Social anxiety disorder or social phobia is a condition characterized by debilitating fear and avoidance of different social situations. We provide an overview of social anxiety and evidence-based behavioural and cognitive treatment approaches for this condition. However, treatment avoidance and attrition are high in this clinical population, which calls for innovative approaches, including computer-based interventions, that could minimize barriers to treatment and enhance treatment effectiveness. After reviewing existing assistive technologies for mental health interventions, we provide an overview of how social robots have been used in many clinical interventions. We then propose to integrate social robots in conventional behavioural and cognitive therapies for both children and adults who struggle with social anxiety. We categorize the different therapeutic roles that social robots can potentially play in activities rooted in conventional therapies for social anxiety and oriented towards symptom reduction, social skills development, and improvement in overall quality of life. We discuss possible applications of robots in this context through four scenarios. These scenarios are meant as ‘food for thought’ for the research community which we hope will inspire future research. We discuss risks and concerns for using social robots in clinical practice. This article concludes by highlighting the potential advantages as well as limitations of integrating social robots in conventional interventions to improve accessibility and standard of care as well as outlining future steps in relation to this research direction. Clearly recognizing the need for future empirical work in this area, we propose that social robots may be an effective component in robot-assisted interventions for social anxiety, not replacing, but complementing the work of clinicians. We hope that this article will spark new research, and research collaborations in the highly interdisciplinary field of robot-assisted interventions for social anxiety.
Social robots have been used in mental health care interventions not only to increase access to mental health treatments, but also to complement the support provided by practitioners. We propose incorporating social robots in conventional treatments for children and adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Although non-robotic, evidence-based interventions for social anxiety are already available, factors such as embarrassment, and anticipatory anxiety have led to treatment delay and avoidance among this clinical population. To encourage treatment and to further improve treatment outcomes, in this work-in-progress article we propose the incorporation of social robots in conventional treatments for SAD. Social robots offer many advantages, such as adaptability, being non-judgmental, and providing interaction capabilities, which could make them a useful tool in the hands of practitioners working with children and adolescents with SAD. We discuss the different roles that social robots could play in helping children with social anxiety make the most of conventional treatments. We also present preliminary results (68 participants) on adolescents' preferences for using intelligent agents in promoting mental well-being. We conclude by summarizing the potential benefits and limitations of using social robots in conventional treatments for social anxiety. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Human computer interaction (HCI); User studies; Empirical studies in HCI .
Background: Sexual satisfaction is one of the factors affecting the continuity of marital relationship and satisfaction with this relationship. Regarding this, the present research was conducted to develop a model of Iranian sexual satisfaction in terms of marital adjustment, marital quality, and marital conflict. Materials and Methods: This applied exploratory study was conducted during 2018-2019 using a qualitative method and data-based approach. The data were collected using in-depth interviews. After the interview, the obtained data were subjected to inductive analysis. In other words, there was no previous conceptual framework for coding and categorization, rather the analysis was performed freely and according to the coding technique of data theory. To assess the validity of the content of the subject matter, the table of contents was submitted to six faculty members of psychology who were familiar with qualitative research and sexuality issues, who confirmed the content validity of the identified themes. Results: Based on the results, the final model of the research consisted of eleven different themes, including seven stimulants, namely preparation, sexual preferences, sexual representation, cognition, attitude, sexual behaviors, and sexual consequences, and four preventive factors, namely cognitive impediments, emotional barriers, barriers to behavior, and environmental barriers. Conclusion: Recommendations for couples to obtain sexual satisfaction must be based on both stimuli and barriers as identified in this research.
Introduction:One common cited reason for investigating Internet-based systems is the capabilities of Internet interventions to reduce health services and delivery costs. The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic impact of implementing Internet-based insurance prescription verification system on a patient's transportation cost. Methods: We performed a cost-effectiveness study to analyze the financial effects of an Internet-based insurance prescription verification system. All verified prescriptions of April 20, 2015 to May 20, 2015 were extracted from the Iranian Social Security Organization database. For all pharmacies, travel distances were computed with the aid of Google Map. Then, all the measurable transportation costs, including public or private travel cost, transit's direct costs and revenues and transit's secondary impacts such as cost of air pollution and accidents were estimated per kilometer. The primary outcome measure was transportation cost with or without applying the Internet-based insurance prescription verification system for a one-month period. Results: Over a one-month period, 15,554 prescriptions were registered in the Internet-based insurance prescription verification system by 150 pharmacies. For all these pharmacies, total travel distances to the Iranian Social Security Organization was 57,398.71 kilometers. The total cost of public transportation and private transportation in Mashhad was computed $3.5861 and $3.7721 per kilometer, respectively. Because the share of public transportation in Mashhad is 45%, the estimated benefit of using an Internet-based insurance prescription verification system for a one-month period was $211,709.5. Conclusion: Implementation of an Internet-based insurance prescription verification system can result in a positive financial return on investment to the health care organizations.
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