About 3,468 results for "How can technology promote mental health and well-being?"

Abstract: European and International cities face crucial global geopolitical, economic, environmental, and other changes. All these intensify threats to and inequalities in citizens' health. The implementation of Blue-Green Solutions in urban and rural areas have been broadly used to tackle the above challenges. The Mobile health (mHealth) technologies contribution in people's well-being has found to be significant. In addition, several mHealth applications have been used to support patients with mental health or cardiovascular diseases with very promising results. The patients' remote monitoring can be a valuable asset in chronic diseases management for patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension or arrhythmia, depression, asthma, allergies and others. The scope of this paper is to present the specifications, the design and the development of a mobile application which collects health-related and location data of users visiting areas with Blue-Green Solutions. The mobile application has been developed to record the citizens' and patients' physical activity and vital signs using wearable devices. The proposed application can also monitor patients physical, physiological, and emotional status as well as motivate them to engage in social and self-caring activities. Additional features include the analysis of the patients' behavior to improve self-management. The "HEART by BioAsssist" application could be used as a health and other data collection tool as well as an "intelligent assistant" to monitor and promote patient's physical activity.

Abstract: Along with the increasing of elderly population in the world, Indonesia has entered the ageing population phase where about one in ten of the population is elderly. The quality of life can be maintained as their well-being improved, since the aging process, diseases, and decreased function of the bodies can affect their condition. Good health and well-being are part of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 that also can be achieved through designing a geriatric clinic as a healthcare facility. Lighting has been identified as a significant environmental aspect to promote physical and mental health of elderly which influences in perceiving spaces. It also conveys a sense of security and comfort to enhance visual perception. How to create a lighting design that suitable for the user in geriatric clinic? Lighting design is supported with technology to meet the needs of users in a geriatric clinic while creating an atmosphere that satisfies visual needs and affect the mood of the elderly. This research conducted in qualitative research to study the requirement of lighting design based on literature data, site visit and interview to related party. The purpose of this study is to recommend lighting design that not only meet healthcare requirements but also enhances the overall well-being of patients and staff as the user to enhance a healthy environment for the elderly. It is hoped through lighting design in geriatric clinic, it will enhance a healthy environment to promote a good health and well-being for the society.

Abstract: The World Health Organization recommends that employers take action to protect and promote mental well-being at work. However, the extent to which these recommended practices can be implemented in the workplace is limited by the lack of resources and personnel availability. Robots have been shown to have great potential for promoting mental well-being, and the gradual adoption of such assistive technology may allow employers to overcome the aforementioned resource barriers. This paper presents the first study that investigates the deployment and use of two different forms of robotic well-being coaches in the workplace in collaboration with a tech company whose employees (26 coachees) interacted with either a QTrobot (QT ) or a Misty robot (M). We endowed the robots with a coaching personality to deliver positive psychology exercises over four weeks (one exercise per week). Our results show that the robot form significantly impacts coachees' perceptions of the robotic coach in the workplace. Coachees perceived the robotic coach in M more positively than in QT (both in terms of behaviour appropriateness and perceived personality), and they felt more connection with the robotic coach in M. Our study provides valuable insights for robotic well-being coach design and deployment, and contributes to the vision of taking robotic coaches into the real world.

Abstract: Background Relapse in schizophrenia is a major cause of distress and disability and is predicted by changes in symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and suspiciousness (early warning signs [EWSs]). These can be used as the basis for timely interventions to prevent relapse. However, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the implementation of EWS interventions. Objective This study was designed to establish the feasibility of conducting a definitive cluster randomized controlled trial comparing Early signs Monitoring to Prevent relapse in psychosis and prOmote Well-being, Engagement, and Recovery (EMPOWER) against treatment as usual (TAU). Our primary outcomes are establishing parameters of feasibility, acceptability, usability, safety, and outcome signals of a digital health intervention as an adjunct to usual care that is deliverable in the UK National Health Service and Australian community mental health service (CMHS) settings. We will assess the feasibility of candidate primary outcomes, candidate secondary outcomes, and candidate mechanisms for a definitive trial. Methods We will randomize CMHSs to EMPOWER or TAU. We aim to recruit up to 120 service user participants from 8 CMHSs and follow them for 12 months. Eligible service users will (1) be aged 16 years and above, (2) be in contact with local CMHSs, (3) have either been admitted to a psychiatric inpatient service or received crisis intervention at least once in the previous 2 years for a relapse, and (4) have an International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnosis of a schizophrenia-related disorder. Service users will also be invited to nominate a carer to participate. We will identify the feasibility of the main trial in terms of recruitment and retention to the study and the acceptability, usability, safety, and outcome signals of the EMPOWER intervention. EMPOWER is a mobile phone app that enables the monitoring of well-being and possible EWSs of relapse on a daily basis. An algorithm calculates changes in well-being based on participants’ own baseline to enable tailoring of well-being messaging and clinical triage of possible EWSs. Use of the app is blended with ongoing peer support. Results Recruitment to the trial began September 2018, and follow-up of participants was completed in July 2019. Data collection is continuing. The database was locked in July 2019, followed by analysis and disclosing of group allocation. Conclusions The knowledge gained from the study will inform the design of a definitive trial including finalizing the delivery of our digital health intervention, sample size estimation, methods to ensure successful identification, consent, randomization, and follow-up of participants, and the primary and secondary outcomes. The trial will also inform the final health economic model to be applied in the main trial. Trial Registration International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 99559262; http://isrctn.com/ISRCTN99559262 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/15058

Abstract: Abstract There is growing interest in digital mental health as well as accumulating evidence of the potential for technology-based tools to augment traditional mental health services and to potentially overcome barriers to access and use of mental health services. Our research group has examined how people with mental illnesses think about and make use of technology in their everyday lives as a means to provide insight into the emerging paradigm of digital mental health. This research has been guided by anthropological approaches that emphasise lived experience and underscore the complexity of psychiatric recovery. In this commentary I describe how an anthropological approach has motivated us to ask how digital technology can be leveraged to promote meaningful recovery for people with mental illnesses and to develop a new approach to the integration of technology-based tools for people with mental illnesses.

Abstract: An increasing number of technology apps for managing wellbeing and mental health are permeating young people’s use of digital spaces. There are a range of online wellbeing tools which have been developed to promote self-tracking and build young people’s wellbeing and mental health, for example, Optimism, My Mood Tracker and Strava. Tracking outcomes of support with highly transient young people is, more broadly, a particular challenge for youth workers, evaluators and social researchers. Using digital apps to promote as well as monitor wellbeing with tech-savvy young people is an enticing prospect for youth support services, particularly with young people whose engagement with support is sporadic and unpredictable during periods of homelessness or other crisis situations. The use of purpose-designed digital apps may have the potential to not only benefit young people’s mental health and wellbeing, but also enhance the consistency and quality of their connection with support services. In principle, putting wellbeing digital tools directly into the hands, and phones, of young people who are accessing support services seems to make good sense. A great number of online resources have, however, relatively limited uptake in highly vulnerable youth populations. The design starting point must therefore be, what would they use and how would they use it? How can digital apps help to promote stronger support engagement, be aligned with young people’s perspectives and priorities of wellbeing, and enable better outcomes evaluation? This article shares learnings from a consultation with more than 400 young youth service users to build better understanding of their relationships with digital technologies, what they would use and how they would use it to better connect with support as well as to promote and record changes in wellbeing over time. Exploring the young people’s perspectives on wellbeing, service delivery and use of digital technologies has broad implications for the integration of digital technology into both service delivery and evaluation of youth programmes. The findings suggest that digital platforms can play a role in evaluating youth wellbeing over time. The prerequisites, are however, that young people’s autonomy and individuality must be supported. We need to start from a place that facilitates agency and creativity, and focuses on capturing qualitative data that meet young people in their world – even when this is challenging for us.

Abstract: Background Adolescence is a challenging period, where youth face rapid changes as well as increasing socioemotional demands and threats, such as bullying and cyberbullying. Adolescent mental health and well-being can be best supported by providing effective coaching on life skills, such as coping strategies and protective factors. Interventions that take advantage of online coaching by means of chatbots, deployed on Web or mobile technology, may be a novel and more appealing way to support positive mental health for adolescents. Objective In this pilot study, we co-designed and conducted a formative evaluation of an online, life skills coaching, chatbot intervention, inspired by the positive technology approach, to promote mental well-being in adolescence. Methods We co-designed the first life skills coaching session of the CRI (for girls) and CRIS (for boys) chatbot with 20 secondary school students in a participatory design workshop. We then conducted a formative evaluation of the entire intervention—eight sessions—with a convenience sample of 21 adolescents of both genders (mean age 14.52 years). Participants engaged with the chatbot sessions over 4 weeks and filled in an anonymous user experience questionnaire at the end of each session; responses were based on a 5-point Likert scale. Results A majority of the adolescents found the intervention useful (16/21, 76%), easy to use (19/21, 90%), and innovative (17/21, 81%). Most of the participants (15/21, 71%) liked, in particular, the video cartoons provided by the chatbot in the coaching sessions. They also thought that a session should last only 5-10 minutes (14/21, 66%) and said they would recommend the intervention to a friend (20/21, 95%). Conclusions We have presented a novel and scalable self-help intervention to deliver life skills coaching to adolescents online that is appealing to this population. This intervention can support the promotion of coping skills and mental well-being among youth.