Association between Mobile App Use and Caregivers’ Support System, Time Spent on Caregiving, and Perceived Well-being: A Survey Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pelin Ozluk ◽  
Rebecca Cobb ◽  
Alyson Hoots ◽  
Gosia Sylwestrzak
Keyword(s):  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Support System ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
System Time ◽  
Health And Well Being

BACKGROUND Caregiving is a vast and growing social issue. High levels of caregiver burden is associated with an increased risk of health problems as well as emotional and financial strain in caregivers. Using mobile technology to address caregiver needs has been on the rise; however, there is limited evidence on caregiver experience and outcomes of using such technologies. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the association between using a mobile app that facilitates coordinating caregiving tasks (i.e., meal preparation, respite care, pet care, transportation) among a caregiver’s personal support network on outcomes related to the caregiver’s support system, time use (measures of caregiver’s time-spent on caregiving tasks and how much time they had to take off from work to attend planned and/or unplanned caregiving tasks), perceived productivity, and perceived health and well-being. METHODS We conducted two surveys of caregivers to assess the within-participant change in outcomes for caregivers after six-week use of the mobile app (n=176) between March 30, 2020 and May 11, 2020. The surveys contained questions about outcomes in the following three domains: (i) caregiver’s support system, (ii) time use and perceived productivity, (iii) perceived health and well-being. We present results from the linear probability models and two-sided paired t-tests. RESULTS App use was significantly associated with decreasing the probability of doing more than half of the caregiving tasks alone by 9.1 percentage points (SE=0.04; P<0.05) and increasing the probability of at least one person helping the primary caregiver by 8.0 percentage points (SE=0.035; P<0.05). The app use was also associated with improving time use of the primary caregiver who took significantly less time off work to attend to caregiving by 12.5 percentage points (SE=0.04; P<0.01) and decreased the probability of spending more than 30 hours weekly on caregiving by 9.1 percentage points (SE=0.04; P<0.05). Other findings on the positive impact of the app included a decrease in the probability of reporting feeling overwhelmed by caregiving tasks by 12.5 percentage points (SE 0.04; P=.003) and a decrease in the probability of reporting negative health effects due to caregiving by 6.8 percentage points (SE 0.04; P=.07). CONCLUSIONS App use was associated with improvements in seven of eleven caregiver outcomes: their support system, time spent on caregiving, as well as perceived health and well-being. These findings provide encouraging evidence that the mobile app evaluated can significantly reduce caregiver burden through leveraging a caregiver’s support network.

Supporting Students' Mental Health and Academic Success Through Mobile App and IoT

2019 ◽  
pp. 703-719
Author(s):  
Karolina Baras ◽  
Luísa Soares ◽  
Carla Vale Lucas ◽  
Filipa Oliveira ◽  
Norberto Pinto Paulo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Young People ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Management Guidelines ◽  
Health And Well Being

Smartphones have become devices of choice for running studies on health and well-being, especially among young people. When entering college, students often face many challenges, such as adaptation to new situations, establish new interpersonal relationships, heavier workload and shorter deadlines, teamwork assignments and others. In this paper, the results of four studies examining students' well-being and mental health as well as student's perception of challenges and obstacles they face during their academic journey are presented. In addition, a mobile application that acts as a complement to a successful tutoring project implemented at the authors' University is proposed. The application allows students to keep their schedules and deadlines in one place while incorporating virtual tutor features. By using both, the events from the student's calendar and his or her mood indicators, the application sends notifications accordingly. These notifications encompass motivational phrases, time management guidelines, as well as relaxation tips.

scholarly journals Social determinants of health and well-being among municipal school children in Mumbai

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Yasmeen K. Kazi ◽  
Anita G. Shenoy ◽  
Gajanan D. Velhal ◽  
Suresh D. Mate ◽  
Sudam R. Suryawanshi
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Risk Behaviour ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Preventive Action ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Well Being

Background: HBSC seeks to identify and explore the extent of the inequalities related to socioeconomic status (SES), age and gender among the younger age group, and highlight the need for preventive action. Hence, this study was carried out, to find out the social context as a determinant of their health and well-being. The objectives of the study were to study the socio-demographic characteristics of the students; to find the social determinants and its association with their perceived health outcomes.Methods: The study was carried out among 426 Municipal school students in Mumbai. They were enquired about their socio demographic characteristics, their personal habits and behaviour, relationship with their parents, siblings and friends, performance in school, academic pressures, and also about any health related complaints if they had. Results: The study shows less communication of students with their parents, more so with their fathers’. Students were seen to have more friends and would also spend more time with them, especially boys. Academic achievement was better among girls and those from less affluent families and it also showed a dip in the higher age groups. Regular consumption of breakfast, fruits, vegetables was seen less among girls and older students. Boys and those from less affluent families were seen to be more involved in high risk behaviour. Conclusions: All the factors mentioned in the study are shown to have adverse effects on the perceived health outcome of the students. These social factors need to be addressed to improve the health and well-being of the younger generations. 

scholarly journals Comparisons of Social Support and Social Networks in Homeless and Vulnerably Housed Women

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Stephanie Rattelade ◽  
Susan Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Homeless Women ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Social Support Network ◽  
Housing Status ◽  
Health And Well Being

Social support is closely connected to mental health and well-being as well as experiences of housing vulnerability. This study explored differences between homeless and vulnerably housed women in their experiences of social support. Forty-nine homeless and 43 vulnerably housed women completed 3 measures to assess their social networks, social support networks, and global social support. Vulnerably housed women reported fewer social support network members than homeless women. Social support network size was found to be a predictor of global social support score. These findings suggest that housing status impacts social support in homeless and vulnerably housed women, which may have implications for their well-being.

scholarly journals Co-Designing a Mobile Application to Improve Mental Health and Well-being: Focus Group Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felwah Alqahtani ◽  
Andrea Winn ◽  
Rita Orji
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
End Users ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Relaxation Exercises ◽  
Health And Well Being

BACKGROUND Recent advances in mobile technology have created opportunities to develop mobile applications (apps) to aid and assist people in achieving various health and wellness goals. Mental health apps hold significant potential to assist people suffering from various mental health issues at any time they may need it, considering the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones. However, there is a need for research exploring and understanding end-users’ perceptions, needs, and concerns with respect to such technologies. OBJECTIVE The goal of this paper is to explore the opinions, perceptions, preferences, and experiences of people who have experienced some forms of mental health issues based on self-diagnosis to inform the design of a next-generation mental health app that would be significantly more engaging and effective than currently available apps at improving mental health and well-being. METHODS We conducted six focus-group sessions with people who have experienced mental health issues based on self-diagnosis (Average age= 26.7, N = 32, 50% male, 50% female). We asked participants about their experiences with mental health issues and their viewpoints regarding two existing mental health apps (Happify app and the Self-Help Anxiety Management app). Finally, participants engaged in a design session where they each sketched a design for their ideal mental health and well-being mobile app. RESULTS Our findings revealed that participants used some strategies to deal with their mental health issues: 1) doing something to distract themselves from their current negative mood, 2) using relaxation exercises and methods to relieve symptoms, 3) interacting with others to share their issues, 4) looking for an external source to solve their problem, and 5) motivating themselves by repeating motivational sentences to support themselves or by following inspirational people. Moreover, regarding the design of mental health apps, participants identified that 1) general design characteristics, 2) personalization of the app, including 3) tracking and feedback, 4) live support, and 5) social community, and providing 6) motivational content and 7) relaxation exercises are the most important features users want in a mental health app. In contrast, including 8) games, 9) relaxation audio, 10) the Google map function, 11) personal assistance to provide suggestions, 12) goal setting, and 13) privacy preserving were surprisingly the least requested features. CONCLUSIONS Understanding end-users’ needs and concerns about mental health apps will inform the future design of mental health apps that are useful and used by many people. CLINICALTRIAL

Supporting Students' Mental Health and Academic Success Through Mobile App and IoT

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Karolina Baras ◽  
Luísa Soares ◽  
Carla Vale Lucas ◽  
Filipa Oliveira ◽  
Norberto Pinto Paulo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Young People ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Management Guidelines ◽  
Health And Well Being

Smartphones have become devices of choice for running studies on health and well-being, especially among young people. When entering college, students often face many challenges, such as adaptation to new situations, establish new interpersonal relationships, heavier workload and shorter deadlines, teamwork assignments and others. In this paper, the results of four studies examining students' well-being and mental health as well as student's perception of challenges and obstacles they face during their academic journey are presented. In addition, a mobile application that acts as a complement to a successful tutoring project implemented at the authors' University is proposed. The application allows students to keep their schedules and deadlines in one place while incorporating virtual tutor features. By using both, the events from the student's calendar and his or her mood indicators, the application sends notifications accordingly. These notifications encompass motivational phrases, time management guidelines, as well as relaxation tips.

Exploration of individualized goals and ergonomic modifications to address sedentary behaviors and perceived health and well-being among office workers

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Allison Naber ◽  
Logan Willhite ◽  
Whitney Lucas Molitor
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Sedentary Behavior ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Office Workers ◽  
Sedentary Behaviors ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

BACKGROUND: Office workers spend significant time in sedentary behaviors. Exploration of interventions to address this concern is warranted. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the impact of individualized goals and ergonomic modifications on sedentary behaviors and perceived health and well-being among office workers. METHODS: A six-week, one-group, pre- and post-test design was utilized to assess sedentary behaviors and perceptions of health and well-being among office workers using the RAND 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36), Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), actigraphy, and a workstation assessment. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements were noted from pre- to post-test on the RAND SF-36 for energy/fatigue (p = 0.000) and emotional well-being (p = 0.049) and subjective sleep quality using the PSQI (p = 0.005). Participants (n = 17) could set up to two goals related to health and well-being. A majority of the 31 established goals were met: increase physical activity (n = 11/16), reduce sedentary behavior (n = 8/11), and improve personal health (n = 3/4). CONCLUSIONS: The use of individualized goals and ergonomic modifications is effective for addressing perceived health and well-being among office workers. However, limited statistical significance was found regarding the impact of these interventions on sedentary behaviors or activity levels.

scholarly journals The Community Health Supporting Environments and Residents’ Health and Well-Being: The Role of Health Literacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7769
Author(s):  
Tianfeng He ◽  
Lefan Liu ◽  
Jing Huang ◽  
Guoxing Li ◽  
Xinbiao Guo
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Excellent Health ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
Health And Well Being

We evaluate the impacts that health supporting environments have on residents’ health and well-being. Using a stratified multi-stage sampling method, we select a sample of 12,360 permanent adult residents aged 15–69, and collect information on their health literacy level, as well as their demographic background and health. This individual level data is then merged with the administrative health supporting environment data. More than two thirds of residents self-reported having good/excellent health, and the percent of adults living in communities with healthy parks, healthy trails, and healthy huts in their community is 23 percent, 43 percent, and 25 percent, respectively. Controlling for a series of confounding factors at the community and individual levels, we find that healthy parks and healthy trails are positively correlated with self-reported health, which increases the probability of self-reporting good health by 2.0 percentage points (p < 0.10) and 6.0 percentage points (p < 0.01), respectively. Access to healthy huts is negatively associated with self-reported health, decreasing the probability of self-reporting good health by 5.0 percentage points (p < 0.01). Health literacy plays a role in moderating the effect of health parks, and a positive effect is more likely to be observed among adults with lower health literacy. Health supporting environments may play a role in reducing the likelihood of undiagnosed diseases and changing residents’ lifestyles, which promotes the health and well-being of residents, especially among those with inadequate health literacy.

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