Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Framework for Managing the COVID-19 Infodemic: Methods and Results of an Online, Crowdsourced WHO Technical Consultation.
An infodemic is an overabundance of information-some accurate and some not-that occurs during an epidemic. In a similar manner to an epidemic, it spreads between humans via digital and physical information systems. It makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it. ⋯ The first version of this framework proposes five action areas in which WHO Member States and actors within society can apply, according to their mandate, an infodemic management approach adapted to national contexts and practices. Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related infodemic require swift, regular, systematic, and coordinated action from multiple sectors of society and government. It remains crucial that we promote trusted information and fight misinformation, thereby helping save lives.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Web-Based Health Information Following the Renewal of the Cervical Screening Program in Australia: Evaluation of Readability, Understandability, and Credibility.
Three main changes were implemented in the Australian National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) in December 2017: an increase in the recommended age to start screening, extended screening intervals, and change from the Papanicolaou (Pap) test to primary human papillomavirus screening (cervical screening test). The internet is a readily accessible source of information to explain the reasons for these changes to the public. It is important that web-based health information about changes to national screening programs is accessible and understandable for the general population. ⋯ It is important for women to have access to information that is at an appropriate reading level to better understand the implications of the changes to the cervical screening program. These findings can help health care providers direct their patients toward websites that provide information on cervical screening that is written at accessible reading levels and has high understandability.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Virtual Management of Patients With Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Web-Based Questionnaire Study.
During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, patients with cancer in rural settings and distant geographical areas will be affected the most by curfews. Virtual management (telemedicine) has been shown to reduce health costs and improve access to care. ⋯ Oncologists have a high level of awareness of virtual management. Although their survey responses indicated that second- and third-line palliative treatments should be interrupted, they stated that neoadjuvant, adjuvant, perioperative, and first-line palliative treatments should continue. Our results confirm that oncologists' views on the priority of anticancer treatments are consistent with the evolving literature during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges to virtual management should be addressed to improve the care of patients with cancer.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
A Double Triage and Telemedicine Protocol to Optimize Infection Control in an Emergency Department in Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Feasibility Study.
Frontline health care workers, including physicians, are at high risk of contracting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) owing to their exposure to patients suspected of having COVID-19. ⋯ The implementation of the double triage and telemedicine protocol in the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic has high potential to improve infection control.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2020
Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Diabetes Care: A Position Statement of the Italian Association of Medical Diabetologists.
Since the last decade, most of our daily activities have become digital. Digital health takes into account the ever-increasing synergy between advanced medical technologies, innovation, and digital communication. Thanks to machine learning, we are not limited anymore to a descriptive analysis of the data, as we can obtain greater value by identifying and predicting patterns resulting from inductive reasoning. ⋯ AMD believes that the use of artificial intelligence will enable the conversion of data (descriptive) into knowledge of the factors that "affect" the behavior and correlations (predictive), thereby identifying the key aspects that may establish an improvement of the expected results (prescriptive). Artificial intelligence can therefore become a tool of great technical support to help diabetologists become fully responsible of the individual patient, thereby assuring customized and precise medicine. This, in turn, will allow for comprehensive therapies to be built in accordance with the evidence criteria that should always be the ground for any therapeutic choice.