the time and travel commitment for MI training is often a barrier to the adoption of MI by health care professionals. Virtual worlds such as Second Life (SL) are rapidly becoming part of the educational technology landscape and offer not only the potential to improve access to MI training but also to deepen the MI training experience through the use of immersive online environments. Despite SL's potential for medical education applications, little work is published studying its use for this purpose and still less is known of educational outcomes for physician training in MI using a virtual-world platform. ⋯ The results of this pilot study suggest that virtual worlds offer the potential for a new medical education pedagogy that will enhance learning outcomes for patient-centered communication skills training.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Sep 2010
Exploring virtual worlds for scenario-based repeated team training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in medical students.
Contemporary learning technologies, such as massively multiplayer virtual worlds (MMVW), create new means for teaching and training. However, knowledge about the effectiveness of such training is incomplete, and there are no data regarding how students experience it. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a field within medicine in high demand for new and effective training modalities. ⋯ Using scenario-based virtual world team training with avatars to train medical students in multi-person CPR was feasible and showed promising results. Although we found no evidence of stimulated recall of CPR procedures in our test-retest study, the subjects were enthusiastic and reported increased concentration during the training. We also found that subjects' self-efficacy had increased after the training. Despite the need for further studies, these findings imply several possible uses of MMVW technology for future emergency medical training.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Aug 2010
Online social and professional support for smokers trying to quit: an exploration of first time posts from 2562 members.
Both intratreatment and extratreatment social support are associated with increased rates of smoking cessation. Internet-based social support groups have the capability of connecting widely dispersed groups of people trying to quit smoking, making social support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at minimal cost. However, to date there has been little research to guide development of this particular feature of Web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATIs). ⋯ Peer responses to new users were rapid, indicating that online social support networks may be particularly beneficial to smokers requiring more immediate assistance with their cessation attempt. This function may be especially advantageous for relapse prevention. Accessing this kind of rapid in-person support from a professional would take an inordinate amount of time and money. Further research regarding the effectiveness of WATIs with online social support networks is required to better understand the contribution of this feature to cessation, for both active users (posters) and passive users ("lurkers") alike.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialEffectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention and added value of normative feedback in reducing underage drinking: a randomized controlled trial.
Current insights indicate that Web-based delivery may enhance the implementation of brief alcohol interventions. Previous research showed that electronically delivered brief alcohol interventions decreased alcohol use in college students and adult problem drinkers. To date, no study has investigated the effectiveness of Web-based brief alcohol interventions in reducing alcohol use in younger populations. ⋯ The present study demonstrated that exposure to a Web-based brief alcohol intervention generated a decrease in weekly drinking among 15- to 20-year-old binge drinkers but did not encourage moderate drinking in the total sample. Additional analyses revealed that intervention effects were most prominent in males resulting in less weekly alcohol use and higher levels of moderate drinking among 15- to 20-year-old males over a period of 1 to 3 months.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2010
Sharing medical data for health research: the early personal health record experience.
Engaging consumers in sharing information from personally controlled health records (PCHRs) for health research may promote goals of improving care and advancing public health consistent with the federal Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Understanding consumer willingness to share data is critical to advancing this model. ⋯ Strong support for sharing of PCHR information for health research existed among early adopters and focus group participants, with support varying by social group under different conditions and contexts. Allowing users to select their preferred conditions for sharing may be vital to supporting sharing and fostering trust as may be development of safety monitoring mechanisms.