Experience Sampling and Programmed Intervention Method and System for Planning, Authoring, and Deploying Mobile Health Interventions: Design and Case Reports.

BACKGROUND: Health professionals initiating mobile health (mHealth) interventions may choose to adapt apps designed for other activities (eg, peer-to-peer communication) or to employ purpose-built apps specialized in the required intervention, or to exploit apps based on methods such as the experience sampling method (ESM). An alternative approach for professionals would be to create their own apps. While ESM-based methods offer important guidance, current systems do not expose their design at a level that promotes replicating, specializing, or extending their contributions. Thus, a twofold solution is required: a method that directs specialists in planning intervention programs themselves, and a model that guides specialists in adopting existing solutions and advises software developers on building new ones. OBJECTIVE: The main objectives of this study are to design the Experience Sampling and Programmed Intervention Method (ESPIM), formulated toward supporting specialists in deploying mHealth interventions, and the ESPIM model, which guides health specialists in adopting existing solutions and advises software developers on how to build new ones. Another goal is to conceive and implement a software platform allowing specialists to be users who actually plan, create, and deploy interventions (ESPIM system). METHODS: We conducted the design and evaluation of the ESPIM method and model alongside a software system comprising integrated web and mobile apps. A participatory design approach with stakeholders included early software prototype, predesign interviews with 12 health specialists, iterative design sustained by the software as an instance of the method's conceptual model, support to 8 real case studies, and postdesign interviews. RESULTS: The ESPIM comprises (1) a list of requirements for mHealth experience sampling and intervention-based methods and systems, (2) a 4-dimension planning framework, (3) a 7-step-based process, and (4) an ontology-based conceptual model. The ESPIM system encompasses web and mobile apps. Eight long-term case studies, involving professionals in psychology, gerontology, computer science, speech therapy, and occupational therapy, show that the method allowed specialists to be actual users who plan, create, and deploy interventions via the associated system. Specialists' target users were parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, older persons, graduate and undergraduate students, children (age 8-12), and caregivers of older persons. The specialists reported being able to create and conduct their own studies without modifying their original design. A qualitative evaluation of the ontology-based conceptual model showed its compliance to the functional requirements elicited. CONCLUSIONS: The ESPIM method succeeds in supporting specialists in planning, authoring, and deploying mobile-based intervention programs when employed via a software system designed and implemented according to its conceptual model. The ESPIM ontology-based conceptual model exposes the design of systems involving active or passive sampling interventions. Such exposure supports the evaluation, implementation, adaptation, or extension of new or existing systems.

Um estudo sobre letramento digital para idosos com o apoio de um aplicativo móvel personalizável / A study about alphabetization and digital literacy for older adults with the support of a customizable mobile apllication

O uso de sistemas computacionais para cuidados com a saúde de idosos é cada vez mais comum. No campo da educação, no entanto, as investigações enfocam mais em questões técnicas de desenvolvimento ou em adaptação de tecnologias, e não no processo de ensino-aprendizagem e aplicabilidade do uso de dispositivos móveis. Este trabalho buscou estimular, monitorar e avaliar o uso desses dispositivos no ambiente natural por idosos participantes de cursos de alfabetização e letramento digital. Também buscou promover novas metodologias para práticas de alfabetização e letramento digital para idosos. Foi realizado um estudo de viabilidade explorando o uso de um sistema denominado ESPIM, como um novo recurso pedagógico em cursos como este. O ESPIM permite a profissionais de diferentes áreas construírem programas de intervenção para realizar coletas de dados de forma remota com suas populações de interesse. Essa população responde a perguntas programadas pelos profissionais usando um aplicativo móvel. As perguntas planejadas podem ser questões abertas, de múltipla escolha, de escolha única, solicitação do envio de mídias como áudio, vídeo ou imagens. Neste estudo qualitativo, por duas semanas consecutivas, os participantes receberam alertas e instruções, por meio desse aplicativo, para realizar atividades práticas em casa sobre o conteúdo aprendido em sala de aula. Os resultados obtidos descrevem um comportamento positivo dos participantes em termos de engajamento na execução das atividades de casa, e também descrevem feedbacks sobre o aplicativo, tais como facilidades e dificuldades, autonomia no uso e adesão ao recurso tecnológico como forma de apoio a cursos como o supracitado.(AU)

The use of computer systems for health care for older people is increasingly common. In the field of education, however, investigations focus more on technical issues of development or adaptation of technologies, rather than on the teaching-learning process and the applicability of using mobile devices. This work aimed to stimulate, monitor and evaluate the use of these devices in the natural environment by older participants in literacy and digital literacy courses. It also sought to promote new methodologies for alphabetization and digital literacy practices for older adults. A feasibility study was carried out exploring the use of a system called ESPIM, as a new educational resource in courses like this. ESPIM allows professionals from different domains to plan intervention programs to carry out data collections remotely with their populations of interest. This population answers questions programmed by professionals using a mobile application. Planned questions can be open questions, multiple choice, single choice, request to send media such as audio, video or images. In this qualitative study, for two consecutive weeks, participants received alerts and instructions, through this application, to carry out practical activities at home on the content learned in the classroom. The results obtained describe a positive behavior of the participants in terms of engagement in the execution of home activities, and also describe feedbacks about the application, such as facilities and difficulties, autonomy in the use and adherence to the technological resource as a way of supporting courses such as above citied.(AU)

Promoting Social Connection and Deepening Relations Among Older Adults: Design and Qualitative Evaluation of Media Parcels.

BACKGROUND: Being socially connected is related to well-being, and one way of avoiding social isolation is to deepen existing relationships. Even though existing relationships can be reinforced by regular and meaningful communication, state-of-the-art communication technologies alone do not increase the quality of social connections. Thus, there is a need for the involvement of a trained human facilitator in a network of older adults, preferably for a short period, to promote the deepening of their relationships. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that a human-facilitated, media-sharing social networking system can improve social connection in a small group of older people, who are more vulnerable to social isolation than most, and deepen their relationships over a period of a few weeks. METHODS: We conducted the design and evaluation of Media Parcels, a novel human-facilitated social networking system. Media Parcels is based on the metaphor of a facilitator collecting and delivering parcels in the physical mail. Extending the metaphor, the system supports a facilitator in designing time-based dialogue requesting parcels from participants that bring out their memories and feelings, in collecting the parcels, wrapping them in annotations that communicate the corresponding requests, and delivering the wrapped parcel to a target person. Qualitative evaluation was carried out in two trials with a group of three people each, one with family members (children and father; aged 55, 56, and 82 years old) and the other with a group of friends (aged 72, 72, and 74 years old), over two weeks. In each trial, data were collected in three interviews (pre-, mid-, and posttrial) and via system logging. RESULTS: Collected data indicate positive social effects for deepening and developing relationships. The parcel metaphor was easily understood and the computational system was readily adopted. Preferences with regard to media production or consumption varied among participants. In the family group, children preferred receiving media parcels (because of their sentimental value) to producing them, whereas the father enjoyed both. In the friendship group, preferences varied: one friend enjoyed both producing and receiving, while the other two preferred one over the other. In general, participants reported a preference for the production of items of a certain type depending on the associated content. Apart from having a strong engagement with the system, participants reported feeling closer to each other than usual. CONCLUSIONS: For both groups, Media Parcels was effective in promoting media sharing and social connections, resulting in the deepening of existing relationships. Its design informs researchers who are attempting to promote social connection in older adults.