Virtual Data Collection Research Articles

An Agent-Based "Virtual Clinical Trial" for the Analysis and Evaluation of COPD Patients Cohorts Behavior

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and chest tightness. Treatment typically involves lifestyle adjustments, medication, and pulmonary rehabilitation to improve lung function and quality of life. This study presents a model examining COPD patient behavior within cohort-based strategies, focusing on how environmental factors impact vital signs across the entire cohort. We developed a comprehensive virtual clinical trial model that encompasses study protocol design, participant recruitment, virtual data collection, outcome analysis, and conclusions. This includes remote symptom monitoring, virtual healthcare consultations, treatment adherence assessments, and research data collection. Additionally, we explore the influence of external variables such as environmental conditions, comorbidities, and lifestyle factors on chronic disease symptoms and disease stability. We used an Agent-Based Model(ABM) to incorporate these factors to assess COPD progression and treatment efficacy. Individual agents represent COPD patients, each characterized by attributes such as age, smoking history, lung function, comorbidities, and treatment plans.

Best practices for online and virtual data collection methods to ensure data integrity.

Best practices for online and virtual data collection methods to ensure data integrity.

Using virtual multiteam systems to conduct a multisite randomized clinical trial in the part C early intervention system: Benefits, challenges, and lessons learned

Background/AimsCOVID-19 necessitated a shift to virtual data collection for many research projects, providing the opportunity for novel approaches to carrying out multi-site clinical trials. Virtual multiteam systems (VMTS) are a type of team structure in which multiple geographically dispersed teams collaborate using technology-mediated communication. The article presents a case study of our use of VMTS, in response to COVID-19, to carry out a multisite randomized hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial of a caregiver-implemented intervention. MethodsWe describe how we modified our team structure from predominantly site-specific, co-located teams to predominantly cross-site, virtual teams. We then present examples of how we have conducted the two primary data collection activities virtually. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, we present participant demographic information, the percent of cross-site data collection activities, and fidelity data. ResultsIn the first 20 months of data collection, we have enrolled 108 EI providers and 132 families, with 17% and 9% attrition respectively. The family sample is highly diverse in terms of race/ethnicity, parent education, and household income. The majority of provider training activities and roughly 50% of family assessment activities have been conducted cross-site. Fidelity is high, with no differences across site. ConclusionsOur data illustrate the feasibility of using virtual teams, training, and assessment in a multisite clinical trial in the Part C system. We discuss the strengths and challenges of this approach, as well as lessons learned to facilitate the planning of future multisite randomized clinical trials which may benefit from this approach. Clinical TrialsNCT05114538

Evaluating the usability of public health data dashboards as information sources for professionals and the public: Findings from a case study with domain experts.

Recently, public health data dashboards have gained popularity as trusted, up-to-date sources of health information. However, their usability and usefulness may be limited. To identify the requirements of usable public health data dashboards through a case study with domain experts. Paired-user virtual data collection sessions were conducted with 20 experts in three steps: (1) a monitored use of an existing dashboard to complete tasks and discuss the usability problems, (2) a survey rating user experience, and (3) an interview regarding the users and use cases. Data analysis included quantitative analysis of the survey findings and thematic analysis of the audio transcripts. Analyses yielded several findings: (1) familiar charts with clear legends and labels should be used to focus users' attention on the content; (2) charts should be organized in a simple and consistent layout; (3) contextual information should be provided to help with interpretations; (4) data limitations should be clearly communicated; (5) guidance should be provided to lead user interactions. The identified requirements guide health librarians and information professionals in evaluating public health data dashboards. Public health data dashboards should be designed based on users' needs to provide useful up-to-date information sources for health information consumers.

Association of Evening Eating with Sleep Quality and Insomnia among Adults in a Brazilian National Survey

Abstract Objective To examine the association of evening eating clock time, its elapsed time to the midpoint of sleep (TEM), consumption of caffeine and sugary foods, and dinner meal size with sleep quality indicators and insomnia. Methods The present study's participants (n = 2,050; 18–65 y) were part of a population-based research, with virtual data collection. Logistic regression models were fitted to assess differences in the odd ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of sleep duration < 7 hours, sleep latency > 30 min, poor sleep quality, and insomnia (outcomes) with the evening diet-related variables. Linear regression analyses evaluated differences in sleep duration and latency associated with the same variables. Restricted cubic splines were used to investigate the shape of the association of mealtime and TEM with sleep duration and latency. Results For each hour delay in evening eating and increase in the duration of TEM, the odds of sleep duration < 7 h [OR(95%CI):1.30(1.20,1.40); OR(95%CI):0.51(0.47,0.56)], sleep latency > 30 [OR(95%CI):1.14(1.07,1.22); 0.88(0.83,0.94)], poor sleep quality [OR(95%CI):1.21(1.13,1.30); 0.80(0.76,0.85)] and insomnia [OR(95%CI):1.12(1.04,1.20); 0.89(0.84,0.95)], respectively, increased and decreased. We found a dose-response association of evening eating (clock time and TEM) with sleep duration. The shortest latency was seen when evening eating was at ∼ 8 PM and ∼ 7 to 8 hours before the midpoint of sleep. Participants who reported dinner as their largest meal and consumed caffeine and/or sugary foods/beverages after 6 PM presented higher odds of sleep duration < 7 hours, poor sleep quality, and insomnia. Conclusions Our findings indicate that an early-eating schedule has beneficial sleep effects and that it will be necessary to consider evening eating patterns and timing, along with sleep and circadian hygiene, to improve sleep quality and circadian health.

Navigating Living Kidney Donation and Transplantation Among South Asian Canadians: The ACTION Project

South Asian (SA) Canadians with kidney failure have a 50%-77% lower likelihood of kidney transplant and are less likely to identify potential living donors (LDs). This study aimed to identify health system-, patient-, and community-level barriers and facilitators for accessing LD kidney transplantation in the SA community to inform the development of health system- and community-level interventions to address barriers. Qualitative study. 20 SA recipients of an LD or deceased-donor kidney transplant, 10 SA LDs, and 41 general SA community members. In-depth multilingual interviews were conducted with recipients and LDs. Gender-, language-, and age-stratified focus groups were conducted with general SA community members. Summative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Hesitancy in approaching potential donors, fear about the health of potential LDs, information gaps, language barriers, and challenges evaluating out-of-country donors were highlighted as significant barriers by recipients, and financial concerns and information gaps were identified by donors. Cultural barriers in the SA community were highlighted by donors, recipients, and community members as critical factors when considering donation and transplant; women and elderly SA Canadians highlighted nuanced challenges. Participants reported generally a favorable perception of their health care teams, citing SA representation in the teams as important to providing culturally and linguistically sensitive care. Limited geographic, race, and cultural representation and reliance on virtual data collection. This study highlights several culturally relevant barriers to donation and transplant that are potentially modifiable through patient-, health system-, and community-focused engagement and education.

Validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised for Dental.

This study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the "Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised for Dental" (IPQ-RD) in parents/guardians of children aged six to 14 years. The sample consisted of 63 parents/guardians of schoolchildren from the municipal school system of Teófilo Otoni, MG. Remote and virtual data collection consisted of self-completion of personal data, socioeconomic questionnaire and the Brazilian short versions of the "Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire" (16-P-CPQ) and the "Family Impact Scale" (4-FIS). The IPQ-RD was applied by telephone interview. Almost half of the sample belonged to socioeconomic classes C1 and C2. Approximately 1/3 classified their child's oral health as "regular" or "poor", while 11.1% reported "strong" or "very strong" impact on their child's well-being. The items most frequently cited as having an impact on the four domains of the 16-P-CPQ were: "bad breath" (23.8%), "mouth breathing" (20.7%), "feeling anxious or afraid" (20.7%), and "paying attention at school" (10%). In the 4-FIS, 11.1% "had little time for themselves or the family". There were higher IPQ-RD scores in the "disease coherence" domain for women and lower values of "emotional dimensions" for parents/guardians with incomplete education. The mean IPQ-RD score was 126.4 (±15.1), and domain scores were positively correlated. The internal consistency was "almost perfect" for the IPQ-RD total score, ranging from "moderate" to "almost perfect" for the "child-control" and "child-consequences" domains. The intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.04 (poor) to 0.68 (substantial). The Brazilian Portuguese version of the IPQ-RD proved to be valid and reliable for assessing the cognitive and emotional perception of parents/guardians about childhood dental caries.

Association of morning and evening physical exercise with sleep quality and insomnia: differences between chronotypes

Objective: to investigate the association of morning and evening physical exercise with sleep quality (duration, latency, awakenings, and self-perceived sleep quality) and insomnia, depending on the chronotype. Methods: Participants (n=2,050; 18-65y) were part of a population-based research, with virtual data collection. Multiple logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the association of physical exercise (yes/no; frequency; morning/evening) with sleep variables (outcome), among all participants and according to chronotype. Linear regression analysis assessed differences in sleep duration, latency, and nocturnal awakenings (outcomes) associated with physical exercise variables. Multiple analyzes were adjusted for age, sex, diet quality, BMI, smoking, and evening alcohol consumption. Results: Participants who performed physical exercise had better sleep parameters and its practice in the morning was associated with shorter sleep latency among early (OR=-0.49; 95%CI=0.25;0.94; p<0.05) and late chronotypes (β=-15.10; 95%CI=-28.39;-1.81; p<0.05). There was no effect of exercising in the evening among intermediate and late chronotypes, however, among early types, it was associated with a higher frequency of awakenings (OR=1.78; 95%CI=1.06;2.96; p<0.05) and insomnia (OR=1.91; 95%CI=1.04;3.53; p<0.05). Conclusions: Such findings suggest the need to consider chronotypes, along with existing recommendations for sleep hygiene and circadian hygiene, in clinical-epidemiological physical activity strategies focused on promoting sleep quality and circadian health.

Feasibility of a Virtual Health-Promoting Intervention (Choose to Move) for Older Adults: A Rapid Adaptation in Response to COVID-19.

To support older adults during the first wave of COVID-19, we rapidly adapted our effective health-promoting intervention(Choose to Move [CTM]) for virtual delivery in British Columbia, Canada. The intervention was delivered (April-October 2020) to 33 groups of older adults ("programs") who were a convenience sample (had previously completed CTM in person; n = 153; 86% female; 73 [6]years). We compared implementation outcomes (recruitment, dose received, retention, and completion of virtual data collection) to predetermined feasibility targets. We assessed mobility, physical activity, and social health outcomes pre- and postintervention (3months) with validated surveys. We met most (dose received, retention, and virtualdata collection), but not all (recruitment), feasibility targets. Approximately two thirds of older adults maintained or improved mobility, physical activity, and social health outcomes at 3months. It was feasible to implement and evaluate CTM virtually. In future, virtual CTM could help us reach homebound older adults and/or serve as support during public health emergencies.

Intelligent Complementary Multi-Modal Fusion for Anomaly Surveillance and Security System.

Recently, security monitoring facilities have mainly adopted artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide both increased security and improved performance. However, there are technical challenges in the pursuit of elevating system performance, automation, and security efficiency. In this paper, we proposed intelligent anomaly detection and classification based on deep learning (DL) using multi-modal fusion. To verify the method, we combined two DL-based schemes, such as (i) the 3D Convolutional AutoEncoder (3D-AE) for anomaly detection and (ii) the SlowFast neural network for anomaly classification. The 3D-AE can detect occurrence points of abnormal events and generate regions of interest (ROI) by the points. The SlowFast model can classify abnormal events using the ROI. These multi-modal approaches can complement weaknesses and leverage strengths in the existing security system. To enhance anomaly learning effectiveness, we also attempted to create a new dataset using the virtual environment in Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA5). The dataset consists of 400 abnormal-state data and 78 normal-state data with clip sizes in the 8-20 s range. Virtual data collection can also supplement the original dataset, as replicating abnormal states in the real world is challenging. Consequently, the proposed method can achieve a classification accuracy of 85%, which is higher compared to the 77.5% accuracy achieved when only employing the single classification model. Furthermore, we validated the trained model with the GTA dataset by using a real-world assault class dataset, consisting of 1300 instances that we reproduced. As a result, 1100 data as the assault were classified and achieved 83.5% accuracy. This also shows that the proposed method can provide high performance in real-world environments.

Best Practices and Recommendations for Research Using Virtual Real-Time Data Collection: Protocol for Virtual Data Collection Studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent need for social distancing required the immediate pivoting of research modalities. Research that had previously been conducted in person had to pivot to remote data collection. Researchers had to develop data collection protocols that could be conducted remotely with limited or no evidence to guide the process. Therefore, the use of web-based platforms to conduct real-time research visits surged despite the lack of evidence backing these novel approaches. This paper aims to review the remote or virtual research protocols that have been used in the past 10 years, gather existing best practices, and propose recommendations for continuing to use virtual real-time methods when appropriate. Articles (n=22) published from 2013 to June 2023 were reviewed and analyzed to understand how researchers conducted virtual research that implemented real-time protocols. "Real-time" was defined as data collection with a participant through a live medium where a participant and research staff could talk to each other back and forth in the moment. We excluded studies for the following reasons: (1) studies that collected participant or patient measures for the sole purpose of engaging in a clinical encounter; (2) studies that solely conducted qualitative interview data collection; (3) studies that conducted virtual data collection such as surveys or self-report measures that had no interaction with research staff; (4) studies that described research interventions but did not involve the collection of data through a web-based platform; (5) studies that were reviews or not original research; (6) studies that described research protocols and did not include actual data collection; and (7) studies that did not collect data in real time, focused on telehealth or telemedicine, and were exclusively intended for medical and not research purposes. Findings from studies conducted both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that many types of data can be collected virtually in real time. Results and best practice recommendations from the current protocol review will be used in the design and implementation of a substudy to provide more evidence for virtual real-time data collection over the next year. Our findings suggest that virtual real-time visits are doable across a range of participant populations and can answer a range of research questions. Recommended best practices for virtual real-time data collection include (1) providing adequate equipment for real-time data collection, (2) creating protocols and materials for research staff to facilitate or guide participants through data collection, (3) piloting data collection, (4) iteratively accepting feedback, and (5) providing instructions in multiple forms. The implementation of these best practices and recommendations for future research are further discussed in the paper. DERR1-10.2196/53790.

Online qualitative research with vulnerable populations in the Philippines: Ethical and methodological challenges during COVID-19

Our article draws on two multi-sited studies to present the ethical and methodological challenges of conducting online qualitative research among vulnerable populations in the Philippines—specifically, among people who use drugs—during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the global scholarship has long articulated the difficulties inherent to pursuing research on such populations, we show how the specific milieu of the Philippines in the last three years has created exceptional, structural challenges to the conduct of said research. Besides the inevitable migration to online fieldwork brought about by the pandemic, researchers have had to contend with the continuing sociopolitical and existential threat to vulnerable populations posed by the government's drug war. Such a milieu, we argue, has further restricted access to potential study participants; redefined notions of intimacy and safety in conducting virtual data collection; and rendered people in vulnerable circumstances “more vulnerable” amid a climate of pandemic-induced precarity and aggravated distrust in the state—all of which have compelled researchers to undertake necessary innovations to uphold quality and equity in online research. We conclude by highlighting the need to maintain networks of trust with vulnerable communities, compensate research participants justly, and safeguard the independence of research institutions and people's trust in them.

Dyadic Hair Cortisol Self-Collection Procedure.

At-home self-collection of specimens has become more commonplace because of measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Self-collection of hair cortisol is important because chronic stress is present in many populations, such as older adults living with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers. For the evaluation of chronic stress, scalp hair can be used as a predictive biomarker because it examines the cumulative, retrospective stress from previous months. The aim of the paper is to provide a study procedure for at-home, scalp hair self-collection for cortisol concentration analysis from dyads consisting of a person living with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregiver. After informed electronic consent is obtained, a package containing the necessary tools for self-collection of hair samples from the dyad is mailed to the participant's home. Participants are provided detailed print and video multimedia guides outlining how to obtain the hair samples. Ideally, the hair samples are obtained during the virtual data collection meeting with research personnel. Participants mail back the hair sample in a prepaid package to the biomedical laboratory for analysis. At-home, self-collection of hair provides potential advantages such as reduced participant burden, especially for vulnerable populations where transportation and different environments are challenging. At-home sample collection options may increase research participation and can be applied to multiple research foci. Research considerations for dyads, such as people living with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers, are discussed.

Executive Functioning in Females Living With Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Pilot Study

Background: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a musculoskeletal condition that is treated by physiotherapists. CPP refers to constant or intermittent pain in the pelvic region lasting at least 6 months in duration. Despite links between other chronic pain conditions and impaired executive functioning (EF), the relationship between CPP and EF has not been examined. Objectives: To examine (1) the feasibility of recruitment, retention of potential participants, and virtual data collection to discover; (2) whether EF assessment measures suggest the presence of EF impairment in participants living with CPP; and (3) how self-reported scores on pain catastrophizing, central sensitization, depression, anxiety, and stress among those living with CPP compare with normative data. Study Design: In this cross-sectional pilot study, participants were included if they self-identified as a female, reported living with CPP, and were 18 to 40 years of age. Method: Virtual interviews were conducted to administer the Central Sensitization Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, short version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, Oral Trail-Making Test, a phonemic verbal fluency FAS test, and the Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised. Results: A total of 35 people participated in the study (60.34% of all interested potential participants). When compared with normative data, participants displayed difficulties on the verbal fluency FAS test and the Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised. Conclusion: It is feasible to recruit and retain participants using virtual interviews to study EF in females living with CPP. Some assessment measures of EF indicated the presence of impairment. Central sensitization, catastrophizing, depression, anxiety, and stress scores were high.

Virtual Synchronous Qualitative Data Collection Methods Used in Health and Social Sciences: A Scoping Review of Benefits, Challenges and Practical Insights

In recent years, we have seen the use of virtual synchronous qualitative data-collection methods grow exponentially, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although several recommendations for researchers conducting in-person interviews and focus groups are available in the scientific literature, they are not necessarily suited for application in a virtual context. To gain a better understanding of current practices and recommendations in virtual synchronous qualitative data collection, we conducted a scoping review. Information obtained from the 70 articles included in this review highlights the main benefits and challenges of virtual data-collection methods in research, compares differences with in-person means of data collection, and provides readers with practical insights for before, during, and after data collection. This comprehensive overview of the existing literature allowed us to outline the theoretical contributions and practical implications of our work as well as provide perspectives for future research. This scoping review can serve as a tool to inform researchers about how best to conduct virtual synchronous qualitative data collection based on other researchers’ prior experiences and the recommendations currently available in the literature.

THE ROLE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT ON FIRM PERFORMANCE

Social media business intelligence assists business owners achieve more accurate data and assessments of existing and potential customers. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted business operations globally, and various governments have implemented policies and grants to facilitate business recovery; however, the initiatives have brought limited success. Therefore, it is essential to adopt social media business intelligence tools that help predict potential sales and analyze key performance indicators through effective virtual data collection. By generating such data, a business will be better equipped to plan on past, present, and future marketing and consumer trends. In addition, business owners can design a personalized dashboard that integrates consumer data from diverse sources to counter competition and understand overall performance. Subsequently, business intelligence tools can facilitate organizing the data into clear visualizations that are easy to understand and interpret. Therefore, a business can respond swiftly to changes, understand the cause of the changes, and mitigate adverse impacts in time.

Neuroimaging and verbal memory assessment in healthy aging adults using a portable low-field MRI scanner and a web-based platform: results from a proof-of-concept population-based cross-section study.

Consumer wearables and health monitors, internet-based health and cognitive assessments, and at-home biosample (e.g., saliva and capillary blood) collection kits are increasingly used by public health researchers for large population-based studies without requiring intensive in-person visits. Alongside reduced participant time burden, remote and virtual data collection allows the participation of individuals who live long distances from hospital or university research centers, or who lack access to transportation. Unfortunately, studies that include magnetic resonance neuroimaging are challenging to perform remotely given the infrastructure requirements of MRI scanners, and, as a result, they often omit socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged individuals. Lower field strength systems (< 100mT) offer the potential to perform neuroimaging at a participant's home, enabling more accessible and equitable research. Here we report the first use of a low-field MRI "scan van" with an online assessment of paired-associate learning (PAL) to examine associations between brain morphometry and verbal memory performance. In a sample of 67 individuals, 18-93years of age, imaged at or near their home, we show expected white and gray matter volume trends with age and find significant (p < 0.05 FWE) associations between PAL performance and hippocampus, amygdala, caudate, and thalamic volumes. High-quality data were acquired in 93% of individuals, and at-home scanning was preferred by all individuals with prior MRI at a hospital or research setting. Results demonstrate the feasibility of remote neuroimaging and cognitive data collection, with important implications for engaging traditionally under-represented communities in neuroimaging research.

A Feasibility Trial for Virtual Administration of the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Test of Gross Motor Development-3 is one of the most popular assessment tools in physical education and physical activity settings. It is a valid assessment originally designed to administer in-person, but the virtual administration of the assessment has yet to be deemed feasible. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the trial feasibility of virtual data collection using the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 to assess the fundamental motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. Most specifically, we report on the design and feasibility of the online assessment process. A total of 22 families of children with autism spectrum disorder participated in the online data collection.

The Desire to Remain Childless and its Role in Female Partner Selection Criteria: An Evolutionary Psychology Based Perspective

The present article aims to investigate if there are differences – and which – between partner selection criteria of females in long term relationships that desire and that do not desire children with their current male partners. According to Evolutionary Psychology, these criteria are directly related to the type of parental investment practiced by the partner. The method consisted of virtual data collection of 288 answers to the research questionnaire aimed at cisgender, heterosexual and nulliparous women currently in a relationship, which evaluated the presence or absence of certain traits in their current male partners. Results showed significative differences between partner selection criteria of females that desired and that did not desire children in 14 male traits and no significative differences in the other 13 male traits presented. Traits containing significative differences were, whereas also culturally valued, mostly indicative of parental investment and genetic quality.

Socially distanced but virtually connected: pandemic fieldwork with Black Bostonians

Abstract The Eastern Massachusetts Life and Language project was in its planning stages when the COVID-19 pandemic began to make headway in the United States in 2020. We contribute to the conversation about conducting linguistic fieldwork during a major social upheaval by providing a description of our shift to virtual methodologies, which include utilizing Instagram for participant recruitment and Zoom for conducting sociolinguistic interviews. Virtual data collection remains underexplored, as there has never been a widespread need for such practices until the recent lockdowns resulting from the pandemic. Likewise, social media appears to be underutilized as a recruitment tool in linguistic fieldwork. Nevertheless, it is effective in producing a heterogeneous participant sample in a short amount of time. We are delighted to engage in discussions about the effects of virtual recruitment and data collection on linguistic fieldwork and the data itself. We offer a description of our pivots to virtual recruitment and interviewing and the racial justice initiatives that become achievable because of these changes. We hope this contribution is beneficial to researchers looking to incorporate virtual methodologies into their research program.