Role Of Digital Health Research Articles

The Role of Digital Health in Managing Chronic Pain

Chronic pain, which affects almost a billion people worldwide, is a major health concern that places a large cost strain on healthcare systems. Traditional pain management strategies frequently fall short, demanding novel alternatives. Telemedicine, mobile health applications, and remote monitoring tools are all examples of digital health technologies that show promise for chronic pain management. This study examines the present issues in chronic pain treatment, the importance of digital health treatments, and the efficacy of evidence-based methods including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and machine learning for personalised care. Patients suffering from chronic pain now have new hope thanks to digital health solutions that allow for patient self-management, real-time monitoring, and enhanced access to care. Through evaluating clinical trials and research findings, this review sheds light on the future potential and opportunities for incorporating digital health technologies into chronic pain care. Keywords: Chronic Pain, Digital Health, Telemedicine, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Remote Monitoring.

The Role of Digital Health in Preventive Medicine

Digital health technology has transformed healthcare, allowing for novel approaches to preventive medicine. This study investigates how digital health, such as telemedicine, mobile health (mHealth), wearables, and artificial intelligence, contributes to early disease identification and health promotion. By improving patient participation and data accessibility, digital health promotes individualised care, enables healthy lifestyle choices, and reduces the effect of chronic diseases. Despite its potential, issues including the digital gap, privacy concerns, and equitable access persist. However, with continued technological breakthroughs and investments, digital health has the potential to become an essential tool in the future of preventive healthcare. Keywords: Digital health, preventive medicine, telemedicine, mHealth, health promotion.

Letter to the Editor: 'The Role of Digital Health in Emergency Education'.

Letter to the Editor: 'The Role of Digital Health in Emergency Education'.

8.E. Workshop: Digital Public Health and Climate change: The European Framework made easy

Abstract European Union has defined a strategy to tackle climate change - the European Green Deal (GD). However, this framework needs to put in place, engaging cities, public health professionals and new technologies vendors to incorporate the Green New Deal within the city dynamics to make it more healthy friendly. Climate change, although globally threating to the human population and biocenosis, yet has some positive sides if the unity achieved through the GD can be named so. This document strongly confirms the path to be navigated. What is the role of digital health and what is the possible contribution of digital public health? This European Commission document envisages Europe as the first climate-neutral continent while strengthening its economy, taking care of and improving its inhabitants’ health. The GD insists on the care for nature and a clear view that no one should be left out and left behind. This workshop point out that, even we have large regulatory framework on clean air, air pollution in the European Union continues to be the top environmental threat to health, leading to approx 400,000 early deaths annually and high health costs. Over 20 of the 27 EU countries fail to keep air quality standards, which for key pollutants are already less strict than what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends. But climate change brings other threats. In this workshop we will firstly explore the richness of the GD and its contributions to public health framework in Europe. There were several possible scenarios, out of which two were considered: one based on collaboration and the other, on conflict. Several dimensions were examined to address both cooperation instruments and the consequences of non-cooperation: Energy production (e.g., conventional versus renewable) and use; water resources and food security; the environment (air quality) and the impact on health; Population and migration flow. Secondly, the potential of the Smart City will be explored as a tool to integrate dynamic public health interventions in the city leveraging the interactions of many citizens. An example from diabetes management will be considered within the Smart City concept. Finally, we will present tree examples of the dynamics of people and places will be addressed. It is important to note that health sector has an opportunity to not only prevent further damage from the air pollution and climate crises, but also to improve health outcomes by motivating people to contribute to decarbonizing, building climate resilience, and amplifying the message around the interdependency between climate change and human health. This workshop will present a framework, co-developed by WHO and Health Care Without Harm, for climate-resilient, sustainable health facilities. Key messages • Public health is part of the endeavour to tackle climate change, and the cities are an important playground for achieving the sustainability goals at local level aligned with the European Green Deal. • The smart cities can leverage digital public health interventions to better engage the citizens, integrate care and to improve the cities resilience to cope with climate urgency and urban health.

Digital health in pain assessment, diagnosis, and management: Overview and perspectives.

Managing pain is essential for social, psychological, physical, and economic reasons. It is also a human right with a growing incidence of untreated and under-treated pain globally. Barriers to diagnosing, assessing, treating, and managing pain are complicated, subjective, and driven by patient, healthcare provider, payer, policy, and regulatory challenges. In addition, conventional treatment methods pose their own challenges including the subjectivity of assessment, lack of therapeutic innovation over the last decade, opioid use disorder and financial access to treatment. Digital health innovations hold much promise in providing complementary solutions to traditional medical interventions and may reduce cost and speed up recovery or adaptation. There is a growing evidence base for the use of digital health in pain assessment, diagnosis, and management. The challenge is not only to develop new technologies and solutions, but to do this within a framework that supports health equity, scalability, socio-cultural consideration, and evidence-based science. The extensive limits to physical personal interaction during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020/21 has proven the possible role of digital health in the field of pain medicine. This paper provides an overview of the use of digital health in pain management and argues for the use of a systemic framework in evaluating the efficacy of digital health solutions.

Adherence to therapy in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases in Italy and the role of the digital health: results of an expert Delphi consensus survey.

To present the results of a Delphi consensus survey among Italian rheumatologists on adherence to therapy in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) in Italy and the role of digital health. A taskforce of 12 rheumatologists comprehensively discussed the applicability of the 2020 EULAR Points to Consider (PtCs) for Italian rheumatology practice and formulated 44 new country-specific statements. Through an on-line survey, the panellists voted on their level of agreement with the statements using a 10-point Likert scale (0: no agreement; 10: total agreement). A combination of two distinct criteria, a mean agreement level ≥8 and a percentage of at least 75% of responses with a value ≥8, was deemed acceptable. The consensus threshold was reached for 43 of the 44 country-specific statements. The following were acknowledged among the barriers to applicability of the recommendations: visit time too short; lack of resources; lack of a clear operational flow-chart; lack of communication skills and poor knowledge of techniques to improve patient adherence by healthcare professionals (HCPs). This consensus initiative helps contribute to more widespread implementation of EULAR PtCs in Italian rheumatology practice. Optimisation of visit time, greater availability of resources, specific training, use of standardised and validated protocols, and active involvement of patients represent the main goals. Digital health can provide valuable support for the application of PtCs and, more generally, in improving adherence. A collaborative effort between HCPs, patients and their associations, scientific societies, and policymakers is strongly advocated to overcome some of the barriers.

The Role of Digital Health in the Early Detection and Management of Obstetric Complications in the Community: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: According to the World Health Organization, obstetric complications are thought to be the cause of death for 10.7 million mothers worldwide. In developing countries like Indonesia, maternal mortality rates are still high. Compared to 2019, there were 418 more incidents of maternal death in 2020. AIM: The goal of the study was to explain how much digital technology contributed to the early identification of risk factors for obstetric complications. METHODS: The work stages were observed while conducting the review, and relevant publications from databases were used. These databases included PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and Scopus. The papers were retrieved between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2022, using the keywords “pregnant lady” AND (Telemedicine OR “Mobile Health” OR Telehealth OR mHealth) AND (“Labor Complication” OR “Pregnancy Complication” OR “Puerperal Disorder”). Forty-five articles that discussed early obstetric detection and management were obtained based on the established inclusion criteria and met the inclusion requirements. RESULTS: The term “telemedicine applications” refers to the use of health communications technology to provide remote consultation, diagnosis, education, and treatment services to detect and diagnose pregnancy complications and manage pregnancy and care during pregnancy. Applications for smartphones offer a tremendous deal of potential to enhance pregnant women’s health. Support is required for maternal health services to help with antenatal care services in the community setting. The program can identify and manage pregnancy-related issues like weight gain, diabetes mellitus, nausea, vomiting, HIV, hemolysis, and depression. CONCLUSION: It is expected that this review would be able to identify any difficulties that mothers may face early on in their pregnancies. In addition, it is believed that existing applications would be able to manage the moms’ health and perform the necessary interventions and tactics to reduce difficulties.

The role of digital health in revolutionizing healthcare delivery and improving health outcomes in conflict zones.

The provision and planning for healthcare delivery in conflict is a pressing imperative. Healthcare within these environments is naturally complex, given the entanglement of affected populations, militaries and oft-deteriorating public services. The field of digital health, placed at the intersection of healthcare and technology, has the power to revolutionize healthcare delivery and improve health outcomes worldwide. Its impact is particularly significant in conflict zones, where it can address the unique challenges faced by these regions. Violence, damaged infrastructure, restricted mobility, forced migration, and overstretched healthcare facilities are all hallmarks of conflict zones that demand novel approaches to addressing them. Health care delivery is being revolutionized by the introduction of digital health technology in conflict zones, which are improving access, emergency response capacities, health information management, and mental health assistance. Doctors and aid organizations can more easily overcome challenges and reach out to underserved populations in these regions because to digital technological improvements. Recent decades have seen a shift in the nature of conflict, and with it, a corresponding shift in the range of digital health solutions available to address geographical, epidemiological, and clinical gaps. The purpose of this letter is to inquire into the application of digital health in conflict zones and its potential to lessen the pressing healthcare needs of affected communities.

Role of digital health in pulmonary rehabilitation and beyond: shaping the future.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a cost-effective intervention with well-known benefits to exercise capacity, symptoms and quality of life in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. Despite the compelling evidence of its benefits, PR implementation is still suboptimal, and maintenance of PR benefits is challenging. To overcome these pitfalls, there has been a growing interest in developing novel models for PR delivery. Digital health is a promising solution, as it has the potential to address some of the most reported barriers to PR uptake and adherence (such as accessibility issues), help maintain the positive results following a PR programme and promote patients' adherence to a more active lifestyle through physical activity (tele)coaching. Despite the accelerated use of digital health to deliver PR during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there are still several factors that contribute to the resistance to the adoption of digital health, such as the lack of evidence on its effectiveness, low acceptability by patients and healthcare professionals, concerns about implementation and maintenance costs, inequalities in access to the internet and technological devices, and data protection issues. Nevertheless, the trend towards reducing technology costs and the higher availability of digital devices, as well as the greater ease and simplicity of use of devices, enhance the opportunities for future development of digitally enabled PR interventions. This narrative review aims to examine the current evidence on the role of digital health in the context of PR, including strengths and weaknesses, and to determine possible threats and opportunities, as well as areas for future work.

The role of digital health in the cardiovascular learning healthcare system.

The role of digital health in the cardiovascular learning healthcare system.

The role of digital health in palliative care for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.

In 2018, 26.6 million people were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Palliative care services are recommended for people living with HIV at all stages from diagnosis through to end-of-life. However, the provision of palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa is limited, leading to little or no access for the majority of patients. Digital technologies in sub-Saharan Africa present an opportunity to improve access to palliative care for people living with HIV in the region. This review synthesised literature on digital health interventions for palliative care for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and assessed their effects on patient outcomes. Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Global Health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Two independent reviewers conducted study screening, data extraction and quality appraisal. A narrative synthesis was performed to draw together and report findings across heterogeneous studies. Reporting of this review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis checklist. Out of 4117 records, 25 studies were included, covering 3592 people living with HIV, across 21 countries. Studies included three randomised controlled trials, three qualitative, three pre- and post-test, two observational, two case series, six cross-sectional and six mixed methods studies. Telemedicine was the most reported digital health intervention, with 12 studies demonstrating the effectiveness of digital health interventions. Emerging evidence suggests digital health interventions can be effective in facilitating patient-provider communication and health professional decision-making as a part of palliative care for people living with HIV. There is a need for further development and evaluation of digital health interventions alongside determining optimal approaches to their implementation as a part of palliative care provision in sub-Saharan Africa.

Expectations and experiences of women regarding maternal healthcare services in Pakistan: challenges and lessons to be learnt

BackgroundAccess to maternal healthcare services is an essential pre-requisite for improving women’s health. However, due to poor access and underutilization, women in developing countries remain vulnerable to various complications. Evaluation of quality maternal healthcare services in any country must include the opinions of the women being as a key stakeholder utilizing maternal healthcare services.AimThe present study was designed to evaluate the experiences, perceptions and expectations of pre-birth and post-birth women regarding utilization and delivery of maternal healthcare services in Pakistan.MethodologyA qualitative study design was used. Snow ball sampling technique was adopted to identify the respondents. Interviews were conducted using semi-structures interview guide till saturation point was achieved. The sample size at saturation point for different respondents was: pre-birth women (n = 9) and post-birth women (n = 9). All interviews were recorded after getting permission from the respondents. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and were then subjected to thematic analysis.ResultsThe age group for the pre-birth respondents was 23–43 years while for post-birth group it was 23–32 years. Most of the respondents from both groups were from urban setting. Most of them were either first time pregnant or were having experience of one pregnancy. Thematic analysis of the interviews yielded different themes and sub-themes including birth experience, maternal treatment pathway, identified barriers for quality maternal care, involvement in healthcare decision-making, impact of Covid 19, payment dynamics, role of digital health and recommendations for improving maternal care services.ConclusionThe results of the present study concluded that the overall quality of the maternal care services provided in Pakistan was not up to the mark. High rate of caesarian section was prevalent. Majority of the women were not involved in the decision-making process or provided with any birth plan or counselling regarding birth signs, family planning, danger and birth signs. The cost of maternal care was quite high and not affordable for all.

Role of Digital Health During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic and Future Perspectives.

Coronavirus disease 2019 revolutionized the digital health care. This pandemic was the catalyst for not only a sudden but also widespread paradigm shift in patient care, with nearly 80% of the US population indicating that they have used one form of digital health. Cardiac electrophysiology took the initiative to enroll patients in device clinics for remote monitoring and triage patients accordingly. Although challenges remain in making digital health available to masses, the future of digital health will be tested in the postpandemic time, and we believe these changes will continue to be expansive and widely applicable to physicians and patients.

The critical role of Digital Health in Public Health

Digitalization in itself is not simply a means to an end but involves an operational change in workflows that is on the critical-path to the digital transformation of public health. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a unique opportunity to put a shining light on all the different technologies that were available and also consider a large number of new and innovative technologies that were developed in a breath-taking place over a period of one year. These different initiatives also brought relevant advances in public health needs such as epidemiological surveillance, rapid case identification, interruption of community transmission and communication with different audiences. Moreover, social media channels, blogs and websites confirmed to be a fertile ground to find data for research, but also to spread misinformation - and public health professionals should be ready to counter that threat effectively. This presentation aims to provide a comprehensive background on digital tools and strategies that can be used in national and local public health services and how stakeholder alignment across different sectors could propel forward the implementation of digital solutions.

Outcomes of a pilot study exploring the role of digital health coaching for men with prostate cancer.

102 Background: As the most common cancer among men in the US, prostate cancer (PCa) affects nearly 250,000 men annually, accounting for over 13% of all new cancer cases. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during and post-treatment is impacted by sexual, urinary and bowel function which can persist for months or years after treatment completion. As individuals primarily manage such symptoms in the community setting there is a need for interventions that can address overall health and wellness concerns needs of men with PCa beyond the clinical setting. Digital health coaching (DHC) is one such solution that has potential to address HRQoL for individuals with cancer. Methods: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of a DHC program for individuals with PCa. One hundred English-speaking men with PCa requiring active treatment within the past 2 years were recruited from across the Delaware Valley. Consented individuals were enrolled in a 3-month DHC program, consisting of a weekly call from a health advisor along with delivery of evidence-based supplemental content via text or email focused on exercise nutrition, physical, emotional and sexual health, as well as financial toxicity. Secondary endpoints evaluated the relationship between the DHC intervention and health self-efficacy, as measured by the Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief Form (CBI-B), quality of life (EPIC-CP), financial toxicity (COST) and global health (PROMIS- SF10). Results: 82 individuals enrolled in the study for which the mean age was 68 years old (1.2 % Black, 2.4% Rural). The feasibility threshold of 60% was met with 58 individuals completing the 3-month program (proportion = 70.7%, 90% CI: 61.4, 78.9). Health self-efficacy improved with a mean change in CBI-B of 4.1 (95% CI: 0.4, 7.8). The financial toxicity improved with a mean score change of 2.5 (95% CI: 1.0, 4.0). All symptom scores of EPIC-CP were improved by showing a decrease of mean scores. PROMIS-GH also improved in both mental and physical health domains with mean changes of 0.5 and 1.4 (95% CIs for mental: -1.6, 2.6, for physical: -0.1, 2.8). Conclusions: DHC demonstrated feasibility in a cross-sectional population of men with PCA recruited in the community setting. Data suggest that HRQoL, health-self efficacy and global health can be positively impacted by DHC. Results support the further evaluation of DHC in larger RCTs.

Role of Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Scoping Review.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), subdivided into Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic diseases that are characterized by relapsing and remitting periods of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. In recent years, the amount of research surrounding digital health (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) has increased. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore this growing field of research to summarize the role of DH and AI in the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and prognosis of IBD. A review of 21 articles revealed the impact of both AI algorithms and DH technologies; AI algorithms can improve diagnostic accuracy, assess disease activity, and predict treatment response based on data modalities such as endoscopic imaging and genetic data. In terms of DH, patients utilizing DH platforms experienced improvements in quality of life, disease literacy, treatment adherence, and medication management. In addition, DH methods can reduce the need for in-person appointments, decreasing the use of healthcare resources without compromising the standard of care. These articles demonstrate preliminary evidence of the potential of DH and AI for improving the management of IBD. However, the majority of these studies were performed in a regulated clinical environment. Therefore, further validation of these results in a real-world environment is required to assess the efficacy of these methods in the general IBD population.

Diagnostic Informatics-The Role of Digital Health in Diagnostic Stewardship and the Achievement of Excellence, Safety, and Value.

Diagnostic investigations (pathology laboratory and medical imaging) aim to: increase certainty of the presence or absence of disease by supporting the process of differential diagnosis; support clinical management; and monitor a patient's trajectory (e. g., disease progression or response to treatment). Digital health can be defined as the collection, storage, retrieval, transmission, and utilization of data, information, and knowledge to support healthcare. Digital health has become an essential component of the diagnostic process, helping to facilitate the accuracy and timeliness of information transfer and enhance the effectiveness of decision-making processes. Digital health is also important to diagnostic stewardship, which involves coordinated guidance and interventions to ensure the appropriate utilization of diagnostic tests for therapeutic decision-making. Diagnostic stewardship and informatics are thus important in efforts to establish shared decision-making. This is because they contribute to the establishment of shared information platforms (enabling patients to read, comment on, and share in decisions about their care) based on timely and meaningful communication. This paper will outline key diagnostic informatics and stewardship initiatives across three interrelated fields: (1) diagnostic error and the establishment of outcomes-based diagnostic research; (2) the safety and effectiveness of test result management and follow-up; and (3) digitally enhanced decision support systems.

Exploring the role of digital health coaching for men with prostate cancer.

TPS1586 Background: Toxicity leading to impaired quality of life is common among men receiving treatment for Prostate Cancer (PCa). Digital interventions may be beneficial in enhancing health self-efficacy in managing symptom burden. This study evaluates the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of digital health coaching intervention on men with PCa. Methods: This pilot study aims to recruit up to 100 adult, English-speaking men with PCa who in the last 2 years have required active treatment, defined as cancer management via active surveillance, surgery, radiation, androgen deprivation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy or a combination of these modalities. Men will be enrolled across the catchment area of Jefferson Health using social media and a variety of other outreach tools approved by the Institutional Review Board. Consented patients are enrolled in a 3-month digital health coaching program which combines weekly calls with up to 4 nudges of evidence-based content delivered via text or email weekly. The program focuses on a weekly health topic, such as physical, mental, social, or financial health, and managing symptoms, and empowers participants to set health goals of importance to them. Primary endpoints include feasibility, defined as 60% of participants completing the 3-month program. The main secondary endpoints measured are health self-efficacy as measured by the Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief (CBI-B), quality of life, as measured by the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite for Clinical Practice (EPIC-CP), financial toxicity as measured by the Comprehensive Score of Financial Toxicity (COST) and physical and mental health as measured by the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Global Health 10 (PROMIS-10). Outcomes are captured on enrollment and monthly through program completion for a total of 4 data points. Summary statistics will be used to describe patient demographic and clinical characteristics of the study population. Summary statistics will also be used to describe CBI, EPIC-CP, PROMIS and COST by assessment time. The change in CBI-B scores from baseline to 3 months will be calculated along with 95% confidence intervals. Additional LMMs will be created to assess the relationship between self-efficacy (CBI) and quality of life (EPIC-CP), financial toxicity (COST) and global health (PROMIS- SF10).

Role of digital health in improving physical and mental well-being during COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a steep rise in the acceptance of telemedicine and digital health, including increased interest in pursuing mental health treatment through telepsychiatry. Digital health helps following social distancing measures and increases the health outcomes.ObjectivesTo see the role of digital health in improving physical and mental well-being during COVID-19 PandemicMethods This study is a part of a large global project where 240 people inquired advice on phone app during COVID-19-Pandemic. Later on, a short study was conducted on the same population through survey to evaluate the effectiveness of digital health/tele-mental health. We also searched PubMed, Google Scholar, PsychInfo, and Medline for words “Digital Health, Tele-mental health, COVID-19-Pandemic”. Reviewed 40 articles and included 3 in this review1,4,5.Results We received a total of 98 responses. 65.6% people reported that online health resources are helpful in relieving pandemic-induced anxiety/stress, 66.2% reported to continue online health services after pandemic, 37.7% noted that digital health saves times in waiting areas, 46% reported lack of physical interaction with doctor as a disadvantage of digital health, and 40.3% reported comfort in using tele-mental health. Our literature review has shown barriers like privacy concerns and technological issues1. Provision of tele-psychiatry is safe and effective in continuity of mental health care.4,5Conclusions There has been an increased inclination towards digital health during any disaster. During COVID-19-Pandemic, digital health has increased access to mental health care and reduced risk of infection. The drawbacks include poor patient-doctor relationship, reimbursement concerns, and lack of confidentiality.

COVID/HIV Co-Infection: A Syndemic Perspective on What to Ask and How to Answer.

The present commentary explored the intersecting nature of the COVID-19 and HIV pandemics to identify a shared research agenda using a syndemic approach. The research agenda posits the following questions. Questions around HIV infection, transmission, and diagnosis include: (i) molecular, genetic, clinical, and environmental assessments of COVID-19 in people living with HIV, (ii) alternative options for facility-based HIV testing services such as self- and home-based HIV testing, and (iii) COVID-19 related sexual violence and mental health on HIV transmission and early diagnosis. These and related questions could be assessed using Biopsychosocial and socio-ecological models. Questions around HIV treatment include: (i) the effect of COVID-19 on HIV treatment services, (ii) alternative options for facility-based treatment provision such as community-based antiretroviral therapy groups, and (iii) equitable distribution of treatment and vaccines for COVID-19, if successful. Bickman's logic model and the social determinants of health framework could guide these issues. The impact of stigma, the role of leveraging lessons on sustained intra-behavioral change, the role of medical mistrust and conspiracy beliefs, and the role of digital health on integrated management of HIV care and spectrum of care of COVID-19 need assessment using several frameworks including Goffman's stigma framework, Luhmann's Trust theory, and Gidden's theory of structuration. In conclusion, the potential research agenda of this commentary encompasses a variety of research fields and disciplinary areas—clinicians, laboratory scientists, public health practitioners, health economists, and psychologists—, and suggests several theoretical frameworks to guide examination of complex issues comprehensively.