Evaluation Methods Applied to Digital Health Interventions: What Is Being Used beyond Randomised Controlled Trials?—A Scoping Review

Hrynyschyn, Robert; Prediger, Christina; Stock, Christiane; Helmer, Stefanie M.

doi:10.3390/ijerph19095221

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Research is needed that identifies preventive intervention components that could be combined with virtual refusal-skills simulations in order to maximize the effects of alcohol-prevention programs. Alternative evaluation methods (e.g., sequential multipleassignment randomized trials, factorial designs) (36) that can be used to address this issue already exist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescents' perceptions and user experiences with a virtual reality-based alcohol prevention tool in Germany: A focus group study

Hrynyschyn

Prediger²,

Lyk³

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundExcessive alcohol consumption is a major public health problem, with substance use early in life contributing to higher levels of use later in life. Virtual reality (VR) is an innovative technology for alcohol prevention among adolescents that could solve the problem of insufficient outreach to the target group of young people. The co-created German Virtual LimitLab simulation is one of the few examples of VR-based alcohol prevention tools and consists of a virtual house party simulation. The aims of Virtual LimitLab are to increase the users' awareness of how social pressure can influence their own decision-making as well as to enable various actions and communication strategies in order to train competencies when dealing with alcohol. The present study thus aims to explore adolescents' content- and technique-specific perceptions of Virtual LimitLab in order to gain insights into user experiences and to test the prototype with the German target group.MethodsFour semi-structured focus groups with adolescents aged 15–18 years (n = 13) were conducted and analyzed using thematic analyses. A user experience questionnaire (UEQ–S) was applied in order to quantitatively assess adolescents' satisfaction with Virtual LimitLab.ResultsThree main themes were identified (VR experience, content, and technical aspects). Participants positively assessed both the content and the technical aspects of Virtual LimitLab. This trend was also seen by the UEQ–S data, which yielded positive ratings for both pragmatic and hedonic quality. The broad variety of options in the simulation that allow the user to try new behaviors was perceived particularly positively. In general, Virtual LimitLab was regarded as an innovative tool that encourages adolescents to think critically about their personal alcohol consumption. Technical errors in the simulation and users' difficulties in identifying with the simulation were the main points of criticism.ConclusionsFeedback from adolescent users revealed positive and therefore promising results when using Virtual LimitLab as a gaming alcohol-prevention tool. Some technical aspects still need to be improved in order to further refine the prototype, and suggestions for expanding the content of the application have already been made.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescents' perceptions and user experiences with a virtual reality-based alcohol prevention tool in Germany: A focus group study

Hrynyschyn

Prediger²,

Lyk³

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

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“…In recent years, mobile health technologies (mHealth) such as mobile applications (mobile apps), web-based technologies, telecommunication services, and wearable technology have been gaining popularity [ 13 , 14 ]. It is believed that the implementation of digital health interventions may improve disease prevention, but randomized controlled trials are still ongoing [ 15 , 16 ]. In 2022, more than 80% of the world’s population used a smartphone [ 17 ] and over 60% had Internet access [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Mobile Apps and Wearables to Monitor Diet, Weight, and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Adults in Poland

2022

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Background Mobile health technologies (mHealth) such as mobile applications (mobile apps), and wearables are gaining popularity. Regular monitoring of public attitudes toward the use of mHealth is crucial to effectively implementing mHealth in healthcare. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of use of mobile apps and wearables to monitor diet, weight, and physical activity among adults in Poland and to identify factors associated with the willingness to use new technologies for health monitoring. Material/Methods This cross-sectional survey was carried out on a representative sample of 1070 adult inhabitants of Poland, between 1 and 4 July, 2022. A computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) technique was used. The study questionnaire included 20 closed questions on eating habits, lifestyle, and the use of eHealth mobile apps and wearables. Results Almost one-quarter of respondents (23.2%) used wearables (a band or a watch) to monitor physical activity and 14.4% had a smart bathroom scale at home. Among adults in Poland, 16.3% used mobile apps to monitor physical activity and 13.3% used mobile apps to control their diet. Out of 19 different socioeconomic and lifestyle factors analyzed in this study, younger age, healthy diet, regular physical activity, and participation in organized sports activities were significantly associated ( P <0.05) with the use of mobile apps and wearables. Conclusions A lack of socioeconomic barriers to accessing mobile apps and wearables presented in this study suggests that mHealth technology can be used to promote a healthy lifestyle in different socioeconomic groups and can reduce health inequalities.

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“… 76 Alternative study designs such as Continuous Evaluation of Evolving Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CEEBIT), Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST), Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trials (SMART), Factorial/Fractional RCT and Micro-Randomized Trials (MRT) are seen as helpful tools for the development of digital health interventions. 76 – 78 Various frameworks and guidelines for the evaluation of digital health interventions are reviewed by Kernebeck et al, including, for example, a CONSORT-/STROBE expansion for eHealth interventions. 79 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of wearables for remote monitoring of oncology patients: A scoping review

Cloß,

Verket,

Müller-Wieland

et al. 2024

DIGITAL HEALTH

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Objective This review aims to systematically map and categorize the current state of wearable applications among oncology patients and to identify determinants impeding clinical implementation. Methods A Medline, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov search identified journal articles, conference abstracts, letters, reports, dissertations and registered studies on the use of wearables in patients with malignancies published up to 10 November 2021. Results Of 2509 records identified, 112 met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 9.8% (11/112) were RCTs and 47.3% (53/112) of publications were observational. Wearables were investigated pre-treatment (2.7%; 3/112), during treatment (34.8%; 39/112), post-treatment (17.9%; 20/112), in survivors (27.7%; 31/112) and in non-specified or multiple treatment phases (17.0%; 19/112). Medical-grade wearables were applied in 22.3% (25/112) of publications. Primary objectives ranged from technical feasibility (8.0%; 9/112), user feasibility (42.9%; 48/112) and correlational analysis (40.2%; 45/112) to outcome change analysis (8.9%; 10/112). Outcome change was mostly investigated regarding physical activity improvement (80.0%; 8/10). Most publications (42.9%; 48/112) and registered studies (39.3%; 24/61) featured multiple cancer types, with breast cancer as the most prevalent specific type (22.3% in publications, 16.4% in registered studies). Conclusions Most studies among oncology patients using wearables are focused on assessing the user feasibility of consumer-grade wearables, whereas rates of RCTs assessing clinical efficacy are low. Substantial improvements in clinically relevant endpoints by the use of wearables, such as morbidity and mortality are yet to be demonstrated.

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Evaluation Methods Applied to Digital Health Interventions: What Is Being Used beyond Randomised Controlled Trials?—A Scoping Review

Cited by 19 publications

References 50 publications

Adolescents' perceptions and user experiences with a virtual reality-based alcohol prevention tool in Germany: A focus group study

Adolescents' perceptions and user experiences with a virtual reality-based alcohol prevention tool in Germany: A focus group study

Use of Mobile Apps and Wearables to Monitor Diet, Weight, and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Adults in Poland

Application of wearables for remote monitoring of oncology patients: A scoping review

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