A Specific Mobile Health Application for Older HIV-Infected Patients: Usability and Patient's Satisfaction.

Background: HIV infection is an increasingly complex chronic disease associated with numerous medical, psychological, and social problems. The life expectancy of affected patients has increased considerably. Medical apps could also play a role in prevention and management of comorbid conditions in the HIV-infected population. Objectives: To determine the usefulness of an app designed specifically for HIV-infected patients aged 60 years or older and to assess changes in patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment, and quality of health care. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted, including 100 patients (50 per group): (1) an experimental group comprising patients using the app + routine medical care (app group) and (2) with routine medical care (control group). The usability of the app and patient satisfaction were evaluated in the app group at week 48. Quality of life, adherence to treatment, and clinical parameters were compared between both groups at 48 weeks, as well as the number of face-to-face visits. Results: We found that 52.2% and 73.8% of patients in the app group used the app at weeks 24 and 48, respectively. Patients used the app for a mean of 23.7 (±2.84) days over the 48 weeks. The most visited screens were health counseling and medical records (24.8% and 22.2%, respectively). At week 48, 85.2% of patients thought that the app was useful and 91.4% would recommend the app to friends or relatives. The app was well valued by participants (4.79 [±0.21] of 5.00) and 64.6% thought that the app improved their health care.

Peer counselling versus role-playing: Two training methods of therapeutic skills in clinical psychology.

BACKGROUND: Training programmes for clinical psychologists should include evidence-based teaching methods that enable trainees to learn therapeutic skills. Here we compared the perceived utility of role-playing vs. peer counselling. In peer counselling, one student recounts a personal experience to the other, who thus has the opportunity to act as the therapist in relation to a real situation. Given that sharing such personal experiences may provoke discomfort in students, we also examined this aspect. METHOD: Trainees (n=202) were given both role-play and peer counselling activities as a way of practising empathy and active listening. After completing the skills training programme they completed a questionnaire to assess the extent to which each method had helped them to develop their self-awareness and to acquire these therapeutic skills. RESULTS: In general, peer counselling was considered more useful than role-playing for enhancing self-awareness and personal growth, as well as for learning these professional skills. Regarding the discomfort experienced by students, our data suggest that any initial reluctance to share personal experiences is outweighed by the personal and professional benefits obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that experiential learning involving emotionally charged situations is an effective way of teaching therapeutic skills to clinical and health psychology trainees.

Defining the role of the nurse in population-based cancer screening programs.

Nurses are pivotal in cancer prevention and early detection, but the nurse's role in cancer screening programs has been described only in very general terms without specification of activities needed to develop the role. To identify the set of activities that compose the role of the cancer screening nurse, the authors of the current article performed a critical descriptive literature review to document nursing involvement in cancer screening, covering articles published from 2000-2012. A total of 726 potentially relevant studies were identified, and 22 of those were included in the review. Nurses carry out follow-up, coordinate treatment, ensure continuity throughout the process, provide up-to-date and pertinent information to facilitate patient knowledge and choice, work to ensure coordination among the various levels of care, provide ongoing training, lead research and publications concerning daily practice, and collaborate in investigation oriented toward early detection. The literature revealed that the nurse's role in cancer screening involves case management as the main activity as well as, exceptionally, carrying out diagnostic tests.

Peer counselling versus role-playing: Two training methods of therapeutic skills in clinical psychology / Peer counselling versus role-playing: dos métodos de entrenamiento de habilidades terapéuticas en Psicología Clínica

Background: Training programmes for clinical psychologists should include evidence based teaching methods that enable trainees to learn therapeutic skills. Here we compared the perceived utility of role-playing vs. peer counselling. In peer counselling, one student recounts a personal experience to the other, who thus has the opportunity to act as the therapist in relation to a real situation. Given that sharing such personal experiences may provoke discomfort in students, we also examined this aspect. Method: Trainees (n=202) were given both role-play and peer counselling activities as a way of practising empathy and active listening. After completing the skills training programme they completed a questionnaire to assess the extent to which each method had helped them to develop their self-awareness and to acquire these therapeutic skills. Results: In general, peer counselling was considered more useful than role-playing for enhancing self-awareness and personal growth, as well as for learning these professional skills. Regarding the discomfort experienced by students, our data suggest that any initial reluctance to share personal experiences is outweighed by the personal and professional benefits obtained. Conclusions: Our results indicate that experiential learning involving emotionally charged situations is an effective way of teaching therapeutic skills to clinical and health psychology trainees (AU)

Antecedentes: los programas de formación para psicólogos clínicos deben contar con métodos docentes, empíricamente validados, que permitan aprender y practicar las habilidades terapéuticas. En este trabajo se comparó la utilidad percibida del role playing vs peer counselling. En el peer counselling, el alumno que hace de cliente relata una experiencia personal, y el que hace de terapeuta tiene la oportunidad de trabajar con material real. Dado que el intercambio de experiencias personales puede provocar incomodidad, también analizamos este aspecto. Método: 202 alumnos ejecutaron diversos role playings y peer counsellings para entrenar empatía y escucha activa. Después de finalizar el programa de entrenamiento completaron un cuestionario para evaluar el grado de utilidad de cada ejercicio para desarrollar su autoconocimiento y para adquirir estas habilidades. Resultados: en general, el peer counselling se consideró más útil que role playing para mejorar el autoconocimiento, así como para el aprendizaje de estas habilidades. En cuanto a la incomodidad experimentada por los estudiantes, nuestros datos sugieren que cualquier reticencia inicial para compartir experiencias personales se ve compensado por los beneficios personales y profesionales obtenidos. Conclusiones: nuestros datos indican que el aprendizaje experiencial con carga emocional es una forma efectiva de enseñar habilidades terapéuticas en psicología sanitaria (AU)

Aprendizaje experiencial de habilidades terapéuticas y análisis de su utilidad en función de la personalidad / Experiential learning of therapeutic skills and analysis of their usefulness depending on the personality

Se comparó la utilidad percibida de dos métodos de entrenamiento de habilidades terapéuticas en la formación del Psicólogo General Sanitario: el asesoramiento entre iguales (el alumno que hace de cliente expone una experiencia personal, es decir, se trabaja con experiencias reales) y la representación de papeles (el alumno que hace de cliente representa un papel). Además, se evaluó el grado de incomodidad que puede suponer al alumno compartir experiencias personales íntimas, así como la relación entre la personalidad de los alumnos y la utilidad percibida de ambos métodos docentes. Los participantes, 149 alumnos del Máster en Psicología General Sanitaria de la Universidad de Barcelona, cumplimentaron el NEO-FFI y un cuestionario ad hoc sobre la metodología docente. El asesoramiento entre iguales fue considerado más útil que la representación de papeles tanto para el trabajo del autoconocimiento como para la formación como psicólogo clínico y la utilidad de ambos fue predicha principalmente por la dimensión "Responsabilidad". La incomodidad experimentada fue significativamente menor que la anticipada. Tales resultados tienen importantes implicaciones docentes para la formación de habilidades terapéuticas

The perceived utility of two training methods of therapeutic skills was compared in the training of General Health Psychologist: the peer counseling (the student who plays the client role relates a personal experience and therefore the therapist works with real experiences), and the role-playing (the student who plays the role of patient always plays a role). The degree of discomfort that sharing intimate personal experiences may involve for students was also examined, as well as the relationship between personality and utility perceived The participants, 149 students of the Master in General Health Psychology at University of Barcelona, completed the NEO-FFI and an ad hoc questionnaire to assess the teaching methodology. The peer counseling was considered more useful than role-playing to learn therapeutic skills and the utility of both was predicted mainly by the dimension of Responsibility. The discomfort experienced was significantly lower than anticipated. These results have important implications for training in therapeutic skills