Using user-friendly telecommunications to improve cardiac and diabetes self-management programme : a pilot study

Previous studies exploring the incidence and readmission rates of cardiac patients admitted to a coronary care unit (CCU) with type 2 diabetes [1] have been undertaken by the first author. Interviews of these patients regarding their experiences in managing their everyday conditions [2] provided the basis for developing the initial cardiac–diabetes self-management programme (CDSMP) [3]. Findings from each of these previous studies highlighted the complexity of self-management for patients with both conditions and contributed to the creation of a new self-management programme, the CDSMP, based on Bandura’s (2004) self-efficacy theory [4]. From patient and staff feedback received for the CDSMP [3], it became evident that further revision of the programme was needed to improve self-management levels of patients and possibility of incorporating methods of information technology (IT). Little is known about the applicability of different methods of technology for delivering self-management programmes for patients with chronic diseases such as those with type 2 diabetes and cardiac conditions. Although there is some evidence supporting the benefits and the great potential of using IT in supporting self-management programmes, it is not strong, and further research on the use of IT in such programmes is recommended [5–7]. Therefore, this study was designed to pilot test feasibility of the CDSMP incorporating telephone and text-messaging as follow-up approaches.

Selection of solar energy for green building using superiority and inferiority multi-criteria ranking (SIR) method

Green energy is one of the key factors, driving down electricity bill and zero carbon emission generating electricity to green building. However, the climate change and environmental policies are accelerating people to use renewable energy instead of coal-fired (convention type) energy for green building that energy is not environmental friendly. Therefore, solar energy is one of the clean energy solving environmental impact and paying less in electricity fee. The method of solar energy is collecting sun from solar array and saves in battery from which provides necessary electricity to whole house with zero carbon emission. However, in the market a lot of solar arrays suppliers, the aims of this paper attempted to use superiority and inferiority multi-criteria ranking (SIR) method with 13 constraints establishing I-flows and S-flows matrices to evaluate four alternatives solar energies and determining which alternative is the best, providing power to sustainable building. Furthermore, SIR is well-known structured approach of multi-criteria decision support tools and gradually used in construction and building. The outcome of this paper significantly gives an indication to user selecting solar energy.

Online geographic information systems for improving health planning practice : lessons learned from the case study of Logan-Beaudesert, Australia

This study examines the impact of utilising a Decision Support System (DSS) in a practical health planning study. Specifically, it presents a real-world case of a community-based initiative aiming to improve overall public health outcomes. Previous studies have emphasised that because of a lack of effective information, systems and an absence of frameworks for making informed decisions in health planning, it has become imperative to develop innovative approaches and methods in health planning practice. Online Geographical Information Systems (GIS) has been suggested as one of the innovative methods that will inform decision-makers and improve the overall health planning process. However, a number of gaps in knowledge have been identified within health planning practice: lack of methods to develop these tools in a collaborative manner; lack of capacity to use the GIS application among health decision-makers perspectives, and lack of understanding about the potential impact of such systems on users. This study addresses the abovementioned gaps and introduces an online GIS-based Health Decision Support System (HDSS), which has been developed to improve collaborative health planning in the Logan-Beaudesert region of Queensland, Australia. The study demonstrates a participatory and iterative approach undertaken to design and develop the HDSS. It then explores the perceived user satisfaction and impact of the tool on a selected group of health decision makers. Finally, it illustrates how decision-making processes have changed since its implementation. The overall findings suggest that the online GIS-based HDSS is an effective tool, which has the potential to play an important role in the future in terms of improving local community health planning practice. However, the findings also indicate that decision-making processes are not merely informed by using the HDSS tool. Instead, they seem to enhance the overall sense of collaboration in health planning practice. Thus, to support the Healthy Cities approach, communities will need to encourage decision-making based on the use of evidence, participation and consensus, which subsequently transfers into informed actions.

A rights management approach to protection of privacy in a cloud of electronic health records

A patient-centric DRM approach is proposed for protecting privacy of health records stored in a cloud storage based on the patient's preferences and without the need to trust the service provider. Contrary to the current server-side access control solutions, this approach protects the privacy of records from the service provider, and also controls the usage of data after it is released to an authorized user.

'Any body is better than nobody?' Ethical questions around recruiting and/or retaining health professionals in rural areas

The literature on recruiting and/or retaining health professionals in rural areas focuses primarily on the development of recruitment and retention strategies and assessing whether such strategies are effective. The objective of this article is to argue that it is important for all stakeholders involved in rural recruitment and/or retention processes to consider their decisions and actions from an ethics perspective. Recruitment and/or retention processes are not value neutral and it is important to understand their ethical dimensions. Methods: From the literature, elements of the recruitment and/or retention strategies that have been employed were identified and organised in respect of levels of governance (namely, the levels of health system/government, community, and individual health professionals). The elements identified in these levels were subjected to analysis to identify their ethical dimensions and to determine whether a clash or complement of values arose at each level of governance or between governance levels. Results: There is very little literature in this area that considers the ethical dimensions of rural recruitment and/or retention processes. However, all policies and practices have ethical dimensions that need to be identified and understood as they may have significant implications for recruitment and/or retention processes. Conclusion: This article recommends the application of an ethics perspective when reflecting on rural recruitment and/or retention strategies. The collective decisions of all involved in rural recruitment and/or retention processes may fundamentally influence the 'health' (broadly understood) of rural communities.

Information accountability with policy languages for e-Health

ICT is becoming a prominent part of healthcare delivery but brings with it information privacy concerns for patients and competing concerns by the caregivers. A proper balance between these issues must be established in order to fully utilise ICT capabilities in healthcare. Information accountability is a fairly new concept to computer science which focuses on fair use of information. In this paper we investigate the different issues that need to be addressed when applying information accountability principles to manage healthcare information. We briefly introduce an information accountability framework for handling electronic health records (eHR). We focus more on digital rights management by considering data in eHRs as digital assets and how we can represent privacy policies and data usage policies as these are key factors in accountability systems.

Privacy oriented access control for electronic health records

Security and privacy in electronic health record systems have been hindering the growth of e-health systems since their emergence. The development of policies that satisfy the security and privacy requirements of different stakeholders in healthcare has proven to be difficult. But, these requirements have to be met if the systems developed are to succeed in achieving their intended goals. Access control is a fundamental security barrier for securing data in healthcare information systems. In this paper we present an access control model for electronic health records. We address patient privacy requirements, confidentiality of private information and the need for flexible access for health professionals for electronic health records. We carefully combine three existing access control models and present a novel access control model for EHRs which satisfies requirements of electronic health records.

Secure authentication procedure with mobile device for ubiquitous health environments

Medical industries have brought Information Technology (IT) in their systems for both patients and medical staffs due to the numerous benefits of IT we experience at presently. Moreover, the Mobile healthcare (M-health) system has been developed as the first step of Ubiquitous Health Environment (UHE). With the mobility and multi-functions, M-health system will be able to provide more efficient and various services for both doctors and patients. Due to the invisible feature of mobile signals, hackers have easier access to hospital networks than wired network systems. This may result in several security incidents unless security protocols are well implemented. In this paper, user authentication and authorization procedures will applied as a featured component at each level of M-health systems inthe hospital environment. Accordingly, M-health system in the hospital will meet the optimal requirements as a countermeasure to its vulnerabilities.

Successes and challenges in managing illegal road user behaviours

- The role of illegal behaviours in road crashes - Three case studies in managing illegal road user behaviour: an Australian perspective - Current and emerging challenges, including the need to: -reduce punishment avoidance -identify and manage recidivist offenders -address community attitudes and perceptions - Countermeasure implications

Floods and human health : a systematic review

Floods are the most common type of disaster globally, responsible for almost 53,000 deaths in the last decade alone (23:1 low- versus high-income countries). This review assessed recent epidemiological evidence on the impacts of floods on human health. Published articles (2004–2011) on the quantitative relationship between floods and health were systematically reviewed. 35 relevant epidemiological studies were identified. Health outcomes were categorized into short- and long-term and were found to depend on the flood characteristics and people's vulnerability. It was found that long-term health effects are currently not well understood. Mortality rates were found to increase by up to 50% in the first year post-flood. After floods, it was found there is an increased risk of disease outbreaks such as hepatitis E, gastrointestinal disease and leptospirosis, particularly in areas with poor hygiene and displaced populations. Psychological distress in survivors (prevalence 8.6% to 53% two years post-flood) can also exacerbate their physical illness. There is a need for effective policies to reduce and prevent flood-related morbidity and mortality. Such steps are contingent upon the improved understanding of potential health impacts of floods. Global trends in urbanization, burden of disease, malnutrition and maternal and child health must be better reflected in flood preparedness and mitigation programs.

The "free-factor" impact on value in health services

Purpose - This paper seeks to understand the impact of financial cost on customer value in health prevention services by comparing free government services with private fee-charging providers. This is important as there is a common belief that a free health service is of lower quality and thus lower value than a paid service. However there is no evidence to verify this notion. Design / Methodology / Approach - A large-scale online survey was administered nationwide to Australian women. The respondents were asked about the functional and emotional value derived from their service experiences. Findings - Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed non significant relationships between fee/free services and functional and emotional value (FV/EV). The non-significant relationship with FV is contrary to the theory of price quality relationship in services. This could be attributed to consumer perceptions that the technical quality of health professionals is comparable across free and paid services. The non-significant relationship with EV could be explained by the indicators used to reflect EV. These indicators were reflective of breast screening behaviour, not breast screening services. Subsequently, it may be posited that the act of having a breast screen is sufficient for consumers to derive emotional value, regardless of the financial cost. Originality / Value - This research fills an important gap in the literature by investigating the impact of financial cost on a service that consumers use proactively(prevention), rather than reactively (treatment). Insights are provided into the impact of cost on customer value in preventive health services, which are valuable to social marketing academics, health practitioners, and governments

Multi-cursor multi-user mobile interaction with a large shared display

When using a mobile device to control a cursor on a large shared display, the interaction must be carefully planned to match the environment and purpose of the systems use. We describe a ‘democratic jukebox’ system that revealed five recommendations that should be considered when designing this type of interaction relating to providing feedback to the user; how to represent users in a multi-cursor based system; where people tend to look and their expectation of how to move their cursor; the orientation of screens and the social context; and, the use of simulated users to give the real users a sense that they are engaging with a greater audience.

Impact of the social networking applications for health information management for patients and physicians

Most social network users hold more than one social network account and utilize them in different ways depending on the digital context. For example, friendly chat on Facebook, professional discussion on LinkedIn, and health information exchange on PatientsLikeMe. Thus many web users need to manage many disparate profiles across many distributed online sources. Maintaining these profiles is cumbersome, time consuming, inefficient, and leads to lost opportunity. In this paper we propose a framework for multiple profile management of online social networks and showcase a demonstrator utilising an open source platform. The result of the research enables a user to create and manage an integrated profile and share/synchronise their profiles with their social networks. A number of use cases were created to capture the functional requirements and describe the interactions between users and the online services. An innovative application of this project is in public health informatics. We utilize the prototype to examine how the framework can benefit patients and physicians. The framework can greatly enhance health information management for patients and more importantly offer a more comprehensive personal health overview of patients to physicians.