Improvement of Cancer Prevention and Control: Reflection on the Role of Emerging Information Technologies.

Cancer has become an important public health problem affecting the health of Chinese residents, as well as residents all over the world. With the improvement of cancer prevention and treatment, the growth of the mortality rate of cancers has slowed down gradually, but the incidence rate is still increasing rapidly, and cancers still impose heavy disease and economic burdens. Cancer screening and early cancer diagnosis and treatment are important ways to reduce the burden of cancer-related diseases. At present, various projects for early cancer diagnosis and treatment have been implemented in China. With the expansion of the coverage of these projects, the problems related to project implementation, operation, and management have emerged gradually. In recent years, emerging information technologies have been applied in the field of health and have facilitated health management and clinical decision-making. Meanwhile, China announced multiple policies to encourage and promote the application of information technologies in the field of health. Therefore, combined with the analysis of major problems in cancer prevention and control projects, this paper probes into how to apply information technologies such as biological information mining, artificial intelligence, and electronic information collection technology to various stages of cancer prevention and control. Information technologies realize the integrated management of prevention and control processes, for example, mobilization and preliminary identification, high-risk assessment, clinical screening, clinical diagnosis and treatment, tracking and follow-up, and biological sample management of high-risk groups, and promote the efficient implementation of cancer prevention and control projects in China.

[The application of information technologies in system of support of decision making in osteopathy].

The implementation of information technologies into treatment practice of modern health care significantly increases efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of dorsopathies. The purpose of the study is to develop software module to evaluate post-urological status of patients with spine dorsopathy to optimize diagnostic process and treatment planning. The article describes application of original software module to assess the post-urological status of patients with spine dorsopathy. The proposed software module is designed for objective assessment of post-urological status of patients with spine dorsopathy based on photographic images of examined patient. The most important advantage of software module is built-in forecasting function that is implemented by calculation of severity of pain perceptions and movement disorders using generated regression equations. The possibility to record data obtained during measurements permits to store information in single system. The implementation of software module into clinical practice will contribute to qualitative improvement of diagnostic processes, simplify work of osteopath and reduce the time spent on examination.

[The Childhood Decade in Russia: legal securing of health care applying information technologies].

In conditions of impetuous development of national digital technologies and necessity for their legal regulation, significance and possibilities of their implementation in protecting health of rising generation during childhood decade in Russia are demonstrated. The conceptual apparatus related to discussed problem is considered. The emphasis is made on preventive aspect of intersectoral state protection of health care and rights of children and adolescents aged 0-17 years. The scale of problem is especially impressive considering number of contingent over 30 million people and interests of about 24 million of family members with children. The purpose of the study is applying analytical method, content analysis and SWOT analysis to monitor main problems of intersectoral health care and rights of rising generation in Russia in conditions of implementation of information technologies; to evaluate application of legislation in force in context of their role and effect during the Decade of Children (2018-2027); to demonstrate significance of the institution of the Commissioner for rights of child under the President of the Russian Federation.

Multicentre, England-wide randomised controlled trial of the 'Foundations' smartphone application in improving mental health and well-being in a healthcare worker population.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have faced considerable pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, this has resulted in mental health distress and disorder. Although interventions have sought to support HCWs, few have been evaluated. AIMS: We aimed to determine the effectiveness of the 'Foundations' application (app) on general (non-psychotic) psychiatric morbidity. METHOD: We conducted a multicentre randomised controlled trial of HCWs at 16 NHS trusts (trial registration number: EudraCT: 2021-001279-18). Participants were randomly assigned to the app or wait-list control group. Measures were assessed at baseline, after 4 and 8 weeks. The primary outcome was general psychiatric morbidity (using the General Health Questionnaire). Secondary outcomes included: well-being; presenteeism; anxiety; depression and insomnia. The primary analysis used mixed-effects multivariable regression, presented as adjusted mean differences (aMD). RESULTS: Between 22 March and 3 June 2021, 1002 participants were randomised (500:502), and 894 (89.2%) followed-up. The sample was predominately women (754/894, 84.3%), with a mean age of 44⋅3 years (interquartile range (IQR) 34-53). Participants randomised to the app had a reduction in psychiatric morbidity symptoms (aMD = -1.39, 95% CI -2.05 to -0.74), improvement in well-being (aMD = 0⋅54, 95% CI 0⋅20 to 0⋅89) and reduction in insomnia (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0⋅36, 95% CI 0⋅21 to 0⋅60). No other significant findings were found, or adverse events reported. CONCLUSIONS: The app had an effect in reducing psychiatric morbidity symptoms in a sample of HCWs. Given it is scalable with no adverse effects, the app may be used as part of an organisation's tiered staff support package. Further evidence is needed on long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.

On the role of artificial intelligence in psychiatry.

Recently, there has been growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency and personalisation of mental health services. So far, the progress has been slow, however, advancements in deep learning may change this. This paper discusses the role for AI in psychiatry, in particular (a) diagnosis tools, (b) monitoring of symptoms, and (c) delivering personalised treatment recommendations. Finally, I discuss ethical concerns and technological limitations.

Community social work in Hong Kong during COVID-19: Intervention strategies to address social injustices.

In Hong Kong, professional social workers made their presence felt when they delivered a variety of services at the height of the pandemic. Social workers who were working in community development projects or who had adopted community work approaches have become the major service providers when the availability and accessibility of other types of social services have been seriously impeded. This article reports on a qualitative research study conducted to examine (1) how community social workers have planned and implemented services, (2) their use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and (3) ideas for addressing injustices in disaster management work.

[Risk factors, treatment organization and quality indicators for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary care settings: Dutch experience].

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), usually in advanced stages, is associated with high mortality, being the third leading cause of death worldwide. In the Netherlands, care delivery to patients with COPD has become a focus of the regional medical community, since the COPD death rates in this country are higher than the European Union average. However, between 2011 and 2021, the number of people with COPD (under follow-u by general practitioners) decreased. The experience of this country is interesting, as a large set of measures to improve the situation has been developed and implemented in this region. The purpose of the study was to analyze the experience of the Netherlands in organizing medical care for COPD in primary care settings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The search for scientific literature sources was carried out using the PubMed database and Google system. The search time horizon equaled to 5 years. RESULTS: In the Netherlands, in the system of care delivery to patients with COPD, primary care settings are heavily burdened. The article summarizes approaches to identify COPD risk factors, summarizes current clinical recommendations as of December 2022, and highlights findings of the study on medical digital platforms with the potential to organize continuous monitoring of patients. The paper exemplifies criteria for assessing the treatment quality in specialized care settings, including primary care. DISCUSSION: It is assumed that the most effective measure to further improve efficacy of COPD treatment is the introduction of remote digital medical devices. A possible integration of the updated standards and quality indicators into digital services will further strengthen the concept of continuous automated remote monitoring of COPD patients. Evidence-based selection and introduction of effective digital solutions into current practice will improve quality of care delivery to patients.

Antidepressant prescribing for adult people with an intellectual disability living in England.

The prescribing of psychotropic medications for people with an intellectual disability has changed. In many locations across England, antidepressants have become the most widely prescribed psychotropic. In the context of the current NHS England STOMP programme to reduce inappropriate psychotropic prescribing for people with intellectual disability, there is an urgent need to understand whether this change reflects evidence-based use of the medications involved. There has been little analysis into the benefits or problems associated with the change and whether it is of concern. This paper offers a variety of possible explanations and opportunities to improve clinical practice and policy.

Towards personalised predictive psychiatry in clinical practice: an ethical perspective.

Personalised prediction models promise to enhance the speed, accuracy and objectivity of clinical decision-making in psychiatry in the near future. This editorial elucidates key ethical issues at stake in the real-world implementation of prediction models and sets out practical recommendations to begin to address these.

Privacy and Health Practices in the Digital Age.

Increasing privacy concerns are arising from expanding use of aggregated personal information in health practices. Conversely, in light of the promising benefits of data driven healthcare, privacy is being frequently dismissed as outdated, costly and ultimately egotistical. This paper aims to review the theoretical framework on privacy in order to overcome the often simplistic debate between the primacy of individual or collective interests. As a result, it is argued that although privacy can be understood as freedom of personal choice in matters of sharing intimacy, it is foundational to both community belonging and to social and political organizations at large. Ethical decisions on the use of data analytics technologies in health practices should also take into account the social effects of violating privacy.

[Internal control of the quality and safety of medical activities in the field of information interaction between patient and medical organization]. / Vnutrennii kontrol' kachestva i bezopasnosti meditsinskoi deyatel'nosti v sfere informatsionnogo vzaimodeistviya patsienta i meditsinskoi organizatsii.

The scope of information interaction between patients, medical organizations and regulatory authorities is regulated by a large number of legislative and regulatory documents, a number of which are discussed in this article. The quality of information interaction in the Russian Federation is assessed within the framework of internal quality control and safety of medical activities. At the same time, the analysis of court cases related to poor-quality dental care over 6 years allowed the authors to identify a large proportion of patient complaints about the quality of information interaction between patients and medical organizations. Questions of incorrect information of patients, incorrect storage and disclosure of information related to medical confidentiality were contained in 84% of court cases, their share was 12.15% of all claims of patients to the courts. The article analyzes the areas of internal quality control and safety of medical activities and discusses the need to develop special criteria for assessing the quality of the information environment of a medical organization.

[On the issue of Moscow health care reforms: a review of publications].

The article presents review of scientific publications from databases of CyberLeninka and RSCI related to Moscow health care reforms within the framework of the Moscow State program "The Development of Moscow health care (Metropolitan health care) for 2012-2020". The analysis established that during reforms positive shifts in Moscow health care system occurred, expressed by significant improvement in material and technical base of institutions, implementation of new diagnostic and treatment technologies, increasing of salary of medical workers, implementation of information technologies. However, the Moscow health care system continues to encounter challenges from problems related to staffing (especially the district service), high workload of medical personnel, insufficient level of motivation and low level of qualifications of medical workers. The implemented system of general medical practice did not contribute into strengthening the role of district physician as coordinator of patient flows. The fragmentation and lack of continuity in functioning of health care institutions remains too. The hospital-replacing technologies, designed to compensate reduction in beds, have not received development in primary health care. because of lacking of economic incentives for institutions and low tariffs. The serious problems associated with shortcomings in organization of functioning of medical institutions are established that requires further improvement of methods of analyzing functioning of medical institutions and organizational activities at all levels, considering effectiveness of activities implemented.

Will artificial intelligence eventually replace psychiatrists?

SUMMARY: The dystopian scenario of an 'artificial intelligence takeover' imagines artificial intelligence (AI) becoming the dominant form of intelligence on Earth, rendering humans redundant. As a society we have become increasingly familiar with AI and robots replacing humans in many tasks, certain jobs and even some areas of medicine, but surely this is not the fate of psychiatry?Here a computational neuroscientist (Janaina Mourão-Miranda) and psychiatrist (Justin Taylor Baker) suggest that psychiatry as a profession is relatively safe, whereas psychiatrists Christian Brown and Giles William Story predict that robots will be taking over the asylum.

Objective digital phenotypes of worry severity, pain severity and pain chronicity in persons living with HIV.

Persons living with HIV report experiencing disproportionally severe and chronic pain and worry. However, no objective biomarkers of these subjective experiences have been developed. To address the lack of objective measures and assist in treatment planning, this study examined whether digital biomarkers of pain severity, pain chronicity and worry could be developed, using passive wearable sensors that continuously monitor movement. Results suggest that digital biomarkers can predict pain severity (r[35] = 0.690), pain chronicity (74.63% accuracy) and worry severity (r[65] = 0.642) with high precision, suggesting that objective digital biomarkers alone accurately capture internal symptom experiences in persons living with HIV. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: N.C.J. is the owner of a free application published on the Google Play Store entitled 'Mood Triggers'. He does not receive any direct or indirect revenue from his ownership of the application (i.e. the application is free, there are no advertisements and the data is only being used for research purposes). C.O. has no conflicts to declare.

Adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in China During the Past 10 Years: Consecutive Survey Data Analysis and Comparison of Sino-American Challenges and Experiences.

BACKGROUND: The adoption rate of electronic health records (EHRs) in hospitals has become a main index to measure digitalization in medicine in each country. OBJECTIVE: This study summarizes and shares the experiences with EHR adoption in China and in the United States. METHODS: Using the 2007-2018 annual hospital survey data from the Chinese Health Information Management Association (CHIMA) and the 2008-2017 United States American Hospital Association Information Technology Supplement survey data, we compared the trends in EHR adoption rates in China and the United States. We then used the Bass model to fit these data and to analyze the modes of diffusion of EHRs in these 2 countries. Finally, using the 2007, 2010, and 2014 CHIMA and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Services survey data, we analyzed the major challenges faced by hospitals in China and the United States in developing health information technology. RESULTS: From 2007 to 2018, the average adoption rates of the sampled hospitals in China increased from 18.6% to 85.3%, compared to the increase from 9.4% to 96% in US hospitals from 2008 to 2017. The annual average adoption rates in Chinese and US hospitals were 6.1% and 9.6%, respectively. However, the annual average number of hospitals adopting EHRs was 1500 in China and 534 in the US, indicating that the former might require more effort. Both countries faced similar major challenges for hospital digitalization. CONCLUSIONS: The adoption rates of hospital EHRs in China and the United States have both increased significantly in the past 10 years. The number of hospitals that adopted EHRs in China exceeded 16,000, which was 3.3 times that of the 4814 nonfederal US hospitals. This faster adoption outcome may have been a benefit of top-level design and government-led policies, particularly the inclusion of EHR adoption as an important indicator for performance evaluation and the appointment of public hospitals.

Recommendations for Designing Health Information Technologies for Mental Health Drawn From Self-Determination Theory and Co-design With Culturally Diverse Populations: Template Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Culturally diverse populations (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of diverse genders and sexualities, and culturally and linguistically diverse people) in nonurban areas face compounded barriers to accessing mental health care. Health information technologies (HITs) show promising potential to overcome these barriers. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify how best to improve a mental health and well-being HIT for culturally diverse Australians in nonurban areas. METHODS: We conducted 10 co-design workshops (N=105 participants) in primary youth mental health services across predominantly nonurban areas of Australia and conducted template analysis on the workshop outputs. Owing to local (including service) demographics, the workshop participants naturalistically reflected culturally diverse groups. RESULTS: We identified 4 main themes: control, usability, affirmation, and health service delivery factors. The first 3 themes overlap with the 3 basic needs postulated by self-determination theory (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and describe participant recommendations on how to design an HIT. The final theme includes barriers to adopting HITs for mental health care and how HITs can be used to support care coordination and delivery. Hence, it describes participant recommendations on how to use an HIT. CONCLUSIONS: Although culturally diverse groups have specific concerns, their expressed needs fall broadly within the relatively universal design principles identified in this study. The findings of this study provide further support for applying self-determination theory to the design of HITs and reflect the tension in designing technologies for complex problems that overlap multiple medical, regulatory, and social domains, such as mental health care. Finally, we synthesize the identified themes into general recommendations for designing HITs for mental health and provide concrete examples of design features recommended by participants.

The Effects of the Parenting Education Performed through Whatsapp on the Level of Maternal-Paternal and Infant Attachment in Turkey.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the effects of parenting education with online WhatsApp messages on the level of maternal-paternal and infant attachment. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study adopted a randomized-controlled experimental design. The sample of the study was 32 couples. The experimental group was provided with online parenting education in the WhatsApp groups. Data were collected through the Socio-Demographic Form, the Maternal Attachment Inventory, and the Paternal Postnatal Attachment Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Wilcoxon test, Paired t-test, Independent sample t-test, Mann Whitney U test, and Wald type statistics test. RESULTS: Intra-group comparisons showed that there was a statistical significance between the Maternal Attachment Inventory total scores (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference between group time interactions (p < 0.001), and these differences had a high effect size. When the intra-group comparisons were performed in terms of the Paternal Postnatal Attachment Questionnaire, there were significant differences between the total score differences (p = 0.001). An analysis of the group time interactions indicated no statistically significant differences (p = 0.653). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that the parenting education intervention increased maternal attachment levels in a significant way.

Integrating nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing education in Africa: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Information and communication technologies have become omnipresent in healthcare systems globally, and since nurses comprise the majority of the health sector workforce, they are expected to be adequately skilled to work in a technology-mediated environment. Integrating nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing education is a cornerstone to nursing education and practice in Africa. AIM: This scoping review aimed to evidence the integration of nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing education in Africa. METHODS: A scoping review of the literature used electronic databases including CINAHL Plus databases; EmCare; MEDLINE Ovid; Scopus; ERIC ProQuest; Web of Science; Google; and Google Scholar to locate papers specific to the African context. From a total of 8723 articles, 19 were selected for critique and synthesis. RESULTS: Selected studies indicated that nursing students used several information and communication technologies tools primarily for academic purposes, and rarely for clinical practice. In Africa, the challenges for teaching informatics in nursing education included: limited information and communication technologies skills among faculty and students; poor teaching strategies; and a lack of standardization of nursing informatics competencies. Successful integration of nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing education in African countries depends on restructuring nursing informatics content and teaching strategies, capacity building of the faculty and students in information and communication technologies, political commitment, and collaborative partnership. CONCLUSION: Nursing informatics is scarce in undergraduate nursing education in Africa due to the implementation and adoption challenges. Responding to these challenges requires a multi-sectoral approach in the revision of undergraduate nursing curricula. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING EDUCATION, PRACTICE, POLICY AND RESEARCH: This study highlights the importance of nursing informatics in undergraduate nursing education, with its challenges and success. Nursing education policies should support the development of well-standardized nursing informatics content and appropriate teaching strategies to deliver it. Further research is needed to establish which aspects of nursing informatics are integrated into undergraduate nursing education and nursing practice, implementation process, challenges and possible solutions. Collaborative partnerships are vital to developing nursing informatics policies to better prepare graduate nurses for the African healthcare workforce in the digital era.

Coronavirus disease 2019: achieving good mental health during social isolation.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to unprecedented disruption to the normal way of life for people around the globe. Social distancing, self-isolation or shielding have been strongly advised or mandated in most countries. We suggest evidence-based ways that people can maintain or even strengthen their mental health during this crisis.

Proposed directions for suicide research: incorporating successful approaches from other disciplines.

Despite decades of suicide research, our ability to predict suicide has not changed. Why is this the case? We outline the unique challenges facing suicide research. Borrowing successful strategies from other medical fields, we propose specific research directions that aim to translate scientific findings into meaningful clinical impact.