A systematic review on reminder systems in physical therapy

Codesigning an E-Health Intervention for Surgery Preparation and Recovery

Surgery is a significant part of healthcare, but its demand is increasing, leading to challenges in managing patient care. Inefficient perioperative practices and traditional linear models contribute to adverse outcomes and patient anxiety. E-health interventions show promise in improving surgical care, but more research is needed. The purpose of this study was to involve patients and healthcare workers during the design phase of an e-health intervention that aims to support the perioperative care of elective surgery preparation and recovery. This study used an Information Systems Research Framework to guide collaborative codesign through semistructured interviews and cocreation workshops. Semistructured interviews collected insights on the perioperative journey and e-health needs from healthcare workers and consumers, resulting in the creation of a patient surgery journey map, experience map, and a stakeholder needs table. Collaborative work between consumers and healthcare workers in the cocreation workshops identified priority perioperative journey issues and proposed solutions, as well as prioritizing application software needs, guiding the development of the wireframe. The development of an e-health application aimed at supporting surgery preparation and recovery is a significant step toward improving patient engagement, satisfaction, and postsurgical health outcomes.

Mobile health apps for pregnant women usability and quality rating scales: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

This study is to identify the apps used by pregnant women during the technology era and to choose the best app from the point of view of pregnant women and experts.

METHODS

The article is a research article that uses PRISMA flowchart. Given that there are many apps in the field of pregnancy and due to technological advances, the articles of the last 13 years that have been scientifically published in the databases of Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct have been analyzed. The most widely used and, at the same time, the best app is introduced in terms of its high usability in users' attitude. Finally, Apps will be compared in terms of accuracy, precision, and usability of the dimensions of Jacob Nielsen's five principles.

RESULTS

According to the search strategy, 23 articles were identified qualitatively by reviewing both authors. Then, the types of apps were divided into three general categories, pregnant entertainment apps, pregnant information apps, and monitoring apps for mothers' physical health. Finally, 10 apps were selected and the Amila app was introduced as the best due to its high usability (Effectiveness %66.66) and users' satisfaction or women's choice (%98).

CONCLUSION

Using trusted apps to maintain their health and reduce traffic will be very important. Given that this research article was written with the aim of choosing the best app, that not only provides the required information to mothers, but also the ability to interact with doctors and specialists.

Developing a Content Model of a Mobile-Based Application to Manage Patients with Low-Back and Neck Pain

Introduction

As a complementary tool in health, the design of mobile applications to influence care and increase awareness of patients has grown a lot. The purpose of this study is to design and validate the content model of a mobile-based application for managing patients with low-back and neck pain.

Methods

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in two main stages to determine the content model of the application. The first stage consisted of three steps: finding the right exercise, determining the right scale to assess the pain intensity, and determining the appropriate features of the application. In the second stage, data elements collected from the previous stage were prepared in the form of a questionnaire that was given to 12 experts in physical therapy and sports medicine for validation. After collecting the questionnaire, data elements in all parts were analyzed based on the content validity ratio (CVR) and descriptive statistics indicators.

Result

The content of the application was prepared in the three axes of exercises for low-back and neck pain, assessment of pain intensity, and features of the application. In the axis of sports exercises, 8 exercises for back pain and 3 exercises for neck pain were included according to the reference books. A Functional Rating Index (FRI) scale with 10 elements was selected in the axis of determining pain intensity. Also, 12 features such as the daily exercise section, using the animation, and using an audio file to explain how to do exercises were included in the model.

Conclusion

According to the gaps identified in the existing applications, determining the content model of the application that is based on evidence and according to the opinion of experts is useful in improving the apps. The content model of this study was presented in 3 axes to increase the patient's willingness to do exercises, the correct way to perform exercises, conservative treatment, and check the progress of the treatment. The software developers can use these findings as a basis for designing new apps to manage low-back pain and neck pain.

User evaluation of a novel SMS-based reminder system for supporting post-stroke rehabilitation

Background

According to WHO stroke is a growing societal challenge and the third leading cause of global disease-burden estimated using disability-adjusted life years. Rehabilitation after stroke is an area of mutual interest for health care in many countries. Within the health care sector there is a growing emphasis on ICT services to provide clients with easier access to information, self-evaluation, and self-management. ICT-supported care programs possible to use in clients’ home environments are also recommended when there are long distances to the health care specialists.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical usability of a SMS-based reminder system as well as user opinions when using such a system to assist clients to remember to perform daily rehabilitation activities, to rate their performance and to allow Occupational therapists (OT’s) to track and follow-up clients’ results over time.

Methods

Fifteen persons with stroke were invited to participate in the study and volunteered to receive daily SMS-based reminders regarding three activities to perform on a daily basis as well as answer daily SMS-based questions about their success rate during eight weeks. Clients, a number of family members, as well as OTs were interviewed to evaluate their opinions of using the reminder system.

Results

All clients were positive to the reminder system and felt that it helped them to regain their abilities. Their OTs agreed that the reminder and follow-up system was of benefit in the rehabilitation process. However, some technical and other issues were limiting the use of the system for some clients. The issues were mostly linked to the fact that the SMS system was based on a Swedish phone number, so that all messages needed to be sent internationally.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it seems that this type of SMS-based reminder systems could be of good use in the rehabilitation process after stroke, even in low income counties where few clients have access to Internet or smart phones, and where access to healthcare services is limited. However, since the results are based on clients’, OTs’ and family members’ expressed beliefs, we suggest that future research objectively investigate the intervention’s beneficial effects on the clients’ physical and cognitive health.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12911-019-0847-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.