Findings suggest that combining an automated electronic health record system to identify at-risk patients with a tailored mHealth protocol can provide education to this population. While this intervention was insufficient to effect behavioral change resulting in better hypertension control, it does suggest that this FQHC population will engage in low-cost population health applications with a potentially promising impact
Avatar‐based virtual reality therapy is an emerging digital technology that can be used to assist the treatment of common mental health problems. This may be particularly appealing to young people who are highly familiar with digital technologies and may provide a medium to facilitate communication within face‐to‐face therapy.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
'Crisis cards' that you scan with a smartphone to download an app that provides support via an augmented reality human. Being trialled in Liverpool by a crisis service.
Aim: To describe telenurses’ experiences of difficult calls.
Design: A qualitative approach with a descriptive design was used to gain a deeper understanding of the telenurses’ experiences. Open Access Article
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An expert in cyber security at the University of York comments on new research from the University of Toronto on the security issues around data sharing by mobile health apps.
Patient care in England would be improved if more mental health services were given access to significant levels of dedicated funding to support digital innovation.
That is one of the recommendations made in Using digital technology to design and deliver better mental health services, published today by Rebecca Cotton, director of policy at the Mental Health Network, the voice for NHS-funded mental health and learning disability service providers in England.
Results: The research findings highlight various usability issues, including the complexity of the interface, difficulty in reading the text, and insufficient provision of instructions. These studies have also suggested solutions to enhance the usability of systems, including development of the technical skills of users, explanations of usability evaluation techniques for telecare monitoring systems, and engaging the appropriate users during the development of telecare monitoring systems. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
Technological innovation offers opportunities to improve mental health care, however, little evidence exists regarding attitudes of inpatient staff and patients to such changes. We present a survey of staff and patients prior to introduction of a digital version of the National Early Warning Score (eNEWS) system for identifying physical deterioration.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
The Nurse Manager in the Mental Health and Vascular Wellbeing Team at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust (NSCHT) led a programme of work to introduce a digital application (app) into the care and treatment plans for service users at high risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The app was designed to digitally link the nursing and medical staff with the service user, enabling care closer to home, empowering service users, families and carers to have greater control and input into planning their treatment and care and improving service user experience and outcomes.
Remote activity monitoring may work optimally for caregivers of persons living with ADRD in specific situations (e.g., earlier stages of dementia; wandering risk), which suggests the need for appropriate needs assessments that can better target such innovations. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Social robots appear to have the potential to improve the well-being of older adults, but conclusions are limited due to the lack of high-quality studies. More RCTs are recommended with larger sample sizes and rigorous study designs. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Conclusions: Mental health service recipients currently use general functions such as listening to music and calling friends to support recovery. Nevertheless, they reported interest in trying more specific illness-management apps.
Shortlisted projects include Adult Safeguarding Enquiry cards, Integrated Community Services Team, Social Prescribing, Broseley Project for work using consumer smart technology to support health and social care needs of vulnerable people, night time carer support.
Measuring physical activity is complicated particularly in people with dementia, where activity levels are low and subjective measures are susceptible to inaccurate recall. Activity monitors are increasingly being used within research, however, it is unclear how people with dementia view wearing such devices, and what aspects of the device effect wear time. The aim of the study was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of people with dementia wearing activity monitors.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
There is a clear public health need to reduce office workers’ sedentary behaviors (SBs), especially in the workplace. Digital technologies are increasingly being deployed in the workplace to measure and modify office workers’ SBs. However, knowledge of the range and nature of research on this topic is limited; it also remains unclear to what extent digital interventions have exploited the technological possibilities.
Open access. This study aimed to understand the attributes of popular apps for mental health and comorbid medical conditions, and how these qualities relate to consumer ratings, app quality and classification by the WHO health app classification framework.
More than £1 million is up for grabs for digital social care projects thanks to funding from NHS Digital.
The Social Care Digital Innovation Programme (SCDIP) aims to support local authorities using digital technology to design and implement social care.
Ten authorities will receive up to £30,000 to design a digital solution to address specific issues within their service.
This article summarises a new framework to improve the success of technology projects: the nonadoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread and sustainability (NASSS) framework. The framework is based on a narrative systematic review and empirical work, and addresses the different domains in technology projects and how different aspects of complexity may be handled in each of them.
Patients are having their observations recorded more accurately, thanks to the swift implementation of a new electronic observations system. 'VitalPAC' assesses and analyses patient vital sign data to identify deterioration in a patient's health and also has the potential to automatically calculate a patient's early warning score (EWS), prompting clinicians to respond in line with hospital protocol. The team responsible for implementation worked tirelessly to make it operational in a record time of four weeks.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the use of a speech generating app via a tablet, as implemented by a caregiver, to increase requesting in an adult with autism spectrum disorder. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Caregiver and professional responses to an anonymous online survey showed that focus individuals were rated low in terms of independent and self-management skills, with scheduling and planning and communication identified as desirable future AT functions. Overall, positive experiences of AT were reported, with AT use more than doubling in recent years. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
Objective: The objective of this study is to understand the barriers and facilitators to effectively access and continuously use essential assistive products for people with intellectual disabilities. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please be clear which article you are requesting.
A new report is highlighting how technology, including social media, is helping patients in Staffordshire take control of their health.
The ‘Spotlight on Digital Health’ is now available on North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent CCGs’ websites.
Many people are now living with long-term conditions such as diabetes or heart conditions. These need to be monitored regularly and lifestyle changes often need to be made to help. This is increasingly being done through app-based technology using a patient’s own mobile phone.
A study using funding from The Good Things Foundation has provided insight into how local people use the technology available.