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Digital Health for Exercise Prescription in Health and Disease

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Digital Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2021) | Viewed by 15234

Special Issue Editors

IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, LaMSS - Laboratory of Movement and Sport Science, Via Riccardo Galeazzi 4, 20161 Milano, Italy
Interests: physical activity; exercise physiology; sport medicine; digital health; metabolic complications; inflammations; sarcopenia; HIV; orthopedics; chronic diseases
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 58, 20132 Milan, Italy
Interests: digital health; physical activity; patient empowerment; HIV; inflammation; chronic diseases
Philips Research, Bangor University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Interests: exercise physiology, cardio-respiratory fitness, energy expenditure, cardiac rehabilitation, mobile-Health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Physical activity delays all-cause mortality in the general population and reduces the risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and some type of cancers. Consistently, longitudinal studies in persons with these conditions have shown improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, body composition, depression symptoms, and quality of life after physical activity and exercise interventions. Nevertheless, long-term adherence to physical activity and exercise programs, which is key to such health benefits, is still rather poor. The use of wearable electronic devices (e.g., activity monitors, smartwatches) and their connection to mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, applications) could help to increase program adherence through activity monitoring, providing awareness and motivational personalized feedback. Although electronic devices are useful to promote physical activity, there are limited controlled studies that have assessed their benefits in improving cardiorespiratory fitness and the relationships between their use and clinical outcomes. In addition, the existing devices are not yet used to prescribe tailored physical exercise interventions and to evaluate fitness and clinical outcomes.

The present Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the use of wearable electronic devices and their connection to mobile applications to monitor physical activity and their association with specific fitness and clinical outcomes. Research papers, reviews, case reports methodological papers, position papers, brief reports, and commentaries are welcome.

Dr. Matteo Bonato
Dr. Filippo Turrini
Dr. Francesco Sartor
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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2500 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

  • digital health
  • lifestyle change
  • mobile-health
  • sport medicine
  • exercise physiology
  • patient empowerment
  • chronic diseases

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 364 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Quality of Mobile Applications (Apps) for Management of Low Back Pain Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS)
by Adrian Escriche-Escuder, Irene De-Torres, Cristina Roldán-Jiménez, Jaime Martín-Martín, Antonio Muro-Culebras, Manuel González-Sánchez, Maria Ruiz-Muñoz, Fermín Mayoral-Cleries, Attila Biró, Wen Tang, Borjanka Nikolova, Alfredo Salvatore and Antonio I Cuesta-Vargas
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(24), 9209; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17249209 - 09 Dec 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4620
Abstract
Digital health interventions may improve different behaviours. However, the rapid proliferation of technological solutions often does not allow for a correct assessment of the quality of the tools. This study aims to review and assess the quality of the available mobile applications (apps) [...] Read more.
Digital health interventions may improve different behaviours. However, the rapid proliferation of technological solutions often does not allow for a correct assessment of the quality of the tools. This study aims to review and assess the quality of the available mobile applications (apps) related to interventions for low back pain. Two reviewers search the official stores of Android (Play Store) and iOS (App Store) for localisation in Spain and the United Kingdom, in September 2019, searching for apps related to interventions for low back pain. Seventeen apps finally are included. The quality of the apps is measured using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). The scores of each section and the final score of the apps are retrieved and the mean and standard deviation obtained. The average quality ranges between 2.83 and 4.57 (mean 3.82) on a scale from 1 (inadequate) to 5 (excellent). The best scores are found in functionality (4.7), followed by aesthetic content (mean 4.1). Information (2.93) and engagement (3.58) are the worst rated items. Apps generally have good overall quality, especially in terms of functionality and aesthetics. Engagement and information should be improved in most of the apps. Moreover, scientific evidence is necessary to support the use of applied health tools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Health for Exercise Prescription in Health and Disease)
16 pages, 1177 KiB  
Article
Important Factors Affecting User Experience Design and Satisfaction of a Mobile Health App—A Case Study of Daily Yoga App
by Na Yu and Yi-Ting Huang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(19), 6967; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17196967 - 23 Sep 2020
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7425
Abstract
In recent years, mobile health (mHealth) has gained popularity. Yoga apps help users to exercise at home and improve their health. It is worth discussing how to give yogis a better experience and higher satisfaction to improve their willingness to keep using yoga [...] Read more.
In recent years, mobile health (mHealth) has gained popularity. Yoga apps help users to exercise at home and improve their health. It is worth discussing how to give yogis a better experience and higher satisfaction to improve their willingness to keep using yoga apps. In this study, the Daily Yoga app was selected as the research object to explore important factors related to its user experience design and user satisfaction. Through a literature review and Delphi method composed of eight experts, this study put forward the important criteria framework of user experience design for the Daily Yoga app and then, used the DEMATEL (Decision Making and Trial Evaluation Laboratory)-based ANP (Analytic Network Process) method to determine the factors’ importance order and the causal relationships among them. Finally, combined with the results of an importance–performance analysis of 16 real users, we discuss the improvement measures. The research results show that the yoga class is the most critical factor in the user experience design of the Daily Yoga app, the target plan is a factor that is in great need of improvement, and having an attractive interface can improve user experience. The evaluation model of the study can act as a reference for improving user experience with the Daily Yoga app, and can also be widely used in the process of user experience design, questionnaire production, and evaluation optimization of mHealth app and related applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Health for Exercise Prescription in Health and Disease)
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18 pages, 4492 KiB  
Article
Factors Influencing Walking and Exercise Adherence in Healthy Older Adults Using Monitoring and Interfacing Technology: Preliminary Evidence
by Andrea Albergoni, Florentina J. Hettinga, Wim Stut and Francesco Sartor
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(17), 6142; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17176142 - 24 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2537
Abstract
Background: Monitoring and interfacing technologies may increase physical activity (PA) program adherence in older adults, but they should account for aspects influencing older adults’ PA behavior. This study aimed at gathering preliminary wrist-based PA adherence data in free-living and relate these to the [...] Read more.
Background: Monitoring and interfacing technologies may increase physical activity (PA) program adherence in older adults, but they should account for aspects influencing older adults’ PA behavior. This study aimed at gathering preliminary wrist-based PA adherence data in free-living and relate these to the influencing factors. Methods: Ten healthy older adults (4 females, aged 70–78 years) provided health, fatigue, activity levels, attitude towards pacing, and self-efficacy information and performed a 6 min-walk test to assess their fitness. After a baseline week they followed a two-week walking and exercise intervention. Participants saw their progress via a purposely designed mobile application. Results: Walking and exercise adherence did not increase during the intervention (p = 0.38, p = 0.65). Self-efficacy decreased (p = 0.024). The baseline physical component of the Short Form Health Survey was the most predictive variable of walking adherence. Baseline perceived risk of over-activity and resting heart rate (HRrest) were the most predictive variables of exercise adherence. When the latter two were used to cluster participants according to their exercise adherence, the fitness gap between exercise-adherent and non-adherent increased after the intervention (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Risk of over-activity and HRrest profiled short-term exercise adherence in older adults. If confirmed in a larger and longer study, these could personalize interventions aimed at increasing adherence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Health for Exercise Prescription in Health and Disease)
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