Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2020
COVID-19 Outcome Prediction and Monitoring Solution for Military Hospitals in South Korea: Development and Evaluation of an Application.
COVID-19 has officially been declared as a pandemic, and the spread of the virus is placing sustained demands on public health systems. There are speculations that the COVID-19 mortality differences between regions are due to the disparities in the availability of medical resources. Therefore, the selection of patients for diagnosis and treatment is essential in this situation. Military personnel are especially at risk for infectious diseases; thus, patient selection with an evidence-based prognostic model is critical for them. ⋯ The platform introduced in this study enables evidence-based patient selection in an effortless and timely manner, which is critical in the military. With a well-designed user experience and an accurate prediction model, this platform may help save lives and contain the spread of the novel virus, COVID-19.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2020
Health Perceptions and Misconceptions Regarding COVID-19 in China: Online Survey Study.
Great efforts have been made to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including national initiatives to promote the change of personal behaviors. The lessons learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak indicate that knowledge and attitudes about infectious diseases are related to panic among the population, which may further complicate efforts to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Misunderstandings may result in behaviors such as underestimation, panic, and taking ineffective measures to avoid infection; these behaviors are likely to cause the epidemic to spread further. ⋯ Multiple information channels can improve public health perception and the identification of misleading information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Videos on social media increased the risk of rumor propagation among vulnerable groups. We suggest the government should strengthen social media regulation and increase experts' influence on the targeted vulnerable populations to reduce the risk of rumors spreading.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2020
The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Managing Acute Pain and Anxiety for Medical Inpatients: Systematic Review.
Virtual reality is increasingly being utilized by clinicians to facilitate analgesia and anxiolysis within an inpatient setting. There is however, a lack of a clinically relevant review to guide its use for this purpose. ⋯ Available evidence suggests that virtual reality therapy can be applied to facilitate analgesia for acute pain in a variety of inpatient settings. Its effects, however, are likely to vary by patient population and indication. This highlights the need for individualized pilot testing of virtual reality therapy's effects for each specific clinical use case rather than generalizing its use for the broad indication of facilitating analgesia. In addition, virtual reality therapy has the added potential of concurrently providing procedural anxiolysis, thereby improving patient experience and cooperation, while being associated with a low incidence of side effects (nausea, vomiting, eye strain, and dizziness). Furthermore, findings indicated a head mounted display should be utilized to deliver virtual reality therapy in a clinical setting with a slight preference for active over passive virtual reality for analgesia. There, however, appears to be insufficient evidence to substantiate the effect of virtual reality on autonomic arousal, and this should be considered at best to be for investigational uses, at present.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2020
Perception of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Time of Telemedicine: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.
After the COVID-19 outbreak, the Italian Government stopped most regular health care activity. As a result, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) had limited access to outpatient clinics and hospitals. ⋯ The results of our survey demonstrate that the lockdown had a significant impact on the psychological aspects of patients with IBD and suggest the need for increasing communication with patients with IBD (eg, through telemedicine) to ensure patients receive adequate health care, correct information, and proper psychological support.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Oct 2020
Depression, Anxiety, and Lifestyle Among Essential Workers: A Web Survey From Brazil and Spain During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Essential workers have been shown to present a higher prevalence of positive screenings for anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals from countries with socioeconomic inequalities may be at increased risk for mental health disorders. ⋯ Interventions addressing lifestyle may be useful in dealing with symptoms of common mental disorders during the strain imposed among essential workers by the COVID-19 pandemic. Essential workers who live in middle-income countries with higher rates of inequality may face additional challenges. Ensuring equitable treatment and support may be an important challenge ahead, considering the possible syndemic effect of the social determinants of health.