A systematic approach to equity assessment for digital health interventions: case example of mobile personal health records.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Were MC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7647229 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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A systematic approach to equity assessment for digital health interventions: case example of mobile personal health records.
Were Martin C MC Sinha Chaitali C Catalani Caricia C
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA 20190801 8-9
Despite the increasing number of digital health interventions in low- and middle-income countries and other low-resource settings, little attention has been paid to systematically evaluating impacts of these interventions on health equity. In this article, we present a systematic approach for assessing equity impacts of digital health interventions modeled after the Health Equity Impact Assessment of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The assessment approach has 4 steps that addr ...[more]
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Project description:ObjectivesSome patients lack regular computer access and experience a digital divide that causes them to miss internet-based health innovations. The diffusion of smartphones has increased internet access across the socioeconomic spectrum, and increasing the channels through which patients can access their personal health records (PHRs) could help bridge the divide in PHR use. We examined PHR use through a computer-based Web browser or mobile device.Study designCross-sectional historical cohort analysis.MethodsAmong adult patients in the diabetes registry of an integrated healthcare delivery system, we studied the devices used to access their PHR during 2016.ResultsAmong 267,208 patients with diabetes, 68.1% used the PHR in 2016; 60.6% of all log-ins were via computer and 39.4% were via mobile device. Overall, 63.9% used it from both a computer and mobile device, 29.6% used only a computer, and 6.5% used only a mobile device. After adjustment, patients who were black, Hispanic, or Asian; lived in lower socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods; or had lower engagement were all significantly more likely to use the PHR only from a mobile device (P <.05). Patients using the PHR only via mobile device used it less frequently.ConclusionsMobile-ready PHRs may increase access among patients facing a digital divide in computer use, disproportionately reaching racial/ethnic minorities and lower SES patients. Nonetheless, even with a mobile-optimized and app-accessible PHR, differences in PHR use by race/ethnicity and SES remain. Continued efforts are needed to increase equitable access to PHRs among patients with chronic conditions.
| S-EPMC6382280 | biostudies-literature
Project description:While digital health solutions continue to grow in number and in complexity, the ability for stakeholders in healthcare to easily discern quality lags far behind. This challenge is in part due to the lack of a transparent and standardized approach to validation. Evaluation of mobile health applications (apps) is further burdened by low barriers to development and direct-to-user marketing, leading to a crowded and confusing landscape. In this context, we investigated the pragmatic application of a previously described framework for digital health validation, the Digital Health Scorecard, in a cohort of 22 popular mobile health oncology apps. The apps evaluated using this framework performed poorly, scoring 49.4% across all evaluation criteria as a group. Performance across component domains varied considerably with cost scoring highest at 100%, usability at 56.7%, technical at 37.3%, and clinical at 15.9%. satisfaction of prospectively determined end-user requirements derived from patient, family, and clinician consensus scored 37.2%. While cost outperformed consistently and usability was adequate, the results also suggested that apps suffered from significant technical limitations, were of limited clinical value, and generally did not do what end users wanted. These large gaps further support the need for transparent and standardized evaluation to help all stakeholders in healthcare improve the quality of mobile health.
| S-EPMC8282811 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPersonal health records (PHRs) can be useful in the emergency department, as they provide patient information in an accurate and timely manner and enable it to be used actively. This has an effect on patients' health outcomes and patient experience. Despite the importance of PHRs in emergencies, there are only a few studies related to PHRs in emergencies that evaluate patient experience.ObjectiveThis study aims to introduce the novel mobile PHR (mPHR) platform to emergency environments and assess user experience.MethodsThe study was conducted from October 2019 to November 2019. In total, 1000 patients or carers in the emergency departments of 3 hospitals were provided an application-based service called FirstER, which was developed to collect and utilize medical information for patients in the emergency department. This study was performed as a mixed methods study. After using FirstER, we investigated its usability and conducted a survey on the experience of obtaining medical information with a legacy system and with FirstER. Additionally, we interviewed 24 patients to gain insight into their experiences regarding medical information using FirstER. For the quantitative analysis, the survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation). For the qualitative analysis, we determined the keywords and their frequencies from each survey question and interview question.ResultsIn total, 1000 participants, consisting of both patients and carers, were recruited in this study. Their mean age was 41.4 (SD 13.3) years. We ascertained participants' satisfaction with FirstER and their mPHR needs through a survey and an in-depth interview. With the current system, participants were not well aware of their health conditions and medical information, and they were passive in the use of their medical information and treatment. However, they wanted their medical information for several reasons, such as information sharing and managing their health conditions. FirstER provided participants with their needed information and an easy way to access it. The mean System Usability Scale (SUS) value was 67.1 (SD 13.8), which was considered very near to acceptable.ConclusionsThis study is the first to implement mPHRs in the emergency department of large tertiary hospitals in the Republic of Korea. FirstER was found to enhance user experience in emergencies, as it provided necessary medical information and proper user experience. Moreover, the average SUS was 67.1, which means that participants found FirstER to be very near to acceptable. This is very encouraging in that FirstER was developed within a very short time, and it was a pilot study.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04180618; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04180618.
| S-EPMC7772069 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A growing body of evidence shows the use of digital technologies in health-referred to as eHealth, mHealth or 'digital health'-is improving and saving lives in low- and middle-income countries. Despite this prevalent and persistent narrative, very few studies examine its effects on health equity, gender and power dynamics. This journal supplement addresses these invisible imperatives by going beyond traditional measures of coverage, efficacy and cost-effectiveness associated with digital health interventions, to unpack different experiences of health workers and beneficiaries. The collection of papers presents findings from a cohort of implementation research projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, and two commentaries offer observations from learning-oriented evaluative activities across the entire cohort. The story emerging from this cohort is comprised of three themes: (i) digital health can positively influence health equity; (ii) gender and power analyses are essential; and (iii) digital health can be used to strengthen upward and downward accountability. These findings, at the individual project level and at the level of the cohort, provide encouraging recommendations on how to approach the design, implementation and evaluation of digital health interventions to address the Sustainable Development Goals agenda of leaving no one behind.
| S-EPMC6294032 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundBlockchain technology has the potential to enable more secure, transparent, and equitable data management. In the health care domain, it has been applied most frequently to electronic health records. In addition to securely managing data, blockchain has significant advantages in distributing data access, control, and ownership to end users. Due to this attribute, among others, the use of blockchain to power personal health records (PHRs) is especially appealing.ObjectiveThis review aims to examine the current landscape, design choices, limitations, and future directions of blockchain-based PHRs.MethodsAdopting the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines, a cross-disciplinary systematic review was performed in July 2020 on all eligible articles, including gray literature, from the following 8 databases: ACM, IEEE Xplore, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Three reviewers independently performed a full-text review and data abstraction using a standardized data collection form.ResultsA total of 58 articles met the inclusion criteria. In the review, we found that the blockchain PHR space has matured over the past 5 years, from purely conceptual ideas initially to an increasing trend of publications describing prototypes and even implementations. Although the eventual application of blockchain in PHRs is intended for the health care industry, the majority of the articles were found in engineering or computer science publications. Among the blockchain PHRs described, permissioned blockchains and off-chain storage were the most common design choices. Although 18 articles described a tethered blockchain PHR, all of them were at the conceptual stage.ConclusionsThis review revealed that although research interest in blockchain PHRs is increasing and that the space is maturing, this technology is still largely in the conceptual stage. Being the first systematic review on blockchain PHRs, this review should serve as a basis for future reviews to track the development of the space.
| S-EPMC8080150 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundInformation and communication technology (ICT) has transformed the health care field worldwide. One of the main drivers of this change is the electronic health record (EHR). However, there are still open issues and challenges because the EHR usually reflects the partial view of a health care provider without the ability for patients to control or interact with their data. Furthermore, with the growth of mobile and ubiquitous computing, the number of records regarding personal health is increasing exponentially. This movement has been characterized as the Internet of Things (IoT), including the widespread development of wearable computing technology and assorted types of health-related sensors. This leads to the need for an integrated method of storing health-related data, defined as the personal health record (PHR), which could be used by health care providers and patients. This approach could combine EHRs with data gathered from sensors or other wearable computing devices. This unified view of patients' health could be shared with providers, who may not only use previous health-related records but also expand them with data resulting from their interactions. Another PHR advantage is that patients can interact with their health data, making decisions that may positively affect their health.ObjectiveThis work aimed to explore the recent literature related to PHRs by defining the taxonomy and identifying challenges and open questions. In addition, this study specifically sought to identify data types, standards, profiles, goals, methods, functions, and architecture with regard to PHRs.MethodsThe method to achieve these objectives consists of using the systematic literature review approach, which is guided by research questions using the population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and context (PICOC) criteria.ResultsAs a result, we reviewed more than 5000 scientific studies published in the last 10 years, selected the most significant approaches, and thoroughly surveyed the health care field related to PHRs. We developed an updated taxonomy and identified challenges, open questions, and current data types, related standards, main profiles, input strategies, goals, functions, and architectures of the PHR.ConclusionsAll of these results contribute to the achievement of a significant degree of coverage regarding the technology related to PHRs.
| S-EPMC5251169 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundBlack young adults suffer from psychological distress at either similar or greater rates than that of White Americans, yet they are seven times less likely to have access to or receive effective treatments. Fortunately, mobile-health (mHealth) technology may transform mental health services and address disparities in mental healthcare. The current study utilized focus groups of Black young adults to inform the development of culturally-adapted mHealth using quantitative and qualitative approaches.MethodsThe study utilized a mixed-methods approach, in that qualitative (i.e., mini focus groups, n=11) and quantitative methods (i.e., self-report surveys) were used to explore the research questions. Participants included African American young adults (n=38, Mage =21). Participants completed self-report questionnaires prior to focus group facilitation. Correlational analyses were used to answer the quantitative research questions, and thematic analysis was used to answer the qualitative research questions.ResultsThe qualitative findings highlighted that sociocultural experiences impact mental health and treatment seeking attitudes. Despite these findings, participants highlighted a variety of desired features and content that should be incorporated into future culturally-adapted mHealth interventions. Participants also highlighted both positive and negative aspects of current mHealth technologies for mental health. Finally, the study found that on average, participants had positive attitudes towards mental health, mental health treatments, and utilizing mHealth for mental health. Participants also had strong desires for culturally-adapted mHealth interventions. Bivariate correlations also revealed significant associations between vicarious online racial discrimination and mHealth attitudes, as well as racial identity and mHealth attitudes.ConclusionsIn summary, the current study highlights that there is an urgent need for mHealth technology for mental health symptoms for African American young adults and presents a variety of features, content, and design/development considerations for future researchers.
| S-EPMC9902238 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe effectiveness of personal health records (PHRs) in diabetes management has already been verified in several clinical trials; however, evidence of their effectiveness in real-world scenarios is also necessary. To provide solid real-world evidence, an analysis that is more accurate than the analyses solely based on patient-generated health data should be conducted.ObjectiveThis study aimed to conduct a more accurate analysis of the effectiveness of using PHRs within electronic medical records (EMRs). The results of this study will provide precise real-world evidence of PHRs as a feasible diabetes management tool.MethodsWe collected log data of the sugar function in the My Chart in My Hand version 2.0 (MCMH 2.0) app from Asan Medical Center (AMC), Seoul, Republic of Korea, between December 2015 and April 2018. The EMR data of MCMH 2.0 users from AMC were collected and integrated with the PHR data. We classified users according to whether they were continuous app users. We analyzed and compared their characteristics, patterns of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, and the proportion of successful HbA1c control. The following confounders were adjusted for HbA1c pattern analysis and HbA1c regulation proportion comparison: age, sex, first HbA1c measurement, diabetes complications severity index score, sugar function data generation weeks, HbA1c measurement weeks before MCMH 2.0 start, and generated sugar function data count.ResultsThe total number of MCMH 2.0 users was 64,932, with 7453 users having appropriate PHRs and diabetes criteria. The number of continuous and noncontinuous users was 133 and 7320, respectively. Compared with noncontinuous users, continuous users were younger (P<.001) and had a higher male proportion (P<.001). Furthermore, continuous users had more frequent HbA1c measurements (P=.007), shorter HbA1c measurement days (P=.04), and a shorter period between the first HbA1c measurement and MCMH 2.0 start (P<.001). Diabetes severity-related factors were not statistically significantly different between the two groups. Continuous users had a higher decrease in HbA1c (P=.02) and a higher proportion of regulation of HbA1c levels to the target level (P=.01). After adjusting the confounders, continuous users had more decline in HbA1c levels than noncontinuous users (P=.047). Of the users who had a first HbA1c measurement higher than 6.5% (111 continuous users and 5716 noncontinuous users), continuous users had better regulation of HbA1c levels with regard to the target level, 6.5%, which was statistically significant (P=.04).ConclusionsBy integrating and analyzing patient- and clinically generated data, we demonstrated that the continuous use of PHRs improved diabetes management outcomes. In addition, the HbA1c reduction pattern was prominent in the PHR continuous user group. Although the continued use of PHRs has proven to be effective in managing diabetes, further evaluation of its effectiveness for various diseases and a study on PHR adherence are also required.
| S-EPMC7298631 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe tethering of a personal health record (PHR) to an electronic medical record (EMR) may serve as a catalyst in accelerating the distribution of integrated PHRs. Creating shared health records for patients and their health care professionals using self-administered functions of EMR-tethered PHRs is crucial to support sustainable use of the system.ObjectiveThis study assesses the factors related to active use of a self-administered function (Health Notes) in an EMR-tethered PHR (Health4U) in a tertiary academic hospital.MethodsThis research is a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary academic hospital in South Korea. The enrollees included adults aged 19 years and older with experience accessing Health4U in the 13-month period after June 2013. The primary outcome was the adoption of Health Notes in accordance with the number of chronic diseases. Socio-demographic variables were included as confounding factors.ResultsSubjects 71 years of age and older were less likely to become active users of Health Notes than those 30 years and younger. Moreover, compared with men, women had 44% and 40% lower tendencies to become Health Notes users and active users, respectively. Those who accessed the desktop page and/or mobile page had higher tendencies to become users of Health Notes. We found a consistent increase in the odds ratio as the number of chronic diseases increased in the active users. When considering specific diseases, patients who had cancer or chronic kidney disease had higher tendencies to become users of Health Notes.ConclusionsPatients with a greater number of chronic diseases tended to use PHR more actively, and used the self-administered function. Women and the elderly may have lower tendencies to actively use PHR. Therefore, items specific to the health of each demographic-women, the elderly, and those with chronic diseases-should be carefully considered to support sustainable use of PHRs.
| S-EPMC5344982 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundUniversal access to assessment and treatment of mental health and learning disorders remains a significant and unmet need. There are many people without access to care because of economic, geographic, and cultural barriers, as well as the limited availability of clinical experts who could help advance our understanding and treatment of mental health.ObjectiveThis study aims to create an open, configurable software platform to build clinical measures, mobile assessments, tasks, and interventions without programming expertise. Specifically, our primary requirements include an administrator interface for creating and scheduling recurring and customized questionnaires where end users receive and respond to scheduled notifications via an iOS or Android app on a mobile device. Such a platform would help relieve overwhelmed health systems and empower remote and disadvantaged subgroups in need of accurate and effective information, assessment, and care. This platform has the potential to advance scientific research by supporting the collection of data with instruments tailored to specific scientific questions from large, distributed, and diverse populations.MethodsWe searched for products that satisfy these requirements. We designed and developed a new software platform called MindLogger, which exceeds the requirements. To demonstrate the platform's configurability, we built multiple applets (collections of activities) within the MindLogger mobile app and deployed several of them, including a comprehensive set of assessments underway in a large-scale, longitudinal mental health study.ResultsOf the hundreds of products we researched, we found 10 that met our primary requirements with 4 that support end-to-end encryption, 2 that enable restricted access to individual users' data, 1 that provides open-source software, and none that satisfy all three. We compared features related to information presentation and data capture capabilities; privacy and security; and access to the product, code, and data. We successfully built MindLogger mobile and web applications, as well as web browser-based tools for building and editing new applets and for administering them to end users. MindLogger has end-to-end encryption, enables restricted access, is open source, and supports a variety of data collection features. One applet is currently collecting data from children and adolescents in our mental health study, and other applets are in different stages of testing and deployment for use in clinical and research settings.ConclusionsWe demonstrated the flexibility and applicability of the MindLogger platform through its deployment in a large-scale, longitudinal, mobile mental health study and by building a variety of other mental health-related applets. With this release, we encourage a broad range of users to apply the MindLogger platform to create and test applets to advance health care and scientific research. We hope that increasing the availability of applets designed to assess and administer interventions will facilitate access to health care in the general population.
| S-EPMC8663601 | biostudies-literature