Mobile Phone-based Application Research Articles

Polydiacetylene based colorimetric nano-sensor for on-spot detection of aflatoxin in food matrices and animal feed

Global food security is constantly being challenged by the prevalence of aflatoxin (AF), a carcinogenic mycotoxin found in various staple foods consumed across the globe. This challenge is further compounded by unavailability of convenient, on-field aflatoxin sensing devices. In this study, liposome sensors conjugated with polydiacetylene (PDA) have been developed for robust, low-cost, on-site quantification of aflatoxin from feed samples assisted by a convenient mobile phone-based application. Soyabean-sourced phosphatidylcholine (content ≥ 94.0%) demonstrated to be a stronger structural backbone for developed lipoid sensor and is comparatively cheaper and sustainable alternative to conventional backbones like synthetic 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) for the preparation of based liposomes. Anti-aflatoxin antibodies conjugated with chemically activated liposomes provide a consistent chromatic response with aflatoxin. These sensors were used to detect the presence of aflatoxin in food and animal feed matrices. The detection time of the developed sensor was 5 min and can provide rugged and reliable detection of AFB1 up to the limit of 5.7 parts per billion (ppb).

Effect of a Mobile Training Application on Psychological Distress of Family Caregivers of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Objective Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the most common causes of death in the world, which affects the functional level of patients due to its progressive nature. disabilities caused by the disease lead to the dependence of these patients on family caregivers. Following the changes in caregivers’ lives, most family caregivers are exposed to psychological distress. Involving caregivers in pulmonary rehabilitation training for patients is one of the ways to reduce psychological distress. Considering the emergence of the digital age and the limitations of face-to-face training such as time and cost, mobile phone-based applications are available as one of the new methods for providing educational support to caregivers. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of the pulmonary rehabilitation application on the psychological distress of caregivers of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Materials & Methods This study is a field trial conducted on 70 family caregivers of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The samples were selected as available from the Sun Breathing Comprehensive Clinic and after checking the inclusion criteria, they were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups by minimization software. The intervention group used mobile phone-based pulmonary rehabilitation training application for 6 weeks. For the control group, face-to-face pulmonary rehabilitation training (routine) was provided in the form of 12 sessions during 6 weeks. The data collection tool included Kessler’s demographic information and psychological distress questionnaires, which were completed by caregivers before and after the intervention. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 24 software and Mann-Whitney, Chi-square and independent and paired t tests. Results According to the findings, the two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic characteristics. The average age of caregivers in the intervention and control groups was (44.1±14.8), (47.7±13.8) years, respectively. In the intervention group, 71.4% were female caregivers and in the control group, 82.9% were female caregivers (P>0/05). Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in terms of psychological distress between the test and control groups (P<0.05), but after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of psychological distress (P=0.001). The average score of psychological distress before and after the intervention in the intervention group was (14.97±6.65) and (10.25±4.50) respectively, and there was a significant decrease (P<0.000), but the psychological distress in the control group was (15.68±7.91). 5.42±14.60) had no significant change (P<0.05). Conclusion The results of this study indicate that training through a mobile-based pulmonary rehabilitation application may be useful in reducing the psychological distress of family caregivers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Therefore, since the favorable mental state of caregivers has a significant effect on the quality of care provided , it is recommended to use this method in the training of caregivers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mobile Health Application and Hypertension Management in Rural, Middle-Aged Adults: A Quality Improvement Project.

Over 29% of the adult population in the United States are diagnosed with hypertension, and rates are significantly higher in those adults who live in rural areas. Hypertension is recognized as the most prevalent comorbidity and modifiable risk factor leading to premature death. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if using a mobile phone-based health application called Medisafe could enhance medication adherence and improve blood pressure control in rural-dwelling adults. A small group (N = 14) of middle-aged (45-64 years old) patients with hypertension were recruited to download the free Medisafe phone-based health application. Patients utilized the Medisafe application between their initial visit and a 4- to 6-week follow-up. At the follow-up visit, 64% (n = 9) of participants improved their level of hypertension control by blood pressure classification and improved their scores on the medication adherence questionnaire. The findings from this quality improvement project suggest the Medisafe application is useful to enhance medication adherence and blood pressure control. Future research and quality improvement initiatives are necessary to determine the broader efficacy of phone-based health applications in the rural adult population.

MP66-15 DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A NOVEL SKILLS ASSESSMENT TOOL TO EVALUATE RESIDENT COMPETENCY DURING PERCUTANEOUS NEPHROLITHOTOMY

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023MP66-15 DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A NOVEL SKILLS ASSESSMENT TOOL TO EVALUATE RESIDENT COMPETENCY DURING PERCUTANEOUS NEPHROLITHOTOMY Colin Kleinguetl, Tasha Posid, Seyed Mohammad Mohaghem Poor, Matthew Lee, Bodo Knudsen, Dairon Denis-Diaz, Hafsa Asif, Aliza Khuhro, and Michael Sourial Colin KleinguetlColin Kleinguetl More articles by this author , Tasha PosidTasha Posid More articles by this author , Seyed Mohammad Mohaghem PoorSeyed Mohammad Mohaghem Poor More articles by this author , Matthew LeeMatthew Lee More articles by this author , Bodo KnudsenBodo Knudsen More articles by this author , Dairon Denis-DiazDairon Denis-Diaz More articles by this author , Hafsa AsifHafsa Asif More articles by this author , Aliza KhuhroAliza Khuhro More articles by this author , and Michael SourialMichael Sourial More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003329.15AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: With the continuing push towards competency-based training during residency, there have been tools developed for skills assessment. There is currently no standardized assessment for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). We evaluate the use of a mobile phone-based application to provide real-time assessment of resident surgical competence and progression during PCNL. METHODS: A procedure-based assessment was created to evaluate critical steps during PCNL. To date, 11 residents in our program performing PCNL were immediately evaluated by the faculty involved in the case. Residents were evaluated across 20 steps (see Figure 1), with critical steps of the case being assessed with use of either a Yes/No completion score or via Likert-scale (1–novice to 5–expert). Case complexity was rated on a scale of 1-3 (simple to complex). RESULTS: A total of 19 PCNLs (14 standard, 5 mini) were evaluated involving PGY2-5 for this pilot use of the evaluation tool. As an example, data from a single resident (“X”, n=3 cases to date) was compared to their cohort (PGY2) and program (all residents). Across cohorts, resident exhibited similar competency to their cohort and program, with higher competency for Steps 8/9 (Figure 1). Metrics can be tracked based on level (Figure 2) or by case complexity (Figure 3). Lower competence as an average and over time (case-by-case) would indicate areas where residents can improve or where faculty can provide additional feedback. Average duration to enter feedback was 154 seconds. CONCLUSIONS: Given the need and push for real-time feedback in the operating room to assess learner autonomy, this mobile phone-based application is easily created and accessed and allows for prospective and longitudinal tracking of operative skill and progress during PCNL. Source of Funding: None © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e938 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Colin Kleinguetl More articles by this author Tasha Posid More articles by this author Seyed Mohammad Mohaghem Poor More articles by this author Matthew Lee More articles by this author Bodo Knudsen More articles by this author Dairon Denis-Diaz More articles by this author Hafsa Asif More articles by this author Aliza Khuhro More articles by this author Michael Sourial More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Mobile Phone App-Based or Face-to-Face Pulmonary Rehabilitation in COVID-19 Survivors.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is recommended as a standard, effective, and important treatment for COVID-19 survivors who remain symptomatic after the acute phase. Therefore, we aimed to compare the effect of mobile phone-based PR application with face-to-face PR on the quality of life, anxiety, depression, and daily life activities of COVID-19 survivors. A quasi-experimental was conducted on 65 COVID-19 survivors during 2022. Convenient sampling was done based on the inclusion criteria. The intervention group (n = 31) received PR through a mobile phone application, and the control group (n = 34) received face-to-face PR. Data were collected before and after the intervention in both groups using a demographic information questionnaire, SF-12, the hospital anxiety and depression scale, and Barthel scale. For all tests, a maximum error of 5% was considered. The two studied groups had no statistically significant difference with respect to all the investigated variables at baseline (p > 0.05). After the intervention, the mean anxiety and depression score of the patients in the control group was significantly lower than the intervention group (t = -3.46, f = 63, p = 0.01). After our intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean quality of life and daily life activity scores between the two groups (t = -0.68, f = 63, p > 0.05). The application of PR does not show a statistically significant difference in terms of improving the quality of life and daily activities compared with the face-to-face method; we suggest that the PR application be used as a cost-effective method when face-to-face PR is not possible.

The nutritional content required to design an educational application for infertile women

BackgroundInfertility has been considered as a critical health problem for couples and society. Given the worldwide exponential rise of infertility, mobile phone-based applications are drastic ways to deliver nutrition educational content to women with infertility. The present study aimed to prepare the required educational content for designing a mobile phone-based nutrition educational application for women with infertility.MethodsEducational contents were initially determined based on the literature review and library studies. As a result, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed containing 28 items in six dimensions. To ensure about the questionnaire’s validity, a panel of experts (15 nutritionists and 5 infertility specialists) was asked to review the items, make revisions (if necessary), and confirm the final contents. The questionnaire reliability was also corroborated using the KR-20 coefficient (0.89).ResultsWhile the amount of consumed calories per meal and between meals were not significantly effective on fertility, factors such as main definitions, disease and treatment instructions, personal activities and habits, and menstruation were deemed necessary by the respondents. Participants also suggested adding sections entailing introductions to different types of diets, users' suggestions and opinions, and of the address and contact information of senior nutrition centers to the questionnaire.ConclusionsFollowed by obtaining the required valid and reliable contents, a mobile phone- based nutrition education application can be designed to improve the patients' knowledge and facilitate their treatment process.

Automatic extraction of data from infra-red thermometers with computer vision

Contactless infrared thermometers (NCITs) have been widely used as a rapid screening tool for patients with fever, particularly during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa and other developing countries. The screening information that can be gathered in this manner is difficult to leverage from a pandemic response perspective as common handheld thermometers have no means of automatically exporting measurement data. An algorithm for a mobile phone-based application is developed that is capable of automatically extracting the temperature information from common NCITs by making use of machine vision techniques and partitioning tasks between the screening operator and the mobile application. Temperature readings could accurately be captured from a range of devices with varying text characteristics and backlights in a range of lighting conditions. Additionally the methodology proposed is capable of running on low-end devices without a data connection and without extensive training requirements for different NCITs being required. The use of a low-cost smart-phone as the capturing device together with the involvement of the operator has been show to be a feasible alternative to fully automating processes. Results indicate that similar methods could be used in a range of applications where numerical data needs to be digitised from existing field instrumentation, particularly where such instrumentation feature segmented displays.

Technology for Improving Street Dog Welfare and Capturing Data in Digital Format during Street Dog Sterilisation Programmes.

Simple SummaryHumane Society International (HSI) facilitates dog sterilisation programmes internationally, which includes population surveys of street dogs to gain basic demographic information and to set a baseline for future monitoring operations. HSI has developed a web and mobile application suite called ‘HSIApps’ with custom tailored workflows to improve the efficiency (lower programmatic cost) and improve the welfare of dogs in care throughout the sterilisation process. The Android-based mobile app is simple and easy to use for teams in the field. The web app has data dashboards, record views, and reports for monitoring and evaluation purposes. The use of such digital applications can improve dog population management programme implementation, ensure positive outcomes for dogs postoperatively, and facilitate programmatic monitoring and evaluation. We describe here the use of this application and insights gained through its use in HSI’s street dog monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment (MEIA) programmes in India.Street dogs survive on food handouts provided by individuals, or the wider community yet typically receive limited to no veterinary care. They can also carry a variety of zoonotic diseases such as rabies, posing a significant risk to human and dog population health. Dog sterilisation is one of the most humane and effective methods available to control street dog populations. Dog sterilisation programmes, particularly those operating at a large-scale, often face a variety of challenges including limited resources, staffing, and less-than-ideal facilities. Recordkeeping is often a challenge as well, which can complicate the return of a sterilised dog to their location of capture. Street dogs are territorial, and the return of a dog to an incorrect location is fraught with various welfare issues, as well as an increased risk of postoperative complications, including death. Humane Society International developed a mobile phone-based application called ‘HSIApps’ drawing on years of field experience and data collection in street dog location recording, as well as clinical and postoperative treatment. HSIApps facilitates the return of dogs back to their exact captured location, which ensures dog welfare, and generates reports of a variety of useful data variables to maximise the efficacy and reliability of sterilisation programmes.

Interactions in Sociotechnical Systems: Achieving Balance in the Use of an Augmented Reality Mobile Application.

We explore relationships between barriers and facilitators experienced by users to understand dynamic interactions in sociotechnical systems and improve a mobile phone-based augmented reality application that teaches users about the contents of a standardized pediatric code cart. Understanding interactions between performance obstacles and facilitators can provide guidance to (re)designing sociotechnical systems to improve system outcomes. Clinicians should know about contents and organization of code carts, and an augmented reality mobile application may improve that knowledge but changes the sociotechnical system in which they learn. Prior work identified barriers and facilitators impacting the use of this application-participants described dimensions together, indicating interactions that are explored in the current study. We conducted four focus groups (number of clinicians = 18) and two interviews with clinicians who used the application. We performed a secondary analysis of focus group data exploring interactions between previously identified barriers and facilitators to application use. We used epistemic network analysis to visualize these interactions. Work system barriers interacted with barriers and facilitators interacted with facilitators to amplify cumulative negative or positive impact, respectively. Facilitators balanced barriers, mitigating negative impact. Facilitators also exacerbated barriers, worsening negative impact. Barriers and facilitators interact and can amplify, balance, and exacerbate each other-notably, positives are not always positive. To obtain desired outcomes, interactions must be further considered in sociotechnical system design, for example, the potential improvements to the application we identified.

The Design of a Mobile Phone-Based Remote-Control Application to Submersible Motor for Effective Water Supply

In the last few decades, several monitoring systems integrated with water level detection have been the major research focus. Production boost and its sustainability depend mainly on sustainable water supply, measuring water level, and avoiding waste of water is an essential task for all stakeholders. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to design and implement a mobile phone-based remote control. This will be applied to control the operation of a submersible motor in a water tank. The water level in the tank is detected and the device remotely turns the motor pump on/off. The design process is accomplished by developing an android application that works on GSM technology to manage the filling of water tank. An AT89C51 microcontroller is used for the desired programming. At the transmitting end, sensor is used for level detection and GSM module is used to send the information to user. According to this information, user controls the on/off operation of the pump. A SIM card is required for its operation and it works on attention (AT) commands. After the design and implementation of the device, the test results showed that all features of the device worked properly, and the device functions exactly as expected. More significantly, the paper has shown that ultrasonic sensors can be used to determine the level of water in a water tank and a GSM module can be used to control a submersible pump. The design and implementation of this device can help to reduce waste of time and power. Ultimately, it avoids water wastage thereby ensuring availability, conservation, and sustainability of water supply.

Prevalence and determinants of oral potentially malignant lesions using mobile health in a rural block, northeast India.

In a rural block in North East India, community health workers (CHW) empowered with a mobile phone-based application screened a total of 2,686 participants for Oral Potentially Malignant Lesions (OPMLs), and an oral medicine specialist recommended treatment remotely. Independent risk factors were determined using independent multiple logistic regression models. Nearly 700 (26%) participants were identified with OPMLs. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, negative predictive values and accuracy of the CHW was 70.3, 88.4, 66.8, 89.9% and 83.7% respectively. Male gender, married status, smokeless tobacco, paan, areca-nut and alcohol consumption were independent predictors of OPMLs, the burden of which in North East India can be attributed to the high consumption of tobacco and non-tobacco products. Such programmes, with the recommendations from remote specialists, will facilitate early detection in remote settings.

Development of a Low Cost Mobile Phone-Based Intervention to Support Infants’ Vaccination among Nursing Mothers

In Nigeria, nursing mothers in rural communities lack public amenities such as safe water, adequate primary health care, good electricity supply, GSM network coverage and good road network. These often predispose them to be noncompliant to infants’ immunization uptakes and have high rates of morbidity in Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) among infants. Mobile phones can be leveraged upon to provide a viable medium to support immunization uptakes and adherence using few mobile phone-based interventions which are available for low-income nursing mothers. Hence the study assessed development of a low cost mobile phone-based intervention to support infants’ vaccination among nursing mothers. The study developed a low cost mobile phone-based intervention to support infants’ vaccination among nursing mothers in an effort to alleviate the challenges of infant’s vaccination among nursing mothers, a low cost mobile phone-based application was designed and tested among nursing mothers. In the development of the app, incremental software development was adhered to using Java programming language in an Android Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The software was pretested using pre and post experimental data collection. The app is a reminder system, preloaded with immunization awareness messages. It is simple to install and use and does not cost nursing mothers airtime or data. It only requires scheduling at-birth immunization’s date. The app can schedule and display all other immunization dates automatically; relate specific health benefits of each vaccine as a reminder messages both in English and Yoruba languages automatically as scheduled. The experiences of the nursing mothers with this software were gathered for six months through pre-test and post-test pre-experimental design. The app was found effective in reminding the nursing mothers about immunizations appointments, enlightening them about the immunization health benefits to their infants. The intervention has possibility of improving immunization compliances and attendants at clinic appointments. Since it is low cost software, it is therefore recommended for the nursing mothers. Keywords: Vaccine Preventable Diseases, immunization, Integrated Development Environment (IDE), intervention, mobile phone, nursing mother. Journal Reference Format: Onamade, A.A., Oyerinde, O.O., Oduwole, A.O. Lala, O.G. & Longe, O.B. (2021): Development of a Low Cost Mobile Phone-Based Intervention to Support Infants’ Vaccination among Nursing Mothers. Journal of Behavioural Informatics, Digital Humanities and Development Research. Vol. 7.No. 2, Pp 1-8 Available online at https://www.behaviouralinformaticsjournal.info dx.doi.org/ 10.22624/AIMS/BHI/V7N1P10

Stakeholders' Perspectives on the Challenges of Emergency Obstetric Referrals and the Feasibility and Acceptability of an mHealth Intervention in Northern Iraq.

The health system in northern Iraq has been weakened by conflict and the internal displacement of over three million people. Mobile phone-based interventions (mHealth) may improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes by enabling emergency referrals, facilitating communication between patients and providers, and improving patient data management; however, they have not been sufficiently studied in conflict-affected settings. We explored stakeholders' perspectives on challenges to obstetric referrals and the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile phone-based application to reduce delays in reaching emergency obstetric care in order to inform its development. We conducted a qualitative study in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq from May to July, 2018. Using purposive sampling, we carried out 15 semi-structured interviews with coordination actors including healthcare management staff, government health officials, non-government health program managers and ambulance staff. The interviews explored obstetric care delivery, referral processes, mobile phone usage and mHealth implementation strategies. Eleven focus group discussions, which incorporated participatory activities on similar topics, were conducted with ambulance drivers, hospital and primary health center staff. Audio-recorded, transcribed and translated data were coded iteratively to identify emerging concepts, and analyzed thematically. Sixty-eight stakeholders (36 women and 32 men) participated. Challenges regarding the referral system included resource limitations, security concerns, costs and women's reluctance to be transported in male-staffed ambulances. In terms of obstetric care and decision-making, participants noted gaps in communication and coordination of services with the current paper-based system between health care providers, ambulance drivers, and hospital staff. Ambulance drivers reported incurring delays through lack of patient information, poor road conditions, and security issues. A prototype mobile phone application was found to be acceptable based on perceived usefulness to address some of the challenges to safe obstetric care and focused on phone usage, access to information, Global Positioning System (GPS), connectivity, cost, and user-friendliness. However, the feasibility of the innovation was considered in relation to implementation challenges that were identified, including poor connectivity, and digital literacy. Implementation of the app would need to account for the humanitarian context, cultural and gender norms regarding obstetric care, and would require substantial commitment and engagement from policymakers and practitioners.

Model for Mitigation of Workplace Transmission of COVID-19 Through Population-Based Testing and Surveillance.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a widespread impact on societies across the globe. As part of the effort to control transmission in the United States, many businesses either closed or instituted nonpharmaceutical control measures and allowed only essential workers on-site. During summer and fall of 2020, employers began formulating “return to work” strategies designed to mitigate the risk of transmission among employees. On a population level, several countries implemented national testing and surveillance strategies that proved effective in mitigating citizen-to-citizen transmission and contributed to suppressing COVID-19. A crucial component of many such strategies is population-based testing to identify and engage individuals with asymptomatic or presymptomatic infection, which also is relevant to return-to-work strategies. The authors describe an approach that multisite employers might use to help mitigate transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace. This approach leverages a bioinformatics platform informed by real-time PCR test data at the county and subcounty (eg, Public Use Microdata Area) level, allowing for population-based testing to be selectively targeted for employees in geographies with elevated SARS-CoV-2 positivity. A “Command Center” application integrates data from multiple sources (eg, local infection trends, employee symptom diaries, Bluetooth thermometers) in real time, which can be used to inform decisions regarding surveillance and employee self-isolation or quarantine; a mobile phone-based application provides for rapid, secure communication with employees. This overview is based on peer-reviewed literature and the early experience of a large employer with implementing bioinformatics tools to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the workplace.

Development and Evaluation of a Working Memory Intervention Kit in Children with Epilepsy in Low-Resource Settings.

In this pilot study, the authors developed and evaluated a working memory intervention (WMI) using a combination of mobile phone-based application and an activity booklet, among children with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Pre- and post-intervention cognitive evaluation at 8 wk included: subtests comprising working memory index from Wechsler Intelligence Scale-IV, color cancellation task for sustained attention, and parent's rating from the Conners' ADHD/DSM-IV Scales of the Conners' Rating Scales-Revised. Fourteen children completed the intervention; one was lost to follow-up. Significant improvement in most working memory parameters occurred at 8 wk: digit span [scaled scores: median 7 (IQR 4-9) to 12 (IQR 9-14.25); p = 0.001]; letter-number sequencing [scaled scores: median 9 (IQR 5-10) to 11.5 (IQR 6.75-13); p = 0.03]; WMI [median 14 (IQR 9-18) to 22 (IQR 16.75-27); p = 0.001] and sustained attention [time for cancellation test improved from 95 (72-117) to 85 (63-98) s; p = 0.001]. This indigenous WMI was feasible and efficacious in improving working memory deficits in CWE in low-resource settings.

A mobile phone-based multimedia intervention to support maternal health is acceptable and feasible among illiterate pregnant women in Uganda: Qualitative findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundUganda’s maternal mortality rate remains unacceptably high. Mobile phones can potentially provide affordable means of accessing maternal health services even among the otherwise hard-to-reach populations. Evidence about the acceptability and feasibility of mobile phone-based interventions targeting illiterate women, however, is limited.ObjectiveTo assess the acceptability and feasibility of a mobile phone-based multimedia application (MatHealth app) to support maternal health amongst illiterate pregnant women in rural southwestern Uganda.Methods80 pregnant women initiating antenatal care from Mbarara regional referral hospital were enrolled in a pilot randomized controlled trial and followed until six weeks after delivery. The 40 women in the intervention group received a MatHealth app composed of educational videos/audios, clinic appointment reminders, and the calling function. Qualitative interviews on acceptability of this technology were carried out with 30 of the intervention participants. An inductive, content analytic approach was used to analyze qualitative data. Quantitative feasibility data were recorded and summarized descriptively.ResultsParticipants reported that the intervention is acceptable as it enabled them adopt good maternal health practices, enhanced social support from spouses, provided clinic appointment reminders, and facilitated communication with healthcare providers. Challenges included: phone sharing (74%), accidental deletion of the application 15 (43%), lack of electricity 15 (43%), and inability to set up a reminder function 20 (57%).ConclusionThe MatHealth app is an acceptable and feasible intervention among illiterate women, in a resource limited setting. Future efforts should focus on optimized application design, spouse orientation, and incorporating economic support to overcome the challenges we encountered.

Mobile phone-based Multimedia Application Could improve Maternal Health in Rural Southwestern Uganda: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Reducing maternal and infant mortality rates remains challenging. Illiteracy, lack of reliable information, long distances to health centers continue to limit access to quality maternal healthcare in Uganda. Mobile health technologies could be promising affordable strategies for enhancing access to maternal health services. However, there is lack of studies assessing the experiences of illiterate rural pregnant women regarding these technologies. Objective: To explore how illiterate pregnant women perceive a maternal health mobile application composed of tailored video and audio messages, appointment reminders and calling function. Methods: We purposively sampled illiterate pregnant women initiating antenatal care at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. We carried out three focus group discussions with 14 women to elicit information on perceptions of the proposed mobile phone based multimedia application. We used STATA 13 to describe study participants and their preferences. Results: Pregnant women anticipated that intervention would enhance maternal health by reminding them to attend antenatal appointments, enabling transport cost and time saving, providing tailored information that is easy to understand, and recall. However, financial constraints and phone sharing would limit the functionality. Conclusion: Mhealth application may provide acceptable and affordable alternative approaches to providing maternal health services, especially in settings where face-to-face approaches are challenging.

Trustless Approaches to Digital Infrastructure in the Crisis of COVID-19 Australia's Newest COVID App. Home-Grown Surveillance Technologies and What to Do About it

This week, the Australian Government proposed a mobile phone-based tracking application to address the spread of coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated an acceleration of government-led surveillance technology around with the world. At present, the significant uptick in digital tools as a policy response to address the public health crisis are not being matched by suitable policy clauses or technology design to serve the interests of Australian citizens. This article presents the global contact-tracing phone app responses to COVID-19, outlines the key privacy concerns and presents alternative policy pathways and technical approaches towards privacy preservation and trustless (trust minimising) digital infrastructure to improve Australia’s digital-political response to COVID-19.

Design of English Vocabulary Mobile Apps Using Gamification: An Indonesian Case Study for Kindergarten

English is essential for children because it is an international language that is al-ways used in various fields, both in the world of work, education, economics, and social. One method of learning for children is by playing while learning. Gamification in the field of education is an educational approach to motivate stu-dents to enjoy learning by applying the game design. The purpose of this study is to approach the learning of English, specifically for children in kindergarten schools so that children will be more interested and feel happy to continue learning. The gamification method uses a mobile phone-based application with video games. Gamification in question is an English language recognition game for children with games. The introduction of English includes three categories, namely numbers, pictures, and spelling. The result is a mobile-based application that can be used by children to play the introduction of English with the concept of gamification. With the existence of gamification, the conception of children who were initially afraid to learn English became brave and more confident. The contribution given through this paper is to motivate children's willingness to learn English through other learning methods, namely gamification. Make children feel comfortable and not afraid to learn new things, especially English.

The impact of shared mobility on trip generation behavior in the US: Findings from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey

Shared mobility services such as ride-hailing services, bikesharing services, and carsharing services are relatively new forms of transportation where users gain access to a specific type of transportation for a short period of time, usually using a mobile phone-based application (app). Much has been written about whether these services are fundamentally transforming urban transportation systems or if they are simply the latest fad. However, little empirical research has been done on the effects of these services on people’s travel behavior. This paper uses the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to assess the association between the usage of shared mobility services and individual’s trip making behavior. We fit negative binomial regression models to NHTS data to understand if the usage of shared mobility services is potentially influencing the number of trips people make on weekdays and weekends. We then perform hypothesis testing to confirm the significance of our results. We find that ride-hailing app usage does have a statistically significant association with the number of trips made per day on both weekends and weekdays, although the effect appears to be slightly more significant on weekdays than weekends. Based on our model, bikesharing and carsharing do not appear to have an association with daily trip generation behavior on either weekends or weekdays.