Perceptions of Health Behaviors and Mobile Health Applications in an Academically Elite College Population to Inform a Targeted Health Promotion Program.

BACKGROUND: College is a critical developmental time when many emerging adults engage in unhealthy behaviors (i.e., lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking) and consequently experience an increased risk for a decline in cardiovascular health. Understanding the beliefs and opinions of the target population is important to develop effective health promotion interventions. The goal of this study was to understand opinions regarding health and health-related mobile technology of college students at an academically elite Midwestern university in order to inform a mobile health promotion intervention following the integrated behavioral model framework. METHOD: Eighteen college students between the ages of 18 and 22 participated in one of four focus groups, where they discussed perceptions of health behaviors, technology use, and their college environment. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis as well as consensus and conformity analysis. RESULTS: Students reported prioritizing academic success over health and believed in a cultural norm within the university that unhealthy behavioral practices lead to increased academic success. Other identified barriers to achieving good health were (a) low self-efficacy for engaging in healthy behaviors when presented with conflicting academic opportunities and (b) low estimation of the importance of engaging in health behaviors. Regarding mobile health applications (apps), students reported preferring apps that were visually attractive, personalized to each user, and that did not involve competing against other users. CONCLUSION: These results have implications for the development of mobile health promotion interventions for college students, as they highlight facilitators and barriers to health behavior change in an academically elite student body.

Creating and Implementing a Professional Development Program to Improve Organizational Capacity for Health Analytics in a Public Health Setting.

The implementation of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in the public healthcare system of Buenos Aires City began in June 2016. AGISE is a government department that assists in health decision-making processes by providing timely and quality data. In this study we designed a professional development program to improve organizational capacities for health analytics.

Strategy for the Analysis and Visualization of Electronic Medical Record Data for Public Hospitals in the City of Buenos Aires.

Through the development of a dashboard with participative methodology we present a centralized strategy to analyze and visualize EMRs data for the management of 15 public hospitals from Buenos Aires City. This approach could constitute an efficient option for public health systems from developing countries.