Search

Background: New technologies have gained popularity, especially the use of mobile phone applications, in neurorehabilitation. The aim of this paper was (1) to develop a free mobile application (NeurorehAPP) that provides information about and helps to select the appropriate mobile application related to a list of neurological disorders (cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, and facial paralysis), based on different objectives such as healthy habits, information, assessment, and treatment; and (2) to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and degree of satisfaction by physiotherapists after using NeurorehAPP for a minimum of three months. Methods: A free application was created to work with the Android® operating system. The degree of satisfaction and acceptance with the application was assessed with an adaptation of the Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire through a survey via email applied to physiotherapists from hospitals and neurological rehabilitation centers in Spain after using the application. Results: NeurorehAPP includes a total of 131 apps. A total of 121 physiotherapists completed a satisfaction survey. The total sample showed 85.41% satisfaction with the service provided by the app and 86.41% overall satisfaction with NeurorehAPP. Conclusions: NeurorehAPP is a free, intuitive, and friendly app used with the Android® operating system that allows the selection of the most appropriate app according to the type of user, neurological disorder, objective, and FDA criteria. Physiotherapists showed a high degree of satisfaction and acceptance with NeurorehAPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In mental health, the use of mobile applications ( apps) in assesment and intervention is being incorporated to improve the therapeutic process and outcomes. Objective: to examine the availability of mobile applications in Spanish for the evaluation and intervention in mental health with clinical and non-clinical population. Method: A search of scientific literature published during the last five years in Scopus, PubMed and PSYCinfo. Those articles that studied the functioning of a mobile application for assesment or intervention in mental health in adult population from Spain were selected. Results: Of 193 articles identified, 11 were selected for the systematic review. Results are presented according to the population attended (general population or clinical population) and within the clinical population, according to the symptoms addressed. Conclusions: Although the use of mobile applications in Spanish in the field of mental health is still limited, there are promising results that point to the need for further field to enhance the quality and efficiency of mental health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile applications (apps) are becoming an essential tool when it comes to sightseeing. There is even a specific category for trips in the leading app stores. These are no strangers to the rise of the itinerant travel style, the caravans. The study aims to understand the situation of the main caravanning apps in Spain. We have carried out a web scraping methodology using a sample of 1,601 Spanish reviews of the main apps related to caravanning. The most interesting findings, among others, are that we are getting to know a sector that up to now was unknown and that even has not been affected by the pandemic crisis. Besides, the paper has demonstrated that developers do not follow the right strategies in caravanning apps. The paper also shows users' most crucial concerns about these apps. Therefore, managers of caravanning apps could improve their strategies by focusing their attention on users' concerns and, most important, reviews to respond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Iberoamericana de Educación (Version impresa) is the property of Organizacion de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación del Profesorado is the property of Asociacion Universitaria de Formacion del Profesorado (AUFOP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The use of eHealth technology in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a promising approach to enhance patient outcomes since adherence to healthy lifestyles and risk factor management during phase III CR maintenance is often poorly supported. However, patients' needs and expectations have not been extensively analyzed to inform the design of such eHealth solutions., Objective: The goal of this study was to provide a detailed patient perspective on the most important functionalities to include in an eHealth solution to assist them in phase III CR maintenance., Methods: A guided survey as part of a Living Lab approach was conducted in Germany (n=49) and Spain (n=30) involving women (16/79, 20%) and men (63/79, 80%) with coronary artery disease (mean age 57 years, SD 9 years) participating in a structured center-based CR program. The survey covered patients' perceived importance of different CR components in general, current usage of technology/technical devices, and helpfulness of the potential features of eHealth in CR. Questionnaires were used to identify personality traits (psychological flexibility, optimism/pessimism, positive/negative affect), potentially predisposing patients to acceptance of an app/monitoring devices., Results: All the patients in this study owned a smartphone, while 30%-40% used smartwatches and fitness trackers. Patients expressed the need for an eHealth platform that is user-friendly, personalized, and easily accessible, and 71% (56/79) of the patients believed that technology could help them to maintain health goals after CR. Among the offered components, support for regular physical exercise, including updated schedules and progress documentation, was rated the highest. In addition, patients rated the availability of information on diagnosis, current medication, test results, and risk scores as (very) useful. Of note, for each item, except smoking cessation, 35%-50% of the patients indicated a high need for support to achieve their long-term health goals, suggesting the need for individualized care. No major differences were detected between Spanish and German patients (all P>.05) and only younger age (P=.03) but not sex, education level, or personality traits (all P>.05) were associated with the acceptance of eHealth components., Conclusions: The patient perspectives collected in this study indicate high acceptance of personalized user-friendly eHealth platforms with remote monitoring to improve adherence to healthy lifestyles among patients with coronary artery disease during phase III CR maintenance. The identified patient needs comprise support in physical exercise, including regular updates on personalized training recommendations. Availability of diagnoses, laboratory results, and medications, as part of a mobile electronic health record were also rated as very useful., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05461729; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05461729., (©Boris Schmitz, Svenja Wirtz, Manuela Sestayo-Fernández, Hendrik Schäfer, Emma R Douma, Marta Alonso Vazquez, Violeta González-Salvado, Mirela Habibovic, Dimitris Gatsios, Willem Johan Kop, Carlos Peña-Gil, Frank Mooren. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 22.02.2024.)

The phenomenon of the smart cities represents the logical and natural development of traditional cities due to the improvement of communication technologies applied to the services they provide on daily operating processes. In the cities' process of comprehensive transformation, the citizens and the content aimed at them should appear in order of priority. This research focuses its attention on the analysis of digital apps by pioneering Spanish smart cities as well as innovations that enhance citizens participation and their integration into the new digital ecosystem in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to contribute to the general system education providing new insights and resources. This study performs a quasi-experimental study at University of Salamanca with 30 students to compare results between using an anatomic app for learning and the formal traditional method conducted by a teacher. The findings of the investigation suggest that the performance of learners using mobile apps is statistical better than the students using the traditional method. However, mobile devices should be considered as an additional tool to complement the teachers' explanation and it is necessary to overcome different barriers and challenges to adopt these pedagogical methods at University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile devices today have become the center of our connectivity. Radio companies tailor their content in several ways: podcasting, streaming, and mobile applications. The aim of this paper is to learn more about the mobile app content of the most popular talk radio stations in Spain. For this purpose, in January 2015 we conducted a qualitative content analysis in order to establish the type of products provided, their structure and hierarchy, and to determine to what extent Spanish talk radio stations are taking full advantage of this new potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing number of open data initiatives that allow citizens to reuse public data sets through specifically designed applications. This paper presents an overview of these initiatives and their development in Spain, analyzing the open data sets available and the functions and features of the applications developed for this purpose. The information source used in this work is the portal http://datos.gob.es, of national scope which organizes and manages the public information catalog of Spanish administrations. This source offers information about these data sets and the applications and utilities developed. The analysis shows a diverse distribution of these open data sets that requires grouping by metacategories for its study and analysis. The level of development of the applications seems low but it may be due to the incipience on freely available data. In any case, the data sets related to infrastructures (especially transports) appear to be the main object of the applications developed so far in Spain in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies on the potential of smartphone apps for people with autism are currently increasing in number, given the large digital supply available and the benefits they offer. We analyzed the opinion of educators from Florence (Italy) and Granada (Spain) regarding the benefits and applicability of apps, frequency of their use, and the type of apps used for people with autism., Methods: The study involved 1261 professionals, of whom 286 worked with apps, using a non-experimental quantitative design, descriptive and frequency statistics, parametric inferential analyses (Student's t and one-factor ANOVA), and calculation of the effect size (Cohen's d and eta squared) and intrafactorial correlations., Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in respect of city, sex, age, years of experience, place of work, and type of teacher. The teachers from Granada found more benefits and applicability in apps, and revealed a slightly higher usage than those from Florence., Conclusions: It is an arduous but worthy task for professionals from schools and associations that work with people with autism to acquire the necessary knowledge to apply methodologies based on information and communication technology (ICT), as this will help achieve the integrated development of people with different capabilities.

• Revision and analysis of smartphone applications in railways. • Analysis of comfort ride in track transitions. • Methodology to calculate comfort level with smartphones and tablets. • Methodology to monitor track quality using smartphones/tablets technology. Measurement process in railways is an expensive and difficult task which involves several steps. In some cases, costs can be reduced by using conventional devices such as smartphone and tablet applications. The following paper presents first a complete revision of the use of these devices in track measurements and secondly, it analyses the methodology to measure ride quality and track monitoring by simplifying it and making it more cost-effective. Accelerations were measured inside the train body in a simple and accessible way by using conventional smartphoneś apps. Results showed the feasibility to measure ride comfort, to study the track condition and locate singular points along the track. The proposed methodology tries to determine track monitoring and analyse passenger comfort by using these 'everyday' tools to take measurements in an easier, faster and cheapest way. The case studied showed that the acquired data in a track section can be used not only to model some important parameters of track performance but also to model riding comfort, which can help in the assessment of the track maintenance and ride quality. In addition, an alternative, new and simpler way of evaluating passenger riding comfort through vertical accelerations has been formulated, based on the current regulations and guidelines in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The daily use of mobile healthcare applications is already a reality around the world. Their supply and demand forecasts continue to increase exponentially due to the multiple facilities and improvements that they can offer to health management and patient-centered care, especially for the chronically ill. However, this exponential growth in the offer confuses when choosing the best mobile application to use due to the lack of scientific evidence on whether they meet the safety criteria for patients and professionals. The objective of this work was to analyze mobile applications to record and monitor the adverse effects of Available Oral Antineoplastic Treatments, to have a guide on which of these applications could be recommended with certainty by health professionals to cancer patients., Methods: A search of mobile applications was carried out on the Android and iOS platforms in Spanish and English. Subsequently, each application is analyzed according to the accreditation criteria of the iSYSCore (Internet Health and Society) and the Tic Salut Social Foundation., Results: Twelve applications were found for monitoring the adverse effects of ANEOs, eight of which could be safely recommended by healthcare professionals where the scores of the Tic Salut Social Foundation range from 31 to 32 points out of 40 and those of iSYSCore from 31 to 36 points out of 47., Conclusions: The e-Onco Salud® application stands out for its ability to improve health management and empower patients in the management of their disease., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an impact on several aspects of life, including university students' mental health. Mobile mental care applications (apps) comprise a form of online mental care that enables the delivery of remote mental care., Objectives: This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of university students in Spain and to explore their attitudes toward the use of mobile mental care apps., Method: Respondents answered a survey, which comprised two sections. The first included the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) that was employed to assess the students' mental health. The second section included six questions developed by the authors to explore the students' attitudes toward mental care apps., Results: The results showed that the students suffered from anxiety and depression as well as social dysfunction. Further, 91.3 % of the students had never used a mobile app for mental health, 36.3 % were unaware of such apps, and 79.2 % were willing to use them in the future., Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the psychological health of university students. Mobile mental care apps may be an effective and efficient way to access mental care, particularly during a pandemic., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Provision of follow-up and care during treatment of people with suicidal intentions is a challenge for health professionals and experts in information and communications technology (ICT). Therefore, health professionals and ICT experts are making efforts to carry out these activities in collaboration by using mobile apps as a technological resource., Objective: This study aimed to descriptively analyze mobile apps aimed at suicide prevention and to determine relevant factors in their design and development. In addition, it sought to analyze their impact on the support of treatment for patients at risk for suicide., Methods: We considered 20 apps previously listed in the article "Mobile Apps for Suicide Prevention: Review of Virtual Stores and Literature" (de la Torre et al, JMIR mHealth uHealth 2017;5[10]:e130). To find the apps in this list, the most popular app stores (Android and iOS) were searched using the keyword "suicide prevention." The research focused on publicly available app information: language, platform, and user ratings. The results obtained were statistically evaluated using 16 parameters that establish various factors that may affect the choice of the user, and the consequent support that the app can offer to a person at risk for suicide., Results: Of the 20 mobile apps, 4 no longer appeared in the app stores and were therefore excluded. Analysis of the remaining 16 apps sampled showed the following: (1) a high percentage of the apps analyzed in the study (n=13, 82%) are provided in English language; (2) the sampled apps were last updated in 2017, when only 45% of them were updated, but the constant and progressive update of treatments should be reflected in the apps; and (3) the technical quality of these apps cannot be determined on the basis of the distribution of scores, because their popularity indices can be subjective (according to the users). User preference for a particular operating system would require further, more specific research, including study of the differences in the technical and usability aspects between both platforms and the design of medical apps., Conclusions: Although there are positive approaches to the use of apps for suicide prevention and follow-up, the technical and human aspects are yet to be explored and defined. For example, the design and development of apps that support suicide prevention should be strongly supported by health personnel to humanize these apps, so that the effectiveness of the treatments supported by them can be improved., (©Gema Castillo-Sánchez, Ismael Camargo-Henríquez, Juan Luis Muñoz-Sánchez, Manuel Franco-Martín, Isabel de la Torre-Díez. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 13.08.2019.)