Dataset Information

Mobile Health to Support Community-Integration of Individuals With Disabilities Using iMHere 2.0: Focus Group Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mobile health (mHealth) systems that support self-management can improve medical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes for individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. The mHealth systems can potentially be expanded to support community integration.

Objective

The purposes of this study were to (1) partner with a community-based organization that supports community integration of individuals with disabilities; (2) identify software requirements needed to support community participation; and (3) iteratively refine an existing mHealth application to include new requirements.

Methods

Community Living and Support Services (CLASS), a nonprofit organization that serves individuals with disabilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was identified as the focus group for this study. Key stakeholders within the Community Partners Program at CLASS proposed design requirements for an existing mHealth application, Interactive Mobile Health and Rehabilitation (iMHere) 2.0, that has been used to support self-management.

Results

We gathered qualitative data from a focus group composed of CLASS members to develop and iteratively revise iMHere 2.0 to include new modules and features to support community integration. A caregiver app was also developed. The new system contains features to support finance, transportation, client and caregiver communication, calendar and checklist management, upcoming medical and nonmedical appointments, social engagement, pain management, and access to a personal profile. Modifications were made to the following existing modules: education, mood, personal health record, goals, medications, and nutrition.

Conclusions

A successful partnership with a community-based organization that supports individuals with disabilities resulted in a newly designed mHealth system with features to support community integration.

SUBMITTER: Ward RE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8933796 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Mobile Health to Support Community-Integration of Individuals With Disabilities Using iMHere 2.0: Focus Group Study.

Ward Rebecca E RE Ward Rebecca E RE Setiawan I Made Agus IMA Quinby Eleanor E Fair Melva M Ambadar Zara Z Parmanto Bambang B Dicianno Brad E BE

JMIR human factors 20220304 1

<h4>Background</h4>Mobile health (mHealth) systems that support self-management can improve medical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes for individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. The mHealth systems can potentially be expanded to support community integration.<h4>Objective</h4>The purposes of this study were to (1) partner with a community-based organization that supports community integration of individuals with disabilities; (2) identify software requirements needed to suppor ...[more]

PMID: 35254274

Similar Datasets

Project description:Obesity is a chronic disease marked by the buildup of extra adipose tissue and a higher chance of developing concomitant illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some malignancies. Over the past few decades, there has been a global increase in the prevalence of obesity, which now affects around one-third of the world's population. According to recent studies, a variety of factors, including genetics and biology as well as environmental, physiological, and psychosocial factors, may have a role in the development of obesity. The prevalence of obesity is often higher among Hispanic American groups than among White people in the U.S. Obesity is a widespread condition with a high risk of morbidity and death, and it is well-recognized that the prevalence of comorbidities rises with rising levels of obesity or body mass index. To combat the rising prevalence of obesity in the USA, especially among Hispanics, one of the fastest-growing racial/ethnic groups in the country, there is an urgent need for obesity therapies. The exact cause of this disparity is unclear, but some responsible factors are a lack of education, high unemployment rates, high levels of food insecurity, an unhealthy diet, inadequate access to physical activity resources, a lack of health insurance, and constricted access to culturally adequate healthcare. Additionally, managing obesity and giving needed/timely support to obese people is a difficult responsibility for medical professionals and their loved ones. The need for caregivers is increasing with the increased number of individuals with obesity, particularly Hispanics. Our article summarizes the status of obesity, focusing on Hispanic populations, and we also highlight specific factors that contribute to obesity, including genetics, epigenetics, biological, physiological, and psychosocial factors, medication and disease, environment, and socio-demographics. This article also reviews caregiver duties and challenges associated with caring for people with obesity.

Project description:BackgroundRecent advances in mobile technology have created opportunities to develop mobile apps to aid and assist people in achieving various health and wellness goals. Mental health apps hold significant potential to assist people affected by various mental health issues at any time they may need it, considering the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones. However, there is a need for research to explore and understand end users' perceptions, needs, and concerns with respect to such technologies.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to explore the opinions, perceptions, preferences, and experiences of people who have experienced some form of mental health issues based on self-diagnosis to inform the design of a next-generation mental health app that would be substantially more engaging and effective than the currently available apps to improve mental health and well-being.MethodsWe conducted six focus group sessions with people who had experienced mental health issues based on self-diagnosis (average age 26.7 years, SD 23.63; 16/32, 50% male; 16/32, 50% female). We asked participants about their experiences with mental health issues and their viewpoints regarding two existing mental health apps (the Happify app and the Self-Help Anxiety Management app). Finally, participants were engaged in a design session where they each sketched a design for their ideal mental health and well-being mobile app.ResultsOur findings revealed that participants used strategies to deal with their mental health issues: doing something to distract themselves from their current negative mood, using relaxation exercises and methods to relieve symptoms, interacting with others to share their issues, looking for an external source to solve their problems, and motivating themselves by repeating motivational sentences to support themselves or by following inspirational people. Moreover, regarding the design of mental health apps, participants identified that general design characteristics; personalization of the app, including tracking and feedback, live support, and social community; and providing motivational content and relaxation exercises are the most important features that users want in a mental health app. In contrast, games, relaxation audio, the Google map function, personal assistance to provide suggestions, goal setting, and privacy preservation were surprisingly the least requested features.ConclusionsUnderstanding end users' needs and concerns about mental health apps will inform the future design of mental health apps that are useful to and used by many people.

Project description:BackgroundThe ongoing changes in population demographics increase the relevance of dignified aging across Europe. Community-based health care (CBHC) organizations are necessary to provide sustainable strategies for organizing care for older persons in need of support. To support the digitalization of these organizations, new business models and suitable web platforms are necessary.ObjectiveThis study, which is part of the European Active and Assisted Living (AAL) project called "ICareCoops", aimed to explore concepts, approaches, and workflows of CBHC organizations to achieve a comprehensive understanding of extant services offered and relevant requirements to support these services with information and computer technology (ICT) solutions.MethodsA qualitative study with six focus groups (FGs) with 40 participants was conducted in Switzerland and Slovenia to identify potential stakeholders' needs and requirements for the user-centered development of a web platform. Data were collected from three different stakeholder groups: (1) older persons in need of support as care receivers, (2) significant others of older persons in need of support, and (3) managers or care providers of CBHC organizations. A semistructured interview guide with open questions was used for data collection. FG sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the content of the FG sessions. To assist with further web platform development, the responses of the FG participants were translated into user stories to describe technical requirements.ResultsBy analyzing the transcripts, five main categories were identified: (1) ICT usage behavior of users, (2) challenges of web platform usage, (3) content and technical requirements for the web platform, (4) form and services of CBHC organizations, and (5) rationales of CBHC organizations. The main issues identified were the need for seniors to have individual contact with the CBHC organization and the possibility to coordinate routine services via the web platform, such as ordering meals-on-wheels or booking a caregiver to accompany an older person to the doctor.ConclusionsThe majority of participants showed a lack of familiarity with the usage of ICT. Nevertheless, they were open-minded regarding web platform usage to facilitate workflows and to benefit CBHC organizations. Cooperatives as an organizational model demonstrate a high potential to address users' needs. Therefore, the web platform offers an essential tool for innovative health care models in the future. Searching for care services, contacting care providers, and communicating with care providers was preferred via personal contact and seemed to be the key element for user acceptance and for the successful implementation of a web platform like "ICareCoops" to support CBHC organizations.

Project description:BackgroundLittle is known about the community structure of mental health Internet support groups, quantitatively. A greater understanding of the factors, which lead to user interaction, is needed to explain the design information of these services and future research concerning their utility.ObjectiveA study was conducted to determine the characteristics of users associated with the subgroup community structure of an Internet support group for mental health issues.MethodsA social network analysis of the Internet support group BlueBoard (blueboard.anu.edu.au) was performed to determine the modularity of the community using the Louvain method. Demographic characteristics age, gender, residential location, type of user (consumer, carer, or other), registration date, and posting frequency in subforums (depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, carers, general (eg, "chit chat"), and suggestions box) of the BlueBoard users were assessed as potential predictors of the resulting subgroup structure.ResultsThe analysis of modularity identified five main subgroups in the BlueBoard community. Registration date was found to be the largest contributor to the modularity outcome as observed by multinomial logistic regression. The addition of this variable to the final model containing all other factors improved its classification accuracy by 46.3%, that is, from 37.9% to 84.2%. Further investigation of this variable revealed that the most active and central users registered significantly earlier than the median registration time in each group.ConclusionsThe five subgroups resembled five generations of BlueBoard in distinct eras that transcended discussion about different mental health issues. This finding may be due to the activity of highly engaged and central users who communicate with many other users. Future research should seek to determine the generalizability of this finding and investigate the role that highly active and central users may play in the formation of this phenomenon.

Project description:BackgroundPeer support is increasingly acknowledged as an integral part of mental health services around the world. However, most research on peer support comes from high-income countries, with little attention to similarities and differences between different settings and how these affect implementation. Mental health workers have an important role to play in integrating formal peer support into statutory services, and their attitudes toward peer support can represent either a barrier to or facilitator of successful implementation. Thus, this study investigates mental health workers' attitudes toward peer support across a range of high- (Germany, Israel), middle- (India), and low-income country (Tanzania, Uganda) settings.MethodsSix focus groups were conducted in Ulm and Hamburg (Germany), Butabika (Uganda), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Be'er Sheva (Israel), and Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India) with a total of 35 participants. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis.ResultsParticipants across the study sites demonstrated overall positive attitudes towards peer support in mental health care, although some concerns were raised on potentially harmful effects of peer support such as negative role modelling and giving inadequate advice to service users. Notably, mental health workers from low- and middle-income countries described peer support workers as bridge-builders and emphasized the mutual benefits of peer support. Mental health workers' views on peer support workers' roles and role boundaries differed between sites. In some settings, mental health workers strongly agreed on the need for role clarity, whereas in others, mental health workers expressed mixed views, with some preferring blurred role boundaries. Regarding collaboration, mental health workers described peer support workers as supporters and utilizers, equal partners or emphasized a need for trust and commitment.ConclusionsMental health workers' attitudes toward peer support workers were positive overall, but they also varied depending on local context, resources and previous experiences with peer support. This affected their conceptions of peer support workers' roles, role clarity, and collaboration. This study demonstrated that reconciling the need for local adaptations and safeguarding the core values of peer support is necessary and possible, especially when the implementation of recovery-oriented interventions such as peer support is accelerating worldwide.

Dataset Information

Mobile Health to Support Community-Integration of Individuals With Disabilities Using iMHere 2.0: Focus Group Study.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Mobile Health to Support Community-Integration of Individuals With Disabilities Using iMHere 2.0: Focus Group Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets