LiveWell RERC State of the Science Conference Report on ICT Access to Support Community Living, Health and Function for People with Disabilities.

John Morris,Danielle Jake-Schoffman,Mike Jones,Catherine E Lang,Frank Deruyter,David Putrino

doi:10.3390/ijerph17010274

Abstract

This article summarizes the proceedings of the three session State of the Science (SOS) Conference that was conducted by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Community Living, Health and Function (LiveWell RERC) in June 2019 in Toronto, Canada. RERCs customarily convene an SOS conference toward the end of their five-year funding cycle in order to assess the current state and identify potential future research, development, and knowledge translation efforts needed to advance their field. The first two sessions focused on the current and future state of information and communication technology (ICT) for mobile health (mHealth) and mobile rehabilitation (mRehab). The third session was a wide-ranging discussion of pressing needs for future research and development in the field. Several “big ideas” resulted from the discussion among participants in the SOS Conference that should inform the structure and operation of future efforts, including: (1) identifying active ingredients of interventions, (2) incorporating effective behavior-change techniques into all interventions, (3) including measures of social determinants of health in evaluation studies, (4) incorporating user-customizable features into technology solutions, and (5) ensuring “discoverability” of research and development outputs by stakeholders via structured and continuous outreach, education and training. Substantive areas of work include gaming and esports, the gamification of interventions for health and fitness, the cultivation of community supports, and continuous outreach and education wherever a person with a disability may live.

Highlights

This is the report on the proceedings of the State of the Science (SOS) Conference conducted by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Community Living, Health and Function (LiveWellresearch centers (RERCs)) in June 2019 in Toronto, Canada
On 25–26 June 2019, the LiveWell RERC hosted a State of the Science Conference to set the agenda for future information and communication technology (ICT) research and development to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities in the digital health revolution
The first two sessions consisted of presentations and discussion by invited panelists—representing rehabilitation research, technology and consumer stakeholders—on topics related to the current and future state of ICT for mobile health and mobile rehabilitation

Summary

Introduction

This is the report on the proceedings of the State of the Science (SOS) Conference conducted by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Community Living, Health and Function (LiveWellRERC) in June 2019 in Toronto, Canada. Disabilities: Frank DeRuyter, PhD, MMCi, Duke University Medical Center. The rapidly maturing digital health market has shifted dramatically over the past two years from a market focusing on narrowly focused “point solutions” to a broad range of ICT products that are informing everyday clinical decisions. This is evident in the striking increase of venture capital funding in digital health companies on the forefront of innovation, as well as the impact that ICT is having on the healthcare ecosystem by extending existing care models beyond the hospital or clinic. Danielle Jake-Schoffman, PhD, University of Florida mRehab: Consumer perspectives, strategies to promote engagement by patients, family, caregivers mRehab: Consumer perspectives, strategies to promote engagement by patients, family, and other users of mHealth technology solutions: caregivers and other users of mHealth technology solutions: Kate Lorig, PhD, Stanford University

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