As the growing number of older people, particularly in urban areas, and changing lifestyles are increasing the importance of continuing to live in the community (ageing in place), studies show that age-related planning of living environments is often shaped by stereotypes, and that the needs of present and future older people are not sufficiently taken into account. In this context, two case studies based on Henri Lefebvre’s theory presented in his book The Production of Space investigate how ‘age-appropriate’ living environments are conceived, practiced and lived, and to what extent age-related stereotypes affect these processes. The two cases examined are an intergenerational project to promote physical activity and the development of a new city square. For both cases, interviews and walkthroughs were conducted with experts from various planning disciplines, as well as with current and future older people. The findings show that in planning practice the notions of old age and older people often remain diffuse and, at the same time, older people are often seen as a homogeneous and fragile group. The results indicate that the importance given to neighbourhood in old age can vary greatly. For social work, this implies that older people should be even more involved in the design of their living environments, through participatory processes, in order to better meet the heterogeneity of their needs.
Background Hand hygiene is an effective behavior for preventing the spread of the respiratory disease COVID-19 and was included in public health guidelines worldwide. Behavior change interventions addressing hand hygiene have the potential to support the adherence to public health recommendations and, thereby, prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, randomized trials are largely absent during a pandemic; therefore, there is little knowledge about the most effective strategies to promote hand hygiene during an ongoing pandemic. This study addresses this gap by presenting the results of the optimization phase of a Multiphase Optimization Strategy of Soapp, a smartphone app for promoting hand hygiene in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective This study aimed to identify the most effective combination and sequence of 3 theory- and evidence-based intervention modules (habit, motivation, and social norms) for promoting hand hygiene. To this end, 9 versions of Soapp were developed (conditions), and 2 optimization criteria were defined: the condition with the largest increase in hand hygiene at follow-up and condition with the highest engagement, usability, and satisfaction based on quantitative and qualitative analyses. Methods This study was a parallel randomized trial with 9 intervention conditions defined by the combination of 2 intervention modules and their sequence. The trial was conducted from March to August 2021 with interested participants from the Swiss general population (N=232; randomized). Randomization was performed using Qualtrics (Qualtrics International Inc), and blinding was ensured. The duration of the intervention was 34 days. The primary outcome was self-reported hand hygiene at follow-up, which was assessed using an electronic diary. The secondary outcomes were user engagement, usability, and satisfaction assessed at follow-up. Nine participants were further invited to participate in semistructured exit interviews. A set of ANOVAs was performed to test the main hypotheses, whereas a thematic analysis was performed to analyze the qualitative data. Results The results showed a significant increase in hand hygiene over time across all conditions. There was no interaction effect between time and intervention condition. Similarly, no between-group differences in engagement, usability, and satisfaction emerged. Seven themes (eg, “variety and timeliness of the task load” and “social interaction”) were found in the thematic analysis. Conclusions The effectiveness of Soapp in promoting hand hygiene laid the foundation for the next evaluation phase of the app. More generally, the study supported the value of digital interventions in pandemic contexts. The findings showed no differential effect of intervention conditions involving different combinations and sequences of the habit, motivation, and social norms modules on hand hygiene, engagement, usability, and satisfaction. In the absence of quantitative differences, we relied on the results from the thematic analysis to select the best version of Soapp for the evaluation phase. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04830761; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04830761 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055971
BACKGROUND Hand hygiene is an effective behavior for preventing the spread of the respiratory disease COVID-19, and was included in public health guidelines worldwide. Behavior change interventions addressing hand hygiene have the potential to support the adherence to public health recommendations and thereby prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, randomized trials during a pandemic are largely absent, wherefore there is little knowledge about the most effective strategies to promote hand hygiene during an ongoing pandemic. The present study addresses this gap by presenting the results of the optimization phase of a Multiphase Optimization Strategy of Soapp, a smartphone app to promote hand hygiene in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE The goal was to identify the most effective combination and sequence of three theory- and evidence-based intervention modules (Habit, Motivation, Social Norms) to promote hand hygiene. To this aim, nine versions of Soapp were developed (conditions) and two optimization criteria were defined: i) condition with largest increase in hand hygiene at follow-up and ii) condition with highest engagement, usability and satisfaction based on quantitative and qualitative analyses. METHODS The study design was a parallel randomized trial with nine intervention conditions defined by the combination of two intervention modules and their sequence. The trial was conducted from March to August 2021 with interested participants of the Swiss general population (N = 232 randomized). Randomization was performed by Qualtrics and blinding was ensured. The duration of the intervention was 34 days. The primary outcome was self-reported hand hygiene at follow-up, assessed via an electronic diary. Secondary outcomes were user engagement, usability and satisfaction, assessed at follow-up. Participants were further invited for semi-structured exit interviews (n = 9). A set of Anovas was performed to test the main hypotheses while thematic analysis was performed to analyze the qualitative data. RESULTS Results showed a significant increase in hand hygiene over time across all conditions. There was no interaction effect of time and intervention condition. Likewise, no between-group difference in engagement, usability and satisfaction emerged. Seven themes (e.g., “variety and timeliness of the workload”, “social interaction”) were found in the thematic analysis. CONCLUSIONS The current findings evidenced no effect of intervention condition of a habit, motivation and social norms module on hand hygiene, engagement, usability and satisfaction. In the absence of quantitative differences, we relied on the results from the thematic analysis to select the best version of Soapp for the evaluation phase. CLINICALTRIAL NCT04830761 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055971
No abstract
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.