App Review. This app is for carers of people with dementia. Developed by Health Education England’s Thames Valley team in partnership with the University of Reading and in collaboration with healthcare professionals and carers, it offers practical information to support users’ understanding of the progressive nature of dementia and the challenges of caring for someone with the condition.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain insight from speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regarding appealing features of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) applications. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
We report a preliminary investigation to inform the development of a full randomized controlled trial for testing the efficacy of computerized interventions for people with long-term neurological conditions such as stroke and conclude that this is a potentially promising way of improving accessibility of psychological support.
Conclusions: While telehealth-mediated self-management was not consistently superior to usual care, none of the reviews reported any negative effects, suggesting that telehealth is a safe option for delivery of self-management support, particularly in conditions such as heart failure and type 2 diabetes, where the evidence base is more developed.
The Safety Thermometer App, built by the NHS Quality Observatory and supported by Haelo, has been introduced to Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust to revolutionise the monthly audit of data.
The audit, a national requirement, aims to monitor harm-free care across the nation.
It is estimated that, in the acute setting, the new process will save on average 58 hours per month– that’s 696 hours per year!
Ioana Cristea disputes RCT that claims to prevent intrusive memories after trauma via a brief intervention involving Tetris for PTSD in emergency dept.
Open access. Suicide-related behaviours are common in young people and associated with a range of negative outcomes. There are few evidence-based interventions; however, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) shows promise. Internet delivery of CBT is popular, with potential to increase reach and accessibility.
Conclusions: The Sleep Ninja is a fully-automated app that delivers CBT-I to young people, incorporating the features and information that young people reported they would expect from this app. A pilot study testing the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the Sleep Ninja is now underway.
Background: Exergames (exercise-based videogames) for delivering strength and balance exercise for older people are growing in popularity with the emergence of new Kinect-based technologies; however, little is known about the factors affecting their uptake and usage by older people.
This is a proof of concept study into what is often referred to as "machine learning", where sophisticated algorithms assess massive amounts of data to see if they can begin to spot patterns in the data that humans can't.
The researchers suggest social media could become a useful screening tool. But aside from whether the science stacks up, there are ethical and legal implications that would need to be considered before this could happen.
Purpose: This study explored how classroom teachers, allied health professionals, students with cerebral palsy, and their parents view high-tech assistive technology service delivery in the classroom. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
The NHS is trialling new wearable sensors, based on technology used by NASA and the CGI film industry, to help identify older patients at risk of falls as part of a new drive to tackle frailty.
The technology will help make one small step a lot easier for the over-65s (although giant leaps may still prove a challenge).
Improving sleep with online digital cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is associated with significant reductions in paranoia and hallucinations, a randomised trial in UK university students with insomnia has found.
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Joe Barnby and Muna Dubad explore a recent systematic review that looks at the potential predictors of adherence to digital interventions for psychosis.
Law and Human Behavior41.5 (Oct 2017): 468-477.
Mobile computing technology presents various possibilities and challenges for psychological assessment. Within forensic and correctional psychology, assessment of justice-involved persons facilitated by such technology has not been empirically examined. Accordingly, this randomized controlled experiment involved administering questionnaires about risk—needs, treatment readiness, and computerized technology opinions to a large (N = 212) and diverse sample of individuals under custodial correctional supervision using either a tablet computer or traditional paper-and-pencil materials. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.