Risk Factors for COVID-19: A Systematic Mapping Study.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has affected people in several countries around the world. They experience respiratory symptoms that can be mild, moderate, or severe. Several reviews that characterize the risk factors of COVID-19 have been performed, but most address only risk factors associated with medical conditions, ignoring environmental and sociodemographic-socioeconomic factors. OBJECTIVE: This study aims at characterizing different risk factors in the published literature that influence contagion by COVID-19. METHODS: The review consists of three stages, including a systematic mapping with studies found in the Scopus database, an analysis of results, and finally the identification of relevant COVID-19 risk factors. RESULTS: A map of studies id provided considering two main groups: the type of research and context. Most studies consider risk factors associated with medical conditions, while research on other factors is scarce. CONCLUSIONS: Medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and factors such as age and sex, appear to be the ones that increase the risk of contracting COVID-19. Further research is needed on environmental, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic risk factors.

Human-centered design of a personal health record system for metabolic syndrome management based on the ISO 9241-210:2010 standard.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of information and communication technologies to support healthy lifestyle interventions. In particular, personal health record systems (PHR-Ss) empower self-care, essential to support lifestyle changes. Approaches such as the user-centered design (UCD), which is already a standard within the software industry (ISO 9241-210:2010), provide specifications and guidelines to guarantee user acceptance and quality of eHealth systems. However, no single PHR-S for metabolic syndrome (MS) developed following the recommendations of the ISO 9241-210:2010 specification has been found in the literature. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the development of a PHR-S for the management of MS according to the principles and recommendations of the ISO 9241-210 standard. METHODS: The proposed PHR-S was developed using a formal software development process which, in addition to the traditional activities of any software process, included the principles and recommendations of the ISO 9241-210 standard. To gather user information, a survey sample of 1,187 individuals, eight interviews, and a focus group with seven people were performed. Throughout five iterations, three prototypes were built. Potential users of each system evaluated each prototype. The quality attributes of efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction were assessed using metrics defined in the ISO/IEC 25022 standard. RESULTS: The following results were obtained: 1) a technology profile from 1,187 individuals at risk for MS from the city of Popayan, Colombia, identifying that 75.2% of the people use the Internet and 51% had a smartphone; 2) a PHR-S to manage MS developed (the PHR-S has the following five main functionalities: record the five MS risk factors, share these measures with health care professionals, and three educational modules on nutrition, stress management, and a physical activity); and 3) usability tests on each prototype obtaining the following results: 100% effectiveness, 100% efficiency, and 84.2 points in the system usability scale. CONCLUSION: The software development methodology used was based on the ISO 9241-210 standard, which allowed the development team to maintain a focus on user's needs and requirements throughout the project, which resulted in an increased satisfaction and acceptance of the system. Additionally, the establishment of a multidisciplinary team allowed the application of considerations not only from the disciplines of software engineering and health sciences but also from other disciplines such as graphical design and media communication. Finally, usability testing allowed the observation of flaws in the designs, which helped to improve the solution.

HapHop-Physio: a computer game to support cognitive therapies in children.

BACKGROUND: Care and support of children with physical or mental disabilities are accompanied with serious concerns for parents, families, healthcare institutions, schools, and their communities. Recent studies and technological innovations have demonstrated the feasibility of providing therapy and rehabilitation services to children supported by computer games. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to present HapHop-Physio, an innovative computer game that combines exercise with fun and learning, developed to support cognitive therapies in children. METHODS: Conventional software engineering methods such as the Scrum methodology, a functionality test and a related usability test, were part of the comprehensive methodology adapted to develop HapHop-Physio. RESULTS: The game supports visual and auditory attention therapies, as well as visual and auditory memory activities. The game was developed by a multidisciplinary team, which was based on the Hopscotch® platform provided by Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT Institute in Germany, and designed in collaboration with a rehabilitation clinic in Colombia. HapHop-Physio was tested and evaluated to probe its functionality and user satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The results show the development of an easy-to-use and funny game by a multidisciplinary team using state-of-the-art videogame technologies and software methodologies. Children testing the game concluded that they would like to play again while undergoing rehabilitation therapies.