Developing a Multiprofessional Mobile App to Enhance Health Habits in Older Adults: User-Centered Approach

BACKGROUND

Although comprehensive lifestyle habits are crucial for healthy aging, their adherence tends to decline as individuals grow older. Sustaining a healthy life over time poses a motivational challenge. Some digital tools, such as smartphone apps aimed at promoting healthy habits, have been used to counteract this decline. However, a more profound investigation is necessary into the diverse experiences of users, particularly when it concerns older adults or those who are unfamiliar with information and communications technologies.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to develop a mobile app focused on promoting the health of older adults based on the principles of software engineering and a user-centered design. The project respected all ethical guidelines and involved the participation of older adults at various stages of the development of the app.

METHODS

This study used a mixed methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative methodologies for data collection. The study was conducted in Ribeirão Prêto, São Paulo, Brazil, and involved 20 older adults of both genders who were aged ≥60 years and enrolled in the Physical Education Program for the Elderly at the University of São Paulo. The research unfolded in multiple phases, encompassing the development and refinement of the app with active engagement from the participants.

RESULTS

A total of 20 participants used a mobile health app with an average age of 64.8 (SD 2.7) years. Most participants had a high school education, middle-class status, and varying health literacy (mean score 73.55, SD 26.70). Overall, 90% (18/20) of the participants owned smartphones. However, 20% (4/20) of the participants faced installation challenges and 30% (6/20) struggled with web-based searches. The focus groups assessed app usability and satisfaction. Adjustments increased satisfaction scores significantly (Suitability Assessment of Materials: 34.89% to 70.65%; System Usability Scale: 71.23 to 87.14). Participant feedback emphasized font size, navigation, visual feedback, and personalization, and suggestions included health device integration, social interaction, and in-app communication support.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to the development of health care technologies tailored to the older adult population, considering their specific needs. It is anticipated that the resulting app will serve as a valuable tool for promoting healthy habits and enhancing the quality of life for older adults.

Sustainable integration of digitalisation in nursing education-an international scoping review

Introduction

Trainees and teachers at nursing schools as well as nursing professionals are increasingly facing new challenges as a result of the digital transformation. Opportunities for the entire care system exist in the improvement of care quality and communication between those involved. However, this change also harbours risks, such as the use of immature digital applications in the care sector, data theft and industrial espionage. In order to be able to exploit the potential of digitalisation despite these risks, it is necessary to integrate relevant aspects such as digital skills into nursing training. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which the sustainable integration of digitalisation in nursing education is discussed.

Methods

The methods of the systematic literature and database search were carried out in the form of a scoping review according to the PRISMA scheme. The PubMed and CINAHL databases were used for this purpose. The search period covered the years 2017-2023.

Findings

After screening the titles and abstracts using inclusion and exclusion criteria, 13 studies were included in the synthesis of findings. The international literature focuses on content areas that highlight trends in digitalisation-related training in nursing. These focal points include concept development, considering the heterogeneity of demand constellations, as well as the reflexive reorientation of existing competences, whereby the technological competence of teachers is not disregarded. Other focal points relate to the initiation of digital skills in training and maintaining the employability of older nursing staff through professional development.

Discussion

The literature research shows that there is a rudimentary discussion about digitalisation and curricular developments in nursing training in an international context, while the discourse in the German-language literature is less advanced. Among the sustainability desiderata derived from the literature is the involvement of nursing professionals in the development, testing and implementation of digital technologies. Only through active cooperation between nursing professionals and nursing sciences can the topic of digitalisation be integrated into the education and training of professional nursing in a targeted and future-oriented manner, whereby the focus should always be on the ability to deal with digital technologies and the associated change.

Diagnosing homo digitalis: towards a standardized assessment for digital tool competencies

Introduction

In the 21st century, digital devices have become integral to our daily lives. Still, practical assessments designed to evaluate an individual's digital tool competencies are absent. The present study introduces the "Digital Tools Test" ("DIGI"), specifically designed for the evaluation of one's proficiency in handling common applications and functions of smartphones and tablets. The DIGI assessment has been primarily tailored for prospective use among older adults and neurological patients with the latter frequently suffering from so-called apraxia, which potentially also affects the handling of digital tools. Similar to traditional tool use tests that assess tool-selection and tool-action processes, the DIGI assessment evaluates an individual's ability to select an appropriate application for a given task (e.g., creating a new contact), their capacity to navigate within the chosen application and their competence in executing precise and accurate movements, such as swiping.

Methods

We tested the implementation of the DIGI in a group of 16 healthy adults aged 18 to 28 years and 16 healthy adults aged 60 to 74 years. All participants were able to withstand the assessment and reported good acceptance.

Results

The results revealed a significant performance disparity, with older adults displaying notably lower proficiency in the DIGI. The DIGI performance of older adults exhibited a correlation with their ability to employ a set of novel mechanical tools, but not with their ability to handle a set of familiar common tools. There was no such correlation for the younger group.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study introduces an innovative assessment tool aimed at evaluating common digital tool competencies. Our preliminary results demonstrate good acceptance and reveal expected group differences. For current cohorts of older adults, the results seem to indicate that the ability to use novel tools may aid digital tool use. In the next step, the psychometric properties of the DIGI assessment should be evaluated in larger and more diverse samples. The advancement of digital tool competency assessments and rehabilitation strategies is essential when we aim at facilitating societal inclusion and participation for individuals in affected populations.

Implementation of a digital health module for undergraduate medical students: A comparative study on knowledge and attitudes

BACKGROUND

Digital competencies are more and more required in everyday work, and training future healthcare professionals in digital health is highly important.

OBJECTIVE

Aim of this study was to assess medical students' gain of knowledge by participation in a teaching module "Digital Health", and to evaluate their attitudes towards digital health and its role in medical education.

METHODS

Students of the module were asked to complete a questionnaire and a multiple-choice-test before and after completing the classes. Students of the same educational level in different modules served as reference group.

RESULTS

34 students took part (n= 17 "Digital Health group"; n= 17 "reference group"). There was no significant difference in pre-existing knowledge between the groups. After having completed the module, participants reached significantly higher scores, compared to their preexisting knowledge (p< 0.05) and the reference group (p< 0.05). Most students found that digital medicine is not sufficiently represented in undergraduate medical education, but will influence everyday work of physicians in the next five years.

CONCLUSIONS

Students showed a high awareness for the impact of digital health on physicians' work. The results suggest that the format can sufficiently transfer knowledge about digital health. Teaching of digital knowledge and competencies should be firmly implemented into medical education to form digitally competent future doctors.

Teaching Digital Medicine in a Virtual Classroom: Impacts on Student Mindset and Competencies

Digital competencies, as well as knowledge about digital medicine, are becoming increasingly relevant but are rarely reflected in teaching concepts at universities. One reason for this is probably the fact that they are not yet part of the curricula in many areas or countries (such as medicine in Germany). Therefore, courses that address digital competencies and intend to impart knowledge about digital medicine are not subject to any curricular specifications and have a correspondingly broad range of possible designs. This article reports findings from an investigation on an interdisciplinary and cross-faculty course on digital medicine. An online questionnaire was used to assess student attitudes toward digital medicine topics and conduct self-assessments of their digital competencies before and after the course. The aim of this study was to test whether such a course could influence students' attitudes and competencies. Group comparisons revealed statistically significant changes. They proved that the described course and its content regarding digital transformation in healthcare and digital medicine had an impact on digital competencies and participant opinions on digital topics. In order to teach students important competencies for the 21st century, universities should offer more courses that address digital transformation and support students in improving their competencies.

A study on the relationship between mindfulness and work performance of web editors: Based on the chain mediating effect of workplace spirituality and digital competencies

Introduction

Based on the job demands-resources model, this study aims to explore the relationship between mindfulness in web editors, work performance, workplace spirituality, and digital competencies.

Methods

Online data from the Tencent Questionnaire Platform was used to examine the proposed research model. We distributed questionnaires to new media companies, and a total of 431 valid questionnaires were collected.

Results and Discussion

The results suggested that mindfulness in web editors can improve workplace spirituality, digital competencies, and work performance. In addition, workplace spirituality was found to act as a mediator between mindfulness and work performance. And, digital competencies did not play a mediating role between mindfulness and work performance, but workplace spirituality and digital competencies played a chain mediating role between mindfulness and work performance. The study explained the internal impact mechanism of mindfulness on work performance in web editors, and proposed methods to improve mindfulness, revealing the chain mediating role of workplace spirituality and digital competencies in the impact of mindfulness on work performance, which might provide new insights into existing research. It can provide a reference for new media companies to manage the team of web editors and improve the work performance of web editors.

“Do You Think You Have What it Takes?” – Exploring Predictors of Pre-Service Teachers’ Prospective ICT Use

Despite extensive efforts to support teachers with the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into their classroom practice, current research reports that teachers face immense challenges when integrating ICT into their teaching. This issue has become even more relevant with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, forcing schools around the world to close for an indefinite period of time and thus to offer remote digital learning solutions. Against this background, this study focused on examining the predictors of pre-service teachers’ prospective ICT use and investigated the heterogeneous results of previous research related to ICT use and gender. Following the ‘will, skill, tool’ framework, the study examined relevant factors of pre-service teachers’ (N = 103) prospective ICT use for teaching and learning processes by means of multiple regression analyses. The analyses included pre-service teachers’ background characteristics, ICT profiles (attitudes and self-efficacy), digital competencies and use of digital tools in order to explore their role in future in-class use of ICT. They also show that there are no gender differences in pre-service teachers’ prospective ICT integration. However, male pre-service teachers hold more positive attitudes towards ICT use than their female counterparts. Additionally, the findings reveal that the two strongest predictors of pre-service teachers’ future ICT use are their attitudes and perceived competency to teach and implement technology in their teaching practices. Finally, the results provide important information about teachers’ training needs. Implications of the results and further research are discussed.

Students’ attitudes towards searching, evaluating, and sharing Covid-19 related information

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus challenged our everyday life and habits developed in our work and living environment. The highly contagious disease has led the whole world to unprecedented business, humanitarian and human challenges. But, as always, any risk can be recognized as a new opportunity. Thus, people around the world have redefined their understanding of health and well-being. However, it is important to recognize that people across the world and in different industries will continue to take advantage of this large-scale experiment caused by the pandemic and may choose to rethink established concepts, habits, and policies. This paper aims to explore students’ Covid-19 digital health literacy (HL) at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". A standardized questionnaire and scale were used, which aims in providing the ability to compare the results with other students from other countries, and specialties. The results so far show students reported high levels of digital HL, and an ability to use various sources of information. Our students have strong skills in searching for information; use reasonable criteria to perceive the information, but face some issues when sharing information on social media. The collected results can be used as an instrument to evaluate the current state and propose steps for the future improvement of lifelong learning priorities, both for students and the general public.

Life Satisfaction and Academic Engagement in Chileans Undergraduate Students of the University of Atacama

The growing problem of mental health in the university population, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, has generated the need to consider positive variables to address this situation. Life satisfaction and academic engagement are two constructs that emerge as conceptual tools oriented in this direction. The present study sought to describe the effect of academic engagement on life satisfaction in a sample of Chilean university students. A cross-sectional co-relational design was used. A total of 370 university students participated, 72.4% female and 27.6% male, aged beitive effect of engagement on life satisfaction was demonstrated, where the dimensions vigor (β = 0.462; p < 0.01) and dedication (β = 0.465; p < 0.01) acted as significant predictors (χ² = 87.077, gl = 32, p < 0.01; χ²/gl = 2.721; CFI = 975; TLI = 0.964; RMSEA = 0.068). The proposed model showed factorial invariance according to sex. The usefulness of employing these constructs as a way to manage the well-being and mental health of students in university institutions is discussed.

Role of digitalization, digital competence, and parental support on performance of sports education in low-income college students

Educational institutions have failed to achieve desired goals due to the lack of technology adoption, and this situation needs researchers' emphasis. Hence, the current study examines the impact of digitalization and digital competencies among students on the educational performance of low-income college students in China. The article also investigates the moderating impact of parental support at the nexus of digitalization, digital competencies among students, and educational performance in low-income college students in China. The questionnaires were used by the researchers to gather the data from the selected respondents. The article has applied the smart-PLS to check the linkage among understudy constructs and test the hypotheses. The results revealed that digitalization and digital competencies among students positively link educational performance. The results also exposed that parental support significantly moderates digitalization, digital competencies, and educational performance in low-income college students in China. This article helps policymakers develop policies to improve educational performance using technology adoption.

Transferring Healthcare Professional's Digital Competencies to the Workplace and Patients: A Pilot Study

The new times, marked by immediacy, globalization, and technological advances, has forced health professionals to develop new competencies to adapt to the new challenges. However, necessary skills such as using digital tools are primarily ignored by institutions, hospitals, and universities, forcing professionals to undertake training in these areas independently. This research aims to analyse if there is a transfer of what has been learned in the digital healthcare field to their professional practice and patients. To perform the study, 104 healthcare professionals, mostly nurses, who had completed online training in digital competencies answered a questionnaire with 17 questions. These questions were related to the transfer of learning to professional practice and its use for developing patient resources. Almost 60% of the professionals said that they have used what they learned in the course in their professional work, but only 16% of the participants use it daily. The main barrier to not having applied what was learned during the course, according to participants, was the situation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a lack of time and lack of resources. Only 23 people out of 104 developed patient resources after the course; the most created were infographics and videos. In addition, 38 people used what they learned to improve their personal productivity: searches, storage, calendars, etc. Only 11 used it for research purposes. People between 31 and 40 years old create the most patient resources and use what they learn most frequently. There is a need to improve e-learning to provide quality training that can transfer good behaviour to professional practice in the health field.

[Development of digital competencies of medical staff in the context of the overall digitalization of the Russian healthcare]

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the Russian healthcare in terms of the pace and quality of digitalization lags behind the healthcare systems of other developed and developing countries. The low level of digital literacy of medical staff does not allow them to develop the proper level of competencies for working with high-tech equipment, software applications and various telemedicine services. This, in turn, reduces both the quality and efficiency of medical care for the population. The purpose of the article is to develop a profile of digital competence of medical staff. The methodology of the article is based on the use of methods of statistical analysis of public data and sociological research. The sample of the sociological study was formed from medical staff in the regions of Moscow, Tula, Bryansk and Sverdlovsk. The pace and level of digitalization of the Russian healthcare is several orders of magnitude lower than the healthcare systems of the United States, South Korea, Japan and some other OECD countries. The development of digital competencies and a high level of digital literacy are observed among those medical workers who, firstly, operate in high-tech medical organizations, and, secondly, among those medical workers whose organizations are located close to regional economic centers. Russian healthcare needs additional investments, which can be directed both to digitalization and to the development of digital literacy of medical staff. To assess digital literacy, a special digital competence profile of middle and senior medical personnel was developed.

Virtual Classrooms and Their Challenge of Interaction-An Evaluation of Chat Activities and Logs in an Online Course about Digital Medicine with Heterogeneous Participants

Learning digital competencies can be successful if the information is also tried out immediately using interactive elements. However, interactive teaching poses a particular challenge, especially in large group formats. Various strategies are used to promote interaction, but there is little known about the results. This article shows different strategies and evaluates their influence on the interaction rate in a large group course over two terms that teaches digital medicine. Log files and participation in surveys as well as participation in chat were quantitatively evaluated. In addition, the chat messages themselves were evaluated qualitatively. For the evaluation, relation to the total number of participants was particularly relevant in order to be able to determine an interaction rate in the individual course sessions. A maximum average interaction rate of 90.97% could be determined over the entire term while the participants wrote an average of 3.96 comments during a session in the chat. In summary, this research could show that interactive elements should be well planned and used at regular intervals in order to reap the benefits.

Online academic satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic in medical students: role of sleep, emotions, college adjustment, and digital skills

Background: The measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, led to significant changes in university education, resulting in the new normal standard of virtual teaching in many undergraduate medical schools worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine the factors related to academic satisfaction with virtual teaching in medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted on medical students at a private university in Peru, through self-reported questionnaires divided into sociodemographic data and variables of interest that could influence academic satisfaction during the pandemic. To evaluate possible factors related to academic satisfaction, stepwise regression models were performed for both sexes. Results: In total, data from 310 medical students, 117 males and 193 females, were analyzed. Academic satisfaction reached a score of 11.2 ± 2.9, which was similar in both sexes. The best regression model for males (AIC: 544.32; RMSE: 2.42; R 2: 0.30) showed that adaptation to university life (favorable change) and depression (unfavorable change) explained 30% of changes in students' academic satisfaction. While in females (AIC: 907.59; RMSE: 2.49; R 2: 0.22) the model integrated favorable factors such as adjustment to college life and anxiety; while depression and poor sleep quality were unfavorable factors. Conclusion: Factors that contributed to academic satisfaction in medical students were determined in this study, which differed by gender. Thus, it is important to take into account the particularities of male and female medical students in order to improve their academic satisfaction during their university careers.

Online academic satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic in medical students: role of sleep, emotions, college adjustment, and digital skills

Background: The measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, led to significant changes in university education, resulting in the new normal standard of virtual teaching in many undergraduate medical schools worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine the factors related to academic satisfaction with virtual teaching in medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted on medical students at a private university in Peru, through self-reported questionnaires divided into sociodemographic data and variables of interest that could influence academic satisfaction during the pandemic. To evaluate possible factors related to academic satisfaction, stepwise regression models were performed for both sexes. Results: In total, data from 310 medical students, 117 males and 193 females, were analyzed. Academic satisfaction reached a score of 11.2 ± 2.9, which was similar in both sexes. The best regression model for males (AIC: 544.32; RMSE: 2.42; R 2: 0.30) showed that adaptation to university life (favorable change) and depression (unfavorable change) explained 30% of changes in students' academic satisfaction. While in females (AIC: 907.59; RMSE: 2.49; R 2: 0.22) the model integrated favorable factors such as adjustment to college life and anxiety; while depression and poor sleep quality were unfavorable factors. Conclusion: Factors that contributed to academic satisfaction in medical students were determined in this study, which differed by gender. Thus, it is important to take into account the particularities of male and female medical students in order to improve their academic satisfaction during their university careers.

A systematic review on digital literacy

The purpose of this study is to discover the main themes and categories of the research studies regarding digital literacy. To serve this purpose, the databases of WoS/Clarivate Analytics, Proquest Central, Emerald Management Journals, Jstor Business College Collections and Scopus/Elsevier were searched with four keyword-combinations and final forty-three articles were included in the dataset. The researchers applied a systematic literature review method to the dataset. The preliminary findings demonstrated that there is a growing prevalence of digital literacy articles starting from the year 2013. The dominant research methodology of the reviewed articles is qualitative. The four major themes revealed from the qualitative content analysis are: digital literacy, digital competencies, digital skills and digital thinking. Under each theme, the categories and their frequencies are analysed. Recommendations for further research and for real life implementations are generated.

[Technoagism and technical behavior of the elderly citizens: results of Russian and Belarusian researches.]

The article is aimed to analyze social effects of digitalization using the example of the elderly in big city. Digitalization in this article is considered in two aspects: as introduction of digital technologies in everyday life (as well as «smart city»); and digital transformation of professional practices. Special attention is paid to such phenomena as techno-ageism (exclusion of older people from the digital sphere) and related technostress.

Defining Learning Outcomes as a Prerequisite of Implementing a Longitudinal and Transdisciplinary Curriculum with Regard to Digital Competencies at Hannover Medical School

BACKGROUND

Worldwide educational programs face the challenge how to define and integrate digital competencies in medical education. This article describes the implementation of learning outcomes with respect to digital competencies in the compulsory curriculum at Hannover Medical School (MHH).

METHODS

An interdisciplinary MHH project group was constituted consisting of physicians and experts in medical informatics and in curriculum development. Over the course of 7 work sessions the group compared different international and national frameworks dealing with digital competencies for physicians. By a consensus driven approach the working group drew up a collection of learning outcomes which were regarded relevant to be incorporated in the curriculum at MHH.

RESULTS

The analysis of different frameworks indicated that data literacy is a central domain within all viewed preexisting catalogs. During the course of the project group analysis, 57 learning outcomes with respect to digital competencies were identified as necessary to be integrated in the compulsory curriculum. They were divided in 5 main categories: "handling of medical data," "the digital infrastructure of the health system," "scope of application: usage in patient care and in the field of preventive medicine," "medico-legal and ethical basics," and "transformation processes in medicine due to digitalization."

CONCLUSIONS

The MHH project group concluded that medical students should be taught digital competencies that enable an understanding of underlying functional principles of digital systems rather than their correct utilization. The presented project indicates that a close interdisciplinary collaboration of physicians and medical informaticians can be a promising approach to incorporate digital competencies in the undergraduate medical curriculum.

Overview of digital health teaching courses in medical education in Germany in 2020

Objective: The digitalization of the healthcare system poses new challenges for physicians. Thus, the relevance of learning digital competencies (DiCo), such as dealing with data sets, apply telemedicine or using apps, is already growing in medical education. DiCo should be clearly separated from digitized teaching formats, which have been increasingly used since the COVID 19 pandemic. This article outlines the faculties in Germany where DiCo are already integrated into medical education. Methods: Courses with DiCo as teaching content were collected by a literature research on Pubmed and Google as well as by contacting all dean's offices and other persons responsible for teaching at German medical faculties. The courses were summarized in a table. Results: In a first survey, 16 universities were identified that offer courses on DiCo. In the elective area at the universities, 17 courses and in the compulsory area eight courses could be identified. The scope and content of the courses diverged between compulsory curricula, integrated courses of different lengths, and elective courses that are one-time or longitudinally integrated. The topics taught are heterogeneous and include fundamentals of medical informatics such as data management on the one hand and a collection of e.g. ethics, law, apps, artificial intelligence, telemedicine and robotics on the other hand. Conclusion: Currently, only some German medical faculties offer courses on DiCo. These courses vary in scope and design. They are frequently part of the elective curriculum and only reach some of the students. The possibility of embedding DiCo in the already existing cross-sectional area appears limited. In view of the ongoing digitalization of healthcare, it is necessary to make future courses on DiCo accessible to all medical students. In order to drive this expansion forward, the implementation of the new learning objectives catalogue, in which DiCo are integrated, a network formation, a teaching qualification as well as the involvement of students is recommended.

Digital competencies in medical education in Switzerland: an overview of the current situation

Background: Today's medical students are growing up in a digital age in which the use of smartphones and smart devices is now irrevocably part of professional life. However, the abilities to use these devices that have become so ubiquitous in private life can only be partially transferred to work with patients and the medical setting. Since little is known about digitalization in medical education, the aim of this paper is to gain an overview of the current training in digital competencies at Swiss universities. Methods: The medical deans at all Swiss universities were contacted by telephone and informed about an online survey. The invitation to fill out the Survey Monkey questionnaire was subsequently sent by email to the specific contacts at each university. The survey consisted of questions to be answered using a defined scale and open-ended questions. The survey's focus, topics involving digital competencies, is based on the content in the Principal Relevant Objectives and Framework for Integrative Learning and Education in Switzerland (PROFILES) and the National Competency-based Catalogue of Learning Objective in Undergraduate Medicine (NKLM). Results: All of the dean's offices that were contacted participated in the survey. The topics on digitalization were all rated as relevant or very relevant. Our survey shows a heterogeneous picture in terms of implementing PROFILE and NKLM content. A few universities have well-established educational approaches or even implemented curricula, but often these are still in development. Participants also mentioned factors that are necessary for successfully setting up and implementing curricula dealing with digitalization and factors that can impede such efforts. Conclusion: The importance of acquiring digital competencies during medical study is known and recognized by all Swiss medical schools. Curricular integration varies in its progress and represents major challenges for the medical faculties. It is precisely the inclusion of students in such efforts that may be a potential response to this challenge.

Digital Competencies and Attitudes Toward Digital Adherence Solutions Among Elderly Patients Treated With Novel Anticoagulants: Qualitative Study

Background

Nonadherence to medication is a driver of morbidity and mortality, and complex medication regimens in patients with chronic diseases foster the problem. Digital technology might help, but despite numerous solutions being developed, none are currently widely used, and acceptance rates remain low, especially among the elderly.

Objective

This study aimed to better understand and operationalize how new digital solutions can be evaluated. Particularly, the goal was to identify factors that help digital approaches targeting adherence to become more widely accepted.

Methods

A qualitative study using a conceptual grounded theory approach was conducted. We included patients aged 65 years and older who routinely took new oral anticoagulants. To generate theses about the digital competencies of the target group with daily medication intake, face-to-face interviews were conducted, recorded, and anonymized. After coding the interviews, categories were generated, discussed, and combined with several theses until saturation of the statements was reached.

Results

The methodological approach led to the finding that after interviews in 20 of 77 potentially available patients, a saturation of statements was reached. The average patient’s age was 75 years, and 50% (10/20) of the subjects were female. The data identified five main coding categories—Diseases and medicine, Technology, Autonomy, Patient narrative, and Attitude toward technologies—each including positive and negative subcategories. Main categories and subcategories were summarized as Adherence Radar, which can be considered as a framework to assess the potential of adherence solutions in the process of prototyping and can be applied to all adherence tools in a holistic manner.

Conclusions

The Adherence Radar can be used to increase the acceptance rate of digital solutions targeting adherence. For a patient-centric design, an app should be adapted to the individual patient’s needs. According to our results, this application should be based on gender and educational background as well as the individual physician-patient relationship. If used in a proper, individualized manner, digital adherence solutions could become a new cornerstone for the treatment of chronically ill individuals.

Digital skills for medical students - qualitative evaluation of the curriculum 4.0 "Medicine in the digital age"

Introduction: The digital transformation has far-reaching implications for the qualification profile of medical students, which have not been addressed in medical studies so far. Teaching concept: The competence-oriented blended learning curriculum "Medicine in the digital age" has been implemented at Mainz University Medical Centre since 2017. It represents a curricular reform project of the "Curriculum 4.0" program (Stifterverband). In six modules, the qualification requirements for digital skills are addressed. Evaluation Methodology: The qualitative evaluation of the course concept took place in the form of semi-structured interviews. All 58 participants from five courses were interviewed. Results: Using the "Qualitative Content Analysis" according to Philipp Mayring, the statements were divided into deductive main categories (process, content, methodology, learning success, learning experience and conclusion). The results reflect the student's view of the curriculum and the current qualification needs that still need to be specialised. Discussion: The didactic teaching of digital skills is a relevant and highly topical component of the further development of medical studies. In this development, the focus is not only on technological skills, but also on the.