A mixed-method research to investigate the adoption of mobile devices and Web2.0 technologies among medical students and educators.

BACKGROUND: The past decade has witnessed the increasing adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in medical education. Recently, the notion of digital habitats, Web 2.0 supported learning environments, has also come onto the scene. While there has been initial research on the use of digital habitats for educational purposes, very limited research has examined the adoption of digital habitats by medical students and educators on mobile devices. This paper reports the Stage 1 findings of a two-staged study. The whole study aimed to develop and implement a personal digital habitat, namely digiMe, for medical students and educators at an Australian university. The first stage, however, examined the types of Web 2.0 tools and mobile devices that are being used by potential digiMe users, and reasons for their adoption. METHODS: In this first stage of research, data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Questionnaire data collected from 104 participants were analysed using the Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW). Frequencies, median and mean values were pursued. Kruskal Wallis tests were then performed to examine variations between views of different participant groups. Notes from the 6 interviews, together with responses to the open-ended section of the questionnaire, were analysed using the constructivist grounded theory approach, to generate key themes relevant to the adoption of Web 2.0 tools and mobile devices. RESULTS: The findings reflected the wide use of mobile devices, including both smart phones and computing tablets, by medical students and educators for learning, teaching and professional development purposes. Among the 22 types of Web 2.0 tools investigated, less than half of these tools were frequently used by the participants, this reflects the mismatch between users' desires and their actual practice. Age and occupation appeared to be the influential factors for their adoption. Easy access to information and improved communication are main purposes. CONCLUSIONS: This paper highlights the desire of medical students and educators for a more effective use of Web 2.0 technologies and mobile devices, and the observed mismatch between the desire and their actual practice. It also recognises the critical role of medical education institutions in facilitating this practice to respond to the mismatch.

Scientific social media, a new way to expand knowledge. What do urologists need to know? / Las redes sociales científicas, una nueva forma de ampliar el conocimiento. ¿Qué necesitan saber los urólogos?

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Nowadays, it is almost impossible not to link most of the sources of modern knowledge to information of 2.0 technologies. The aim of this review is to analyse the role of scientific social media (Sc-SoMe) and its potential applications in urology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature search was carried out using the PubMed database until July 2018. The research was performed with the following terms: "Social Media", "urology", "science", "research". RESULTS: Social media (SoMe) offers integrated services and easy tools for communication, collaboration and participation. Popular prototypical platforms of SoMe are Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. SoMe not only influence private life and personal communication, but these also affect business and science sectors. In this sense, the term Sc-SoMe describes the impact and usage of 2.0 technologies platforms on scientific work. There are different models of Sc-SoMe such as author identifiers which are unique identifiers that allow managing the professional identity of each researcher, distinguishing them from other researchers and unequivocally associating their work and author profiles. This helps us manage our own academic profile and control the information available about us and ensure that other researchers are finding correct and complete information about our research and career. Examples of Sc-SoMe are: ResearchGate, ORCID, Mendeley among others. CONCLUSIONS: Sc-SoMe should not only provide important information and services for literature and literature search. These could also be an important catalyst for promoting appropriate and helpful services in the context of a new concept of science, the science 2.0.

Expanding the Reach of Continuing Educational Offerings Through a Web-Based Virtual Network: The Experience of InspireNet.

Virtual platforms using webinars, e-posters, e-newsletters, wikis and blogs connect people who have common interests in new ways. When those individuals are healthcare providers, a professional network that operates on a virtual platform can support their needs for learning, professional development and information currency. The practice of e-learning for continuing professional development is emerging , particularly in nursing where shift work shift inhibits their ability to attend conferences and classes. This article reports the experience of the InspireNet network that provided e-learning models to: 1) provide opportunities for healthcare providers to organize themselves into learning communities through development of electronic communities of practice; 2) support learning on demand; and 3) dramatically increase the reach of educational offerings.

Social customer relationship management: taking advantage of Web 2.0 and Big Data technologies.

The emergence of Web 2.0 and Big Data technologies has allowed a new customer relationship strategy based on interactivity and collaboration called Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) to be created. This enhances customer engagement and satisfaction. The implementation of Social CRM is a complex task that involves different organisational, human and technological aspects. However, there is a lack of methodologies to assist companies in these processes. This paper shows a novel methodology that helps companies to implement Social CRM, taking into account different aspects such as social customer strategy, the Social CRM performance measurement system, the Social CRM business processes, or the Social CRM computer system. The methodology was applied to one company in order to validate and refine it.

Designing and evaluating a patient-centred health management system for seniors.

INTRODUCTION: Telehealth has been widely promoted as a technology to make healthcare more effective and affordable. However, current telehealth systems suffer from vendor lock-in and high cost, and are designed for managing chronic diseases rather than preventing them. METHODS: We address shortcomings of existing consumer-level health informatics applications in supporting senior health consumers, and provide designers of such systems with a design framework. We assess the feasibility of patient-centred health management systems (HMSs) that are designed based on the proposed framework. In contrast to traditional telehealth, HMSs are patient centred and aim at enabling health consumers to take control of their own health by providing functionality for health self-management. Quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted in evaluating a prototype HMS. RESULTS: Senior healthcare consumers viewed our HMS prototype positively, and experienced a positive change in their attitude towards their health. We identified requirements and challenges for HMSs. In particular, participants indicated that social networking features must have a clear purpose beyond simple broadcasting of emotions and opinions. DISCUSSION: Our study indicates that seniors are able and motivated to leverage a web-based patient-centred HMS, provided that there are suitable health support applications tailored to their needs. This could be achieved by making it attractive for third party application developers to contribute HMS content.