The National Coordinated Citrien eHealth Program to Scale Up Telemonitoring: Protocol for a Before-and-After Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: Sustainable implementation of telemonitoring in health care is challenging, especially if one aims to scale up telemonitoring initiatives nationwide. The National collaborative eHealth program in the Netherlands is supporting the nationwide upscaling of telemonitoring in 3 clinical domains by implementing telemonitoring in all Dutch university medical centers (UMCs). The chosen telemonitoring concepts are (1) telemonitoring solutions in the domain of cardiology, (2) telemonitoring solutions providing care from a distance in obstetrics, and (3) telemonitoring solutions monitoring vital functions in hospital wards. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the upscaling of telemonitoring in Dutch university hospitals in order to gain a better knowledge of the process, methods, and outcomes of nationwide upscaling strategies. Our hypothesis is that by the completion of the Citrien program's scale-up, telemonitoring will be operational in all UMCs but not normalized in routine care. METHODS: A before-and-after study will be conducted to assess upscaling. The theoretical frameworks used are the framework for nonadoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread, and sustainability; the Normalization Process Theory; and a project management tool Project Canvas. The primary outcome of the study is the degree of normalization to which health care providers at UMCs consider telemonitoring a part of their routine practice, measured using the Normalization MeAsurement Development tool (NoMAD). Our secondary outcome is the uptake of telemonitoring at the Dutch UMCs, using management data from UMCs' business intelligence systems query. RESULTS: Data will be collected between May 2020 and December 2022. Results were retrieved in June 2023. UMCs' business intelligence systems are queried for data for the secondary outcome measures. There is a risk that the UMCs will not be able to provide this management information. The laws and regulations governing telemonitoring in the Netherlands are changing, with the Electronic Data Exchange in Health Care Act (Wet elektronische gegevensuitwisseling in de zorg) and the European Health Data Space Act expected to positively influence implementation and upscaling. CONCLUSIONS: The Citrien program is a nationally coordinated change management program that is scaling up telemonitoring across contexts and settings. This study will produce original data on the uptake and upscaling of telemonitoring at Dutch UMCs. Future initiatives to implement eHealth in the health care sector may be guided by the wide range of success factors, obstacles, and experiences collected through this program. The network itself may be of great value impacting future acceleration of eHealth initiatives. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/45201.

Barriers to and Facilitators of Using a One Button Tracker and Web-Based Data Analytics Tool for Personal Science: Exploratory Study.

BACKGROUND: Individuals' self-tracking of subjectively experienced phenomena related to health can be challenging, as current options for instrumentation often involve too much effort in the moment or rely on retrospective self-reporting, which is likely to impair accuracy and compliance. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the usability and perceived usefulness of low-effort, in-the-moment self-tracking using simple instrumentation and to establish the amount of support needed when using this approach. METHODS: In this exploratory study, the One Button Tracker-a press-button device that records time stamps and durations of button presses-was used for self-tracking. A total of 13 employees of an academic medical center chose a personal research question and used the One Button Tracker to actively track specific subjectively experienced phenomena for 2 to 4 weeks. To assess usability and usefulness, we combined qualitative data from semistructured interviews with quantitative results from the System Usability Scale. RESULTS: In total, 29 barriers and 15 facilitators for using the One Button Tracker were found. Ease of use was the most frequently mentioned facilitator. The One Button Tracker's usability received a median System Usability Scale score of 75.0 (IQR 42.50), which is considered as good usability. Participants experienced effects such as an increased awareness of the tracked phenomenon, a confirmation of personal knowledge, a gain of insight, and behavior change. Support and guidance during all stages of the self-tracking process were judged as valuable. CONCLUSIONS: The low-effort, in-the-moment self-tracking of subjectively experienced phenomena has been shown to support personal knowledge gain and health behavior change for people with an interest in health promotion. After addressing barriers and formally validating the collected data, self-tracking devices may well be helpful for additional user types or health questions.

Correction: Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs Using Wearable Devices on the General Ward: Pilot Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.7208.].

Algorithms for Prediction of Clinical Deterioration on the General Wards: A Scoping Review.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this scoping review was to identify and describe state-of-the-art models that use vital sign monitoring to predict clinical deterioration on the general ward. The secondary objective was to identify facilitators, barriers, and effects of implementing these models. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL databases until November 2020. STUDY SELECTION: We selected studies that compared vital signs-based automated real-time predictive algorithms to current track-and-trace protocols in regard to the outcome of clinical deterioration in a general ward population. DATA EXTRACTION: Study characteristics, predictive characteristics and barriers, facilitators, and effects. RESULTS: We identified 1741 publications, 21 of which were included in our review. Two of the these were clinical trials, 2 were prospective observational studies, and the remaining 17 were retrospective studies. All of the studies focused on hospitalized adult patients. The reported area under the receiver operating characteristic curves ranged between 0.65 and 0.95 for the outcome of clinical deterioration. Positive predictive value and sensitivity ranged between 0.223 and 0.773 and from 7.2% to 84.0%, respectively. Input variables differed widely, and predicted endpoints were inconsistently defined. We identified 57 facilitators and 48 barriers to the implementation of these models. We found 68 reported effects, 57 of which were positive. CONCLUSION: Predictive algorithms can detect clinical deterioration on the general ward earlier and more accurately than conventional protocols, which in one recent study led to lower mortality. Consensus is needed on input variables, predictive time horizons, and definitions of endpoints to better facilitate comparative research.

Low compliance to a vital sign safety protocol on general hospital wards: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Periodic vital sign monitoring is commonly used to detect clinical deterioration. Incomplete assessment of Early Warning Score (EWS) and poor protocol compliance may negatively impact nurses' responsiveness to critical situations. OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the quality of recorded EWSs and the degree of overall protocol compliance and protocol compliance in adverse event patients, in a centre that is an early adopter of an EWS safety protocol. DESIGN: Retrospective single-centre cohort study. SETTING: General hospital wards of a tertiary referral university medical centre. PARTICIPANTS: 48,864 patients admitted to general wards between 2015 and 2018. METHODS: Vital sign and Modified EWS (MEWS) data were collected from the electronic health record. MEWS completeness was evaluated by determining the proportion of missing values for each vital sign. To evaluate protocol compliance, we assessed whether the elapsed time between consecutive MEWSs was within the protocollary time as dictated by the MEWS protocol. Outcome measures were overall MEWS completeness, and both overall protocol compliance and protocol compliance specifically in the 24 h before adverse events. RESULTS: All required items to calculate a MEWS were present in 76 percent of the 1,663,743 vital sign measurements. Overall protocol compliance was 62 percent. For the low, mid-range and high MEWS groups, protocol compliances were 67, 47 and 30 percent, respectively. Time-to-next-MEWS exceeded protocol-recommended timing by up to 9 h for a substantial amount of MEWSs in the mid- and high-range MEWS groups. In patients with adverse events, compliance to the MEWS protocol during the 24 h prior to the events was 66 percent in aggregate, ranging from 80% in low MEWS groups, 74% in the mid-range, and 49% in the high MEWS groups. In the high MEWS group, improvements in protocol compliance were primarily noted in five hours immediately preceding the event. CONCLUSIONS: EWS assessments were incomplete in one-quarter of measurements. Compliance to a MEWS safety protocol was generally low, specifically when the protocol mandated more frequent MEWS assessments. Although more MEWSs were recorded in patients with adverse events, the increase in vital sign measurements' frequency mostly occurred shortly before the event manifested. This finding suggests missed opportunities to detect clinical deterioration.

Exploring barriers to physical activity of patients at the internal medicine and surgical wards: a retrospective analysis of continuously collected data.

PURPOSE: To analyse physical activity of patients during their hospital stay and to explore the relationship between physical activity and barriers to physical activity. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of physical activity data for patients admitted to the internal medicine and surgical wards. Physical activity data, collected with a wireless patch sensor, was operationalized as time spent lying, sitting/standing, and walking. Barriers to physical activity included patients' pain levels, the use of urinary catheters, intravenous tubing, oxygen lines, drains, and level of dependence. Regression analysis explored the relationship between physical activity and barriers to physical activity. RESULTS: Physical activity data were collected in 39 patients (aged 27-88, mean 54 years) during hospital stay. Patients were admitted for a median of 10 d (interquartile range [IQR]: 7-15 d). These patients were lying for a median of 12.1 h (7.6-17.7), sitting/standing 11.8 h (6.3-15.7), and walking 0.1 h (0-0.3) per day. Time lying during the day related to pain levels (ß = 0.4 h per unit increase in pain, p < 0.01) and drain use (ß = 3.1 h, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients spent the most time during the hospital stay lying in bed. Improved pain management and decreased drain use may be worth exploring to increase inpatient physical activity.Implications for rehabilitationContinuous monitoring of physical activity in patients during hospital stay is an important tool for health care professionals to improve multidisciplinary care and rehabilitation.Health care professionals should be aware of the necessity of adequate pain management and critically review the use of drains in order to improve physical activity of patients during hospital stay.Patients need extra support of health care professionals to increase physical activity during consecutive days of their hospital stay.

Adapting two American Decision Aids for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury to the Canadian Context Using the Nominal Group Technique.

BACKGROUND: Decision aids are patient-focused tools that have the potential to reduce the overuse of head computed tomography (CT) scans. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to create a consensus among Canadian mild traumatic brain injury and emergency medicine experts on modifications required to adapt two American decision aids about head CT use for adult and paediatric mild traumatic brain injury to the Canadian context. METHODS: We invited 21 Canadian stakeholders and the two authors of the American decision aids to a Nominal Group Technique consensus meeting to generate suggestions for adapting the decision aids. This method encourages idea generation and sharing between team members. Each idea was discussed and then prioritised using a voting system. We collected data using videotaping, writing material and online collaborative writing tools. The modifications proposed were analysed using a qualitative thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-one participants took part in the meeting, including researchers and clinician researchers (n = 9; 43%), patient partners (n = 3; 14%) and decision makers (n = 2; 10%). A total of 84 ideas were generated. Participants highlighted the need to clarify the purpose of the decision aids, the nature of the problem being addressed and the target population. The tools require sociocultural adaptations, better identification of their target population, better description of head CT utility, advantages and related risks, modification of the visual and written representation of the risk of brain injury and head CT use, and locally adapted, patient follow-up plans. CONCLUSIONS: This study based on a Nominal Group Technique identified several adaptations for two American decision aids about head CT use for mild traumatic brain injury to support their use in Canada's different healthcare, social, cultural and legal context. These adaptations concerned the target users of the decision aids, the information presented, and how the benefits and risks were communicated in the decision aids. Future steps include prototyping the two adapted decision aids, conducting formative evaluations with actual emergency department patients and clinicians, and measuring the impact of the adapted tools on CT scan use.

A mild traumatic brain injury (also called concussion) can happen when the brain moves around in the skull after an impact to the head. A concussion is not a brain bleed and you cannot see a concussion. Concussions do not show up on a computed tomography (CT) scan. Brain bleeds do. Computed tomography scans are specialised X-ray machines that can detect serious brain injuries. Unfortunately, CT scan use also exposes patients to radiation and a future increased risk of cancer.Shared decision making involves health professionals and patients making decisions together based on the best available evidence, health professionals' experience, and patients' values and preferences. Shared decision making improves appropriate diagnostic test use.Two decision aids created in the USA are available to facilitate shared decision making regarding the use of head CT scans for patients with concussion. These decision aids are not fully adapted for use in Canada because the healthcare, social and legal context is different. Our study brought together patients and experts in the field of concussion and shared decision making to analyse these decision aids and propose adaptations that would increase their acceptance in Canadian emergency departments. We used a technique called the Nominal Group Technique to create a consensus about the most important changes to make to both original decision aids. The main adaptations needed for the Canadian context concerned avoiding information about cost and removing any information that does not change clinical management. This project will help us adapt two decision aids for clinical use in Canada and support appropriate CT scan use for patients with concussion.

Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs in the General Ward Using Wearable Devices: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Wearable devices can be used for continuous patient monitoring in the general ward, increasing patient safety. Little is known about the experiences and expectations of patients and health care professionals regarding continuous monitoring with these devices. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify positive and negative effects as well as barriers and facilitators for the use of two wearable devices: ViSi Mobile (VM) and HealthPatch (HP). METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 90 patients admitted to the internal medicine and surgical wards of a university hospital in the Netherlands were randomly assigned to continuous vital sign monitoring using VM or HP and a control group. Users' experiences and expectations were addressed using semistructured interviews. Nurses, physician assistants, and medical doctors were also interviewed. Interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Psychological distress was assessed using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. The System Usability Scale was used to assess the usability of both devices. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients, 20 nurses, 3 physician assistants, and 6 medical doctors were interviewed. We identified 47 positive and 30 negative effects and 19 facilitators and 36 barriers for the use of VM and HP. Frequently mentioned topics included earlier identification of clinical deterioration, increased feelings of safety, and VM lines and electrodes. No differences related to psychological distress and usability were found between randomization groups or devices. CONCLUSIONS: Both devices were well received by most patients and health care professionals, and the majority of them encouraged the idea of monitoring vital signs continuously in the general ward. This comprehensive overview of barriers and facilitators of using wireless devices may serve as a guide for future researchers, developers, and health care institutions that consider implementing continuous monitoring in the ward. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02933307; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02933307.

Environmental Needs, Barriers, and Facilitators for Optimal Healing in the Postoperative Process: A Qualitative Study of Patients' Lived Experiences and Perceptions.

OBJECTIVES: Gaining an understanding of postoperative patients' environmental needs, barriers, and facilitators for optimal healing. BACKGROUND: An optimal hospital environment (the "healing environment") can enhance patients' postoperative recovery and shorten length of stay. However, insights lack into patients' lived environmental needs for optimal healing after surgery and how these needs are being met. METHOD: A qualitative study was conducted between August 2016 and August 2017 with 21 patients who underwent elective major abdominal surgery in a Dutch university hospital. Data were collected through context-mapping exercises and interviews to capture patients' lived experiences and explore the meaning of these experiences. Data were systematically analyzed according to the principles of thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified. First, participants want a sense of control over their treatment, ambient features, privacy, nutrition, and help requests. Participants described the need for positive distractions: personalizing the room, connecting with the external environment, and the ability to undertake activities. Finally, participants expressed the importance of functional, practical, and emotional support from professionals, peers, and relatives. According to participants, the hospital environment often does not meet their healing needs while being hospitalized. CONCLUSION: The hospital environment often does not meet patients' needs. Needs fulfillment can be improved by practical adjustments to the physical and interpersonal environment and considering patient's individual preferences and changing needs during recovery. Patient narratives, pictures, and drawings are valuable sources for hospital managers in their efforts to design evidence-based environments that anticipate to patient-specific needs for achieving early recovery.

The PRIDE Study: Evaluation of online methods of data collection.

BACKGROUND: Large birth cohort studies are extremely valuable in assessing associations between early life exposures and long-term outcomes. Establishing new birth cohorts is challenging due to declining participation rates. Online methods of data collection may increase feasibility, but have not been evaluated thoroughly. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of the ongoing PRegnancy and Infant DEvelopment (PRIDE) Study is to identify exposures during pregnancy and in early life that may affect short-term or long-term health of mother and/or child. In this manuscript, we aimed to evaluate methods of recruitment and online data collection applied. POPULATION: Dutch women aged ≥18 years in early pregnancy. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: Initially, only prenatal care providers recruited participants, but alternative recruitment methods were added as a result of disappointing participation rates, including collaboration with "Moeders voor Moeders" (organisation that visits women in early pregnancy) and Facebook advertisements. Data on demographic characteristics, obstetric history, maternal health, life style factors, occupational exposures, nutrition, pregnancy complications, and infant outcomes are primarily collected through Web-based questionnaires at multiple time points during and after pregnancy. Additional data collection components include paternal questionnaires, blood and saliva sampling, and linkage to medical records. PRELIMINARY RESULTS: By September 2019, 9573 women were included in the PRIDE Study, of which 1.3% completed paper-based questionnaires. Mean age of the women analysed was 30.6 years, 71.1% had a high level of education, 57.2% were primiparae, and mean gestational age at enrolment was 9.9 (range 3, 37) weeks, with slight differences between recruitment methods. Pregnancy outcome was known for 89.8%. Retention rate at 6 months after the estimated date of delivery was estimated at 70%. Multiple validation studies conducted within the PRIDE Study indicated high data quality. CONCLUSION(S): Although challenging and time-consuming, online methods for recruitment and data collection may enable the establishment of new birth cohort studies.

Social media monitoring on the perceived safety of medication use during pregnancy: A case study from the Netherlands.

AIMS: An increasing number of women trust the Internet for information about medication safety during pregnancy. This study aimed to evaluate the availability and accuracy of social media content on the perceived safety of medication use in pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of posts related to medication safety during pregnancy in the Dutch language published on social media, blogs and forums between May 2011 and April 2016 using Coosto, a tool for social media monitoring. The perceived safety in the posts was compared with the Dutch Teratology Information Service (TIS) safety classifications. RESULTS: We included 1224 online posts, which described 1441 scenarios about medication safety in pregnancy. A total of 820 (57%) scenarios were in line with the TIS classification. Incorrect perception was higher for prescription medication compared to medication available over-the-counter (60 vs 25%). Furthermore, the safety classification of medications with a TIS classification on strict indication or second-line drugs (93%) and medications with insufficient knowledge on their safety during pregnancy (76%) was more likely to be incorrectly perceived by the public compared to medications with the TIS classification safe (24%). CONCLUSIONS: Social media monitoring may be useful for surveillance of potentially unsafe use of medications in pregnancy. Many social posts related to medication safety during pregnancy provide inaccurate information. As this information may affect women's perceptions and decisions, accurate communication between healthcare providers and pregnant women regarding the benefits and risks of medications is vital.

Does Online Search Behavior Coincide with Candida auris Cases? An Exploratory Study.

Candida auris is an emerging multidrug resistant infectious yeast which is challenging to eradicate and despite available laboratory methods is still difficult to identify especially in less developed countries. To limit the rapid spread of C. auris, quick and accurate detection is essential. From the perspective of disease surveillance, additional methods of tracking this yeast are needed. In order to increase global preparedness, we explored the use of online search behavior to monitor the recent global spread of C. auris. We used Google Trends to assess online search behavior on C. auris from January 2016 until August 2018. Weekly Google Trends results were counted as hits and compared to confirmed C. auris cases obtained via publications and a global expert network of key opinion leaders. A total of 44 countries generated a hit, of which 30% (13/44) were confirmed known cases, 34% (15/44) were missed known cases, 34% (15/44) were hits for unknown cases, and 2% (1/44) were confirmed unknown cases. Conclusions: Google Trends searches is rapidly able to provide information on countries with an increased search interest in C. auris. However, Google Trends search results do not generally coincide with C. auris cases or clusters. This study did show that using Google Trends provides both insight into the known and highlights the unknown, providing potential for surveillance and tracking and hence aid in taking timely precautionary measures.

Google AdWords and Facebook Ads for Recruitment of Pregnant Women into a Prospective Cohort Study With Long-Term Follow-Up.

Objectives Several types of epidemiologic studies suffer from decreasing participation rates, resulting in potential selection bias and delay or termination of studies. We aimed to determine the feasibility of online methods for recruitment of pregnant women into a prospective cohort study. Methods In addition to traditional recruitment through prenatal care providers, we advertized participation in the PRegnancy and Infant DEvelopment (PRIDE) Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study with long-term follow-up in The Netherlands enrolling women in early pregnancy, through Google AdWords (30 days) and Facebook Ads (31 and 27 days) campaigns between September 2016 and January 2017. We calculated costs per eligible participant and compared demographics, health-related characteristics, and follow-up rates between participants recruited through online methods and prenatal care providers. Results During the study period, we recruited six women through AdWords (€54.28 per participant), 59 through Facebook (€10.17 per participant), and 327 through prenatal care providers (no valid cost estimate available). Facebook participants seemed to be younger (29.0 vs. 30.7 years), to have a higher body mass-index and/or low/intermediate education (27.0 vs. 24.0 kg/m2 and 41 vs. 25%, respectively), and to start prenatal care in secondary care more often (12 vs. 5%) than participants recruited through prenatal care providers. Item non-response and loss to follow-up rates were higher among women recruited online than among those recruited through prenatal care providers. Conclusion Google AdWords did not contribute substantially, but Facebook Ads may complement traditional recruitment methods of pregnant women into prospective cohort studies, despite challenges that may threaten internal validity.

Feasibility of a New Cuffless Device for Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement in Patients With Hypertension: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Frequent home blood pressure (BP) measurements result in a better estimation of the true BP. However, traditional cuff-based BP measurements are troublesome for patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a cuffless device for ambulatory systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurement. METHODS: This was a mixed method feasibility study in patients with hypertension. Performance of ambulatory SBPs with the device was analyzed quantitatively by intrauser reproducibility and comparability to a classic home BP monitor. Correct use by the patients was checked with video, and user-friendliness was assessed using a validated questionnaire, the System Usability Scale (SUS). Patient experiences were assessed using qualitative interviews. RESULTS: A total of 1020 SBP measurements were performed using the Checkme monitor in 11 patients with hypertension. Duplicate SBPs showed a high intrauser correlation (R=0.86, P<.001). SBPs measured by the Checkme monitor did not correlate well with those of the different home monitors (R=0.47, P=.007). However, the mean SBPs measured by the Checkme and home monitors over the 3-week follow-up were strongly correlated (R=0.75, P=.008). In addition, 36.4% (n=4) of the participants performed the Checkme measurements without any mistakes. The mean SUS score was 86.4 (SD 8.3). The most important facilitator was the ease of using the Checkme monitor. Most important barriers included the absence of diastolic BP and the incidental difficulties in obtaining an SBP result. CONCLUSIONS: Given the good intrauser reproducibility, user-friendliness, and patient experience, all of which facilitate patients to perform frequent measurements, cuffless BP monitoring may change the way patients measure their BP at home in the context of ambulant hypertension management.

Wireless and continuous monitoring of vital signs in patients at the general ward.

BACKGROUND: Clinical deterioration regularly occurs in hospitalized patients potentially resulting in life threatening events. Early warning scores (EWS), like the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), assist care givers in assessing patients' clinical situation, but cannot alert for deterioration between measurements. New devices, like the ViSi Mobile (VM) and HealthPatch (HP) allow for continuous monitoring and can alert deterioration in an earlier phase. VM and HP were tested regarding MEWS calculation compared to nurse measurements, and detection of high MEWS in periods between nurse observations. METHODS: This quantitative study was part of a randomized controlled trial. Sixty patients of the surgical and internal medicine ward with a minimal expected hospitalization time of three days were randomized to VM or HP continuous monitoring in addition to regular nurse MEWS measurements for 24-72 h. RESULTS: Median VM and HP MEWS were higher than nurse measurements (2.7 vs. 1.9 and 1.9 vs. 1.3, respectively), predominantly due to respiratory rate measurement differences. During 1282 h VM and 1886 h HP monitoring, 71 (14 patients) and 32 (7 patients) high MEWS periods were detected during the non-observed periods. Time between VM or HP based high MEWS and next regular nurse measurement ranged from 0 to 9 (HP) and 10 (VM) hours. CONCLUSIONS: Both VM and HP are promising for continuous vital sign monitoring and may be more accurate than nurses. High MEWS can be detected in hospitalized patients around the clock and clinical deterioration at an earlier phase during unobserved periods.

Online support community for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer: user statistics, evaluation, and content analysis.

PURPOSE: Peer support is an important unmet need among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients. This study was conducted to describe the use and evaluation of a Dutch secure online support community for AYA diagnosed with cancer between 18 and 35 years. METHODS: User statistics were collected with Google analytics. Community members were asked to complete questionnaires on the usefulness of the community. A content analysis using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count was conducted. RESULTS: Between 2010 and 2017, the community received 433 AYA members (71% female; mean age at diagnosis 25.7 years; 52 Dutch hospitals represented). The mean time since diagnosis when subscribing to the community was 2.7 years (SD 4.4). Questionnaire data among 30 AYA community members indicated that the use of the community resulted in acknowledgment and advice regarding problems (56%) and the feeling of being supported (63%). Almost half of the respondents felt less lonely, 78% experienced recognition in stories of other AYA. Anonymized content analysis (n=14) showed that the majority of the online discussions encompassed emotional and cognitive expressions, and emotional support. CONCLUSION: The secure Dutch online AYA community can help AYA cancer patients to express feelings, exchange information, address peer support, and has been found helpful in coping with cancer. As AYA cancer patients often lack the option of meeting each other in person, the AYA community is helpful in establishing peer support. Its use would benefit from promotion by health care professionals.

Glucose Control, Disease Burden, and Educational Gaps in People With Type 1 Diabetes: Exploratory Study of an Integrated Mobile Diabetes App.

BACKGROUND: Self-monitoring and self-management, crucial for optimal glucose control in type 1 diabetes, requires many disease-related decisions per day and imposes a substantial disease burden on people with diabetes. Innovative technologies that integrate relevant measurements may offer solutions that support self-management, decrease disease burden, and benefit diabetes control. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate a prototype integrated mobile phone diabetes app in people with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: In this exploratory study, we developed an app that contained cloud-stored log functions for glucose, carbohydrates (including a library), insulin, planned exercise, and mood, combined with a bolus calculator and communication functions. Adults with diabetes tested the app for 6 weeks. We assessed the feasibility of app use, user experiences, perceived disease burden (through questionnaires), insulin dose and basal to bolus ratio, mean glucose level, hemoglobin A1c, and number of hypoglycemic events. RESULTS: A total of 19 participants completed the study, resulting in 5782 data entries. The most frequently used feature was logging blood glucose, insulin, and carbohydrates. Mean diabetes-related emotional problems (measured with the Problem Areas in Diabetes scale) scores decreased from 14.4 (SD 10.0) to 12.2 (SD 10.3; P=.04), and glucose control improved, with hemoglobin A1c decreasing from 7.9% (mean 62.3, SD 8 mmol/mol) to 7.6% (mean 59.8, SD 7 mmol/mol; P=.047). The incidence of hypoglycemic events did not change. Participants were generally positive about the app, rating it as "refreshing," and as providing structure by reinforcing insulin-dosing principles. The app revealed substantial knowledge gaps. Logged data enabled additional detailed analyses. CONCLUSIONS: An integrated mobile diabetes app has the potential to improve diabetes self-management and provide tailored educational support, which may decrease disease burden and benefit diabetes control.

Mobile Apps for Blood Pressure Monitoring: Systematic Search in App Stores and Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Using a mobile app for self-management could make it easier for patients to get insight into their blood pressure patterns. However, little is known about the availability, quality, and features of mobile apps targeting blood pressure. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the research was to determine the availability, functionality, and quality of mobile apps that could be used for blood pressure monitoring purposes. METHODS: A systematic app search was performed based on the standards for systematic reviews. We searched the Dutch official app stores for Android and iOS platforms using predefined keywords and included all English and Dutch mobile apps targeting blood pressure. Two independent assessors determined eligibility and quality of the apps using the 5-point Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Quality scores of the apps with and without 17 a priori selected characteristics were compared using independent sample t tests. RESULTS: A total of 184 apps (104 Android, 80 iOS) met the inclusion criteria. The mean overall MARS score was 2.63 (95% CI 2.55-2.71) for Android and 2.64 (95% CI 2.56-2.71) for iOS. The apps Bloeddruk (4.1) and AMICOMED BP (3.6) had the highest quality scores on the Android and iOS platforms, respectively. Of the app characteristics recorded, only pricing, in-app advertisements, and local data storage were not associated with the quality scores. In only 3.8% (7/184) of the apps, involvement of medical experts in its development was mentioned, whereas none of the apps was formally evaluated with results published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an overview of the best apps currently available in the app stores and important key features for self-management that can be used by health care providers and patients with hypertension to identify a suitable app targeting blood pressure monitoring. However, the majority of the apps targeting blood pressure monitoring were of poor quality. Therefore, it is important to involve medical experts in the developmental stage of health-related mobile apps to improve the quality of these apps.

A Cloud-Based Virtual Outpatient Clinic for Patient-Centered Care: Proof-of-Concept Study.

BACKGROUND: Most electronic health (eHealth) interventions offered to patients serve a single purpose and lack integration with other tools or systems. This is problematic because the majority of patients experience comorbidity and chronic disease, see multiple specialists, and therefore have different needs regarding access to patient data, communication with peers or providers, and self-monitoring of vital signs. A multicomponent digital health cloud service that integrates data sharing, collection, and communication could facilitate patient-centered care in combination with a hospital patient portal and care professionals. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and functionality of a new cloud-based and multicomponent outpatient clinic, the "Virtual Outpatient Clinic" (VOC). METHODS: The VOC consists of 6 digital tools that facilitate self-monitoring (blood pressure, weight, and pain) and communication with peers and providers (chat and videoconferencing) connected to a cloud-based platform and the hospital patient portal to facilitate access to (self-collected) medical data. In this proof-of-concept study, 10 patients from both Departments of Internal Medicine and Dermatology (N=20) used all options of the VOC for 6 weeks. An eNurse offered support to participants during the study. We assessed the feasibility, usage statistics, content, adherence, and identified technical issues. Moreover, we conducted qualitative interviews with all participants by following a standard interview guide to identify user experiences, including barriers, facilitators, and potential effects. RESULTS: Most participants successfully used all options of the VOC and were positive about different tools and apps and the integral availability of their information. The adherence was 37% (7/19) for weight scale, 58% (11/19) for blood pressure monitor, and 70% (14/20) and 85% (17/20) for pain score and daily questions, respectively. The adherence for personal health record was 65% (13/20) and 60% (12/20) for the patient portal system. Qualitative data showed that performance and effort expectancy scored high among participants, indicating that using the VOC is convenient, easy, and time-saving. CONCLUSIONS: The VOC is a promising integrated Web-based technology that combines self-management, data sharing, and communication between patients and professionals. The system can be personalized by connecting various numbers of components, which could make it a relevant tool for other patient groups. Before a system, such as the VOC, can be implemented in daily practice, prospective studies focused on evaluating outcomes, costs, and patient-centeredness are needed.