The Medical Informatics Europe 2023 (MIE’2023) conference, held under the theme “Caring is Sharing – Exploiting Value in Data for Health and Innovation,” alongside the renowned VITALIS 2023, Scandinavia’s largest eHealth conference, created a stage where experts gathered to delve into the latest advancements and challenges in healthcare. The buzz around AI in healthcare was undeniable, emphasizing the need for regulation while recognizing its immense potential. Striking the delicate balance between innovation and patient safety became a key focal point, highlighting the importance of establishing robust frameworks and guidelines for AI deployment in healthcare settings.
Sweden, with its world-class healthcare and research institutions, thriving industry, and vibrant startup scene, served as the perfect backdrop for MIE’2023 and VITALIS 2023. Drawing decision makers, IT managers, researchers, and care administrators from various sectors, VITALIS provided a fertile ground for networking and collaboration among the different stakeholders in the field. This convergence of industry professionals from healthcare organizations, municipalities, county councils, and authorities facilitated invaluable connections and knowledge exchange.
The opening keynote at VITALIS was a highlight of the event, featuring influential speakers who offered compelling insights into the future of healthcare. Jakob Forssmed, Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health, stressed the significance of leveraging data and digital solutions to transform healthcare. David Novillo Ortiz from the World Health Organization shared noteworthy initiatives utilizing data and digital technologies. Tom Lawry, an AI expert, captivated the audience with his exploration of AI’s transformative potential in healthcare. The discussions revolved around the need for responsible implementation and regulation, keeping patient welfare at the forefront.
Innovative research on patients’ use of medical records online took center stage during the conferences, shedding light on the impact of patient-accessible electronic health records (PAEHR). A notable session led by Prof. Åsa Cajander focused on the effects of PAEHR on diverse patient groups, particularly in psychiatric and somatic care. The session underscored the necessity for further research on user experiences and perceptions, highlighting the complexities and considerations surrounding the implementation and impact of PAEHR in different healthcare contexts.
MIE’2023 and VITALIS 2023 emphasized the pivotal role of data, AI, and patient access in reshaping the healthcare landscape. These conferences provided an engaging platform for decision-makers, IT managers, researchers, and care administrators to collaborate, fostering innovation and knowledge-sharing. The seminars on AI adoption in healthcare emphasized the importance of responsible implementation, while presentations on patient access to medical records illuminated the benefits and challenges associated with PAEHR. The collective efforts of the healthcare community, as highlighted during these events, hold the potential to revolutionize patient outcomes and shape a future where innovation and compassion go hand in hand.
Recently, I have been invited as a presenter and panel member the Riks-P conference in Stockholm, as well as online, presenting for employees working at the Swedish Work Environment Authority. The topic for these presentations has been AI, robotization and the work environment.
In academia, we refer to these kind of job duties as ‘the 3rd duty’. For those of you that are not familiar with this concept, I’ll try to explain it briefly. Typically, it is stated that academians have three job duties; 1) Research; 2) Teaching; 3) Academic service.
The 3rd duty – Academic service encompasses various responsibilities that contribute to the functioning and development of the academic community and society at large. This can include serving on committees within the institution, participating in academic governance, reviewing manuscripts for journals, organizing conferences or workshops, engaging in community outreach and public engagement activities, and providing expert advice to policymakers or industry professionals etc.
So, what is the benefit of the 3rd duty? Actually, the 3rd duty offers several benefits at both individual and institutional levels. These involve e.g. professional networking, reputation, recognition, personal and professional growth, as well as institutional development and the fulfilling of social responsibility. In other words, it is a good idea to not forget about the 3rd duty!
In today’s fast-paced world, anxiety has become a prevalent and concerning issue affecting individuals of all ages. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated this problem, with feelings of fear, worry, and uncertainty becoming more common. As we strive to find effective interventions for anxiety, the emerging field of connected health, combined with biofeedback techniques, holds great promise.
Understanding Anxiety Anxiety, a complex interplay of psychological and physiological factors, manifests as a state of fear, uneasiness, and nervousness. It is a natural response to stress, serving as a signal of potential danger. However, when anxiety becomes persistent and overwhelming, it may indicate the presence of an anxiety disorder. These disorders, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, can significantly impact a person’s well-being and quality of life.
A person suffering from anxiety
The Rise of Anxiety Anxiety disorders have been on the rise globally, and Sweden is no exception. Self-reported anxiety and nervousness have witnessed an 11% increase in the country between 2011 and 2021. Women tend to be more affected than men across all age groups. The contributing factors to anxiety disorders are multifaceted, including difficult life experiences, environmental influences, health behaviors, and various physical factors such as genetics and brain chemistry.
Connected Health Interventions for Anxiety Connected health, the integration of information communication technology into healthcare, offers innovative solutions for managing anxiety. Among the various digital interventions, biofeedback stands out as a non-pharmacological and non-invasive approach. Biofeedback leverages the measurement of physiological changes associated with psychological states, enabling individuals to monitor and control their bodily functions influenced by anxiety.
Advantages of Biofeedback Technological advancements have made biofeedback more accessible, affordable, and user-friendly. It allows individuals to gain awareness and insight into their physiological changes, empowering them to better regulate their mental states. Biofeedback can help individuals recognize internal states linked to arousal and relaxation, fostering a sense of self-efficacy and control. By addressing both psychological and physiological symptoms, biofeedback holds immense potential in anxiety detection and treatment.
Types of Biofeedback and Their Applications Biofeedback utilizes various sources of biodata, including respiration, brain activity (neurofeedback), muscle tension, skin conductance, temperature, and heart rate variability. Our systematic literature review has revealed that biofeedback interventions for anxiety primarily leverage two types of feedback: modifications to user interface and experience or visual presentations of physiological changes. Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a powerful tool, enhancing the efficacy of biofeedback interventions by providing immersive exposure therapy experiences. Serious games coupled with biofeedback have also shown promising results, influencing behavior and facilitating learning.
Biofeedback is often combined with relaxation techniques, such as progressive relaxation, breathing exercises, and meditation. These practices have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing anxiety and stress. In biofeedback-based interventions, individuals receive real-time feedback on their physiological measurements, fostering a deeper understanding of the mind-body connection. Music therapy, coupled with biofeedback, has also yielded positive outcomes, regulating both physical and mental health.
The Road Ahead As we delve deeper into the realm of biofeedback-based connected health interventions for anxiety, ongoing research and development are crucial. Further exploration of different sensors, treatment techniques, and physiological data collection methods will enhance the efficacy and accessibility of these interventions. Collaborations between researchers, clinicians, and technology experts hold the potential to transform anxiety management and empower individuals to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Reference: Alneyadi, M., Drissi, N., Almeqbaali, M., and Ouhbi, S. (2021). Biofeedback-based Connected Mental Health Interventions for Anxiety: Systematic Literature Review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 9(4): e26038, doi: 10.2196/26038
Last Friday, I was interviewed by the Swedish television (the local Uppland channel) about the reasons for this and the possible dangers with the application from a security perspective. The interview can be found here but it is only in Swedish. Therefore I will describe the problem in this post as well.
The municipality of Uppsala, together with a large number of other public actors (also in many other countries) have recently prohibited the use of TikTok on the work spade. Apart from that some people might think that there are very limited reasons to why you should need access to TikTok on your mobiles at all during your work, why would you prohibit the use of TikTok, when you can still use Youtube, Instagram and Facebook? What is different with TikTok?
There are actually some reasons for this, both the prohibition and the differences between the application. TikTok is an application that allows the users to record short videos (max 3 min) and publish these on the TikTok platform. This has become very popular among, above all, young people. There is also an ongoing critical discussion about the social aspects of the TikTok application, but it is not part of this post.
When the application is installed, it asks the user for permission to access photo and video storage, the camera and the microphone, which is of course quite reasonable, since the purpose of the app is exactly to record videos and store them in the user’s phone. However, it also asks for access to the contact lists, and the current location when used. And here is one of the problems, namely that this data is given by the user to an application we know very little about. But, one may object, this data is not dangerous, we give it to almost any of the social media applications (actually, that might be something we should not do either, without some consideration).
The data the users provide is, however, actually not that innocent as it might seem at first sight. If the application can collect the data as mentioned above, the data might form a much bigger collection of “innocent” data, which is not as innocent anymore. It contains your contacts, the places where you have been, and also when you where there. If the data of different people are correlated on the whole data set, there might be patterns that could show interesting things for people who are specifically interested. It could for example show regular visits to certain locations, or even that you meet some people regularly. Still, who would be interested of this information? Not everything might be interesting, but suppose that you are engaged in a civil defense organization. Then the meeting places, the people you meet at those meetings, and who these people meet in other contexts might be very important information for a possible enemy. So, there are quite a few people in a city that could be of interest in this kind of analysis.
But, as mentioned above, this information is provided to many different applications, so why has TikTok been singled out like this? Well, there is one additional argument for this, namely that it is very important that we know where the information is going in the larger perspective. This is where the history of TikTok becomes relevant. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, one of the biggest startup companies in the world, and this is where the main problem starts. The statement in the Privacy Policy gives an indication (my boldface added):
We may disclose any of the Information We Collect to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process, law enforcement requests, legal claims, or government inquiries, and to protect and defend the rights, interests, safety, and security of the Platform, our affiliates, users, or the public. We may also share any of the Information We Collect to enforce any terms applicable to the Platform, to exercise or defend any legal claims, and comply with any applicable law.
TiKToK Privacy Policy
The text in boldface provides a key to the problems. The data can be released in certain situations, which are not under our control. In 2017 China implemented a law that compels companies to turn over personal data relevant to China’s security. The question is then what this data might be. Depending on the situation, information pertaining other countries’ military and/or civil defenses might be very relevant to another country. The company can, through its mother company be forced to hand out any information under the conditions mentioned.
What are the odds? It is difficult to say, of course. However, since TikTok is not crucial to the work in public organizations, there is no reason even to take the chances. Especially in the current situation where there is such unrest over most of the world, there is definitely a reason for being careful in general with the handing out of data.
But, there are also some drawbacks with the general ban on the application. As mentioned above, the application is mostly used by young people. This also means that the proper use of the application can become an entry point to different youth groups, which could be invaluable to certain groups in the municipality, such as social workers, schools, and not least libraries. The libraries have used the application for some time to spread information to young people under the hashtag #BookTok, which allegedly has been very popular. This will now become difficult to handle with the current ban. Of course there may be ways around this ban, but in my opinion it all goes to show that a ban on an application like this has to be carefully considered, and that there should be an awareness of that there could be cases where there has to be exceptions. And, not least, there is a need for more information to potential users of social media about the possible risks that follow the usage.
To quote a famous detective in a famous TV-series:
As many of you know, writing is not always easy and it can sometimes be challenging to find the time or space to focus on your writing. That’s where a writing retreat can come in handy. The HTO research group has a long history of arranging writing retreats and this year is no exception. A writing retreat is essentially a dedicated time and place for you to write and last week, people from the HTO research group and people from our networks came together for two full days with the sole purpose to write.
The underlying idea of our writing retreats is that everyone decides for themselves what to write and then we sit together and work on our texts. The key to any writing retreat is that it should take you away from your usual responsibilities and commitments, and it should allow you to focus on your writing. This year, we arranged the retreat in our usual building but booked a room on another floor to help us focus on nothing else but writing. To further increase our potential to be truly productive, we keep to a schedule in which we start by setting writing goals and making plans for the writing we’ll do. This is followed by writing sprints and a few check-ins throughout the day. Of course, this schedule also has plenty of dedicated time for rest and delicious fika.
Besides having time and space to write, the benefits of attending a writing retreat are many. To meet other writers and talk about writing is rewarding in itself and the social pressure of hearing others tap away on their keyboards is quite helpful to get you started with your own writing. The retreat also creates space for reflection on your writing habits and many of us find that it encourages commitment to your writing which hopefully spills over to when you’re not at the retreat. Finally, a writing retreat is really fun and a valuable investment of your time.
The current extremely rapid development within Artificial Intelligence is the matter of a widespread debate, and in most cases it is discussed in terms of being potential dangers to humanity and providing increased possibilities for students to cheat on examinations. When it comes to Artificial Intelligence based art or image generators (AIAG) the questions are mostly focused on similar negative issues, such as whether it really is art or if this is even going to render artists out of business. For the topic of this blog, however, I will reverse the direction of these discussion to take on a more positive and, hopefully more constructive perspective on Artificial Intelligence (*).
A small girl being very afraid of riding the elevator. Her anxiety may become a large problem for her unless treated in an early stage.
Real prompt: a small girl in an elevator, the girl looks very afraid and stands in one corner, the buttons of the elevator are in a vertical row, pencil drawing
The interesting thing is that we don’t focus the discussions more on the possibilities for these tools to be really useful, adding positively to the work. However, I will in this blog post give an example of where the use of AIAG:s as a toolcan be very important within the area of health care, and more specifically within child psychiatry. The examples are collected from an information presentation for parents to children who suffer from panic disorder. The person who has asked for the illustrations works as a counselor at a psychiatric unit for children and young people (BUP) in Sweden. Using the popular, and very powerful AI art generation application MidJourney, I have then produced the different illustrations for the presentation, some of which are now reproduced in this post.
The main captions of the images in this post are taken from the requests made by the counselor, and do not show the actual prompts used, which are in many cases much less comprehensive (shown in smaller type below).
A boy hesitates at the far end of the landing-stage, showing some fear of the evil waves that are trying to catch him.
Real prompt: a boy dressed in swimming trunks::1 is standing at the end of a trampoline::2 , the boy looks anxious and bewildered::1, as if he fears jumping into the water::3, you can see his whole body::1 pencil drawing
It is often difficult to find visual material that is suitable as illustrations in this kind of situations, where there are high requirements on integrity and data safety. Clip art is often quite boring and may also not provide any direct engagement in the viewers. The high demands of integrity delimits the use of stock photos, and copyright issues add further to the problems. Here we can see a very important application area for the Artificial Intelligence Art Generators, since these images are more or less guaranteed not to show any real human beings.
A small girl showing an all but hidden insecurity, being alone in the crowd on a town square.
Real prompt: a small girl is standing in the middle of the town square with lots of people walking by, the girl looks anxious and bewildered, as if she fears being alone, pencil drawing
The images displayed in this post are all produced according to the wishes from the councellor which I have then converted into prompts that produce the desired results. Not all attempts succeeded at once, some images had have the prompts rewritten several times in order to reach the best images. This, of course, points to the simple fact that the role of the prompt writer will be very important in the future illustration creation.
Who does not recognize the classic scare of small children: “There is a wolf in my room!” It could of course also be a monster under the bed, or any other kind of scary imaginations that will prevent the child from sleeping.
Real prompt: a small boy being very anxious when the parent leaves his room for him to sleep, he believes that there is a wolf under his bed, pencil drawing,
In the end, it is also important to point out that a good artist could of course have created all these pictures, and in even better versions. The power of the AIAG:s is, in this example, that it can enable some people to make more and better illustrations as an integrated part of the production of presentations, information material, etc. The alternative is in many cases to just leave out the illustrations, since “I cannot draw anything at all, it just turns ugly”.
Even when there are no monsters in the bedroom, just the parent leaving the child alone, might be enough to invoke a very strong panic, which is difficult for the child to handle.
Real prompt: a small boy being very anxious when the parent leaves his room for him to sleep, pencil drawing
So, to conclude, this was just one example of when Artificial Intelligence systems can be very helpful and productive, if used properly. We just need to start thinking of all the possible usages we can find for the different systems, which, unfortunately is less common than we would want, to some extent due to the large amount of negative articles and discussions that concern the development of AI systems.
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(*) Here in this post the term AI is used mostly in the classic sense of “weak AI”, namely the use of methods that are based on models that are imitating processes within human thinking, which does not necessarily mean that the system is indeed “intelligent”. In this way, the systems mentioned in this post are not really considered by me to be really intelligent, although they may well be advanced enough to emulate an intelligent being.
As I sit down to reflect on my experience with ENTWINE Informal Care, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunities that this Marie Skłodowska Curie Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN) funded by the European Union Horizon2020 has provided me. It’s been a journey of growth, learning, and collaboration that has impacted my personal and professional life in ways I couldn’t have imagined. The program began in March 2019, but my journey with the ENTWINE project began in October 2019 when I moved to the beautiful island of Gotland in Sweden. I was thrilled to be a part of this program as informal caregiving was already interesting to me personally, given that I had been an informal caregiver for my father for over a year. So, I have a personal motivation to work in this area. I am also interested in the field of designing IT systems, and I was delighted to find that these two interests aligned so well in my project in ENTWINE.
One of the most exciting aspects of ENTWINE was the opportunity to work with other PhD students hosted across five different countries in Europe. You may read more about ENTWINE and the research done here. The cohort was diverse, and we all brought our unique experiences and perspectives to the table. The training courses offered through ENTWINE were invaluable in helping us develop the skills and knowledge needed to conduct high-quality research in the field of caregiving. We received training in areas such as caregiving, persuasive designing, positive technology research methods, entrepreneurship, and many more. The courses were rigorous and challenging, but they were also fun and engaging. It was clear that the program coordinators had put a lot of effort into designing a curriculum that would equip us with the skills and knowledge we needed to contribute positively in our respective fields. Another highlight of the program was the opportunity to work with multiple industry and academic partners. We had the chance to discuss our work and learn from them through dedicated research secondments. My secondments were at the University of Twente and the University of Oulu, where I spent three months each. These secondments helped shape my PhD and helped form good collaborations.
AnhörigCare: An eCoaching Application for Informal Caregivers in Sweden
My PhD work focuses on designing a persuasive eCoaching application (AnhörigCare) for informal caregivers in Sweden. ‘AnhörigCare’ means caring for ‘anhöriga’, the Swedish word for relatives. Informal caregivers are individuals who take care of their sick family members or friends suffering from a long-term illness. Caregiving can be difficult and can affect the well-being of the caregiver and they often experience stress and anxiety. As a result, my research focuses on designing an eCoaching application called AnhörigCare for caregivers in Sweden to support them in their caregiving activities and assist them in self-care.
‘AnhörigCare’ means caring for ‘anhöriga’, the Swedish word for relatives.
Persuasive System Design
AnhörigCare was designed using the Persuasive System Design (PSD) model. The PSD model is a comprehensive framework created to assist in designing systems that can impact users’ behavior. It offers designers a methodical approach to designing persuasive IT applications that are tailored to the specific needs of caregivers, making them more effective in assisting them to achieve their objectives. It also presents a structured design strategy for creating appealing and practical interventions. Additionally, the PSD model offers organized design principles that can be utilized by designers. This model proposes 28 design principles grouped into four dimensions: primary task support, dialogue support, credibility support, and social support. The first dimension, primary task support, aims to assist users in accomplishing their intended behavior. The second dimension, dialogue support, employs design principles that encourage users through feedback and interaction with the application. The third dimension, credibility support, employs techniques that enhance the application’s perceived credibility and trustworthiness by the user. The fourth and final dimension, social support, uses methods to leverage social influence (illustrated in the figure below).
Persuasive System Design model
The Design Process
AnhörigCare aims to provide access to practical information, access to formal services related to caregiving, and access to an online forum that can connect caregivers with each other to feel part of a community. This figure illustrates the activities in this project to design the final version of AnhörigCare.
We started with a review of literature. The extant literature points to access to information regarding caregiving, access to formal services to assist caregivers, feeling of community, words of acknowledgment and encouragement, self-care, and informal peer support as major needs of caregivers. The descriptions of their needs were compared with the persuasive design principles from the PSD model. Based on this match, design principles was chosen to meet their needs, creating the first version of AnhörigCare. Expert evaluations were then conducted on this version and changes to navigation and presentation of content were made. In the next step, we interviewed caregivers in Sweden to elicit their needs for an eCoaching application. Based on these needs we presented some design suggestions to further update AnhörigCare. After which we conducted design workshops with caregivers as a means to involve them in the design of AnhörigCare and finally a scenario-based user testing.
Based on the design workshops and user testing, the final design of AnhörigCare will be created. Here are some initial screenshots of AnhörigCare.
Watch this space for upcoming articles on this research!
Cancer is a devastating disease that affects not only the patient but also their informal caregivers, who play a crucial role in caring for them, especially in the home environment. The role of a caregiver can be physically and emotionally exhausting, leading to stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. With limited resources and information available to informal caregivers, the situation becomes even more challenging. In this context, eHealth applications might help caregivers to cope with their caregiving responsibilities and enhance their well-being.
Carer-eSupport project
The Carer-eSupport project is a commendable effort to provide support to informal caregivers of head and neck cancer patients. I am part of the Carer-eSupport project as a PhD student. The project’s overall goal is to prepare caregivers for their caregiving role and decrease their caregiving burden who often struggle to balance their caregiving responsibilities with their personal and professional lives.
In this project, we first gathered user needs and preferences from caregivers and healthcare professionals to ensure that the intervention is user-friendly, effective and acceptable. Based on these findings, the first version of Carer-eSupport is developed, followed by feasibility studies to evaluate its effectiveness and acceptability. The results from these studies will inform the design of the second version of Carer-eSupport. Thereafter, it will be tested through a randomized controlled trial, which will provide robust evidence of the intervention’s effectiveness. The project’s study protocol, “Internet-based support for informal caregivers to individuals with head and neck cancer (Carer-eSupport): a study protocol for the development and feasibility testing of a complex online intervention,” provides more detailed information. By prioritizing the needs and well-being of caregivers, the Carer-eSupport project has the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of informal caregivers of head and neck cancer patients.
An initial prototype of Carer-eSupport
User-centred Positive Design (UCPD) framework
To support informal caregivers’ subjective well-being, we proposed a User-centred Positive Design (UCPD) framework that combines User-Centred Design (UCD) and Positive Design Framework (PDF) as shown in the figure below. UCD is a systematic approach that considers users and their needs in all steps of design and development. PDF, on the other hand, describes how design can enhance the subjective well-being of users. By focusing on the subjective well-being of users, the UCPD framework aims to create eHealth applications that not only solve the user’s problem but also have a long-lasting and positive impact on their well-being.
User-centred Positive Design Framework
In conclusion, the UCPD framework provides a theoretical framework for designing internet-based support systems that have a positive, holistic impact on users’ well-being. The Carer-eSupport project serves as an excellent example of how the UCPD framework can be applied in designing eHealth applications for informal caregivers of cancer patients. With further research, the UCPD framework has the potential to enhance the subjective well-being of users across various domains of healthcare.
Research Team
Our research team comprises researchers from different disciplines, including human-computer interaction (HCI), software engineering, cancer nursing, and medical research. Following are the team members.
Particularly as we move forward following the recent COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of software in healthcare systems to support healthcare management and prevention. In Ireland, for example, there has been an increase in on-line consultations with General Practitioners (GPs)/ Family Physicians. This has resulted in the submission of prescriptions directly to pharmacies, where the patient can collect their medication. This minimises human contact, which was important during the pandemic, minimises travel for patients who may have difficulty getting to the doctor’s surgery, and makes it easier for GP surgeries to cater for patients over a wider area. There is potential for such systems to expand and become more pervasive, particularly as we are seeing a decrease in the number of medical practices in rural areas and an increase in population nationally. Those with health conditions can potentially use software to monitor their physiological measures, allowing the doctor to make decisions about their care in a different manner – thus software development and support must become more efficient and effective.
Healthcare software for use by individual patients is increasingly coming in the form of apps on the smartphone – therefore, the needs of particular cohorts need to be accounted for. In our research in Lero – the Science Foundation Ireland Software Research Centre, we have developed fundamental requirements for the development of software for use by Older Adults and for Persons with Mild Intellectual and Developmental Disability. Why these cohorts? We know that the number of Older Adults is increasing globally and that this is putting pressure on healthcare systems, and so it is important for software developers to take their fundamental requirements into account. Persons with Mild Intellectual and Developmental Disability have specific requirements, and there is evidence that the lack of accessibility and usability for this cohort is causing the digital divide to increase. Of course, we can consider other cohorts! For example, what about nursing staff whose primary aim is to care for the patient, do they need to be trained in system use, or can software developers consider fundamental requirements for them to ensure that they can use systems efficiently and effectively? We believe that if software developers know these fundamental requirements, which we present in the form of ‘recommendations’ for the software developer, then healthcare software developed with be ultimately ‘easier to use’ by those who really need to use it! Each recommendation developed is supported by the detail obtained through literature review, standards and regulations review, focus groups, observation, prototype review, interviews, surveys and analysis of app store comments.
In our research we have developed 44 recommendations for the development of software for Older Adults, categorised into 28 Usability and 16 Accessibility requirements, 6 of which are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Six recommendations which can be used in the development of software for Older Adults
We have also developed 46 recommendations for the development of software for Persons with Mild Intellectual and Developmental Disability, categorised into 20 Usability, 16 Accessibility, 3 Content and 10 Gamification requirements, 6 of which are shown in Figure 2. Interestingly, in our qualitative research with persons from this cohort, we observed their ability to use games as a means to find out and understand information. We investigated this further, which is why we have included gamification factors.
Figure 2: Six recommendations which can be used in the development of software for Persons with Mild Intellectual and Developmental Disability.
The full set of recommendations and relevant information is provided in two Lero technical reports which are publicly available at 2023_TR_02_Recommendations_MildIDD.pdf, and 2021_TR02_Design_Patterns_ReDEAP.pdf. We encourage healthcare software developers to consider and use these when developing healthcare software.
This is a guest blog post by Prof Ita Richardson who visited us in March 2023. Professor Ita Richardson comes from the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, Lero – the Science Foundation Research Centre for Software and Health Research Institute/Ageing Research Centre, University of Limerick, Ireland
Bilal Ahmad, Ita Richardson and Sarah Beecham, Usability Recommendations for Designers of Smartphone Applications for Older Adults: An Empirical Study, in Software Usability, edited by Castro, L & Cabrero, D & Heimgärtner, R, InchtechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.96775, ISBN 978-1-83968-967-3
Ahmad, Bilal, Sarah Beecham, Ita Richardson, The case of Golden Jubilants: using a prototype to support healthcare technology research, Workshop on Software Engineering & Healthcare, co-located with International Conference on Software Engineering, 2021, 24th May, 2021.
Alshammari, Muneef, Owen Doody and Ita Richardson, 2020, August. Software Engineering Issues: An exploratory study into the development of Health Information Systems for people with Mild Intellectual and Developmental Disability. In 2020 IEEE First International Workshop on Requirements Engineering for Well-Being, Aging, and Health (REWBAH) (pp. 67-76). IEEE, 31st August.
Ahmad, Bilal, Ita Richardson and Sarah Beecham, 2020. A Multi-method Approach for Requirements Elicitation for the Design and Development of Smartphone Applications for Older Adults. In 2020 IEEE First International Workshop on Requirements Engineering for Well-Being, Aging, and Health (REWBAH) (pp. 25-34). IEEE, 31st August.
Alshammari, Muneef, Owen Doody and Ita Richardson (2020). Health Information Systems for Clients with Mild Intellectual and Developmental Disability: A Framework, Proceedings of the 13th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies Volume 5: HEALTHINF, 24-26 February 2020, Valletta, Malta pp 125-132 ISBN: 978-989-758-398-
Ahmad, B., Richardson, I., McLoughlin, S. and Beecham, S., 2018, July. Assessing the level of adoption of a social network system for older adults. In Proceedings of the 32nd International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference 32 (pp. 1-5)
Alshammari, Muneef, Owen Doody and Ita Richardson (2018). Barriers to the Access and use of Health Information by Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disability IDD: A Review of the Literature. IEEE 6th International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI), pp. 294-298, New York, USA, 4-7th June, DOI:10.1109/ICHI.2018.00040
Ahmad Bilal, Richardson Ita, Beecham Sarah (2017). A Systematic Literature Review of Social Network Systems for Older Adults. In: Felderer M., Méndez Fernández D., Turhan B., Kalinowski M., Sarro F., Winkler D. (eds) Product-Focused Software Process Improvement. PROFES 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10611 pp 482-496, Springer, Cham https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69926-4_38.
New technologies, such as automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI), have brought significant changes to the workplace, and the impact of these changes on workers’ health and safety remains largely unknown. This is especially true in the aviation industry, where ground personnel face a significant technological shift. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated the situation, leading to a shortage of personnel and putting the focus on creating attractive and healthy workplaces to retain staff. However, implementing new technologies can also bring new and unforeseen problems where using a hand scanner causes pain and discomfort for airport personnel.
A person holding a digital device for scanning luggage
To address these knowledge gaps, a research project has been initiated to investigate the impact of new technologies on the work environment of ground personnel in the aviation industry. The project aims to increase knowledge of how new technologies have affected and will continue to affect the work environment of baggage handlers, airport technicians, and refueling staff. These groups have been chosen because of the large research gap in their areas and the shortage of personnel, which increases the importance of their health and safety.
The project will work closely with the aviation industry and the Swedish Transport Workers’ Union (TYA), owned by labor market parties, the Swedish Transport Workers’ Union, and Transport Companies. Both organizations have expressed a need for this knowledge to prevent workplace health and safety problems. The project will also examine how research results on the work environment can be implemented and utilized effectively.
The project has two main objectives. The first is to investigate the level of implementation of new technologies that affect baggage handlers, airport technicians, and refueling staff across Sweden’s 38 airports and the plans for digitization moving forward. This will provide a baseline for the second objective, examining how new technologies have affected the work environment and increased the risk of workplace injuries.
The project addresses a critical knowledge gap in the area of new technologies and work environment and is well-aligned with the goals of the AFA (Arbetsmiljöfonden) within this area. The project will provide increased knowledge of the effects of new technologies on airport personnel’s work environment and support labor market parties in working preventatively regarding future workplace health and safety risks.
In our research group, we study the relationships and dynamics of Human, Technology, and Organisation (HTO) to create knowledge that supports sustainable development and utilization of ICT.
