Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2021
Spread, Scale-up, and Sustainability of Video Consulting in Health Care: Systematic Review and Synthesis Guided by the NASSS Framework.
COVID-19 has thrust video consulting into the limelight, as health care practitioners worldwide shift to delivering care remotely. Evidence suggests that video consulting is acceptable, safe, and effective in selected conditions and settings. However, research to date has mostly focused on initial adoption, with limited consideration of how video consulting can be mainstreamed and sustained. ⋯ There remains a significant lack of evidence that can support the spread and scale-up of video consulting. Given the recent pace of change due to COVID-19, a more definitive evidence base is urgently needed to support global efforts and match enthusiasm for extending use.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2021
Impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity Among 10,000 Steps Members and Engagement With the Program in Australia: Prospective Study.
Physical activity is an important health behavior, due to its association with many physical and mental health conditions. During distressing events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a concern that physical activity levels may be negatively impacted. However, recent studies have shown inconsistent results. Additionally, there is a lack of studies in Australia on this topic. ⋯ The pandemic has had negative effects on steps among Australians across age groups and genders. However, the effect was relatively small, with steps recovering quickly after the lockdown. There was a large increase in program usage during the pandemic, which might help minimize the health impact of the lockdown and confirms the important role of physical activity programs during times of distress and lockdowns.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2021
Expanding Telemonitoring in a Virtual World: A Case Study of the Expansion of a Heart Failure Telemonitoring Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
To minimize the spread and risk of a COVID-19 outbreak, societal norms have been challenged with respect to how essential services are delivered. With pressures to reduce the number of in-person ambulatory visits, innovative models of telemonitoring have been used during the pandemic as a necessary alternative to support access to care for patients with chronic conditions. The pandemic has led health care organizations to consider the adoption of telemonitoring interventions for the first time, while others have seen existing programs rapidly expand. ⋯ With the reduction of in-person visits during the pandemic, virtual services such as telemonitoring have demonstrated significant value. Based on our study findings, we offer recommendations to proactively adapt and scale telemonitoring programs under the changing conditions of an increasingly virtual health care system. These include revisiting the scope and expectations of telemedicine interventions, streamlining virtual patient onboarding processes, and personalizing the collection of patient information to build a stronger virtual relationship and a more holistic assessment of patient well-being.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2021
Toward Using Twitter for Tracking COVID-19: A Natural Language Processing Pipeline and Exploratory Data Set.
In the United States, the rapidly evolving COVID-19 outbreak, the shortage of available testing, and the delay of test results present challenges for actively monitoring its spread based on testing alone. ⋯ We have made the 13,714 tweets identified in this study, along with each tweet's time stamp and US state-level geolocation, publicly available to download. This data set presents the opportunity for future work to assess the utility of Twitter data as a complementary resource for tracking the spread of COVID-19.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2021
Socioeconomic Disparities in Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Observational Study.
Eliminating disparities in the burden of COVID-19 requires equitable access to control measures across socio-economic groups. Limited research on socio-economic differences in mobility hampers our ability to understand whether inequalities in social distancing are occurring during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. ⋯ Socioeconomic inequalities appear to be associated with the levels of adoption of social distancing, potentially resulting in wide-ranging differences in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in communities across the United States. These inequalities are likely to amplify existing health disparities and must be addressed to ensure the success of ongoing pandemic mitigation efforts.