Comparison of Mobile Health Technology Use for Self-Tracking Between Older Adults and the General Adult Population in Canada: Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: The burden of population aging and chronic conditions has been reported worldwide. Older adults, especially those with high needs, experience social isolation and have high rates of emergency visits and limited satisfaction with the care they receive. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies present opportunities to address these challenges. To date, limited information is available on Canadian older adults' attitudes toward and use of mHealth technologies for self-tracking purposes-an area that is increasingly important and relevant during the COVID-19 era. OBJECTIVE: This study presents contributions to an underresearched area on older adults and mHealth technology use. The aim of this study was to compare older adults' use of mHealth technologies to that of the general adult population in Canada and to investigate the factors that affect their use. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey on mHealth and digital self-tracking was conducted. A web-based questionnaire was administered to a national sample of 4109 Canadian residents who spoke either English or French. The survey instrument consisted of 3 sections assessing the following items: (1) demographic characteristics, health status, and comorbidities; (2) familiarity with and use of mHealth technologies (ie, mobile apps, consumer smart devices/wearables such as vital signs monitors, bathroom scales, fitness trackers, intelligent clothing); and (3) factors influencing the continued use of mHealth technologies. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed between the older adults and the general adult population in the use of smart technologies and internet (P<.001). Approximately 47.4% (323/682) of the older adults in the community reported using smartphones and 49.8% (340/682) indicated using digital tablets. Only 19.6% (91/463) of the older adults using smartphones/digital tablets reported downloading mobile apps, and 12.3% (47/383) of the older adults who heard of smart devices/wearables indicated using them. The majority of the mobile apps downloaded by older adults was health-related; interestingly, their use was sustained over a longer period of time (P=.007) by the older adults compared to that by the general population. Approximately 62.7% (428/682) of the older adults reported tracking their health measures, but the majority did so manually. Older adults with one or more chronic conditions were mostly nontrackers (odds ratio 0.439 and 0.431 for traditional trackers and digital trackers, respectively). No significant differences were observed between the older adults and the general adult population with regard to satisfaction with mHealth technologies and their intention to continue using them. CONCLUSIONS: Leveraging mHealth technologies in partnership with health care providers and sharing of health/well-being data with health care professionals and family members remain very limited. A culture shift in the provision of care to older adults is deemed necessary to keep up with the development of mHealth technologies and the changing demographics and expectations of patients and their caregivers.

The Essential Role of Technology in the Public Health Battle Against COVID-19.

Technology has played an important role in responding to the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic. The virus's blend of lethality and transmissibility have challenged officials and exposed critical limitations of the traditional public health apparatus. However, throughout this pandemic, technology has answered the call for a new form of public health that illustrates opportunities for enhanced agility, scale, and responsiveness. The authors share the Microsoft perspective and illustrate how technology has helped transform the public health landscape with new and refined capabilities - the efficacy and impact of which will be determined by history. Technologies like chatbot and virtualized patient care offer a mechanism to triage and distribute care at scale. Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing have accelerated research into understanding the virus and developing targeted therapeutics to treat infection and prevent transmission. New mobile contact tracing protocols that preserve patient privacy and civil liberties were developed in response to public concerns, creating new opportunities for privacy-sensitive technologies that aid efforts to prevent and control outbreaks. While much progress is still needed, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted technology's importance to public health security and pandemic preparedness. Future multi-stakeholder collaborations, including those with technology organizations, are needed to facilitate progress in overcoming the current pandemic, setting the stage for improved pandemic preparedness in the future. As lessons are assessed from the current pandemic, public officials should consider technology's role and continue to seek opportunities to supplement and improve on traditional approaches.

A commentary on podiatry during the Covid-19 pandemic : Podiatry during the Covid-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The arrival of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted the many aspects of modern life, especially, in the immediate term, the delivery of healthcare. CONTEXT: This commentary examines the profession of podiatry and how it has adapted and responded to the emerging crisis. It focusses on but is not exclusive to the position in the United Kingdom (UK) and the edicts and direction from the UK Government. PODIATRY ROLES DURING THE PANDEMIC: It describes the role of podiatry in the pandemic and highlights the deployment of podiatry resources to fight the pandemic beyond traditional podiatric practice. It also looks at the shift from conventional consultation to digital solutions for managing patients in an effort to achieve the goals of maintenance of foot health whilst reducing the spread of the virus. The commentary summarises the emerging data related to a possible foot related presentation of the coronavirus. CONCLUSION: The podiatry profession proved its flexibility and adaptability during the pandemic, to adjust rapidly to ensure that patients were able to access treatment to reduce risk of infection, ulceration and amputation. Dermatological presentations on the feet have been associated with Covid-19 in adolescents as is often the case in viral infections. CPD webinars to support clinicians and manage and prevent the spread of Covid-19 have been widely disseminated along with algorithms to ensure that patients that need treatment are being treated appropriately. Podiatrists have embraced remote technology to ensure that patients are correctly and safely triaged and, signposted and given appropriate self-care advice. MSK podiatrists have the ability to play an intrinsic role within the post discharge rehabilitation pathway.