scholarly journals Smartphones for Vision Rehabilitation: Accessible Features and Apps, Opportunity, Challenges, and Usability Evaluation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suraj Singh Senjam
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Rehabilitation Professionals ◽  
Independent Functioning ◽  
Smart Technologies

In today’s world, digital technology and smartphones have become a part of our everyday lives. Smartphones are one of the most advance forms of digital technology that can be viewed as assistive technology for disabled, including for individual with a visual loss. However, they are often not considered as assistive technology for visual impairment and blind, especially in low middle-income countries. There have been a lot of development in the mobile technology that incorporates computer technology, including electronic information, communication technology as well as touch-screen accessibility. Such an advancement in smart technology of mobile devices leads to the transformation of the interface technique from visual smartphones interaction into a truly eyes-free means interaction by using other body senses, such as haptic, gesture, and sound, etc. These innovative accessible features and applications enhance the accessibility of smartphones significantly to individuals with visual impairment. There are many built-in accessible features and third-party accessible applications that enable to access many useful information and contents in the smartphones. Such aesthetic technology facilitates in performing daily activities, independent functioning, movement, social inclusion and participation, educational activities, accessing information of today’s digital society, sighted help, and finally helps to improve the quality of life. Therefore, these smart technologies make smartphones to serve as assistive technology for people with visual impairment and blindness. The smartphones are visually and physically demanding, and are ubiquitous any time and any place, and user can carry it at everywhere. They are universally design, so less social stigma to the users and less discomfort when using it. To view smartphones as assistive technology universally, healthcare providers, caregivers or rehabilitation professionals need to be informed, and make aware of the beneficial aspect of smartphones and its accessibility. Finally, engineers and developers are continuously fostering to develop more innovative and readily accessible apps for visual impairment. Since single app does not fit all purposes for visual impairment and blind, there is a potential need of developing clinical guidelines on the use of such accessible apps or features that will help to recommend appropriately for various types of functions.

Training-the-Trainer on Assistive Technology for Cognition (ATC): Current Practices

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Ehlhardt Powell ◽  
Tracey Wallace ◽  
Michelle ranae Wild
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Online Training ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Train The Trainer ◽  
Rehabilitation Professionals ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
Training Package ◽  
And Training

Research shows that if clinicians are to deliver effective, evidence-based assistive technology for cognition (ATC) services to clients with acquired brain injury (ABI), they first need opportunities to gain knowledge and experience with ATC assessment and training practices (O'Neil-Pirozzi, Kendrick, Goldstein, & Glenn, 2004). This article describes three examples of train the trainer materials and programs to address this need: (a) a toolkit for trainers to learn more about assessing and training ATC; (b) a comprehensive, trans-disciplinary program for training staff to provide ATC services in a metropolitan area; and (c) an overview of an on-site/online training package for rehabilitation professionals working with individuals with ABI in remote locations.

scholarly journals Disability, Human Resources and Behavioral Economics: The Labour Inclusion Case of Ilunion Hotels of the Costa del Sol (Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7932
Author(s):  
Marco Antonio Cruz-Morato ◽  
Carmen Dueñas-Zambrana ◽  
Josefa García-Mestanza
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Social

The situation of labour inclusion of people with disabilities in Spain is still too negative, in spite of the different efforts carried out by public and private sector. Previous research points to social discrimination as one of the main causes of the situation. Ilunion Hotels is one of the most important hotel companies in Spain focused on labour inclusion of people with disabilities. The objective of this paper is to explore the social inclusion case of Ilunion Hotels of the Costa del Sol, the actions that they have developed to improve the labour integration of this collective, based on a behavioral economics theoretical model (with a high relevance of the influence of social stigma, stress theories and coping to stress responses). We look into the specific situation of two of the three hotels developed as Special Employment Centres (sheltered employment contexts defined by Spanish legislation) and the possible impact of their Support Units for Professional Activity. Case study methodology is considered the most appropriate, according to the research objective, supported by semi-structured interviews with the hotel managers. The results show that, although Special Employment Centres are effective in improving labour integration in the short term and could contribute to change the long-term social perspectives about workers with disabilities, they could be also reinforcing the social stigma existing in the ordinary market.

Social stigma in severe mental illness in Tunisia: Clinical and socio-demographic correlates

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S577-S577 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Ouali ◽  
R. Jomli ◽  
R. Nefzi ◽  
H. Ouertani ◽  
F. Nacef
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionMental patients generally internalize some of the negative conceptions about how most people view them: they might be considered incompetent or untrustworthy or believe that people would not want to hire, or marry someone with mental illness. A lot of research on stigma has been conducted in western countries; however, little is still known on the situation in Arab-Muslim societies.ObjectivesTo evaluate social stigma as viewed by patients suffering from severe mental illness (SMI)MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study on clinically stabilized patients with schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder (BD) according to DSM IV, who were interviewed in our out-patients clinic with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire, containing 8 opinions on the social inclusion and stigmatization of psychiatric patients, with special reference to the local cultural context (e.g.: “It is better to hide mental illness in order to preserve the reputation of my family”)ResultsWe included 104 patients, 51% with schizophrenia and 49% with BD. Mean age was 38.4 years (18–74 years); 59.6% were males. Overall social stigma scores were high. Social stigma in patients was correlated with gender, age, place of residence and diagnosis. Patients with BD showed significantly less social stigma than patients with schizophrenia.ConclusionOur results show the need for a better understanding of this phenomenon in patients with SMI, but also within Tunisian society, in order to elaborate anti stigma strategies adapted to the local context.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Multilevel Privacy Assurance Evaluation of Healthcare Metadata

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 10686
Author(s):  
Syeda Amna Sohail ◽  
Faiza Allah Bukhsh ◽  
Maurice van Keulen
Keyword(s):  
Privacy Preservation ◽  
Process Mining ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Conceptual Modeling ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Privacy Preserving ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Conformance Checking

Healthcare providers are legally bound to ensure the privacy preservation of healthcare metadata. Usually, privacy concerning research focuses on providing technical and inter-/intra-organizational solutions in a fragmented manner. In this wake, an overarching evaluation of the fundamental (technical, organizational, and third-party) privacy-preserving measures in healthcare metadata handling is missing. Thus, this research work provides a multilevel privacy assurance evaluation of privacy-preserving measures of the Dutch healthcare metadata landscape. The normative and empirical evaluation comprises the content analysis and process mining discovery and conformance checking techniques using real-world healthcare datasets. For clarity, we illustrate our evaluation findings using conceptual modeling frameworks, namely e3-value modeling and REA ontology. The conceptual modeling frameworks highlight the financial aspect of metadata share with a clear description of vital stakeholders, their mutual interactions, and respective exchange of information resources. The frameworks are further verified using experts’ opinions. Based on our empirical and normative evaluations, we provide the multilevel privacy assurance evaluation with a level of privacy increase and decrease. Furthermore, we verify that the privacy utility trade-off is crucial in shaping privacy increase/decrease because data utility in healthcare is vital for efficient, effective healthcare services and the financial facilitation of healthcare enterprises.

scholarly journals Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to HIV Stigma and Discrimination Among Healthcare Workers in Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Samir Shah ◽  
Ali Elgalib ◽  
Adil Al-Wahaibi ◽  
Maha Al-Fori ◽  
Prasanna Raju ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Work Experience ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Access To Health Services ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Objectives: Stigma and discrimination undermine the quality of life of people with HIV and their access to health services. This study aimed to assess HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and practices among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Oman. Methods: This cross-sectional study took place between July and November 2016. A questionnaire was distributed to 1,400 government HCWs to determine HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and practices. Results: A total of 1,281 HCWs participated (response rate = 92%). Routine tasks, such as dressing wounds, drawing blood and touching clothes, were a cause of concern for 24–52% of HCWs. Only 69% correctly answered questions regarding the transmission of HIV via eating/drinking and mosquito bites. Compared to other HCWs, doctors had significantly higher knowledge (mean = 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19 to 0.73; P <0.001), attitude (mean = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.31 to 1.24; P = 0.001) and practice (mean = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.59 to 2.55; P <0.001) scores. Expatriates also scored significantly higher in knowledge (mean = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.93 to 1.23; P <0.001), attitude (mean = 1.23, 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.48; P <0.001) and practice (mean = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.34; P <0.001) compared to Omani nationals. Finally, those with >15 years’ work experience scored significantly higher on knowledge (mean = −0.60, 95% CI: −1.12 to −0.08; P = 0.025) and attitude (mean = −0.99, 95% CI: −1.87 to −0.10; P = 0.029) compared to those with less experience. Conclusion: The high rate of HIV-related stigma among HCWs in Oman should be rectified in order to achieve the 90-90-90 target set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.Keywords: HIV; Social Stigma; Social Discrimination; Knowledge; Attitude; Professional Practice; Healthcare Providers; Oman.

scholarly journals Understanding patient health-seeking behaviour to optimise the uptake of cataract surgery in rural Kenya, Zambia and Uganda: findings from a multisite qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stevens Bechange ◽  
Emma Jolley ◽  
Patrick Tobi ◽  
Eunice Mailu ◽  
Juliet Sentongo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cataract Surgery ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Healthcare Delivery System ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Patient Health ◽  
Rural Kenya ◽  
Rural Zambia

Abstract Background Cataract is a major cause of visual impairment globally, affecting 15.2 million people who are blind, and another 78.8 million who have moderate or severe visual impairment. This study was designed to explore factors that influence the uptake of surgery offered to patients with operable cataract in a free-of-charge, community-based eye health programme. Methods Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with patients and healthcare providers in rural Zambia, Kenya and Uganda during 2018–2019. We identified participants using purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was conducted using a combination of an inductive and deductive team-based approach. Results Participants consisted of 131 healthcare providers and 294 patients. Two-thirds of patients had been operated on for cataract. Two major themes emerged: (1) surgery enablers, including a desire to regain control of their lives, the positive testimonies of others, family support, as well as free surgery, medication and food; and (2) barriers to surgery, including cultural and social factors, as well as the inadequacies of the healthcare delivery system. Conclusions Cultural, social and health system realities impact decisions made by patients about cataract surgery uptake. This study highlights the importance of demand segmentation and improving the quality of services, based on patients’ expectations and needs, as strategies for increasing cataract surgery uptake.

scholarly journals Barriers to the early detection and intervention of children with autism spectrum disorders: A literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Fatema Ali Bivarchi ◽  
Vahe Kehyayan ◽  
Sadriya Mohd Al-Kohji
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Long Term Outcomes ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Early Intervention Services

Background and objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how individuals communicate and interact with others. A reliable diagnosis of ASD can be made within the first 24 months of a child’s life, but ASD is usually diagnosed late. Late diagnosis contributes to missed opportunities to provide early intervention services and improve long-term outcomes. The purpose of this project was to identify barriers to early detection and intervention of ASD faced by parents, other caregivers, and health care professionals.Methods: A literature review was conducted. CINAHL, Medline, and PsychINFO databases were used to search for relevant articles. Ten articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected and data from these articles were summarized in a data extraction table and themes were identified.Results: Five main barriers that prevent early diagnosis and intervention of children with ASD were identified. These barriers were lack of knowledge, social stigma, dismissal of parents’ first concerns by healthcare providers, barriers to ASD screening, and access to ASD services.Conclusions: The results of this literature review will inform the development of an educational guide for parents and other caregivers to promote their knowledge and awareness about ASD in children.

scholarly journals MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION AT JAGGED PEAK

10.28945/3557 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 001-016
Author(s):  
Grandon Gill ◽  
Joni Jones
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Web Based ◽  
User Training ◽  
Gift Cards ◽  
Security Challenge ◽  
Security Questions ◽  
Risk Managers

Jeffrey Stiles pondered these seemingly straightforward questions. As IT Director of Jagged Peak, Inc., a developer of e-commerce solutions located in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, it would be his responsibility to oversee the implementation of security measures that went beyond the existing user name and password currently required for each user. Recent events suggested that a move towards increased security might be inevitable. In just the past year, highly publicized security failures at the U.S. Department of Defense, major healthcare providers and large companies, such as Sony and JP Morgan Chase, had made executives acutely aware of the adverse consequences of IT system vulnerabilities. In fact, a study of business risk managers conducted in 2014 found that 69% of all businesses had experienced some level of hacking in the previous year. The nature of Jagged Peak’s business made the security of its systems a particular concern. The company, which had grown rapidly over the years, reporting over $61 million in revenue in 2014, provided its customers with software that supported web-based ordering, fulfillment and logistics activities, built around a philosophy of “buy anywhere, fulfill anywhere, return anywhere”. To support these activities, the company’s Edge platform needed to handle a variety of payment types, including gift cards (a recent target of hackers), as well as sensitive personal identifying information (PII). Compounding the security challenge: each customer ran its own instance of the Edge platform, and managed its own users. When only a single customer was being considered, the addition of further layers of security to authenticate uses was an eminently solvable problem. A variety of alternative approaches existed, including the use of various biometrics, key fobs that provided codes the user could enter, personalized security questions, and many others. The problem was that where multiple customers were involved, it was much more difficult to form a consensus. One customer might object to biometrics because it users lacked the necessary hardware. Another might object to security keys as being too costly, easily stolen or lost. Personalized questions might be considered too failure-prone by some customers. Furthermore, it was not clear that adding additional layers of authentication would necessarily be the most cost-effective way to reduce vulnerability. Other approaches, such as user training might provide greater value. Even if Stiles decided to proceed with additional authentication, questions remained. Mandatory or a free/added-cost option? Developed in house or by a third party? Used for internal systems only, customer platforms only, or both? Implementation could not begin until these broad questions were answered.

scholarly journals Does assistive technology contribute to social inclusion for people with intellectual disability? A systematic review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e017533 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Owuor ◽  
Fiona Larkan ◽  
Bonnix Kayabu ◽  
Geraldine Fitzgerald ◽  
Greg Sheaf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Trinity College Dublin

IntroductionThe aim of this review is to answer the following question:Does assistive technology contribute to social inclusion for people with intellectual disability?Previous research on assistive technology has focused on socioeconomic impacts such as education, employment and access to healthcare by people with intellectual disability. There is a need to consolidate evidence on the interaction between intellectual disability, assistive technology, community living and social inclusion.Methods and analysisThe review will consider studies from all settings: geographical, socioeconomic and care (institutional and community care), published in English. Studies reported in other languages with abstracts in English will be included if they can be translated using Google Translate, otherwise such studies will be included in the appendix. The review will include both qualitative and quantitative studies. The intervention in this review refers to the use of assistive technology to promote community participation or interpersonal relationships (social inclusion) for people with intellectual disability. The outcomes will be behavioural and social benefits of using assistive technology by people with intellectual disability. Enhanced interpersonal relationships and community participation by people with intellectual disability. Data analysis will be in two phases. The first phase will involve analysis of individual study designs separately. The second phase will be narrative/thematic synthesis of all study groups.EthicsThe review will not create any ethical or safety concerns.DisseminationAt least one peer-reviewed article in a leading journal such as theBMJis planned. The findings will also be disseminated through a seminar session involving internal audience at Trinity College Dublin and within the Assistive Technologies for people with Intellectual Disability and Autism research programme.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017065447; Pre-results.

CYBERSECURITY ARCHITECTURE FOR THE INTERNET OF MEDICAL THINGS AND CONNECTED DEVICES USING BLOCKCHAIN

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150013
Author(s):  
Muhammad Elsayeh ◽  
Kadry Ali Ezzat ◽  
Hany El-Nashar ◽  
Lamia Nabil Omran
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Security Architecture ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Huge Data ◽  
Internet Of Medical Things

The internet of medical things (IoMT) has a great role in improving the health around the world. IoMT is having a great impact in our life in which the clinical data of the patient is observed and checked and then can be transferred to the third party for using in the future such as the cloud. IoMT is a huge data system with a continuous developing rate, which implies that we should keep a lot of data secure. We propose a combined security architecture that fuses the standard architecture and new blockchain technology. Blockchain is a temper digital ledger which gives peer-to-peer communication and provides communication between non-trust individuals. Using standard in-depth strategy and blockchain, we are able to develop a method to collect vital signs data from IoMT and connected devices and use blockchain to store and retrieve the collected data in a secure and decentralized fashion within a closed system, suitable for healthcare providers such as private clinics, hospitals, and healthcare organizations were sharing data with each other is required. Right now initially examine the innovation behind Blockchain then propose IoMT-based security architecture utilizing Blockchain to guarantee the security of information transmission between associated nodes. Experimental analysis shows that the proposed scheme presents a non-significant overhead; yet it brings major advantages to meet the standard security and privacy requirements in IoMT.

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