SMARTWOMAN™: Feasibility assessment of a smartphone app to control cardiovascular risk factors in vulnerable diabetic women.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wenger NK
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6712310 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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SMARTWOMAN™: Feasibility assessment of a smartphone app to control cardiovascular risk factors in vulnerable diabetic women.
Wenger Nanette K NK Williams Olubunmi O OO Parashar Susmita S
Clinical cardiology 20190117 2
<h4>Background/hypothesis</h4>SMARTWOMAN™ was designed to develop and assess the feasibility of a smartphone app to control cardiovascular risk factors in vulnerable diabetic women.<h4>Methods</h4>Fourteen African-American women with diabetes and without known cardiovascular disease were enrolled. A weight-scale, glucometer, sphygmomanometer, and FitBit were synchronized to the smartphone, and text messaging was provided. Follow-up was 6 months.<h4>Results</h4>Patients were able to follow instru ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundWell-being in medical students has become an area of concern, with a number of studies reporting high rates of clinical depression, anxiety, burnout, and suicidal ideation in this population.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to increase awareness of well-being in medical students by using a smartphone app. The primary objective of this study was to determine the validity and feasibility of the Particip8 app for student self-reflected well-being data collection.MethodsUndergraduate medical students of the Dunedin School of Medicine were recruited into the study. They were asked to self-reflect daily on their well-being and to note what experiences they had encountered during that day. Qualitative data were also collected both before and after the study in the form of focus groups and "free-text" email surveys. All participants consented for the data collected to be anonymously reported to the medical faculty.ResultsA total of 29 participants (69%, 20/29 female; 31%, 9/29 male; aged 21-30 years) were enrolled, with overall median compliance of 71% at the study day level. The self-reflected well-being scores were associated with both positive and negative experiences described by the participants, with most negative experiences associated with around 20% lower well-being scores for that day; the largest effect being "receiving feedback that was not constructive or helpful," and the most positive experiences associated with around 20% higher scores for that day.ConclusionsThe study of daily data collection via the Particip8 app was found to be feasible, and the self-reflected well-being scores showed validity against participant's reflections of experiences during that day.
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Project description:BackgroundObesity is a common global health problem and increases the risk of many chronic illnesses. Given the adverse effects of antiobesity agents and bariatric surgeries, the exploration of noninvasive and nonpharmacological complementary methods for weight reduction is warranted.ObjectiveThe study aimed to determine whether self-administered auricular acupressure (AA) integrated with a smartphone app was more effective than using AA alone or the controls for weight reduction.MethodsThis study is a 3-arm randomized waitlist-controlled feasibility trial. A total of 59 eligible participants were randomly divided into either group 1 (AA group, n=19), group 2 (AA plus smartphone app, n=19), or group 3 (waitlist control, n=21). A total of 6 reflective zones or acupoints for weight reduction were chosen. The smartphone app could send out daily messages to the subjects to remind them to perform self-pressing on the 6 ear acupoints. A "date picker" of the 8-week treatment course was used to enable the users to input the compliance of pressing and the number of bowel movement daily instead of using the booklet for recordings. The app also served as a reminder for the subjects regarding the dates for returning to the center for acupoint changing and assessments. Treatment was delivered 2 times a week, for 8 weeks. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the interactions among the groups before and after intervention.ResultsSubjects in group 2 expressed that the smartphone app was useful (7.41 out of 10). The most popular features were the daily reminders for performing self-pressing (88%), the ear diagram indicating the locations and functions of the 6 ear points (71%), and ear pressing method demonstrated in the video scripts (47%). Nearly 90% of the participants completed the 8-week intervention, with a high satisfaction toward the overall arrangement (8.37 out of 10). The subjects in group 1 and 2 achieved better therapeutic effects in terms of body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and hip circumference and perceived more fullness before meals than the waitlist controls. Although no significant differences in the pairwise comparisons between the 2 groups were detected (P>.05), the decrease in body weight, BMI, body fat, visceral fat rating and leptin level, and increase in adiponectin level were notable in group 2 before and after the intervention.ConclusionsThe high compliance rate and high satisfaction toward the trial arrangement indicate that AA can be used to achieve weight reduction and applied in future large-scale studies. AA integrated with the smartphone app has a more notable effect than using AA alone for weight reduction. Larger sample size should be considered in future trials to determine the causal relationship between treatment and effect.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03442712; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03442712 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/78L2tO8Ql).
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Project description:BackgroundThis proposed study aims to translate the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension with Sodium (Na) Reduction for Chinese Canadians (DASHNa-CC), a classroom-based, antihypertensive, dietary educational intervention, to an innovative smartphone app (mDASHNa-CC). This study will enable Chinese Canadian seniors to access antihypertensive dietary interventions anytime, regardless of where they are. It is hypothesized that senior Chinese Canadians will be satisfied with their experiences using the mDASHNa-CC app and that the use of this app could lead to a decrease in their blood pressure and improvement in their health-related quality of life.ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to design and test the usability and feasibility of a smartphone-based dietary educational app to support a healthy diet and hypertension control for Chinese Canadian seniors.MethodsA mixed-method two-phase design will be used. The study will be conducted in a Chinese immigrant community in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Chinese Canadian seniors, who are at least 65 years old, self-identified as Chinese, living in Canada, and with elevated blood pressure, will be recruited. In Phase I, we will design and test the usability of the app using a user-centered approach. In Phase II, we will test the feasibility of the app, including implementation (primary outcomes of accrual and attrition rates, technical issues, acceptability of the app, and adherence to the intervention) and preliminary effectiveness (secondary outcomes of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, health-related quality of life, and health service utilization), using a pilot, two-group, randomized controlled trial with a sample size of 60 participants in a Chinese Canadian community.ResultsThe study is supported by the Startup Research Grant from Nipissing University, Canada. The research ethics application is under review by a university research ethics review board.ConclusionsThe study results will make several contributions to the existing literature, including illustrating the rigorous design and testing of smartphone app technology for hypertension self-management in the community, exploring an approach to incorporating traditional medicine into chronic illness management in minority communities and promoting equal access to current technology among minority immigrant senior groups.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT03988894; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03988894.International registered report identifier (irrid)PRR1-10.2196/15545.
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