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Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society

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A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "TeleHealth and Digital Healthcare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2022) | Viewed by 49187

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dongxiao Gu

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Guest Editor

The School of Management, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei 230009, China
Interests: managerial and decision issues in public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Jiantong Zhang

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: operational management in health; health service operation; health innovation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Jia Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Business, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Interests: e-health; health knowledge management; health text mining
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Dong-Heon (Austin) Kwak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Management and Information Systems, College of Business Administration, Kent State University, 475 Terrace Dr, Kent, OH 44224, USA
Interests: ERP systems; gamification; website design; social desirability; security

Dr. Oleg V. Zolotarev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Information Systems in Economics and Management, Russian New University, Radio st., 22, Moscow 105005, Russia
Interests: machine learning in medicine; healthcare intelligence; computer linguistics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are now in a digital and smart society. In recent years, lots of emerging information technologies have begun to attract a lot of attention, including mobile Internet, big data, communication technology (5G), cloud computing, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and so on. The rapid development of these technologies has promoted the intelligence of society. The digital and smart society has improved people’s living standards but also changed people’s habits and ways of thinking. With the changes in people’s living habits, ways of thinking, forms of communication, and technical support, healthcare is constantly transforming and benefitting from innovations. Differently from traditional medicine, healthcare is combining with emerging technologies to produce effective products, intelligent assisted diagnosis, Internet hospitals, wearable medical devices, intelligent surgical devices, medical big data analysis, online health communities, and other products which have improved people’s medical conditions and health levels.

We are also moving toward global aging. In order to adapt to aged societies, and to support a greater desire of people to live independently as well as to enable younger generations to maintain their health and active participation in the society when they grow old, we need a significant change in the behaviors and thought processes of healthcare providers, the public, and elderly people’s friends and families. This will relate to all aspects of a person’s life, including planning, decision making, and day-to-day living. To make super-aged societies sustainable, innovations with digital technologies are necessary to enhance people’s happiness and reduce social costs at the same time.

This Special Issue focuses on how to utilize these transformations and innovations to further promote health and better deal with the global aging challenge, and it invites research on, among others, technology development or applications in digital and smart health, empirical analysis of health behavior, and managerial decision problems in digital health. Papers on the considerable research challenges and comprehensive achievements are especially welcome.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Emerging digital technologies, Internet, and health innovation
Health IT acceptance or involvement
Health information systems
Chronic disease prevention and management
Behavioral issues in health science innovation
Safety, security, and privacy of health information technologies
Artificial intelligence in healthcare
Online health communities
Big data and health informatics
E-Health and smart health
Internet hospitals
Clinical, public health, and genomic data integration
Health knowledge management, dissemination, communication, and health promotion
Elderly health and aging care
Community and rural healthcare innovation
Mobile health and health social networks
Mobile Apps, wearable devices, Internet-based health IT products
Healthcare policy analysis
Combination and integration of medicine, healthcare, and aging care
Operation management and decision science in healthcare
Safety and health management in the workspace
The Internet of healthcare

Dr. Dongxiao Gu
Prof. Dr. Jiantong Zhang
Prof. Dr. Jia Li
Dr. Dong-Heon (Austin) Kwak
Dr. Oleg V. Zolotarev
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

empirical methods for digital healthcare studies
digital healthcare innovation
operational and managerial issues in healthcare
data-driven healthcare studies
internet of healthcare
smart health management

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1283 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Causes Health Information Avoidance Behavior under Normalized COVID-19 Pandemic? A Research from Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

by Qingxiu Ding, Yadi Gu, Gongrang Zhang, Xingguo Li, Qin Zhao, Dongxiao Gu, Xuejie Yang and Xiaoyu Wang

Healthcare 2022, 10(8), 1381; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10081381 - 25 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2305

Abstract

Affected by the normalization of the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s lives are subject to many restrictions, and they are under enormous psychological and physical pressure. In this situation, health information may be a burden and cause of anxiety for people; thus, the refusal of health information occurs frequently. Health-information-avoidance behavior has produced potential impacts and harms on people’s lives. Based on more than 120,000 words of textual data obtained from semi-structured interviews, summarizing a case collection of 55 events, this paper explores the factors and how they combine to lead to avoidance of health information. First, the influencing factors are constructed according to the existing research, and then the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method is used to discover the configuration relationship of health-information-avoidance behavior. The results show that the occurrence of health-information avoidance is not the result of a single factor but the result of a configuration of health-information literacy, negative emotions, perceived information, health-information presentation, cross-platform distribution, and the network information environment. These findings provide inspiration for reducing the adverse consequences of avoiding health information and improving the construction of health-information service systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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15 pages, 5829 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Augmented Reality-Based Proprioceptive Training Program on Balance, Positioning Sensation and Flexibility in Healthy Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

by Jaewon Lee, Jaeho Yu, Jiheon Hong, Dongyeop Lee, Jinseop Kim and Seonggil Kim

Healthcare 2022, 10(7), 1202; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10071202 - 27 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1880

Abstract

This study investigates whether Augmented Reality (AR)-based interventions can be as effective as physical therapists (PT) regarding balance, positioning sensation, and flexibility. A sample of 39 regular people who voluntarily participated in this study were randomly distributed into two groups. Then AR was applied in the experimental group and PT was applied in the control group. Variables were measured by Tetrax (static balance), Y-balance test (dynamic balance), CSMI (proprioception), and sit and reach test (flexibility). All measurements were analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-test. The exercise program of this study improved the stability index (ST) of the static balance in both groups after the intervention, and there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) at normal eye close (NC) and Pillow with eye close (PC) positions. Moreover, regarding the case of dynamic balance, there were significant differences in AR and PT groups to reach in all directions (p < 0.05). In the case of positioning sensation, there was no significant difference in both groups (p > 0.05), and there was a significant difference in flexibility (p < 0.05). When comparing the two groups, there was no significant difference in all categories (p > 0.05). As a result, AR can be considered an effective form of therapy and can be selected according to individual conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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15 pages, 559 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Research Based on Online Medical Platform: The Influence of Strong and Weak Ties Information on Patients’ Consultation Behavior

by Yuting Zhang, Chutong Qiu and Jiantong Zhang

Healthcare 2022, 10(6), 977; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10060977 - 24 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1861

Abstract

As an indispensable part of contemporary medical services, Internet-based medical platforms can provide patients with a full range of multi-disciplinary and multi-modal treatment services. Along with the emergence of many healthcare influencers and the increasing connection between online and offline consultations, the operation of individual physicians and their teams on Internet-based medical platforms has started to attract a lot of attention. The purpose of this paper is to, based on an Internet platform, study how the information on physicians’ homepages influences patients’ consultation behavior, so as to provide suggestions for the construction of physicians’ personal websites. We distinguish variables into strong- and weak-ties types, dependent on whether deep social interactions between physicians and patients have happened. If there exist further social interactions, we define the variable as the “strong ties” type, otherwise, “weak ties”. The patients’ consultation behavior will be expressed as the volume of online consultation, i.e., the number of patients. We obtained the strong and weak ties information of each physician based on EWM (entropy weight method), so as to establish a regression model with explained variable, i.e., the number of patients, and three explanatory variables, i.e., the strong and weak ties information, and their interaction term. The estimation results verified our hypotheses and proved to be robust. It showed that both strong and weak ties information can positively influence patients’ consultation behavior, and the influence of weak ties information is greater. Regarding the positive influence of strong and weak ties, we found a trade off effect between them. Based on the results, we finalize with some suggestions on how to improve a physician’s online medical consultation volume. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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12 pages, 415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trust-Based Research: Influencing Factors of Patients’ Medical Choice Behavior in the Online Medical Community

by Chutong Qiu, Yuting Zhang, Xiaoyu Wang and Dongxiao Gu

Healthcare 2022, 10(5), 938; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10050938 - 18 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1976

Abstract

The medical service is a special credit commodity, and trust plays a very important role in patients’ online medical choice behavior. By collecting information about the doctors on China’s leading online medical platform (Platform A), a regression analysis model was constructed, based on the credibility theory model, which has the following three dimensions: ability trust, benevolence trust, and integrity trust. The results showed that the medical title of the doctors, their department’s reputation, the number of gifts given to them, and the number of patients who registered with them after diagnosis, among other factors, had a significant, positive impact on the behavior of choosing doctors. Among these considerations, the number of patients registered after diagnosis had the greatest impact on the behavior of choosing doctors. This factor is the result of each doctor’s personal brand management, which reflects their comprehensive ability, reputation and integrity. Compared with previous studies, this paper creatively analyzed the important influence of departmental reputation and the number of patients registered after diagnosis on medical choice behavior and puts forward that a doctor can use the number of patients registered after diagnosis to manage their personal brand. Based on the results of this study, we will also put forward suggestions from the perspectives of patients, doctors and the online medical community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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28 pages, 1067 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Actual Use Behavior of Healthcare Wearable Devices on Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Survey of People with Dementia and Their Caregivers in Ghana

by Ebenezer Larnyo, Baozhen Dai, Abigail Larnyo, Jonathan Aseye Nutakor, Sabina Ampon-Wireko, Edmund Nana Kwame Nkrumah and Ruth Appiah

Healthcare 2022, 10(2), 275; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10020275 - 30 Jan 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3936

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of dementia has necessitated the introduction and use of healthcare wearable devices to augment the healthcare services delivered to people with dementia (PWDs). Unfortunately, evidence on user feedback and the real impact of the actual use of these devices on the quality of life of PWDs has not been fully explored, especially in the context of developing countries. This study, therefore, seeks to evaluate the impact of actual use behavior (AUB) of healthcare wearable devices on the quality of life (QoL) of PWDs in Ghana by using constructs from the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model and the SF-36 quality of life instrument. Data were collected from people with dementia and, in some cases, caregivers (acting as proxies) in three administrative regions of Ghana using structured questionnaires. Of the 420 questionnaires distributed, 356 were returned, giving a response rate of (356/420, 84.8%). Three hundred and twenty (320) responses were used for further analysis, employing the Partial Least Squares based on Structural Equation Modeling. The results showed a significant positive relationship between AUB and QoL (p < 0.001). Other predictors such as behavioral intention, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy and social influence were also found to significantly impact the actual use behavior of healthcare wearable devices among PWDs. The study also revealed that 4% (14) of patients rated their reported health transition associated with the use of healthcare wearable devices as excellent, 42.5% (136) as very good, and 39.4% (126) as good, respectively at the time of the study compared to a year ago. This study provided empirical evidence of the positive impact of the actual use of healthcare wearable devices on the quality of life of PWDs and further highlighted the factors that drive actual use behavior among PWDs in Ghana. Based on the findings of this study, stakeholders need to create the necessary conditions that will facilitate the adoption and use of healthcare wearable devices, as this will help improve the quality of life, reduce the burden of the disease on caregivers, and enable independent living of PWDs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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18 pages, 1638 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comprehensive Analysis of E-Health Literacy Research Focuses and Trends

by Chen Wang, Xiangyi Wu and Huiying Qi

Healthcare 2022, 10(1), 66; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10010066 - 30 Dec 2021

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5809

Abstract

Objective: To sort out the research focuses in the field of e-health literacy, analyze its research topics and development trends, and provide a reference for relevant research in this field in the future. Methods: The literature search yielded a total of 431 articles retrieved from the core dataset of Web of Science using the keywords “ehealth literacy”, “E-health literacy” and “electronic health literacy”. A bibliometric analysis was performed by using CiteSpace to explore the development history, hot themes, and trends of future research in the field of e-health literacy. Results: The thematic evolution path in e-health literacy was divided into three stages. The research focuses were inspected from four aspects: evaluation, correlation with health-promotion behaviors, influencing factors, and intervention measures for improvement. Conclusion: E-health literacy research faces challenges such as the development of the connotation of the term, the objectivity of evaluation methods, and the long-term impact of interventions. Future research themes in e-health literacy will include the standardization of evaluation instruments and the individualization of therapeutic strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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13 pages, 2301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Patient-Generated Health Data: Comparison of Two Versions of Long-Term Mobile Personal Health Record Usage Logs

by Do-Hoon Kim, Yura Lee, Ji Seon Oh, Dong-Woo Seo, Kye Hwa Lee, Young-Hak Kim, Woo Sung Kim and Jae-Ho Lee

Healthcare 2022, 10(1), 53; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10010053 - 28 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1888

Abstract

Patient-generated health data (PGHD) can be managed easily by a mobile personal health record (mPHR) and can increase patient engagement. This study investigated the effect of PGHD functions on mPHR usage. We collected usage log data from an mPHR app, My Chart in My Hand (MCMH), for seven years. We analyzed the number of accesses and trends for each menu by age and sex according to the version-up. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis was used to determine the likelihood of continuous app usage according to the menus and version-up. The total number of users of each version were 15,357 and 51,553, respectively. Adult females under 50 years were the most prevalent user group (30.0%). The “My Chart” menu was the most accessed menu, and the total access count increased by ~10 times after the version-up. The “Health Management” menu designed for PGHD showed the largest degree of increase in its likelihood of continuous usage after the version-up (1.245; p < 0.0001) across menus (range: 0.925–1.050). Notably, improvement of PGHD management in adult females over 50 years is needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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13 pages, 636 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nonlinear Associations between Medical Expenditure, Perceived Medical Attitude, and Sociodemographics, and Older Adults’ Self-Rated Health in China: Applying the Extreme Gradient Boosting Model

by Yuqing Liang, Wanwan Zheng and Woon-Seek Lee

Healthcare 2022, 10(1), 39; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10010039 - 26 Dec 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2236

Abstract

Background: although China’s total health expenditure has been dramatically increased so that the country can cope with its aging population, inequalities among individuals in terms of their medical expenditures (relative to their income level) have exacerbated health problems among older adults. This study aims to examine the nonlinear associations between each of medical expenditure, perceived medical attitude, and sociodemographics, and older adults’ self-rated health (SRH); it does so by using data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies survey. Method: we used the extreme gradient boosting model to explore the nonlinear association between various factors and older adults’ SRH outcomes. We then conducted partial dependence plots to examine the threshold effects of each factor on older adults’ SRH. Results: older adults’ medical expenditure exceeded their overall income. Body mass index (BMI) and personal health expenditure play an essential role in predicting older adults’ SRH outcomes. We found older adult age, physical exercise status, and residential location to be robust predictors of SRH outcomes in older adults. Partial dependence plots of the results visualized the nonlinear association between variables and the threshold effects of factors on older adults’ SRH outcomes. Conclusions: findings from this study underscore the importance of medical expenditure, perceived medical attitudes, and BMI as important predictors of health benefits in older adults. The potential threshold effects of medical expenditure on older adults’ SRH outcomes provide a better understanding of the formation of appropriate medical policy interventions by balancing the government and personal medical expenditure to promote health benefits among older adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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16 pages, 896 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Types of Elderly Intelligent Health Management Technology and the Influencing Factors of Its Adoption

by Zhu Chen, Huiying Qi and Luman Wang

Healthcare 2021, 9(11), 1494; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare9111494 - 02 Nov 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2894

Abstract

[Background]: In recent years, aging has become a global social problem. Intelligent health management technology (IHMT) provides solutions for the elderly to deal with various health risks. However, the elderly are facing many difficulties in using IHMT. Studying the application types of IHMT and the influencing factors of the elderly’s acceptance of it will help to improve the use behavior of the elderly. [Methods]: This paper summarizes the application types of IHMT, identifies the influencing factors of the elderly’s adaption of IHMT, and makes a systematic comment on the influencing factors. [Results]: We divide the different functions of IHMT for the elderly into four types: self-monitoring, medical care, remote monitoring, and health education. The influencing factors are divided into three types: individual, social, and technology. [Conclusions]: This study finds that IHMT’s application covers all aspects of the health services of the elderly. Among these applications, self-monitoring is the most used. We divided the influencing factors of the elderly’s acceptance of IHMT into three categories and nine subcategories, having 25 variables. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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19 pages, 877 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Social Media Use on Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults with Self-Reported Hearing Impairment: An Empirical Study

by Yiming Ma, Changyong Liang, Xuejie Yang, Haitao Zhang, Shuping Zhao and Liyan Lu

Healthcare 2021, 9(11), 1403; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare9111403 - 20 Oct 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2702

Abstract

Older people with hearing impairment are more likely to develop depressive symptoms due to physical disability and loss of social communication. This study investigated the effects of social media on social relations, subjective aging, and depressive symptoms in these older adults based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework. It provides new empirical evidence to support improving the mental health and rebuilding the social relations of older people. A formal questionnaire was designed using the Wenjuanxing platform and distributed online through WeChat; 643 valid questionnaires were received from older people with self-reported hearing impairments, and SmartPLS 3.28 was used to analyze the data. The results show that (1) social media significantly impacts the social relations of older people with hearing impairment (social networks, β = 0.132, T = 3.444; social support, β = 0.129, T = 2.95; social isolation, β = 0.107, T = 2.505). (2) For these older people, social isolation has the biggest impact on their psychosocial loss (β = 0.456, T = 10.458), followed by the impact of social support (β = 0.103, T = 2.014); a hypothesis about social network size was not confirmed (β = 0.007, T = 0.182). Both social media (β = 0.096, T = 2.249) and social support (β = 0.174, T = 4.434) significantly affect the self-efficacy of hearing-impaired older people. (3) Both subjective aging (psychosocial loss, β = 0.260, T = 6.036; self-efficacy, β = 0.106, T = 3.15) and social isolation (β = 0.268, T = 6.307) significantly affect depressive symptoms in older people with hearing impairment. This study expands the theories of social media aging cognition, social support, and social networks and can provide practical contributions to the social media use and mental health of special persons 60 years and older. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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19 pages, 873 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Different Roles of Telehealth and Telemedicine on Medical Tourism: An Empirical Study from Azerbaijan

by Dongxiao Gu, Gunay Humbatova, Yi Xie, Xuejie Yang, Oleg Zolotarev and Gongrang Zhang

Healthcare 2021, 9(8), 1073; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare9081073 - 20 Aug 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4729

Abstract

With the rapid progress in mobile healthcare and Internet medicine, the impact of telehealth and telemedicine on the satisfaction of patients and their willingness to travel has become a focus of the academic research community. This study analyses the differences between telehealth and telemedicine and their role in medical tourism. We examine how the information quality and communication quality of telehealth and telemedicine influence patient satisfaction, and their effects on patients’ willingness to undertake medical travel and on their medical travel behaviours. We conducted an empirical study on the use of telehealth and telemedicine and on medical travel behaviour in Azerbaijan using a survey for data collection. A total of 500 results were collected and analysed using SmartPLS 3.0. Results show that (1) the communication quality and information quality of telehealth and telemedicine and their effects on satisfaction have significantly positive influences on willingness to undertake medical travel; (2) the psychological expectations of value and cost (perceived value and perceived cost) have a positive influence on medical travel; and (3) willingness to participate in medical travel positively influences medical travel behaviour. Moreover, results of this study have implications for research on, and the practice of, using telehealth and telemedicine as they relate to medical tourism. This research may help improve knowledge about telehealth and telemedicine and understand the differences between them in detail. This empirical research model may also be useful for researchers from other countries who wish to measure medical travel behaviour. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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Review

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11 pages, 975 KiB

Open AccessReview

Virtual Reality Rehabilitation’s Impact on Negative Symptoms and Psychosocial Rehabilitation in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

by André Novo, Jéssica Fonsêca, Bárbara Barroso, Manuel Guimarães, Afonso Louro, Hélder Fernandes, Rui Pedro Lopes and Paulo Leitão

Healthcare 2021, 9(11), 1429; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare9111429 - 23 Oct 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3210

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder with symptoms that can severely affect patients’ quality of life. While drug administration inhibits most of the positive symptoms, it fails to effectively treat the negative symptoms and in turn relies on rehabilitation therapies. With technological progress, virtual reality (VR) has been the target of recent studies in terms of mental health rehabilitation and has been shown to be a tool with ecological validity in order to introduce the individual to situations similar to their daily life. Methods: From July to August 2021, we conducted a systematic review with the purpose of understanding the impact of virtual reality rehabilitation on negative symptoms and psychosocial rehabilitation in the schizophrenia spectrum. The searches were performed in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. Results: In our search, we identified 201 results, where 108 duplicates were excluded, resulting in a final balance of 93. After reading and assessing the titles and abstracts, 66 studies were excluded. Of the remaining 27 reports, 23 were excluded for not meeting the previously defined eligibility criteria, resulting in the inclusion of four studies in this systematic review. Conclusions: The available data on the specific topic was limited and could have been more complete. However, in our review, we were able to identify statistically relevant results demonstrating the effectiveness of intervention. We could find medium to large effects, allowing VR to be an ally for rehabilitation of symptoms related to schizophrenia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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Other

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28 pages, 2832 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Diagnostic Features and Potential Applications of PPG Signal in Healthcare: A Systematic Review

by Malak Abdullah Almarshad, Md Saiful Islam, Saad Al-Ahmadi and Ahmed S. BaHammam

Healthcare 2022, 10(3), 547; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10030547 - 16 Mar 2022

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 9042

Abstract

Recent research indicates that Photoplethysmography (PPG) signals carry more information than oxygen saturation level (SpO2) and can be utilized for affordable, fast, and noninvasive healthcare applications. All these encourage the researchers to estimate its feasibility as an alternative to many expansive, time-wasting, and invasive methods. This systematic review discusses the current literature on diagnostic features of PPG signal and their applications that might present a potential venue to be adapted into many health and fitness aspects of human life. The research methodology is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines 2020. To this aim, papers from 1981 to date are reviewed and categorized in terms of the healthcare application domain. Along with consolidated research areas, recent topics that are growing in popularity are also discovered. We also highlight the potential impact of using PPG signals on an individual’s quality of life and public health. The state-of-the-art studies suggest that in the years to come PPG wearables will become pervasive in many fields of medical practices, and the main domains include cardiology, respiratory, neurology, and fitness. Main operation challenges, including performance and robustness obstacles, are identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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12 pages, 5477 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

The Clinical Effects of Type 2 Diabetes Patient Management Using Digital Healthcare Technology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Ji-eun Kim, Tae-shin Park and Kwang Joon Kim

Healthcare 2022, 10(3), 522; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare10030522 - 13 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2887

Abstract

The disease control rate is very low (at less than 30%) for diabetes. The use of digital healthcare technology is increasing recently for continuous management in daily life. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the clinical effects of digital healthcare technology for patients with type 2 diabetes management. For a review of the literature, databases such as PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched using Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms published up to 9 August 2021. As a result, 2354 articles were identified, and 12 randomized controlled trial articles were finally included. Digital healthcare technology combined management for type 2 diabetes significantly decreased HbA1c (p < 0.00001, standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.49) and marginally decreased triglyceride, compared with usual care (p = 0.06, SMD = −0.18). However, it did not significantly affect BMI (p = 0.20, SMD = −0.47), total cholesterol (p = 0.13, SMD = −0.19), HLD-C (p = 0.89, SMD = −0.01), LDL-C (p = 0.95, SMD = −0.01), systolic BP (p = 0.83, SMD = 0.03), or diastolic BP (p = 0.23, SMD = 0.65), compared with usual care. These results indicate that digital healthcare technology can improve HbA1c and triglyceride levels of type 2 diabetes patients. Further well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm the clinical effect of digital healthcare technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Healthcare Transformation and Innovation in Digital, Aging, and Smart Society)

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