Patient source of learning about health technologies and ratings of trust in technologies used in their care

In order to design effective health technologies and systems, it is important to understand how patients learn and make decisions about health technologies used in their care. The objective of this study was to examine patients' source of learning about technologies used in their care and how the source related to their trust in the technology was used. Individual face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with 24 patients. Altogether, 13 unique sources of information about technology were identified and three major themes emerged: outside of the work system vs. inside the work system; when the health information was provided; the medium used. Patients used multiple sources outside of the healthcare work system to learn about technologies that will be used in their care. Results showed a relationship between learning about technologies from web sources and trust in technologies but no relationship between learning about technologies from healthcare providers and trust in technologies. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The value of considering human attitudes about elements in health systems has been illustrated. This research shows a relationship between patient attitudes about medical technologies used in their care and healthcare work system design. Results show that patient attitudes are formed about technologies used in their care by sources within and outside of the sociotechnical work system.     

Trust in medical technology by patients and healthcare providers in obstetric work systems

Multiple types of users (i.e. patients and care providers) have experiences with the same technologies in healthcare environments and may have different processes for developing trust in those technologies. The objective of this study was to assess how patients and care providers make decisions about the trustworthiness of mutually used medical technology in an obstetric work system. Using a grounded theory methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 patients who had recently given birth and 12 obstetric healthcare providers to examine the decision-making process for developing trust in technologies used in an obstetric work system. We expected the two user groups to have similar criteria for developing trust in the technologies, though we found patients and physicians differed in processes for developing trust. Trust in care providers, the technologies' characteristics and how care providers used technology were all related to trust in medical technology for the patient participant group. Trustworthiness of the system and trust in self were related to trust in medical technology for the physician participant group. Our findings show that users with different perspectives of the system have different criteria for developing trust in medical technologies.     

The pedagogical challenges to collaborative technologies

Collaborative technologies offer a range of new ways of supporting learning by enabling learners to share and exchange both ideas and their own digital products. This paper considers how best to exploit these opportunities from the perspective of learners’ needs. New technologies invariably excite a creative explosion of new ideas for ways of doing teaching and learning, although the technologies themselves are rarely designed with teaching and learning in mind. To get the best from them for education we need to start with the requirements of education, in terms of both learners’ and teachers’ needs. The argument put forward in this paper is to use what we know about what it takes to learn, and build this into a pedagogical framework with which to challenge digital technologies to deliver a genuinely enhanced learning experience.     

Aware technologies for aging in place: understanding user needs and attitudes

Although computing technology has made inroads into home environments, it has yet to instigate a major shift in the design of homes or home activities. The convergence of television and the Internet is lagging behind expectations, and the combination of desktop computers, entertainment consoles, televisions, and cell phones has yet to form a cohesive whole. One possible reason for this lag in progress is that these technologies don't address a coherent need -they merely augment current entertainment and communication practices. We base our research on the premise that the next revolution of technology in the home will arise from devices that help older adults maintain their independence. A coherent suite of technologies will eventually let older adults be proactive about their own healthcare, will aid them in daily activities and help them learn new skills, will create new avenues for social communication, and will help ensure their safety and well being. The Aware Home Research initiative hopes to help older adults "age in place" by creating devices that can assist with daily tasks, offer memory support, and monitor daily activities. However, understanding user needs and attitudes is essential to deploying this technology.     

Cognitive ergonomics, socio-technical systems, and the impact of healthcare information technologies

The United States healthcare system is transitioning from paper-based to computer-based systems. In this process, it is vitally important to focus on optimizing the role of human factors in systems design. This review examines a wide range of cognitive ergonomics and socio-technical systems issues that impact the successful implementation of healthcare information technologies (HIT). We review evidence on the impact of HIT on medication errors, electronic health records and clinical support, copying clinical exams and notes, computerized-provider order entry and clinical decision support system, and bar-code medication administration systems. We examine research on barriers to successful HIT implementation and also on user workarounds of systems’ limitations. The review concludes by summarizing a series of important human factors design considerations that must be considered for successful systems implementation. This information is presented in a manner that should allow HIT system designers and implementers to readily incorporate these principles into their future developments.Relevance to industry: Evidence from a comprehensive review of the impact of HIT on a wide variety of important healthcare issues is presented and a series of human factors design considerations that are critical to successful HIT systems design is summarized.     

Manufacturing assembly serial and cells layouts impact on rest breaks and workers’ health

Rest breaks are necessary for workers to avoid and/or recover from overall fatigue and to preserve their health. The type of assembly layout, either in lines or in cells, is a determining factor for organizing work at manufacturing companies, and it could also influence workers' work break and microbreak times. This study aimed at evaluating rest breaks in serial and cell assembly layout configurations as well as the layout's influence on workers' health. One hundred and twenty workers from a large automobile industry, divided into two groups (series and cells), were measured for their cycle-times and break times through biomechanical exposure analysis and questionnaires to evaluate the behaviors, physical, cognitive, and mental health. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to verify the distribution of the data with a significance level of p < 0.05. The cell assembly-line layouts had the greatest cycle-time and break time, and the workers had a higher level of physical activity (p < 0.05). The serial assembly-line layouts did not generate major occupational risk, need for rest, reduced capacity for work, or higher levels of stress for the workers. The production layouts differed in relation to the cycle-times for just-in-time manufacturing, but there was no difference in relation to the production demands and to the workers' health.Relevance to industryWhen taken at appropriate times, rest breaks in the workplace can improve workers’ overall health and productive performance, which reduces healthcare costs and improves industrial productivity.     

Data analytics in health promotion: Health market segmentation and classification of total joint replacement surgery patients

Providing insight into healthcare consumers' behaviors and attitudes is critical information in an environment where healthcare delivery is moving rapidly towards patient-centered care. We apply a two-stage methodology using both supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods to a patient data set from the electronic medical records of an academic medical center located in central Pennsylvania. The data are from patients who had total joint replacement surgery between December 2013 and September 2015. Two clustering methods and four classification algorithms were applied to the data set. Patients cluster into six distinct health market segments from which the cluster assignment is used as the response variable in supervised learning to classify patients. The classification model accurately predicts the cluster assignment for out-of-sample patients, while offering insight into patient behaviors and attributes to help clinicians, health marketers, and healthcare consumers move toward the goal of patient-centered and value-based healthcare.     

Recent development in multimedia e-learning technologies

Multimedia and networking technologies have significantly impacted on our daily activities, particularly in terms of how we learn. Nowadays, classroom teaching no longer simply relies on chalk and blackboard as the prime medium for course dissemination. E-learning technologies have made it possible to provide a virtual classroom environment on the Web through supporting teacher-student and student-student communications, course material distribution as well as online student assessments. They provide students with more control over their learning schedule and pace. On top of this, multimedia technologies further offer students different forms of media to match their learning styles, leading to enhancements of their learning effectiveness. This extended introduction discusses the latest e-learning specific multimedia technologies, their research challenges and future trends from both pedagogical and technological perspectives. We also summarize the papers included in this special issue.     

Mental health and the impact of ubiquitous technologies

This Theme issue focuses on the emerging research of ubiquitous technologies to support mental health. So far, the majority of work presented in the field of ubiquitous healthcare has focused on supporting people affected by somatic diseases. However, increasing number of diseases affecting mental health has prompted research on technologies to support people suffering from these diseases. This Theme issue provides a number of examples of research on the potential impact of ubiquitous technologies in the field of mental health.     

Representations of lesbian and bisexual women’s sexual and relational health in online video and text-based sources

The Internet is the preferred source of health information followed by healthcare providers, friends and family, print media, and television (Baxter & Egbert, 2008). Yet, previous research about online sexual health resources for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer) groups, especially lesbian and bisexual (LB) women, primarily consists of introductions and reviews of related websites rather than critique of the quality of the information present (e.g. Clark, 2003; Finlon, 2002; McKay, 2011). Thus, the goals of this study were to examine the LB women’s sexual and relational health content in online sources and identify the degree to which the online sources considered LB women’s identity and standpoint when presenting sexual and relational health messages. The analysis includes a comparison of text-based and video-based online messages related to LB women’s sexual and relational health. We argue that there is an overall lack of quality in the online sexual and relational health messages for LB women, and that websites are not comprehensive enough in their coverage of LB women’s sexual and relational health.     

Enhancing instructional outcomes with gamification: An empirical test of the Technology-Enhanced Training Effectiveness Model

BackgroundGamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, has become a popular technique to improve instructional outcomes in both organizational and educational contexts. In the organizational context, the Technology-Enhanced Training Effectiveness Model [TETEM] provides a framework to understand how technologies, like gamification, can effect change in various instructional outcomes. Specifically, application of TETEM suggests that gamification may not effect change in instructional outcomes when learner attitudes towards game-based learning and experience with video games are low.MethodIn this study, we test this model in the gamification context by assigning potential learners to read scenarios describing gamified instruction or traditional, PowerPoint instruction in a random order and assessing their training valence.ResultsOn average, participants anticipated greater value from gamified instruction, but as predicted by TETEM, this effect was moderated by both video game experience and attitudes towards game-based learning. Among potential learners with high experience and attitudes, gamification produces better outcomes than PowerPoint, but among potential learners with low experience and attitudes, gamification produces worse outcomes than PowerPoint.ImplicationsWe provide empirical support for TETEM and conclude that for gamification to be successful, the attitudes and experience of participants must be assessed and ensured before gamification is implemented.     

A study on the role of trust factor in adopting personalised medicine

ABSTRACT

Despite all the potential that Personalised Medicine (PM) has in reducing healthcare costs and treatment errors, as well as in bringing about significant improvement in the mode of healthcare, the adoption rate of Personalised Medicine is not yet up to the mark. Some research has been done in the area of Personalised Medicine and several new drugs have been already discovered. However, adequate research is yet to be performed to sort out various hurdles that are hindering implementation of this novel medicare system on a larger scale. One of the hurdles is the so-called trust factor. In the present paper, it has been our endeavour to investigate whether the trust issues have a moderating effect on the success of adoption of personalised medicine. A survey-based post facto methodology has been adopted for this purpose. Responses have been collected from a number of people, who are medical practitioners/medical researchers/pharmacists/regulatory board members/patients. The dataset obtained thereby has been analysed by using advanced statistical techniques and modern statistical software packages. The study indicates that the trust issues have a significant moderating effect on the successful adoption of personalised medicine.     

Attitudes to the application of a Web-based learning system in a microbiology course

Computer-based systems have great potential for delivering learning material. Here, a Web-based learning management system is employed by a medical university to support undergraduate courses. The objective was to help the university’s staff to understand the readiness and attitudes of students to the use of information technology, their orientation to new learning environments, and the functionality of the system. The participants were a cohort of first-year medical students enrolled in an introductory microbiology course. Students’ attitudes to information technology and learning styles were measured by a rearranged questionnaire, and a principal component analysis identified the students’ orientations to information technology and the learning environment. The results of the study revealed that students showed readiness to and positive attitudes towards information technology in education and exposed a possible benefit from its use in the long run. However, they also conveyed negative opinions of the learning management system used in their coursework, suggesting a need for change of the technology. This study provides evidence that in order for computer-based system to be effective they must be designed and implemented with care, otherwise they may risk to lower students’ interests and activation.     

Public attitudes toward voice-based electronic messaging technologies in the United States: A national survey of opinions about voice response units and telephone answering machines

Abstract

We surveyed 912 Americans in the Fall of 1993 about their attitudes toward voice response units (VRUs, also known as voice-based electronic messaging or Interactive Voice Response Units, IVRs) and telephone answering machines or devices (TAMs or TADs). We present data from a national survey to provide an empirical understanding of these novel and significant forms of technologically mediated interpersonal communications. Our results suggest that attitudes toward electronic voice response systems are less closely linked to demographic variables than are attitudes toward answering machines. We uncovered no evidence that the 'information rich' are more positively inclined to electronic voice response systems than the 'information poor'. We also found that attitudes toward the electronic technologies varied strongly by age. The most significant predictor of liking for electronic voice response systems was the quality of one's most recent experience with this technology. We conclude by considering some insights about the formation of attitudes toward these electronic technologies and argue that voice-based services could provide an important access modality to a wide range of electronically-delivered phone services.     

First impressions last a lifetime: effect of interface type on disorientation and cognitive load

Today, technology users are faced with a multitude of different interfaces for computer applications, web sites, vehicle navigation, and cellular phones. In most cases, training to use these technologies is minimal or none and is left up to the user to learn the use of the technology at hand. Subsequently, their initial impression, which is dependent on how successful they can achieve simple tasks during their self-directed learning process, plays an important role in their intention to adopt the technology. Many users have trouble learning and remembering information presented on the screen. Disorientation and cognitive loading are two primary cognitive conditions that may be used to learn more about human behavior while using different type of interfaces. This paper presents the results of an experiment on computer user’s behavior while using one of two types of software interfaces: a menu-driven and an icon-based interfaces. Disorientation and cognitive loading theories are used to explain observations. A research model based on the technology acceptance model is used. Results show a strong relationship between performance and perceptions. The mediating effects on the different interfaces on perceptions are evident and significant considering that perceptions have been shown to predict computer user’s attitudes towards their intentions to use a technology. The experiment demonstrated the need to consider standard consistent interfaces when training is not provided.     

Design of educational multiplayer videogames: A vision from collaborative learning

Videogames and their specific devices can be used to improve learning process since they are very attractive for children. In this way, pupils increase their cognitive skills, the time dedicated to learn, their motivation for learning, their concentration and their attention while they are working/playing. The subject of “learning by play” is behind the introduction of recreational educational techniques in the classroom. If we also consider the increasing presence of new technologies in society in general and in classrooms in particular, we encounter a new way of teaching/learning. Moreover, several studies in the area of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) have proved that learning in a group environment (both actively and interactively) is much more productive for pupils than traditional education.Our main objective is to reduce the complexity of introducing the collaborative learning techniques into development of educational videogames. So, in this paper we analyze the use of videogames as a particular case of new technologies in the classroom and we present a set of design guidelines to enable us to incorporate the features of collaborative learning in the videogame development process. We also explore how these guidelines affect the videogame architecture and how they can be applied when designing a videogame. As a practical example of using our proposal we have designed an educational videogame with group activities which aim is to learn the vowels.     

Emerging information technologies for enhanced healthcare

The appropriate collection and consumption of electronic health information about an individual patient or population is the bedrock of modern healthcare, where electronic medical records (EMR) serve as the main carrier. This paper first introduces the main goal of this special issue and gives a brief guideline. Then, the present situation of the adoption of EMRs is reviewed. After that, the emerging information technologies are presented which have a great impact on the healthcare provision. These include health sensing for medical data collection, medical data analysis and utilization for accurate detection and prediction. Next, cloud computing is discussed, as it may provide scalable and cost-effective delivery of healthcare services. Accordingly, the current state of academic research is documented on emerging information technologies for new paradigms of healthcare service. At last, conclusions are made.     

“Old” theories, “New” technologies: Understanding knowledge sharing and learning in Brazilian software development companies

ContextNew technologies such as social networks, wikis, blogs and other social software enable collaborative work and are important facilitators of the learning process. They provide a simple mechanism for people to communicate and collaborate and thus support the creation of knowledge. In software-development companies they are used to creating an environment in which communication and collaboration between workers take place more effectively.ObjectiveThis paper identifies the main tools and technologies used by software-development companies in Brazil to manage knowledge and attempts to determine how these tools and technologies relate to important knowledge-sharing and learning theories and how they support the concepts described by these theories.MethodA survey was conducted in a group of Brazilian software development companies with high levels of process software maturity to see how they implement the Brazilian Software Processes Improvement model (MPS.Br) and use new tools and technologies. The survey used a qualitative analysis to identify which tools are used most and how frequently employees use them. The results of the analysis were compared with data from the literature on three knowledge-sharing and learning theories to understand how the use of these tools relates to the concepts proposed in these theories.ResultsThe results show that some of the tools used by the companies do not apply the concepts described in the theories as they do not help promote organizational learning. Furthermore, although the companies have adopted the tools, these are not often used, mainly because they are felt not to organize information efficiently.ConclusionThe use of certain tools can help promote several concepts described in the theories considered. Moreover, the use of these tools can help reduce the impact of, some common organizational problems. However, companies need to improve existing organizational policies that encourage employees to use these tools more regularly.     

P2P关键技术研究综述*

全面综述了P2P技术研究现状,分析了各类P2P网络的特点,重点介绍了P2P系统中的覆盖网络、消息路由、资源搜索、自组织与容错性、信任模型、激励机制、安全问题等关键技术研究现状,分类列举了不同应用方面的开发模型。最后指出了需要进一步研究的内容。