mHealth R&D Activities in Europe

The scope of the chapter is to present a thorough review on the most up to date research and development activities funded by the European Union in the m-health sector and more specifically in the domain of m-Health Innovations for Patient-Centered Care. This review brings to light the latest research directions and trends that are taking place around Europe and the world. The mhealth market is analyzed along with the focusing on the main apps and their classification. Moreover, it presents the trends of the research topics addressed and what are the plans and future activities pushed. The obstacles faced, the pros and cons and the proposed actions, and their match to real life situations are also discussed. The chapter concludes on the current trends and the potential market on m-health solutions and innovations and how they are trying to address the global need for patient-centered care.

Cyberbullying in the World of Teenagers and Social Media

Cyberbullying amongst teenagers is a major issue, due to their increased use of social media. Previous literature surveys have not covered in detail cyberbullying studies in 2014 and cyberbullying risk factors. This literature review explores cyberbullying research areas, such as the use of social media by teenagers, themes from cyberbullying studies carried out since 2012, cyberbullying risk factors and how teenagers deal with cyberbullying incidents. Current cyberbullying studies highlighted issues such as the high volume of cyberbullying incidents in school, increased personal information disclosure on social media, peer influences and the safety of the school environment for both bully and victim. Studies focusing on cyberbullying risk factors raised debates on factors such as whether males or females are most likely to be victims/cyberbullies. Tackling cyberbullying requires awareness, education for actors involved in cyberbullying, development of software to detect cyberbullying and including actors in the monitoring of cyberbullying.

Workforce Development in Behavioral Healthcare and the Increased Use of Technology

The authors present anecdotal and peer reviewed information relative to the increase in use of technology within behavioral healthcare. Emphasis is on education, training, professional community development, and networking aspects of the field. The use of email discussion lists, blogs, conferences, and online training management tools are discussed. The authors define the use of technology in workforce development, build out examples of use, explore different methods of digital discourse, and discuss the challenges of technology implementation in a clinical setting. The authors attempt to provide both sides of the debate as to whether the increased use of technology in workforce development within behavioral healthcare is working while addressing the overall expectation to reduce costs, provide positive outcomes, and increase the skills and knowledge of a diverse workforce. This chapter provides an overall picture of types of technology are offered and a general overview of the benefits and opportunities for improvement specific to the development of the healthcare workforce.

An Investigation of the Role of Using IS/IT in the Delivery of Treatments for ADHD in University Students

Over the last decade, the popularity of incorporating advances in information systems and information technology (IS/IT) has been steadily growing. IS/IT can improve the delivery for better intervention and treatment with many different mental illnesses; however, there appears to be great potential for IS/IT in the context of young adults with mental disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD affects approximately 11% of the university population; negatively impacting students' academic performance, study skills, and social life. The study design outlined in this paper suggests a possibility for the role of IS/IT in the delivery of treatments and management of ADHD in university students to be examined with the view to introduce IS/IT into the traditional treatment context. This research involves collecting data from psychologists in the form of semi-structured interviews and a grounded theory methodology using multiple cases is adopted.

New Concepts, Old Known Issues

Background: Following the growing concern about ‘gaming addiction', the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and numerous scholars have suggested the need for unification and consensus for the assessment of gaming addiction, which is now possible given the recent formal recognition of ‘Internet Gaming Disorder' (IGD) by the APA since its inclusion in the DSM-5. Aims: In light of this, the aim of this chapter is to present the main findings concerning the development of the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test) and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), two newly developed psychometric tools aimed to measure the extent of gaming disorder in online and/or offline players. Conclusions: The present findings support the viability of the two newly developed measures as adequate standardized psychometrically robust tools for assessing internet gaming disorder. Consequently, the new instruments represent the first step towards unification and consensus in the field of gaming studies.

Internet Related Current Issues of E-Learner and Recommended Practical Strategies

The complexity of the Internet has increased the requirement of learner's self-cognition, self-control and self-responsibility when using Internet to learn. Thus, responsibility of e-learner to decide on the validity, reliability and meaningfulness of the information steadily increased. This situation has caused internet related issues such as problematic Internet use, Internet addiction, cognitive overload, disorientation, continuous partial attention and information pollution on the Internet. The purpose of this study is to provide practical strategies for e-learners' Internet related current issues. This study presented in three steps. At the first step, problematic Internet use and addiction, cognitive overload, disorientation, continuous partial attention and Internet information pollution was discussed as Internet related current issues of e-learners. At the second step, increase of Internet literacy, Internet search strategies, using computational knowledge engines, and benefit from Semantic Web presented as practical strategies for e-learners. At the end of study related conclusions provided.

Spirituality

Religion appears to shape the daily lives of most children in America; the influence of religion often serves as a template for making decisions, establishing relationships, comprehending the world, and finding meaning in confusing and/or traumatic situations that children may encounter. To ignore the role of religion and spirituality in behavioral and mental health treatment is to dismiss a central domain of child and adolescent development as well as a potential path to healing. In this chapter, we discuss the role of spirituality and religion in children in rural communities and how they can be integrated into counseling and therapy as a path to healing.

“I Can't Do It by Myself”

The addiction to Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) is a contemporary phenomenon which emerges against the background of the dissolution of traditional communities. The individuals who participate in these games seek sociability and find a variety of options to partake in social life online. For a number of players, their engagement may take on addictive qualities, as characterised by symptoms similar to substance-related addictions. These symptoms include craving, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms as well as significant impairments in different areas of the individuals' lives. The aim of this chapter is to provide a qualitative account of how the fascination with playing MMORPGs can turn into addiction as experienced by clients seeking help in a specialized outpatient treatment centre in Germany. Moreover, it addresses their therapy motivation as indicated by their contemplation about and preparation for action. Five clients are interviewed and the results are analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Implications are discussed.

The Impact of the Model Minority Culture in Higher Education Institutions

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are one of the fastest growing ethnic communities in the United States. Often referred to as the model minority, first coined by William Peterson, in 1966, AAPIs in the U.S. number approximately 15 million and represent more than 100 languages and dialects. However, few studies have investigated psychological consequences of internalizing the model minority. The purpose of this chapter is delve into the other side of the model minority façade, the less glamorous side of model minority, one of the causes of Asian Americans' psychological and mental health issues: the history of model minority, the concept of stereotype, and the various psychological and mental health issues, the reputation of the concept of psychological issues, and mental health services. While there is sacred empirical evidence in the support of the claim that direct causality exists between model minority and psychological and mental health issues, validities and correlations can be established, through the shared classification of diagnosed symptoms.

Online Prevention and Early Intervention in the Field of Psychiatry Using Gamification in Internet Interventions

Many individuals, who suffer from mental disorders, seek professional help late or not at all, which increases the risk of chronification and reduces the chance of recovery. Insufficient services in the place of living, lack of information, shame and fear of stigmatization often prevent seeking help. The potential to reduce these barriers can be seen in anonymous Internet interventions, many of them were proved to be effective. The main problem reported across the studies is low actual use of the programs when disseminated to the public. Gamification and serious computer games is seen to have the potential to increase user satisfaction with Internet interventions, motivation to use the programs and thus affect possible outcomes. We show examples of games targeting mental health improvement and awareness that have been scientifically evaluated. We also provide our experience with the development of a game targeting prevention and early intervention for eating disorders, disseminated in the Czech Republic together with the European prevention program ProYouth.