Mobile health applications for older adults: a systematic review of interface and persuasive feature design.

OBJECTIVE: Mobile-based interventions have the potential to promote healthy aging among older adults. However, the adoption and use of mobile health applications are often low due to inappropriate designs. The aim of this systematic review is to identify, synthesize, and report interface and persuasive feature design recommendations of mobile health applications for elderly users to facilitate adoption and improve health-related outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus databases to identify studies that discussed and evaluated elderly-friendly interface and persuasive feature designs of mobile health applications using an elderly cohort. RESULTS: We included 74 studies in our analysis. Our analysis revealed a total of 9 elderly-friendly interface design recommendations: 3 recommendations were targeted at perceptual capabilities of elderly users, 2 at motor coordination problems, and 4 at cognitive and memory deterioration. We also compiled and reported 5 categories of persuasive features: reminders, social features, game elements, personalized interventions, and health education. DISCUSSION: Only 5 studies included design elements that were based on theories. Moreover, the majority of the included studies evaluated the application as a whole without examining end-user perceptions and the effectiveness of each single design feature. Finally, most studies had methodological limitations, and better research designs are needed to quantify the effectiveness of the application designs rigorously. CONCLUSIONS: This review synthesizes elderly-friendly interface and persuasive feature design recommendations for mobile health applications from the existing literature and provides recommendations for future research in this area and guidelines for designers.

Internet Health Information Seeking and the Patient-Physician Relationship: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: With online health information becoming increasingly popular among patients, concerns have been raised about the impact of patients' Internet health information-seeking behavior on their relationship with physicians. Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the influence of online health information on the patient-physician relationship. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to systematically review existing research on patients' Internet health information seeking and its influence on the patient-physician relationship. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed and key medical informatics, information systems, and communication science journals covering the period of 2000 to 2015. Empirical articles that were in English were included. We analyzed the content covering themes in 2 broad categories: factors affecting patients' discussion of online findings during consultations and implications for the patient-physician relationship. RESULTS: We identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria and the quality requirement for the review. The articles revealed barriers, facilitators, and demographic factors that influence patients' disclosure of online health information during consultations and the different mechanisms patients use to reveal these findings. Our review also showed the mechanisms in which online information could influence patients' relationship with their physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this review contribute to the understanding of the patient-physician relationship of Internet-informed patients. Our main findings show that Internet health information seeking can improve the patient-physician relationship depending on whether the patient discusses the information with the physician and on their prior relationship. As patients have better access to health information through the Internet and expect to be more engaged in health decision making, traditional models of the patient-provider relationship and communication strategies must be revisited to adapt to this changing demographic.

Development of an e-Learning Research Module Using Multimedia Instruction Approach.

Students nowadays feel more comfortable with new technologies, which increase their motivation and, as a result, improve their academic performance. In the last two decades, the use of information communication technology has been increasing in many disciplines in higher education. Online learning or e-learning has been used and integrated into the curriculum around the world. A team of nursing faculty and educational technology specialists have developed an e-learning research module and integrate it into the nursing curriculum. The aim was to assist master of nursing and postgraduate nursing students in developing their research knowledge before and throughout their enrollment in the research course. This e-learning module includes interactive multimedia such as audiovisual presentation, graphical theme, animation, case-based learning, and pretest and posttest for each topic area. The module focuses on three main topic areas: (1) basic research principles (for review), (2) quantitative method, and (3) qualitative method. The e-learning module is an innovative use of the information and communication technology to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes in a local context. This article discusses the development journey, piloting process, including the variety of evaluation perspectives, and the ways in which the results influenced the e-learning resource before its wider distribution.