International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Research

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14 pages, 3061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stress Distribution Analysis of Threaded Implants for Digital Dentistry

by Seokho Ahn, Jaesung Kim, Seok Chan Jeong, Myungil Kim, Cheolyoung Kim and Dongki Park

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12674; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912674 - 4 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1945

Abstract

In this study, stability evaluation is performed through structural analysis based on digital dental implant design variables. The design variables include the implant length and thickness, cortical bone thickness, and elastic modulus of the cancellous bone. Subsequently, the stress in the external cortical [...] Read more.

In this study, stability evaluation is performed through structural analysis based on digital dental implant design variables. The design variables include the implant length and thickness, cortical bone thickness, and elastic modulus of the cancellous bone. Subsequently, the stress in the external cortical bone, in which numerous nerves exist, is analyzed. Results show that stress increases as the implant length decreases. However, when the implant length is 10 mm, the stress decreases, owing to stress dispersion at the lower section of the implant. Moreover, as the implant thickness increases, the stress decreases. As the elastic modulus of the cancellous bone decreases, the stress exerted on the cancellous bone decreases; consequently, the stress exerted on the cortical bone increases. Finally, as the thickness of the cortical bone increases, the stress decreases when a vertical load is applied. However, when a load is applied in the oblique direction, the stress increases. Based on data obtained via digital radiography, which is a digital dental technology, a more precise implantation plan will be established by substituting the data via structural analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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17 pages, 383 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Usability of ICTs in People with Visual Disabilities: A Challenge in Spain

by Fiorella Fuentes, Antonia Moreno and Fernando Díez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10782; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710782 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2740

Abstract

The use of ICTs provides autonomy, equity, and social inclusion to people with visual disabilities. The National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE) offers its 70,462 legally-blind people the necessary resources for the usability of ICTs. Still, most individuals with visual disabilities do [...] Read more.

The use of ICTs provides autonomy, equity, and social inclusion to people with visual disabilities. The National Organization of the Spanish Blind (ONCE) offers its 70,462 legally-blind people the necessary resources for the usability of ICTs. Still, most individuals with visual disabilities do not have a similar support system. This research aims to expose and make visible the importance and need for ICTs usage in this group. The qualitative approach has allowed the modeling of a contextualized inductive process through two heterogeneous discussion groups: eight individuals with legal blindness and six with moderate visual impairment, as well as three in-depth interviews with experts in typhlotechnology, accessibility, and low vision. The following has been verified: there is a lot of misinformation among people with visual disabilities outside the coverage of ONCE; accessibility is still not a priority for companies and institutions when creating and developing products and services with Design for All; the need for more professionals to advise and train users with blindness and low vision is clear. In Spain, there are almost a million visually-impaired people not affiliated with ONCE, for whom access to technical aids and digital literacy is a priority problem in which the Government should intervene. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

22 pages, 6754 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multilayer Perceptron-Based Real-Time Intradialytic Hypotension Prediction Using Patient Baseline Information and Heart-Rate Variation

by Tae Wuk Bae, Min Seong Kim, Jong Won Park, Kee Koo Kwon and Kyu Hyung Kim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10373; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610373 - 20 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2765

Abstract

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a common side effect that occurs during hemodialysis and poses a great risk for dialysis patients. Many studies have been conducted so far to predict IDH, but most of these could not be applied in real-time because they used [...] Read more.

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a common side effect that occurs during hemodialysis and poses a great risk for dialysis patients. Many studies have been conducted so far to predict IDH, but most of these could not be applied in real-time because they used only underlying patient information or static patient disease information. In this study, we propose a multilayer perceptron (MP)-based IDH prediction model using heart rate (HR) information corresponding to time-series information and static data of patients. This study aimed to validate whether HR differences and HR slope information affect real-time IDH prediction in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Clinical data were collected from 80 hemodialysis patients from 9 September to 17 October 2020, in the artificial kidney room at Yeungnam University Medical Center (YUMC), Daegu, South Korea. The patients typically underwent hemodialysis 12 times during this period, 1 to 2 h per session. Therefore, the HR difference and HR slope information within up to 1 h before IDH occurrence were used as time-series input data for the MP model. Among the MP models using the number and data length of different hidden layers, the model using 60 min of data before the occurrence of two layers and IDH showed maximum performance, with an accuracy of 81.5%, a true positive rate of 73.8%, and positive predictive value of 87.3%. This study aimed to predict IDH in real-time by continuously supplying HR information to MP models along with static data such as age, diabetes, hypertension, and ultrafiltration. The current MP model was implemented using relatively limited parameters; however, its performance may be further improved by adding additional parameters in the future, further enabling real-time IDH prediction to play a supporting role for medical staff. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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9 pages, 561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measuring User Engagement with a Socially Connected, Gamified Health Promotion Mobile App

by Becky K. White, Sharyn K. Burns, Roslyn C. Giglia, Satvinder S. Dhaliwal and Jane A. Scott

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095626 - 5 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2319

Abstract

Participant engagement is an important consideration in mHealth interventions and there are no standardised measurements available to guide researchers. This paper describes the engagement index customised for the Milk Man app, a mobile app designed to engage fathers with breastfeeding and parenting information. [...] Read more.

Participant engagement is an important consideration in mHealth interventions and there are no standardised measurements available to guide researchers. This paper describes the engagement index customised for the Milk Man app, a mobile app designed to engage fathers with breastfeeding and parenting information. Participants were recruited from maternity hospitals in Perth, Western Australia. An engagement index with scores ranging from 0 to 100 was calculated. Kaplan Meier survival analysis was used to determine difference in duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and Pearson’s chi square analysis was conducted to investigate the association of engagement level with demographic characteristics and exclusive breastfeeding at 6 weeks. While overall, partners of participants who installed Milk Man were less likely to have ceased exclusive breastfeeding at any time point from birth to six weeks postpartum, this result was modest and of borderline significance (log rank test p = 0.052; Breslow p = 0.046; Tarone-Ware p = 0.049). The mean engagement score was 29.7% (range 1–80%), median 27.6%. Engagement level had no impact on duration of exclusive breastfeeding and demographic factors were not associated with engagement level. This research demonstrates a range of metrics that can be used to quantify participant engagement. However, more research is needed to identify ways of measuring effective engagement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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11 pages, 1467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reduced Muscle Activity of the Upper Extremity in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries

by Kyung-Sun Lee, Mobasshira Zaman and Jaejin Hwang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4708; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084708 - 13 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2220

Abstract

Compromised physical ability due to musculoskeletal impairment among spinal cord injury (SCI) patients is known to negatively affect their quality of life. It is essential to comprehensively understand the muscle strength of the upper extremity among patients with SCI to enhance muscle function [...] Read more.

Compromised physical ability due to musculoskeletal impairment among spinal cord injury (SCI) patients is known to negatively affect their quality of life. It is essential to comprehensively understand the muscle strength of the upper extremity among patients with SCI to enhance muscle function and capacity to engage in an active lifestyle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the muscle strength of 15 upper extremity muscles among patients with SCI and compare the relative weakness of individual muscles to the control group. Seven male patients with SCI with ASIA impairment scale D and E and 33 males in the control group participated in this study. Each participant performed maximal voluntary contraction of individual muscles, and the electromyography data were recorded. The results showed that the majority of the upper extremity muscles (12 out of 15) showed considerable weakness (24 to 53%) relative to the control group. Furthermore, the relative strength (ranking) of individual muscles among 15 upper extremity muscles was different between patients with SCI and the control group. This information would be useful to the selective strengthening of specific muscles as an intensive rehabilitation effort and prevent overuse and adverse injuries due to excessive muscle training. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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19 pages, 937 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Visualizations on Decoy Effects

by Yuin Jeong, Sangheon Oh, Younah Kang and Sung-Hee Kim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(23), 12674; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312674 - 1 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3606

Abstract

The decoy effect is a well-known, intriguing decision-making bias that is often exploited by marketing practitioners to steer consumers towards a desired purchase outcome. It demonstrates that an inclusion of an alternative in the choice set can alter one’s preference among the other [...] Read more.

The decoy effect is a well-known, intriguing decision-making bias that is often exploited by marketing practitioners to steer consumers towards a desired purchase outcome. It demonstrates that an inclusion of an alternative in the choice set can alter one’s preference among the other choices. Although this decoy effect has been universally observed in the real world and also studied by many economists and psychologists, little is known about how to mitigate the decoy effect and help consumers make informed decisions. In this study, we conducted two experiments: a quantitative experiment with crowdsourcing and a qualitative interview study—first, the crowdsourcing experiment to see if visual interfaces can help alleviate this cognitive bias. Four types of visualizations, one-sided bar chart, two-sided bar charts, scatterplots, and parallel-coordinate plots, were evaluated with four different types of scenarios. The results demonstrated that the two types of bar charts were effective in decreasing the decoy effect. Second, we conducted a semi-structured interview to gain a deeper understanding of the decision-making strategies while making a choice. We believe that the results have an implication on showing how visualizations can have an impact on the decision-making process in our everyday life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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13 pages, 1699 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Relationship between Electroencephalograms and Subjective Measurements for In-Vehicle Information System: A Preliminary Study

by Nahyeong Kim, Mungyeong Choe, Jaehyun Park, Jungchul Park, Hyun K. Kim, Jungyoon Kim, Muhammad Hussain and Suhwan Jung

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 12173; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212173 - 19 Nov 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2184

Abstract

In this study, we explored the relationship between objective and subjective measures for usability evaluation in in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVISs). As a case study, four displays were evaluated based on cluster location and display orientation (that is, front–horizontal, front–vertical, right–horizontal, and right–vertical). Thirty-six [...] Read more.

In this study, we explored the relationship between objective and subjective measures for usability evaluation in in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVISs). As a case study, four displays were evaluated based on cluster location and display orientation (that is, front–horizontal, front–vertical, right–horizontal, and right–vertical). Thirty-six participants performed tasks to manipulate the functions of the IVISs and data were collected through an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor and questionnaire items. We analysed a model that estimated EEG-based objective indicators from subjective indicators. As a result, the objective indicators reflected the subjective indicators and were considered to explain the driver’s cognitive state. Although EEG data were collected from only four participants, this study proposed an experimental design that could be applied to the analysis of the relationship between the subject’s evaluation and EEG signals, as a preliminary study. We expect the experimental design and results of this study to be useful in analysing objective and subjective measures of usability evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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9 pages, 669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dark Triad of Personality and Problematic Smartphone Use: A Preliminary Study on the Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out

by Rocco Servidio, Mark D. Griffiths and Zsolt Demetrovics

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8463; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168463 - 10 Aug 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5689

Abstract

The present study examined whether the relationship between the Dark Triad (DT) of personality and problematic smartphone use (PSU) can be explained by the mediating role of fear of missing out (FoMO). The role of FoMO in this relationship has yet to be [...] Read more.

The present study examined whether the relationship between the Dark Triad (DT) of personality and problematic smartphone use (PSU) can be explained by the mediating role of fear of missing out (FoMO). The role of FoMO in this relationship has yet to be examined. A total of 457 participants completed an online survey. Results indicated that males scored high on measures assessing DT of personality, while females scored high on PSU. Structural equation modelling showed that narcissism was directly associated with PSU. FoMO partially mediated the association between narcissism and PSU. Machiavellianism and narcissism were directly associated with FoMO. In the fully mediated model, narcissism (but not Machiavellianism) was still associated with FoMO, and in turn, FoMO was related to PSU. Although preliminary, the results of the present study indicated that Machiavellianism and narcissism might represent antecedents of FoMO, in addition to the Big Five personality traits, and both could be involved in the development of PSU. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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Review

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11 pages, 390 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Systematic Review on Visualizations for Self-Generated Health Data for Daily Activities

by Sung-Hee Kim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11166; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811166 - 6 Sep 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3311

Abstract

Due to the development of sensing technology people can easily track their health in various ways, and the interest in personal healthcare data is increasing. Individuals are interested in controlling their wellness, which requires self-awareness and an understanding of various health conditions. Self-generated [...] Read more.

Due to the development of sensing technology people can easily track their health in various ways, and the interest in personal healthcare data is increasing. Individuals are interested in controlling their wellness, which requires self-awareness and an understanding of various health conditions. Self-generated health data are easily accessed through mobile devices, and data visualization is commonly used in applications. A systematic literature review was conducted to better understand the role of visualizations and learn how to develop effective ones. Thirteen papers were analyzed for types of data, characteristics of visualizations, and effectiveness for healthcare management. The papers were selected because they represented research on personal health data and visualization in a non-clinical setting, and included health data tracked in everyday life. This paper suggests six levels for categorizing the efficacy of visualizations that take into account cognitive and physical changes in users. Recommendations for future work on conducting evaluations are also identified. This work provides a foundation for personal healthcare data as more applications are developed for mobile and wearable devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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21 pages, 2180 KiB

Open AccessReview

Empathy in Human–Robot Interaction: Designing for Social Robots

by Sung Park and Mincheol Whang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1889; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031889 - 8 Feb 2022

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 9529

Abstract

For a service robot to serve travelers at an airport or for a social robot to live with a human partner at home, it is vital for robots to possess the ability to empathize with human partners and express congruent emotions accordingly. We [...] Read more.

For a service robot to serve travelers at an airport or for a social robot to live with a human partner at home, it is vital for robots to possess the ability to empathize with human partners and express congruent emotions accordingly. We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding empathy in interpersonal, virtual agents, and social robots research with inclusion criteria to analyze empirical studies in a peer-reviewed journal, conference proceeding, or a thesis. Based on the review, we define empathy for human–robot interaction (HRI) as the robot’s (observer) capability and process to recognize the human’s (target) emotional state, thoughts, and situation, and produce affective or cognitive responses to elicit a positive perception of humans. We reviewed all prominent empathy theories and established a conceptual framework that illuminates critical components to consider when designing an empathic robot, including the empathy process, outcome, and the observer and target characteristics. This model is complemented by empirical research involving empathic virtual agents and social robots. We suggest critical factors such as domain dependency, multi-modality, and empathy modulation to consider when designing, engineering, and researching empathic social robots. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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9 pages, 627 KiB

Open AccessReview

Evaluation of Android and Apple Store Depression Applications Based on Mobile Application Rating Scale

by Jaime Martín-Martín, Antonio Muro-Culebras, Cristina Roldán-Jiménez, Adrian Escriche-Escuder, Irene De-Torres, Manuel González-Sánchez, María Ruiz-Muñoz, Fermín Mayoral-Cleries, Attila Biró, Wen Tang, Borjanka Nikolova, Alfredo Salvatore and Antonio Cuesta-Vargas

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(23), 12505; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312505 - 27 Nov 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3316

Abstract

There are a large number of mobile applications that allow the monitoring of health status. The quality of the applications is only evaluated by users and not by standard criteria. This study aimed to examine depression-related applications in major mobile application stores and [...] Read more.

There are a large number of mobile applications that allow the monitoring of health status. The quality of the applications is only evaluated by users and not by standard criteria. This study aimed to examine depression-related applications in major mobile application stores and to analyze them using the rating scale tool Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). A search of digital applications for the control of symptoms and behavioral changes in depression was carried out in the two reference mobile operating systems, Apple (App Store) and Android (Play Store), by means of two reviewers with a blind methodology between September and October 2019 in stores from Spain and the United Kingdom. Eighteen applications from the Android Play Store and twelve from the App Store were included in this study. The quality of the applications was evaluated using the MARS scale from 1 (inadequate) to 5 (excellent). The average score of the applications based on the MARS was 3.67 ± 0.53. The sections with the highest scores were “Functionality” (4.51) and “Esthetics” (3.98) and the lowest “Application Subjective quality” (2.86) and “Information” (3.08). Mobile Health applications for the treatment of depression have great potential to influence the health status of users; however, applications come to the digital market without health control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Health Interventions)

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