scholarly journals Analysis and Evaluation of COVID-19 Web Applications for Health Professionals: Challenges and Opportunities

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Hamid Mukhtar ◽  
Hafiz Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Khan ◽  
Nasim Ullah
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Web Applications ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Online Web

The multidisciplinary nature of the work required for research in the COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for health professionals in the battle against the virus. They need to be equipped with novel tools, applications, and resources—that have emerged during the pandemic—to gain access to breakthrough findings; know the latest developments; and to address their specific needs for rapid data acquisition, analysis, evaluation, and reporting. Because of the complex nature of the virus, healthcare systems worldwide are severely impacted as the treatment and the vaccine for COVID-19 disease are not yet discovered. This leads to frequent changes in regulations and policies by governments and international organizations. Our analysis suggests that given the abundance of information sources, finding the most suitable application for analysis, evaluation, or reporting, is one of such challenges. However, health professionals and policy-makers need access to the most relevant, reliable, trusted, and latest information and applications that can be used in their day-to-day tasks of COVID-19 research and analysis. In this article, we present our analysis of various novel and important web-based applications that have been specifically developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and that can be used by the health professionals community to help in advancing their analysis and research. These applications comprise search portals and their associated information repositories for literature and clinical trials, data sources, tracking dashboards, and forecasting models. We present a list of the minimally essential online, web-based applications to serve a multitude of purposes, from hundreds of those developed since the beginning of the pandemic. A critical analysis is provided for the selected applications based on 17 features that can be useful for researchers and analysts for their evaluations. These features make up our evaluation framework and have not been used previously for analysis and evaluation. Therefore, knowledge of these applications will not only increase productivity but will also allow us to explore new dimensions for using existing applications with more control, better management, and greater outcome of their research. In addition, the features used in our framework can be applied for future evaluations of similar applications and health professionals can adapt them for evaluation of other applications not covered in this analysis.

scholarly journals Analysis and Evaluation of Covid-19 Tools for Health Professionals: Challenges and Opportunities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Mukhtar ◽  
Hafiz Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Khan ◽  
Nasim Ullah
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Rapid Data Acquisition ◽  
Gain Access

The multidisciplinary nature of the work required for research in the Covid-19 pandemic has created new challenges for health professionals in the battle against the virus. They need to be equipped with novel tools and resources ---that have emerged during the pandemic--- to gain access to breakthrough findings, know the latest developments, and to address their specific needs for rapid data acquisition, analysis, evaluation, and reporting. Because of the complex nature of the virus, the healthcare systems worldwide are severely impacted as the treatment and the vaccine for Covid-19 disease are not yet discovered. This leads to frequent changes in regulations and policies by governments and international organizations. Our analysis suggests that given the abundance of information sources, finding the most suitable tool for a given task is one of such challenges. But health professionals and policymakers need access to the most relevant, reliable, trusted, and latest information and tools that can be used in their day-to-day tasks of Covid-19 research and analysis. In this article, we present our analysis of various novel and important tools that have been specifically developed during the Covid-19 pandemic and that can be used by the health professionals community to help in advancing their analysis and research. These tools comprise of search engines, information repositories for literature and clinical trials, data sources, dashboards, and forecasting models. We present list of the minimally essential tools to serve a multitude of purposes, from hundreds of those developed since the beginning of the pandemic. A critical analysis is provided for the selected tools based on 17 parameters that can be useful for researchers and analysts for their evaluations. These parameters make up our evaluation framework and have not been used previously for analysis and evaluation. Hence, knowledge of the tools will not only increase the productivity but will also allow to explore new dimensions for using existing tools with more control, better management, and greater outcome of their research. In addition, the parameters used in our framework can be applied for future evaluations of similar tools and health professionals can adapt them for evaluation of other tools not covered in this analysis.

Method and Lessons from Evaluating the Impact of E-Participation Projects in MOMENTUM

2013 ◽  
pp. 213-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Wimmer ◽  
Melanie Bicking
Keyword(s):  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Methods Of Evaluation ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Participation Process ◽  
Motivation To Participate ◽  
The Impact

Decreasing election turnouts and citizens’ disinterest in democracy galvanized the European Commission (EC) to co-fund a set of e-participation pilot projects. During the runtime of the program, and in particular after the last projects ended in 2010, policy makers at European level were keen to know how well this funding program performed. Hence, the EC also initiated a project called MOMENTUM with the aim to monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of the projects. MOMENTUM designed and performed a systematic comparative analysis of the projects. This chapter presents the impact evaluation framework, which is based on methods of evaluation from empirical research, thereby also reflecting programmatic contexts of the projects. The evaluation framework grounds the interplay of elements of a holistic e-participation solution: the participation process, the topics to discuss, the policy supported, and the technology and tools deployed. The authors present results of the evaluation and demonstrate how attention on the interrelations of these issues affect users’ perception and motivation to participate in an e-participation endeavor. Insights show that the method developed can lead to useful and usable impact analysis and evaluation results. The survey results provide valuable clues to the behavioral intention of the civil society to use e-participation tools and applications. These findings provide not only information on whether and how far the monitored projects are successful but also why they succeeded or failed and how they can be improved.

Method and Lessons from Evaluating the Impact of E-Participation Projects in MOMENTUM

2015 ◽  
pp. 470-491
Author(s):  
Maria A. Wimmer ◽  
Melanie Bicking
Keyword(s):  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Methods Of Evaluation ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Participation Process ◽  
Motivation To Participate ◽  
The Impact

Decreasing election turnouts and citizens' disinterest in democracy galvanized the European Commission (EC) to co-fund a set of e-participation pilot projects. During the runtime of the program, and in particular after the last projects ended in 2010, policy makers at European level were keen to know how well this funding program performed. Hence, the EC also initiated a project called MOMENTUM with the aim to monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of the projects. MOMENTUM designed and performed a systematic comparative analysis of the projects. This chapter presents the impact evaluation framework, which is based on methods of evaluation from empirical research, thereby also reflecting programmatic contexts of the projects. The evaluation framework grounds the interplay of elements of a holistic e-participation solution: the participation process, the topics to discuss, the policy supported, and the technology and tools deployed. The authors present results of the evaluation and demonstrate how attention on the interrelations of these issues affect users' perception and motivation to participate in an e-participation endeavor. Insights show that the method developed can lead to useful and usable impact analysis and evaluation results. The survey results provide valuable clues to the behavioral intention of the civil society to use e-participation tools and applications. These findings provide not only information on whether and how far the monitored projects are successful but also why they succeeded or failed and how they can be improved.

scholarly journals Assessment of Secure OpenID-Based DAAA Protocol for Avoiding Session Hijacking in Web Applications

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
Muhammad Asif ◽  
Abid Bashir
Keyword(s):  
Web Applications ◽  
Authentication Protocol ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Single Sign On ◽  
User Session ◽  
Communication Environment ◽  
Session Hijacking ◽  
Web Developers ◽  
Communication Methods ◽  
Online Web

It is increasingly difficult to manage the user identities (IDs) of rapidly developing and numerous types of online web-based applications in the present era. An innovative ID management system is required for managing the user IDs. The OpenID lightweight protocol is a better solution to manage the user IDs. In an OpenID communication environment, OpenID URL is not secured in a session hijacking situation because in other existing OpenID communication methods such double factor authentication has more chances of valid user session hijacked. The proposed communication protocol secures the OpenID URL with the help of additional innovative parameters such as Special Alphanumeric String (SAS) and Special Security PIN (SSP). The anticipated triple authentication protocol authenticated client unique OpenID URL at OpenID Provider (OP) side once and SAS and SSP field at Relying Party (RP) side. The anticipated protocol provides unique Single-Sign-On (SSO) services to OpenID users. The experimental website is tested by experts of web developers for avoiding session hijacking situation in the presence of hackers. The findings demonstrated that Dense Authentication Authorization and Accounting (DAAA) protocol minimizes the risk of a session hijacking in OpenID communication environment.

Developing computer professionals: Challenges and opportunities

1985 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Bhatnagar ◽  
Nitin R. Patel
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Plan Period ◽  
Computer Professionals ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Increase Productivity

Projections show that there will be an acute shortage of computer professionals over the Seventh Plan period. There is need for stepping up both the quantity and quality of education of computer professionals. The authors assess the nature of the gap between supply and demand highlighting challenges and opportunities for educationists, policy makers, and computer professionals in using computers to increase productivity of capital and software exports.

scholarly journals Potential of Mobile Technology to Relieve the Urgent Mental Health Needs in China: Web-Based Survey (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxi Tan ◽  
Ziwei Teng ◽  
Yan Qiu ◽  
Hui Tang ◽  
Hui Xiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Mobile Mental Health

BACKGROUND With the rapid development of information technology and mobile devices, an increasing number of mobile medical services and platforms have emerged. However, China’s current mental health situation necessitates further discussion and research on how to provide more patient-centered services in the face of many challenges and opportunities. OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the attitudes and preferences of mental health service stakeholders regarding mobile mental health services and discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by mobile technology developers in China. METHODS A web-based survey was conducted by following the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES) checklist. A total of 586 valid questionnaires were collected. Respondents included 184 patients or their family members, 225 mental health professionals, and 177 people from the general population. Data analysis was completed using SPSS 24.0. RESULTS Among the various problems perceived regarding the current mental health medical environment, difficulty in finding appropriate psychologists and limited visit times ranked highest. Social media (n=380/586, 64.9%) was the most preferred platform among all participants, whereas professionals showed a higher preference for smartphone apps (n=169/225, 75.1%). Professional instruction, psychological consultation, and mental health education (ranked top 3) were the most commonly identified needs. Mental health professionals generally emphasized more on treatment-related mobile mental health service needs, especially medication reminders (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>2</sub>=70.7; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), symptom monitoring (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>2</sub>=24.0; <i>P</i>&lt;.001), and access to mental health resources (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>2</sub>=38.6; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). However, patients and their family members focused more on convenient web-based prescriptions (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>2</sub>=7.7; <i>P</i>=.02), with the general population interested in web-based psychological consultation (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>2</sub>=23.1; <i>P</i>&lt;.001) and mental health knowledge (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>2</sub>=9.1; <i>P</i>=.01). Almost half of the participants regarded mobile mental health services as highly acceptable or supported their use, but less than 30% of participants thought mobile mental health services might be very helpful. Concerns about mobile mental health mainly focused on information security. Service receivers also suspected the quality and professionalism of content, and mental health professionals were worried about time and energy consumption as well as medical safety. CONCLUSIONS In terms of service flow, mobile services could be used to expand service time and improve efficiency before and after diagnosis. More individualized mobile mental health service content in more acceptable forms should be developed to meet the various needs of different mental health stakeholders. Multidisciplinary training and communication could be incorporated to facilitate the integration and cooperation of more well-rounded service teams. A standard medical record system and data format would better promote the development of future intelligent medical care. Issues such as ensuring service quality, solving safety risks, and better integrating mobile services with regular medical workflows also need to be addressed.

scholarly journals Potential of Mobile Technology to Relieve the Urgent Mental Health Needs in China: Web-Based Survey

10.2196/16215 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e16215
Author(s):  
Yuxi Tan ◽  
Ziwei Teng ◽  
Yan Qiu ◽  
Hui Tang ◽  
Hui Xiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Mobile Mental Health

Background With the rapid development of information technology and mobile devices, an increasing number of mobile medical services and platforms have emerged. However, China’s current mental health situation necessitates further discussion and research on how to provide more patient-centered services in the face of many challenges and opportunities. Objective This study aims to explore the attitudes and preferences of mental health service stakeholders regarding mobile mental health services and discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by mobile technology developers in China. Methods A web-based survey was conducted by following the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES) checklist. A total of 586 valid questionnaires were collected. Respondents included 184 patients or their family members, 225 mental health professionals, and 177 people from the general population. Data analysis was completed using SPSS 24.0. Results Among the various problems perceived regarding the current mental health medical environment, difficulty in finding appropriate psychologists and limited visit times ranked highest. Social media (n=380/586, 64.9%) was the most preferred platform among all participants, whereas professionals showed a higher preference for smartphone apps (n=169/225, 75.1%). Professional instruction, psychological consultation, and mental health education (ranked top 3) were the most commonly identified needs. Mental health professionals generally emphasized more on treatment-related mobile mental health service needs, especially medication reminders (χ22=70.7; P<.001), symptom monitoring (χ22=24.0; P<.001), and access to mental health resources (χ22=38.6; P<.001). However, patients and their family members focused more on convenient web-based prescriptions (χ22=7.7; P=.02), with the general population interested in web-based psychological consultation (χ22=23.1; P<.001) and mental health knowledge (χ22=9.1; P=.01). Almost half of the participants regarded mobile mental health services as highly acceptable or supported their use, but less than 30% of participants thought mobile mental health services might be very helpful. Concerns about mobile mental health mainly focused on information security. Service receivers also suspected the quality and professionalism of content, and mental health professionals were worried about time and energy consumption as well as medical safety. Conclusions In terms of service flow, mobile services could be used to expand service time and improve efficiency before and after diagnosis. More individualized mobile mental health service content in more acceptable forms should be developed to meet the various needs of different mental health stakeholders. Multidisciplinary training and communication could be incorporated to facilitate the integration and cooperation of more well-rounded service teams. A standard medical record system and data format would better promote the development of future intelligent medical care. Issues such as ensuring service quality, solving safety risks, and better integrating mobile services with regular medical workflows also need to be addressed.

ANALYZING AND IMPROVING WEB APPLICATION QUALITY USING DESIGN PATTERNS

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-116
Author(s):  
Shikha Bhatia ◽  
Mr. Harshpreet Singh
Keyword(s):  
Web Application ◽  
Design Pattern ◽  
Design Patterns ◽  
Web Applications ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Software Systems ◽  
Interactive Software ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Software Application ◽  
Execution Speed

With the mounting demand of web applications, a number of issues allied to its quality have came in existence. In the meadow of web applications, it is very thorny to develop high quality web applications. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a generally stirring problem in software design. It should be noted that design pattern is not a finished product that can be directly transformed into source code. Rather design pattern is a depiction or template that describes how to find solution of a problem that can be used in many different situations. Past research has shown that design patterns greatly improved the execution speed of a software application. Design pattern are classified as creational design patterns, structural design pattern, behavioral design pattern, etc. MVC design pattern is very productive for architecting interactive software systems and web applications. This design pattern is partition-independent, because it is expressed in terms of an interactive application running in a single address space. We will design and analyze an algorithm by using MVC approach to improve the performance of web based application. The objective of our study will be to reduce one of the major object oriented features i.e. coupling between model and view segments of web based application. The implementation for the same will be done in by using .NET framework.

scholarly journals Patterns of use and perceived value of social media for population health among population health stakeholders: a cross-sectional web-based survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwon Yoon ◽  
Sharon Wee ◽  
Vivian S. Y. Lee ◽  
Jing Lin ◽  
Julian Thumboo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Preventive Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Time Investment ◽  
Patterns Of Use

Abstract Background Although existing studies have described patterns of social media use in healthcare, most are focused on health professionals in one discipline. Population health requires a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure diversity and to include diverse stakeholders. To date, what is known about using social media in population health is focused on its potential as a communication tool. This study aims to investigate patterns of use and perceived value of social media usage among stakeholders in population health practice, policy, or research. Methods We conducted a web-based survey of delegates attending the Singapore Population Health Conversations and Workshop. We designed a 24-item questionnaire to assess 1) social media use in terms of type of platform and frequency of use; 2) perceptions of social media relevance and impact on population health; and 3) top three areas in population health that would benefit from social media. We used descriptive and logistic regression analyses to assess the relationships between variables. Results Of the 308 survey respondents, 97.7% reported that they use social media in some form. Messaging (96.8%) was the most dominant activity when using social media. Challenges in implementing social media for population health were time investment by health care professionals (56.2%) and patient adoption (52.9%). The top three population health areas that would benefit most from using social media were the promotion of healthy behaviors (60.7%), community engagement (47.7%), and preventive care (40.6%). Older respondents (> = 40 years) were less likely to view social media as useful for the promotion of healthy behaviors (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.19–0.60). Non-social/healthcare professionals were more likely to consider social media to be useful for community engagement (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.10–2.76). For preventive care, older respondents (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.32–0.82) and non-social/healthcare professionals were less likely to view social media as useful (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.38–0.97). Conclusions Our findings suggest that it may be important to select the specific care areas that would benefit most from using social media. The time investment needed by population health professionals should be fully addressed in planning to maximize the application and potential value of social media.

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