Background Mobile health apps can help to change health-related behaviors and manage chronic conditions in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and diabetes mellitus, but a certain level of health literacy and electronic health (eHealth) literacy may be needed. Objective The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with mobile health app use in individuals with CVD or diabetes and detect relations with the perceived effectiveness of health apps among app users. Methods The study used population-based Web-based survey (N=1500) among Germans, aged 35 years and older, with CVD, diabetes, or both. A total of 3 subgroups were examined: (1) Individuals with CVD (n=1325), (2) Individuals with diabetes (n=681), and (3) Individuals with CVD and diabetes (n=524). Sociodemographics, health behaviors, CVD, diabetes, health and eHealth literacy, characteristics of health app use, and characteristics of apps themselves were assessed by questionnaires. Linear and logistic regression models were applied. Results Overall, patterns of factors associated with health app use were comparable in individuals with CVD or diabetes or both. Across subgroups, about every fourth patient reported using apps for health-related purposes, with physical activity and weight loss being the most prominent target behaviors. Health app users were younger, more likely to be female (except in those with CVD and diabetes combined), better educated, and reported more physical activity. App users had higher eHealth literacy than nonusers. Those users who perceived the app to have a greater effectiveness on their health behaviors tended to be more health and eHealth literate and rated the app to use more behavior change techniques (BCTs). Conclusions There are health- and literacy-related disparities in the access to health app use among patients with CVD, diabetes, or both, which are relevant to specific health care professionals such as endocrinologists, dieticians, cardiologists, or general practitioners. Apps containing more BCTs had a higher perceived effect on people’s health, and app developers should take the complexity of needs into account. Furthermore, eHealth literacy appears to be a requirement to use health apps successfully, which should be considered in health education strategies to improve health in patients with CVD and diabetes.

Abstract-We present a survey of psychophysiology-based assessment for Quality of Experience (QoE) in advanced multimedia technologies. We provide a classification of methods relevant to QoE and describe related psychological processes, experimental design considerations, and signal analysis techniques. We summarise multimodal techniques and discuss several important aspects of psychophysiology-based QoE assessment, including the synergies with psychophysical assessment and the need for standardised experimental design. This survey is not considered to be exhaustive but serves as a guideline for those interested to further explore this emerging field of research.

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Objective. By means of subjective psychophysical methods, quality of transmitted speech has been decomposed into three perceptual dimensions named 'discontinuity' (F), 'noisiness' (N) and 'coloration' (C). Previous studies using electroencephalography (EEG) already reported effects of perceived intensity of single quality dimensions on electrical brain activity. However, it has not been investigated so far, whether the dimensions themselves are dissociable on a neurophysiological level of analysis. Approach. Pursuing this goal in the present study, a high-quality (HQ) recording of a spoken word was degraded on each dimension at a time, resulting in three quality-impaired stimuli (F, N, C) which were on average described as being equal in perceived degradation intensity. Participants performed a three-stimulus oddball task, involving the serial presentation of different stimulus types:(1) HQ or degraded 'standard' stimuli to establish sensory/perceptual quality references. (2) Degraded 'oddball' stimuli to cause random, infrequent deviations from those references. EEG was employed to examine the neuro-electrical correlates of speech quality perception. Main results. Emphasis was placed on modulations in temporal and morphological characteristics of the P300 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP), whose subcomponents P3a and P3b are commonly linked to attentional orienting and task relevance categorization, respectively. Electrophysiological data analysis ( N = 28) revealed significant modulations of P300 amplitude and latency by the perceptual dimensions underlying both quality references and oddball stimuli. Significance. The present study exemplifies the utility of physiological methods like EEG for dissociating speech degradations not only based on perceived intensity level, but also their distinctive quality dimension.

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Abstract. Most people with dementia (PwD) are treated on an outpatient basis, predominantly by general practitioners (GPs). This article provides a detailed protocol of a study aimed at developing and evaluating a tablet-based intervention to improve outpatient dementia care by fostering guideline-based treatment. A cluster-randomized controlled trial with an intervention group (tablet-based intervention) and a control group (treatment as usual plus information handbook) will be conducted. Clusters will be randomized at GP level. Primary outcome is defined as adherence to dementia guideline recommendations after 9 months. Secondary outcomes include various health outcomes assessed in PwD (e.g., quality of life) and informal caregivers (e.g., caregiver burden). Outcomes will be analyzed by an intention-to-treat analysis and using mixed models.

In the area of Quality of Experience (QoE), one challenge is to design test methodologies in order to evaluate the perceived quality of multimedia content delivered through technical systems. Traditionally, this evaluation is done using subjective opinion tests. However, sometimes it is difficult for observers to communicate the experienced quality through the given scale. Furthermore, those tests do not give insights into how the user is reacting on an internal physiological level. To overcome these issues, one approach is to use physiological measures, in order to derive a direct non-verbal response of the recipient. In this paper, we review studies that have been performed in the domain of QoE using physiological measures and we look into current activities in standardization bodies. We present challenges this research faces, and give an overview on what researchers should be aware of when they want to start working in this research area.