scholarly journals Safety and Privacy Considerations for Mobile Application Design in Digital Healthcare

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojca Volk ◽  
Janez Sterle ◽  
Urban Sedlar
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Application ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Treatment Context

This paper presents a case study on security and privacy implications on the design of a mobile application in digital health, the DeStress Assistant (DeSA) app, which utilizes sensing technologies and capabilities of the Internet of Things (IoT). An analysis of the applicable legislative framework is provided and selected challenges encountered during the app design are discussed, which are related with the practical implications of provisions of the international and national legislation for software applications in general as well as medical devices and handling of sensitive data in particular. We provide insights into design choices, including different possible scenarios for classification of a mobile app as a medical device and the pertaining legal risks the app developer is faced with as a consequence of possible legal obligations, and different possibilities of specifying the intended use. Also, we propose two designs of a mechanism that enables secure sharing of the patient’s health-related observations from the DeSA app with a medical professional within a treatment context. The first mechanism provides secure submission of health-related observations into a hospital information system, whereas the second mechanism enables secure short-term sharing of observations without storage.

scholarly journals A Primer on Usability Assessment Approaches for Health-Related Applications of Virtual Reality (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Zhang ◽  
Richard Booth ◽  
Royce Jean-Louis ◽  
Ryan Chan ◽  
Anthony Yeung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Health Related

UNSTRUCTURED Health-related virtual reality (VR) applications for patient treatment, rehabilitation, and medical professional training are on the rise. However, there is little guidance on how to select and perform usability evaluations for VR health interventions compared to the supports that exist for other digital health technologies. The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to present an introductory summary of various usability testing approaches or methods that can be used for VR applications. Along with an overview of each, a list of resources is provided for readers to obtain additionally relevant information. Six categories of VR usability evaluations are described using a previously developed classification taxonomy specific to VR environments: (1) cognitive or task walkthrough, (2) graphical evaluation, (3) post hoc questionnaires or interviews, (4) physical performance evaluation, (5) user interface evaluation, and (6) heuristic evaluation. Given the growth of VR in health care, rigorous evaluation and usability testing is crucial in the development and implementation of novel VR interventions. The approaches outlined in this paper provide a starting point for conducting usability assessments for health-related VR applications; however, there is a need to also move beyond these to adopt those from the gaming industry, where assessments for both usability and user experience are routinely conducted.

scholarly journals Would patients undergo postoperative follow-up by using a smartphone application?

BMC Surgery ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Scherer ◽  
Frank Keller ◽  
Hans-Christoph Pape ◽  
Georg Osterhoff
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Application ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Direct Benefit ◽  
Orthopaedic Practice ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Healthcare Data ◽  
Health Related

Abstract Background eHealth applications have been proposed as an alternative to monitor patients in frequent intervals or over long distances. The aim of this study was to assess whether patients would accept an application on their smartphone to be monitored by their physicians. Methods During September 2017 and December 2017 a survey amongst smartphone users was conducted via paper and web-based questionnaires. Results More than half of the 962 participants (54%) were older than 55 years of age. The majority of the participants (68.7%) would accept a follow-up by a smartphone application obtaining personal healthcare data. 72.6% of all patients older than 55 years of age would use the application. The most prevalent reason against installing the application was data protection. Patients being currently treated in an orthopaedic practice and pedestrians were more eager to accept a follow-up by a mobile app than participants from social media. Conclusion The majority of participants would accept a mobile application, collecting personal health-related data for postoperative follow-up, and saw a direct benefit for the patient in such an application.

scholarly journals Security and Privacy in the Medical Internet of Things: A Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wencheng Sun ◽  
Zhiping Cai ◽  
Yangyang Li ◽  
Fang Liu ◽  
Shengqun Fang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Cloud Storage ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Privacy Issues

Medical Internet of Things, also well known as MIoT, is playing a more and more important role in improving the health, safety, and care of billions of people after its showing up. Instead of going to the hospital for help, patients’ health-related parameters can be monitored remotely, continuously, and in real time, then processed, and transferred to medical data center, such as cloud storage, which greatly increases the efficiency, convenience, and cost performance of healthcare. The amount of data handled by MIoT devices grows exponentially, which means higher exposure of sensitive data. The security and privacy of the data collected from MIoT devices, either during their transmission to a cloud or while stored in a cloud, are major unsolved concerns. This paper focuses on the security and privacy requirements related to data flow in MIoT. In addition, we make in-depth study on the existing solutions to security and privacy issues, together with the open challenges and research issues for future work.

scholarly journals Blockchain as an Approach for Secure Data Storage on Digital Consulting Platforms

2020 ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Sebastian Gerth ◽  
Lars Heim
Keyword(s):  
Data Storage ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Secure Data ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Related Service ◽  
Digital Documentation

AbstractThis chapter examines the concept of data security in a society increasingly shaped by digital technologies. We show how secure data storage can be optimised regarding digital documentation in the implementation of health-related service offers based on established procedures. Security and privacy of data are therefore particularly important in this subject area since highly sensitive data is stored and processed during health-related online consultations. The advent of blockchain technology provides a valuable opportunity to create trust in digital platforms. After relevant concepts and terms have been clarified, the functionality of the blockchain in general, as well as the different types, will be discussed. From this, options for the use of online consulting are developed and illustrated on the basis of three use cases.

scholarly journals A Primer on Usability Assessment Approaches for Health-Related Applications of Virtual Reality

10.2196/18153 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. e18153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Zhang ◽  
Richard Booth ◽  
Royce Jean-Louis ◽  
Ryan Chan ◽  
Anthony Yeung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Health Related

Health-related virtual reality (VR) applications for patient treatment, rehabilitation, and medical professional training are on the rise. However, there is little guidance on how to select and perform usability evaluations for VR health interventions compared to the supports that exist for other digital health technologies. The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to present an introductory summary of various usability testing approaches or methods that can be used for VR applications. Along with an overview of each, a list of resources is provided for readers to obtain additionally relevant information. Six categories of VR usability evaluations are described using a previously developed classification taxonomy specific to VR environments: (1) cognitive or task walkthrough, (2) graphical evaluation, (3) post hoc questionnaires or interviews, (4) physical performance evaluation, (5) user interface evaluation, and (6) heuristic evaluation. Given the growth of VR in health care, rigorous evaluation and usability testing is crucial in the development and implementation of novel VR interventions. The approaches outlined in this paper provide a starting point for conducting usability assessments for health-related VR applications; however, there is a need to also move beyond these to adopt those from the gaming industry, where assessments for both usability and user experience are routinely conducted.

Supporting caregivers of adolescents with mental health disorders using internet-based or mobile application interventions: a systematic review (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Li ◽  
Lorraine Holtslander ◽  
Tracie Risling ◽  
Don Leidl ◽  
Megan Kennedy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Mental Health Disorders ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health Disorders

BACKGROUND The number of adolescents with mental health issues has increased worldwide, which not only affects adolescents themselves but also their families, especially, their primary caregivers (mostly parents). Family caregivers are a lifelong resource in a child’s life, and play a crucial role in supporting and helping their children in their recovery journey, and provide unpaid care, mostly in the community, Yet they are the most unsupported of all groups of caregivers. With growing recognition of web-based or mobile application interventions playing a promising role in delivering programs in mental health related areas, caregivers of adolescents with mental health issues can benefit from the technologies that provide support for them. OBJECTIVE In this systematic review, we aimed to review the current existing literature on online-based programs or mobile applications that support caregivers of adolescents with mental health disorders. METHODS A systematic search of the literature using the PRISMA guideline was conducted on seven databases to identify any peer-reviewed articles published in English from 2009 to March 2019. The studies were screened, extracted, and the quality of the selected studies was appraised using the McMaster Critical Review. RESULTS This review revealed a paucity of studies that met the inclusion criteria. All five selected articles focus on evaluating online-based or mobile app interventions including online moderated social therapy, online parenting intervention program, online chat support groups, and smartphone application for suicidal adolescents and their parents. Acceptability, usability, and feasibility of the online-based or smartphone app interventions were confirmed in the studies while findings of improving mental health and well-being in the caregivers and adolescents were inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS With increased interests in web-based or mobile app interventions used in mental health related areas and its known benefits, more studies on supporting the caregivers using technologies are required.

scholarly journals Acceptability of a Mobile Application in Children’s Oral Health Promotion—A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3256
Author(s):  
Kirsi Rasmus ◽  
Antti Toratti ◽  
Saujanya Karki ◽  
Paula Pesonen ◽  
Marja-Liisa Laitala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Oral Health Promotion ◽  
Oral Health Behaviors ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Children’S Oral Health

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the acceptability of an oral health-related mobile application developed for young children based on the feedback given by the children and their parents. Another aim was to evaluate the self-reported change in children’s oral health behaviors during a short test period. The application—a virtual pet integrated into a child’s daily routines—aimed to promote oral hygiene and dietary behaviors in children. A total of 36 4–12-year-old voluntary children were given a mobile phone with the installed application. After the 5-week testing period, the feasibility of the application and possible changes in the children’s oral health behaviors were asked using an electronic questionnaire. Most of the children considered the application clear (n = 34), amusing (n = 31), and useful (n = 29). The children’s tooth brushing manners improved both qualitatively and quantitatively: the time used for tooth brushing increased and the children learned how to brush different tooth surfaces. Mobile applications can be fun and useful in oral health promotion; while playing, children can learn good oral health-related behaviors. Mobile applications integrate oral health promotion into children’s daily environment and routines.

scholarly journals Evaluating the quality and safety of health-related apps and e-tools: Adapting the Mobile App Rating Scale and developing a quality assurance protocol

2021 ◽  
pp. 100379
Author(s):  
Anna E. Roberts ◽  
Tracey A. Davenport ◽  
Toby Wong ◽  
Hyei-Won Moon ◽  
Ian B. Hickie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Quality And Safety ◽  
Health Related

scholarly journals POS1471-HPR EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MOBILE APP-BASED EXERCISES PROGRAMME IN PATIENTS WITH NECK PAIN: THE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1021.1-1021
Author(s):  
L. Beyaztaş ◽  
E. Tonga
Keyword(s):  
Neck Pain ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Exercise Adherence ◽  
Chronic Neck Pain ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Post Exercise ◽  
Spinal Stabilization ◽  
Postural Correction

Background:Mobile health applications are frequently used to increase exercise adherence in patients with musculoskeletal problems. However, the usability of these health mobile applications mostly has not been proven. In our previous study, the usability of the mobile app, which includes postural correction and neck spinal stabilization exercises, has been proven. (M.U-NeckExercise application)Objectives:The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the mobile application-based home exercise program for patients with chronic neck pain.Methods:60 people with chronic neck pain were participated in the our study. They were randomized into two groups. The first group (n:30) received home exercises via the novel mobile app, and the second group (n:30) received the same home exercises via the brochure. The exercise program consisted of neck and thoracic postural correction and neck spinal stabilization exercises. Participants has been requested to do the exercises 3 days in a week for 6 weeks. Participants’ pain levels were assessed by using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), their neck-related functional limitations were evaluated by Neck Pain and Disability Index (BADI). Exercise adherence was meausered with a ratio of total participated sessions compared with the target defined by patient activation monitor and exercise adherance questionnaire. Targeted participation were %60 of total sessions.Results:In both groups, the improvement in VAS and BADI scores was statistically significant (p<0.05). It was found that the pain parameters of VAS score decreased statistically more in the mobile application-based exercise group (p<0.05). While there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the BADI score, the effect size results was higher in the mobile app group (effect size= 0.411). Our exercise commitment target in the mobile app group was an average of 10.5 sessions. The target session number has been reached 11.25 sessions.Conclusion:It has been observed that the mobile application-based exercise program is effective in reducing pain and increasing exercise adherence in people with chronic neck pain. The findings support M.U-NeckExercise-App could be recommended to health professionals for exercise prescription in patients with cronic neck pain.References:[1]Tonga E, Can M, Polat MG (2019). ”SAT0730-HPR development and design of smartphone application for postural alignment of cervical and thoracic spine for young adults.” Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78,2.[2]Voth, E. C., Oelke, N. D., & Jung, M. E. (2016). A theory-based exercise app to enhance exercise adherence: a pilot study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 4(2), e62.VariableGroupX±SSzpPost-Exercise VAS Value (0-10 cm)Mobile app2,90±2,04-3,272**0,001Brochure4,63±1,69Post-Exercise BADI ValueMobile app38,86±12,380,0310,861Brochure32,23±12,35Disclosure of Interests:None declared

scholarly journals Driving digital transformation of comprehensive primary health services at scale in India: an enterprise architecture framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (Suppl 5) ◽  
pp. e005242
Author(s):  
Sunita Nadhamuni ◽  
Oommen John ◽  
Mallari Kulkarni ◽  
Eshan Nanda ◽  
Sethuraman Venkatraman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Enterprise Architecture ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Architecture Framework ◽  
Primary Health Services ◽  
Enterprise Architecture Framework

In its commitment towards Sustainable Development Goals, India envisages comprehensive primary health services as a key pillar in achieving universal health coverage. Embedded in siloed vertical programmes, their lack of interoperability and standardisation limits sustainability and hence their benefits have not been realised yet. We propose an enterprise architecture framework that overcomes these challenges and outline a robust futuristic digital health infrastructure for delivery of efficient and effective comprehensive primary healthcare. Core principles of an enterprise platform architecture covering four platform levers to facilitate seamless service delivery, monitor programmatic performance and facilitate research in the context of primary healthcare are listed. A federated architecture supports the custom needs of states and health programmes through standardisation and decentralisation techniques. Interoperability design principles enable integration between disparate information technology systems to ensure continuum of care across referral pathways. A responsive data architecture meets high volume and quality requirements of data accessibility in compliance with regulatory requirements. Security and privacy by design underscore the importance of building trust through role-based access, strong user authentication mechanisms, robust data management practices and consent. The proposed framework will empower programme managers with a ready reference toolkit for designing, implementing and evaluating primary care platforms for large-scale deployment. In the context of health and wellness centres, building a responsive, resilient and reliable enterprise architecture would be a fundamental path towards strengthening health systems leveraging digital health interventions. An enterprise architecture for primary care is the foundational building block for an efficient national digital health ecosystem. As citizens take ownership of their health, futuristic digital infrastructure at the primary care level will determine the health-seeking behaviour and utilisation trajectory of the nation.

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