Design for ageing well

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane McCann ◽  
Tracey Williamson
Keyword(s):  
User Interfaces ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Base Layer ◽  
Wearable Electronics ◽  
Prime Objective ◽  
Research Project Design ◽  
Warming Devices

This chapter discusses the collaborative research project ‘Design for Ageing that brought together stakeholders from academia and industry, to engage with active ageing participants in the co-design of smart functional clothing, with wearable electronics. The prime objective was to develop a functional clothing ‘layering system’ for participation in walking comprising; close-fitting body layer garments, with vital signs and activity monitoring, moisture management base layer styles, mid layer insulating garments, with warming devices, and outer layer protection, providing multi-modal user interfaces to facilitate outdoor healthy exercise, social engagement and enhanced well-being. Co-design methodology, new to clothing design, was adopted to help to explain complex terminologies and practices between both academic and industry stakeholders, including technologists in electronics, clothing/textiles, and gerontology. This collaborative research has contributed to training a new breed of cross-disciplinary academic researchers, in tried and tested co-design process with industry practitioners and end-users.

Web-based Tools for Drug Repurposing: Successful Examples of Collaborative Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-195
Author(s):  
Quentin Vanhaelen
Keyword(s):  
User Interfaces ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Drug Repurposing ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Computational Tools ◽  
Web Based

: Computational approaches have been proven to be complementary tools of interest in identifying potential candidates for drug repurposing. However, although the methods developed so far offer interesting opportunities and could contribute to solving issues faced by the pharmaceutical sector, they also come with their constraints. Indeed, specific challenges ranging from data access, standardization and integration to the implementation of reliable and coherent validation methods must be addressed to allow systematic use at a larger scale. In this mini-review, we cover computational tools recently developed for addressing some of these challenges. This includes specific databases providing accessibility to a large set of curated data with standardized annotations, web-based tools integrating flexible user interfaces to perform fast computational repurposing experiments and standardized datasets specifically annotated and balanced for validating new computational drug repurposing methods. Interestingly, these new databases combined with the increasing number of information about the outcomes of drug repurposing studies can be used to perform a meta-analysis to identify key properties associated with successful drug repurposing cases. This information could further be used to design estimation methods to compute a priori assessment of the repurposing possibilities.

scholarly journals Social Volunteering in Aging Adults Increases Regions of the Amygdala and Correlates With Enhanced Generativity

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 795-795
Author(s):  
Michelle Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Volunteer Program ◽  
Intention To Treat ◽  
Intervention Impact ◽  
Aging Adults ◽  
The Brain

Abstract The Brain Health Study (BHS) of the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT) examined whether a randomized, controlled trial of an intergenerational social volunteer program, entitled Experience Corps, increased subregions of the amygdala related to socioemotional memory and risk for Alzheimer’s disease in aging adults. We further assessed functional correlates of these intervention-related changes and changes in aging adults’ developmental need to be generative, or, to give back to the well-being of others. The BHS simultaneously randomized 112 men and women (59 intervention; 53 control) within BECT to evaluate intervention impact on biomarkers of brain health at baseline and annual follow-ups during the two-year trial. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed program-specific increases in the shape of the centromedial and basomedial regions of the left amygdala (p’s≤0.05 adjusted), which were correlated with increases in generativity (p’s =0.06). Meaningful social engagement buffered amygdalar declines important to preservation of emotionally salient memory and risk for dementia. Part of a symposium sponsored by Brain Interest Group.

Understanding Social Isolation Among Urban Aging Adults: Informing Occupation-Based Approaches

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 188-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carri Hand ◽  
Jessica Retrum ◽  
George Ware ◽  
Patricia Iwasaki ◽  
Gabe Moaalii ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Information Access ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Aging Adults

Socially isolated aging adults are at risk of poor health and well-being. Occupational therapy can help address this issue; however, information is needed to guide such work. National surveys characterize social isolation in populations of aging adults but fail to provide meaningful information at a community level. The objective of this study is to describe multiple dimensions of social isolation and related factors among aging adults in diverse urban neighborhoods. Community-based participatory research involving a door-to-door survey of adults 50 years and older was used. Participants ( N = 161) reported social isolation in terms of small social networks (24%) and wanting more social engagement (43%). Participants aged 50 to 64 years reported the highest levels of isolation in most dimensions. Low income, poor health, lack of transportation, and infrequent information access appeared linked to social isolation. Occupational therapists can address social isolation in similar urban communities through policy and practice that facilitate social engagement and network building.

scholarly journals Heart Rate monitor based on IP networking

2018 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 01006
Author(s):  
Miguel G. Molina ◽  
Priscila E. Garzón ◽  
Carolina J. Molina ◽  
Juan X. Nicola
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Electronic Devices ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Heart Rate Monitor ◽  
Ip Address ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
New Applications ◽  
Threat Situation

With the uprising of Internet of Things (IoT) networks, new applications have taken advantage of this new concept. Having all devices and all people connected 24/7 have several advantages in a variated amount of disciplines. One of them is medicine and the e-health concept. The possibility of having a real time lecture of the vital signs of people can prevent a live threat situation. This paper describes the realization of a device capable of measuring the heart rate of a person and checking for abnormalities that may negatively affect the patient’s well-being. This project will make use of electronic devices known as microcontrollers, specifically from the Arduino family, enabling us to capture data, and, with the help of a network card and a RJ-45 cable, transfer it to a PC and visualize the heart rate in real time over its assigned IP address.

scholarly journals A simple electronic medical record system designed for research

JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J King ◽  
Luca Calzoni ◽  
Mohammadamin Tajgardoon ◽  
Gregory F Cooper ◽  
Gilles Clermont ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Record ◽  
Electronic Medical Record ◽  
User Interfaces ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Electronic Medical Record System ◽  
Record System ◽  
Laboratory Test Results ◽  
Medical Record System ◽  
Open Source Software Package

Abstract With the extensive deployment of electronic medical record (EMR) systems, EMR usability remains a significant source of frustration to clinicians. There is a significant research need for software that emulates EMR systems and enables investigators to conduct laboratory-based human–computer interaction studies. We developed an open-source software package that implements the display functions of an EMR system. The user interface emphasizes the temporal display of vital signs, medication administrations, and laboratory test results. It is well suited to support research about clinician information-seeking behaviors and adaptive user interfaces in terms of measures that include task accuracy, time to completion, and cognitive load. The Simple EMR System is freely available to the research community and is on GitHub.

scholarly journals A Novel BrainHealth Index Prototype Improved by Telehealth-Delivered Training During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Bond Chapman ◽  
Julie M. Fratantoni ◽  
Ian H. Robertson ◽  
Mark D'Esposito ◽  
Geoffrey S. F. Ling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Analytic Structure ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Factor Analytic

Introduction: Brain health is neglected in public health, receiving attention after something goes wrong. Neuroplasticity research illustrates that preventive steps strengthen the brain's component systems; however, this information is not widely known. Actionable steps are needed to scale proven population-level interventions.Objectives: This pilot tested two main objectives: (1) the feasibility/ease of use of an online platform to measure brain health, deliver training, and offer virtual coaching to healthy adults and (2) to develop a data driven index of brain health. Methods: 180 participants, ages 18–87, enrolled in this 12-week pilot. Participants took a BrainHealth Index™ (BHI), a composite of assessments encompassing cognition, well-being, daily-life and social, pre-post training. Participants engaged in online training with three coaching sessions. We assessed changes in BHI, effects of training utilization and demographics, contributions of sub-domain measures to the BHI and development of a factor analytic structure of latent BrainHealth constructs.Results: The results indicated that 75% of participants showed at least a 5-point gain on their BHI which did not depend on age, education, or gender. The contribution to these gains were from all sub-domains, including stress, anxiety and resilience, even though training focused largely on cognition. Some individuals improved due to increased resilience and decreased anxiety, whereas others improved due to increased innovation and social engagement. Larger gains depended on module utilization, especially strategy training. An exploratory factor analytic solution to the correlation matrix of online assessments identified three latent constructs.Discussion/Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrated the efficacy of an online platform to assess changes on a composite BrainHealth Index and efficacy in delivering training modules and coaching. We found that adults, college age to late life, were motivated to learn about their brain and engage in virtual-training with coaching to improve their brain health. This effort intends to scale up to thousands, thus the pilot data, tested by an impending imaging pilot, will be utilized in ongoing machine learning (ML) algorithms to develop a precision brain health model. This pilot is a first step in scaling evidence-based brain health protocols to reach individuals and positively affect public health globally.

Community Networks

2013 ◽  
pp. 187-207
Author(s):  
John M. Carroll ◽  
Mary Beth Rosson
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Social Milieu ◽  
The Social ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
Design Idea ◽  
Virtuous Cycle ◽  
University Undergraduates ◽  
Health And Well Being

The authors present a socio-technical design that illustrates how a community network health intervention can mobilize human resources across social boundaries and enhance health and well-being for people on both sides of the boundary. They specifically address how to reduce the barriers to social engagement experienced by autistic individuals who want more supportive life opportunities. The authors focus on the social milieu of an American college town, on traditional town-gown boundaries, and on possibilities for integrating social resources within this context. Their design adopts community networking to not only connect autistic persons living within an existing social milieu (university undergraduates; local autistic children and their families), but also to integrate individuals across milieus. The key design idea is that facilitating cross-milieu interactions can initiate and sustain a virtuous cycle of being helped by helping others.

A Wholistic Approach to a Compassionate and Flourishing Life

2020 ◽  
pp. 147-158
Author(s):  
Agnes M.F. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Moral Development ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Moral Conflict ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Moral Uncertainty ◽  
Personal Relations ◽  
Transformative Approach ◽  
Moral Resilience

In this chapter, the author looks at some additional ingredients that are essential for leading a compassionate, flourishing life. They include psychological well-being, ethics, and moral resilience, as well as social engagement and principled compassionate actions. The author shows that counselling, coaching, and psychotherapy can bring about additional clarity, openness, and deep healing. The author also looks at the importance of moral resilience to deal with moral challenges that include moral uncertainty, moral conflict, and moral dilemma. The author shows that moral development consists of four components: moral sensitivity, judgment/reasoning, motivation, and character/courage, and describes how following the precepts could aid in moral development and building moral resilience. Last, the author shows that a truly transformative approach to living a compassionate life needs to address not only our personal relations to suffering, but also acknowledge that personal suffering has societal causes which require us to be socially engaged through principled compassionate actions.

scholarly journals Qualitative Examination of International Graduate Students’ Experiences With Campus Recreation Services

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59
Author(s):  
Seonghun Lee ◽  
Tyler Spencer ◽  
Mary A. Hums ◽  
Meera Alagaraja
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Campus Recreation ◽  
International Graduate Students ◽  
International Graduate ◽  
International College ◽  
Recreation Services ◽  
Recreation Participation

International college students have become an important subgroup in U.S. higher education. However, their campus recreation participation rate is relatively low. Previous studies indicate significant factors preventing international students from campus recreation participation were lack of time, lack of workout partners, and lack of recreation information. Relatively little research has been undertaken on understanding and explaining campus recreation experiences among the international graduate student population. This study utilized semistructured interviews with 14 students who used campus recreation services at a 4-year major U.S. public university. Results indicated three primary constraints emerged: time, transportation, and information. However, these students recognized the benefits of using campus recreation services regularly because it helps improve physical health, personal well-being, and social engagement. The findings of this study will provide campus recreation service administrators with a better understanding of international graduate students’ needs in terms of campus recreation services.

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