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Summarizing current news and empirical literature related to digital health technologies
Eye on Innovation

Summarizing current news and empirical literature related to digital health technologies

The field of behavioral health and technology moves at a rapid pace. CTBH follows news and empirical publications and compiles references to and synopses of pieces describing cutting edge applications of technology in behavioral health.
Eye on Innovation
08/22/2023

Researchers Developing Mixed Reality Naloxone Training to Combat Opioid Overdose Deaths

Article Excerpt: OSF Healthcare (OSF), a not-for-profit healthcare organization, has announced this week a new partnership with Illinois State University (ISU) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) to utilize mixed-reality technology to create an immersive training program designed to help combat opioid overdose deaths. The partnership is based on the development of an Illinois Innovation Network-funded education project called Virtual Reality Embedded Naloxone Training (VENT). The work centers around the development of mixed-use or augmented reality (AR) education for an immersive, engaging approach to train people on how to administer naloxone — which serves as a safe and effective antidote for suspected opioid overdoses. OSF noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made naloxone nasal spray available over the counter in March as part of a strategy that includes harm reduction through innovation and education.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/39b2rhn4

Article Source: Auganix

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
08/21/2023

As soon as I start trusting human beings, they disappoint me, and now I am going to get on an app that someone could hack. I really do not want to take that chance”: barriers and facilitators to digital peer support implementation into community mental health centers.

Fortuna KL, Divatia S, Neupane S, Geiger P and Bohm A (2023) “As soon as I start trusting human beings, they disappoint me, and now I am going to get on an app that someone could hack. I really do not want to take that chance”: barriers and facilitators to digital peer support implementation into community mental health centers. Front. Digit. Health 5:1130095. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2023.1130095

This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of digital peer support based on perspectives of patients with serious mental illness (SMI) and certified peer support specialists. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 participants (17 persons with SMI and 10 certified peer support specialists) at an urban community mental health center. Agency staff in a community mental health center shared information about the study with potential participants for recruitment. The interview guide included six broad questions to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a digital peer support intervention for patients with SMI. Patient participants were on average 51 years of age, mostly male, white and had varying mental health diagnoses. Peer support specialists were on average 40 years of age, all female and white. Nine barriers were identified: 1) adaptability to the needs of older patients, 2) technology complexity, 3) cost of implementation, 4) compatibility with patients’ real-world environment, 5) quality of communications, 6) availability of resources, 7) access to information, 8) lack of human interaction, and 9) patients’ personality and characteristics. Two facilitators were identified: 1) increased access to health care and 2) relative advantage of implementing digital peer support compared to in-person meetings. Overall, patients with SMI have unique needs regarding training and access to digital peer support. In-person interaction is preferred, but digital peer support can be a helpful augment to clinical treatment.  Identification of implementation barriers and facilitators can inform multilevel strategies to increase uptake of digital peer support in community mental health centers.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ;
08/17/2023

Dartmouth’s Latin American Community Explores Innovation

Article Excerpt: Over the past decade, Dartmouth has formed multiple partnerships in Latin America. The center that (Lisa) Marsch directs— the only National Institute on Drug Abuse-designated center of excellence in digital therapeutics—is collaborating with researchers, insurers, and patient advocacy groups in Latin America as well as government organizations, such as the Ministry of Health in Colombia and National Institute of Mental Health in Peru, to create a new mental health service delivery model for Latin America that will provide better evidence-based care.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/r9wpyxzz

Article Source: Dartmouth News

Posted in: Dissemination & Implementation, Regulation & Policy // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
08/14/2023

Urgency Lies in Technology Management Solutions That Assure Patient Data Security

Article Excerpt: Because of the heightened urgency during the pandemic for streamlining remote work, adopting new technologies, enhancing telehealth and remoting monitoring for patient care, the shift to automation and increasing use of AI, has also brought a host of concerns. There is an alarming imbalance between technological advancements and the necessary resources to manage and secure such devices. This leaves healthcare organizations exposed to operational issues, cyberattacks and data breaches.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/524et25c

Article Source: Fierce Healthcare

Posted in: Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
08/09/2023

Black Women are Open to Mental Health Services Via Mobile Technology

Article Excerpt: Using survey data on patient attitudes toward mental health services and depression screening, a new study indicated that Black American Women are comfortable with using voice or video calls to communicate with mental health providers. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that about one in ten women in the United States have experienced depression symptoms within the last year. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), also indicated that Black American women are commonly affected by depression. While discrimination, financial issues, and chronic conditions may contribute to this, various factors prevent Black women from obtaining care. These may include stigmatization, limited access, or insurance complications.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/ywhh2svm

Article Source: mHealth Intelligence

Posted in: Emerging Technologies, Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
08/07/2023

Identifying Desired Features That Would Be Acceptable and Helpful in a Wrist-Worn Biosensor–Based Alcohol Intervention: Interview Study Among Adults Who Drink Heavily

Richards VL, Rajendran S, Cook RL, Leeman RF, Wang Y, Prins C, Cook C. Identifying Desired Features That Would Be Acceptable and Helpful in a Wrist-Worn Biosensor–Based Alcohol Intervention: Interview Study Among Adults Who Drink Heavily. J Med Internet Res 2023;25:e38713. doi: 10.2196/38713

Researchers identified desired features that could help people reduce their drinking in a wrist-worn biosensor-based alcohol intervention for adults who drink heavily. Wearable alcohol biosensors can passively and continuously measure ethanol excreted through the skin. Participants were at least 40 years old, drank at least twice per week, and were interested in reducing their drinking, and were recruited via an alcohol contingency study, a contact registry, and referrals. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted on Zoom with 20 participants. Interviews included questions about participants’ thoughts about a wrist-worn biosensor, potential helpfulness to reduce drinking, and what information they would want to receive from the biosensor. Participants reported five major desired feature themes: 1) comfort and look of the biosensor, 2) personalized prompts and feedback, 3) time wearing the biosensor, 4) sharing data with friends, family, and providers, and 5) incorporation of mental health support. In general, participants were open to wearing the biosensor, but were only inclined to engage with the biosensor content if had they were motivation to reduce drinking. Findings also indicated that a mobile app that stores and interprets sensor data for participants to track drinking patterns could be beneficial. Engaging potential end-users to identify desire intervention features can inform and optimize development of interventions that use wrist-worn biosensors to reduce alcohol use.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
08/01/2023

Recreational Cannabis Has Arrived in Minnesota. What Are Its Health Benefits, Risks?

Article Excerpt: Despite its use in medicine, cannabis is a cause for concern for some clinicians, especially when they consider the developing brains of children and young adults. It is also an understudied substance, due in part to its federal classification as a Schedule 1 drug, limiting what we know, scientifically, about its potential benefits and harms on the human body. “Cannabis is not one drug,” said Jacob Borodovsky, a senior research scientist at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “The cannabis plant itself, we’ve identified over 150 cannabinoid compounds that are present in the cannabis plant. THC and CBD are just two of those 150 or more identified compounds.” So, what do we know about cannabis and its health impacts?

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2nu3xj5a

Article Source: Post Bulletin

Posted in: Epidemiology, Regulation & Policy // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
07/31/2023

Preliminary Implementation Outcomes of a Free Online Toolkit to Support Exposure Therapy Implementation for Youth

Becker-Haimes EM, Wislocki K, Schriger SH, Kratz HE, Sanchez AL, Clapp D, Frank HE. Preliminary Implementation Outcomes of a Free Online Toolkit to Support Exposure Therapy Implementation for Youth. Child Youth Care Forum (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-023-09732-1

Exposure therapy is a cognitive-behavioral treatment tool for youth anxiety but is highly underutilized in routine clinical care. This study assessed usage and clinician perspectives of an online toolkit that supports the use of exposure therapy with anxious youth, called the Resource for Exposure for Anxiety Disordered Youth (READY). READY is hosted on a freely available website and has been disseminated to clinicians. Researchers extracted web analytics from the READY platform and conducted brief, anonymous electronic surveys of site users to assess READY adoption, utility, and the association with exposure therapy use. In its first three years, READY had 13,543 page views across 1731 unique users. READY clinician users (N=49, mean age=34 years, 82.9% female, 71% White) completed the survey. Survey data suggested variability in usage and perceived utility across toolkit components. READY was perceived positively overall by users and was most commonly used to prepare for exposure therapy sessions by reviewing tips or generating exposure ideas. Open-ended responses about perceived challenges in exposure delivery with youth found common barriers to be engagement by patients, difficulties with the family system, and difficulties with generating ideas for exposure practices. Although the study engaged only a small number of READY users (14%) to complete the survey, findings suggest the READY toolkit, a free online implementation resource, could be a promising tool to support clinicians delivering exposure therapy and may augment traditional training and consultation.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
07/27/2023

One-Third of ACOs Use Digital Health Tools to Treat Patients With OUD

Article Excerpt: A new study of accountable care organizations (ACOs) suggests the use of digital health tools is relatively uncommon when treating patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). When digital tools are used, they are generally seen as a complement to other treatment modalities, according to the report, which was published this month in JAMA Network Open. Digital health resources have been billed as a way to overcome some of the traditional barriers to OUD treatment, such as lack of transportation and the limited availability of trained mental health clinicians. However, the study authors said public health officials need to be mindful of equity concerns as they roll out digital health solutions, “including understanding the clinical settings in which they are offered.”

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/yc2tn65n

Article Source: AJMC

Posted in: Emerging Technologies, Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;