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Connected Health: Status and Trends

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Digital Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 March 2023) | Viewed by 12053

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Dr. James Connolly

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Guest Editor

Department of Computing, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Letterkenny, F92 FC93 Donegal, Ireland
Interests: wearable sensor technology; digital healthcare; eHealth; artificial intelligence; big data; sensors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Connected health describes a technology-enabled model of healthcare delivery whose goals are focused on providing patient care in the most proactive and efficient manner possible. It refers to a health management model where devices, algorithms, and services are focused on patients’ needs to improve how healthcare services are delivered. Connected health encompasses terms such as telehealth, wearable technology, and electronics alongside advanced computing techniques to ensure timely, flexible, quality health management services and improve chronic care. Connected health services can contribute to a reduction in healthcare costs, improved patient–clinician interaction, and optimization of the “patient journey”, while supporting preventative health and self-care.

This Special Issue will facilitate an extensive overview of the status and trends in connected health, as well as an examination of the state of the art in connected healthcare technologies. It incorporates all types of connected health research where the implementation of technology, services, assessment, or monitoring that could facilitate the improvement of healthcare has been described or examined.

Dr. James Connolly
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

digital health
mHealth
remote monitoring
wearable technology
patient care
sensor technologies
artificial intelligence
rehabilitation
smart sensors
quantified self

Published Papers (4 papers)

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12 pages, 867 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tele-Medicine Based and Self-Administered Interactive Exercise Program (Tele-Exergame) to Improve Cognition in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia: A Feasibility, Acceptability, and Proof-of-Concept Study

by Catherine Park, Ram kinker Mishra, Michele K. York, Ana Enriquez, Abigail Lindsay, Gregory Barchard, Ashkan Vaziri and Bijan Najafi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 16361; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316361 - 06 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2825

Abstract

Improved life expectancy is increasing the number of older adults who suffer from motor-cognitive decline. Unfortunately, conventional balance exercise programs are not tailored to patients with cognitive impairments, and exercise adherence is often poor due to unsupervised settings. This study describes the acceptability and feasibility of a sensor-based in-home interactive exercise system, called tele-Exergame, used by older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Our tele-Exergame is specifically designed to improve balance and cognition during distractive conditioning while a telemedicine interface remotely supervises the exercise, and its exercises are gamified balance tasks with explicit augmented visual feedback. Fourteen adults with MCI or dementia (Age = 68.1 ± 5.4 years, 12 females) participated and completed exergame twice weekly for six weeks at their homes. Before and after 6 weeks, participants’ acceptance was assessed by Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaire, and participants’ cognition and anxiety level were evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), respectively. Results support acceptability, perceived benefits, and positive attitudes toward the use of the system. The findings of this study support the feasibility, acceptability, and potential benefit of tele-Exergame to preserve cognitive function among older adults with MCI and dementia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Health: Status and Trends)

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21 pages, 3866 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Appraising Virtual Technologies’ Impact on Older Citizens’ Mental Health—A Comparative between 360° Video and Virtual Reality

by Lucas Kupczik, William Farrelly and Shane Wilson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11250; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811250 - 07 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1950

Abstract

Aging populations across the world are facing a number of challenges in the context of health and healthcare. These challenges are driven by the aging process and the illnesses associated with aging. Healthcare for older people has become a point of concern with most health organizations, and this is particularly the case with palliative care. In this instance, the movement of the patient may be restricted to a room with no or limited access to the outdoors. This research focuses on the active integration of immersive technologies with healthcare. By addressing the problem of providing patients with the experience of being present in an outdoors space, the associated psychological and physiological benefits can be identified. In this mixed methods research paper, the impact of a crossover study to discern technology preferences in relation to immersive technologies among a sample of older people is reported. In addition, the study highlights factors that contribute to a meaningful immersive experience that can improve psychological and physiological wellbeing. The study identifies that there are two significant categorical aspects that contribute to such immersive experiences, technological aspects (including, for example, the weight of headsets, visual impairment, pixelation, and gamification) and emotive aspects (for example, joy, anger, and fear). The study suggests that older people prefer immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environments rather than 360 video experiences. This can be attributed to the greater flexibility in the provision of interactivity in virtual reality systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Health: Status and Trends)

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0 pages, 1666 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Cardiorespiratory Demands of Treadmill Walking with and without the Use of Ekso GT™ within Able-Bodied Participants: A Feasibility Study

by Damien Duddy, Rónán Doherty, James Connolly, Johnny Loughrey, Joan Condell, David Hassan and Maria Faulkner

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 6176; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106176 - 19 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2092

Abstract

Individuals with neurological impairments tend to lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle due to impaired gait function and mobility. This may be detrimental to health by negatively impacting cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength, and increasing the risk of developing secondary health problems. Powered exoskeletons are assistive devices that may aid neurologically impaired individuals in achieving the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) physical activity (PA) guidelines for health. Increased PA should elicit a sufficient cardiorespiratory stimulus to provide health benefits to exoskeleton users. This study examined the cardiorespiratory demands of treadmill walking with and without the Ekso GT™ among able-bodied participants. The Ekso GT™ is a powered exoskeleton that enables individuals with neurological impairments to walk by supporting full body mass with motors attached at the hip and knee joints to generate steps. This feasibility study consisted of one group of healthy able-bodied individuals (n = 8). Participants completed two 12 min treadmill walking assessments, one with and one without the Ekso GT™ at the same fixed speed. Throughout each walking bout, various cardiorespiratory parameters, namely, volume of oxygen per kilogram (kg) of body mass (

\dot{V}

O₂·kg⁻¹), volume of carbon dioxide per kg of body mass (

\dot{V}

CO₂·kg⁻¹), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), ventilation (

\dot{V}

_E), heart rate (HR), and rate of perceived exertion (RPE), were recorded. Treadmill walking with Ekso GT™ elevated all recorded measurements to a significantly greater level (p ≤ 0.05) (except RER at 1 km·h^–1; p = 0.230) than treadmill walking without the Ekso GT™ did at the same fixed speed. An increased cardiorespiratory response was recorded during treadmill walking with the exoskeleton. Exoskeleton walking may, therefore, be an effective method to increase PA levels and provide sufficient stimulus in accordance with the PA guidelines to promote cardiorespiratory fitness and subsequently enhance overall health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Health: Status and Trends)

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22 pages, 1222 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Self-Management of Subclinical Common Mental Health Disorders (Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disorders) Using Wearable Devices

by Tony Robinson, Joan Condell, Elaine Ramsey and Gerard Leavey

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2636; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032636 - 01 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4364

Abstract

Rationale: Common mental health disorders (CMD) (anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders) are among the leading causes of disease burden globally. The economic burden associated with such disorders is estimated at $2.4 trillion as of 2010 and is expected to reach $16 trillion by 2030. The UK has observed a 21-fold increase in the economic burden associated with CMD over the past decade. The recent COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for adopting technologies for mental health support and services, thereby increasing the reception of personal health data and wearables. Wearables hold considerable promise to empower users concerning the management of subclinical common mental health disorders. However, there are significant challenges to adopting wearables as a tool for the self-management of the symptoms of common mental health disorders. Aims: This review aims to evaluate the potential utility of wearables for the self-management of sub-clinical anxiety and depressive mental health disorders. Furthermore, we seek to understand the potential of wearables to reduce the burden on the healthcare system. Methodology: a systematic review of research papers was conducted, focusing on wearable devices for the self-management of CMD released between 2018–2022, focusing primarily on mental health management using technology. Results: We screened 445 papers and analysed the reports from 12 wearable devices concerning their device type, year, biometrics used, and machine learning algorithm deployed. Electrodermal activity (EDA/GSR/SC/Skin Temperature), physical activity, and heart rate (HR) are the most common biometrics with nine, six and six reference counts, respectively. Additionally, while smartwatches have greater penetration and integration within the marketplace, fitness trackers have the most significant public value benefit of £513.9 M, likely due to greater retention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Health: Status and Trends)

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