Search:
Scroll to top
Tag: communication
03/23/2023

Spotting Opioid Overdoses Before They Happen, With AI

Article Excerpt: A Stony Brook University computer professor with an AI algorithm that detects substance abuse through language has refocused the impressive prediction technology on opioids – with startling results. Associate Computer Science Professor H. Andrew Schwartz is the senior author of a new study detailing the use of artificial intelligence to predict opioid mortalities. The work builds on Schwartz’s earlier success identifying high- and low-risk alcohol abuse via an AI application that interpreted language used in Facebook posts. This time, Schwartz and four other authors – including lead author Matthew Matero, an SBU computer-science student, and National Institute on Drug Abuse Data Scientist Salvatore Giorgi – hope to create some desperately needed “location-specific aid for the U.S. opioid crisis,” according to the abstract of an article published last week by the peer-reviewed open-access journal Npj Digital Medicine.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/6m4jwpd4

Article Source: Innovate LI

Posted in: Emerging Technologies, Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
02/20/2023

A WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for Chinese smokers: a feasibility study

Luo T, Li MS, Williams D, Fritz J, Beiter K, Phillippi S, Yu Q, Kantrow S, Chen L, Chen Y, & Tseng TS. (2022). A WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for Chinese smokers: a feasibility study. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 12(10), 1018–1027. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac067

This paper reported the development and feasibility findings of a WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for smokers in China. A total of 403 participants who currently smoked and used WeChat, the most widely used social media platform in China, were recruited and randomized to three study arms: Standard Intervention (N=136), Enhanced Intervention (N=135), and waitlist control (N=132). The Standard intervention consisted of 20 smoking cessation messages for 2 weeks and the Enhanced intervention included 20 smoking cessation messages for 2 weeks and 6 oral health-related messages for another week. Intervention content was informed by the Transtheoretical Model framework and targeted self-efficacy, stimulus control, coping skills, consciousness raising, and oral health. Researchers assessed feasibility by measuring program reach, recruitment rate, cost per person, attrition rate, intervention exposure, engagement, and satisfaction. Attrition from baseline to 4-week follow-up was 46% and program cost was estimated as $0.85 per person. In the Standard and Enhanced intervention arms, all participants read at least one message and on average engaged (sent a Like or comment) with 57% of the messages. A majority of participants were very or somewhat satisfied with the intervention (96%), engaged (72%) and would recommend to others (95%). Overall, findings support feasibility of both the Standard and Enhanced intervention. Given the feasibility and low cost of the WeChat-based program, this has the potential to be scaled up for larger population sizes to deliver smoking cessation treatment at low costs.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
02/06/2023

A Peer-Led Online Community to Increase HIV Self-Testing Among African American and Latinx MSM: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Young SD, Cumberland WG, Singh P, Coates T. A Peer-Led Online Community to Increase HIV Self-Testing Among African American and Latinx MSM: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2022 May 1;90(1):20-26. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000002919. PMID: 35044989; PMCID: PMC8986620.

Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a peer-led online community for increasing HIV self-testing among Latinx and African American men who have sex with men (MSM). Nine hundred MSM living in Los Angeles were recruited from online advertisements, community centers and referrals. Eligible participants were HIV negative and/or serostatus unknown. Seventy-nine peer leaders were also recruited from local community organizations and attended training sessions on HIV epidemiology, building an online community, and promoting discussion on health and stigmatizing topics. Participants randomly assigned to the intervention joined a 12-week private online community group with peer leaders on Facebook and the control group joined a private Facebook group without peer leaders. Each group had about 30 participants and 5 peer leaders. During the intervention period, peer leaders communicated with participants weekly via sending messages, chats, and posts in their Facebook group to build trust and deliver HIV information. Every four weeks, all participants were offered a free HIV self-testing kit. All participants were administered self-report assessments at baseline and at 12-weeks at post-intervention. Results indicated the intervention group was significantly more likely to accept the offer for self-testing compared to the control group (OR=1.43, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.95). Compared to the control, intervention participants were significantly more likely to take a HIV self-test within the past 3 months (OR=1.47, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.13) and consume less alcohol in an average week (p=0.01) at post-intervention follow-up relative to baseline. The study observed a high retention rate (93%). Findings suggest that online communities are effective platforms for increasing HIV testing and reducing alcohol consumption among MSM of color. Results have implications for public health policy and scalability of technology-based interventions.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
01/26/2023

Geisel Launches New Center for Implementation Science

Article Excerpt: Despite the many advances made in academic medicine in recent decades, successfully applying what is learned in research to patient care remains a major challenge. For example, it takes, on average, 17 years for research to reach clinical practice. And most evidence-based guidelines are adopted only about 25 percent of the time. With the establishment of the new Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science (DCIS) at the Geisel School of Medicine, community partners across the Dartmouth enterprise will work to help close those gaps. “Implementation science is an emerging area of multidisciplinary research that focuses on moving scientific evidence into routine practice,” explains Jeremiah Brown, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at Geisel and founding director of DCIS. In addition to Brown, the DCIS leadership team includes co-directors Sarah Lord, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and biomedical data science, Kelly Aschbrenner, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and principal scientist at Dartmouth Health, and program manager Sherry Owens, PhD. Genevieve Shaefer ’26, the first Women In Science Project (WISP) intern for DCIS, will be working with the team on campus engagement and training.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/mhxzk79r

Article Source: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine News

Posted in: Dissemination & Implementation // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
12/22/2022

The Use of Close Friends on Instagram, Help-Seeking Willingness, and Suicidality Among Hong Kong Youth: Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study

Chen S, Lam T, Lam K, Lo T, Chao D, Mak K, Lam E, Tang W, Chan H, Yip P. The Use of Close Friends on Instagram, Help-Seeking Willingness, and Suicidality Among Hong Kong Youth: Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study. J Med Internet Res 2022;24(10):e37695 DOI: 10.2196/37695

This study examined youths’ private social media use via a new Instagram feature, Close Friends, and its relationship with online and offline help-seeking willingness and suicidality. The Close Friends Instagram feature allows private online interaction by permitting invited users only to view private posts. Forty youth participants aged 15-19 years old residing in Hong Kong were recruited. The motivations for using Close Friends and concerns regarding online expression were addressed in focus groups and individual interviews. A quantitative survey was also conducted among a larger sample of 1,676 students aged 15-19 years old in Hong Kong to examine the prevalence of Close Friends usage, online and offline help-seeking willingness, and suicide-related experiences. Focus group and interview data revealed common motives for using Close Friends to include interaction and seeking help from friends, release of negative emotions, and venting and self-expression. Survey results found 71% of youth use Close Friends and 46% use frequently. Overall, seeking help online was associated with higher risk of suicidality (Odds Ratio=1.50, 95% CI 1.04-2.15) and seeking help offline was associated with decreased suicidality (Odds Ratio=0.55, 95% CI 0.39-0.75). Close Friends users were significantly more likely to seek offline support than non-users, but frequent Close Friends users were more likely to seek help online and to be at higher risk of suicidality than non-users. Prevalent use of Close Friends represents an emerging trend for online expression and private conversation among youth. Excessive use of this feature may indicate more limited offline support or less desirable offline support for youth experiencing suicidality. Authors recommend future steps in determining the causal relationship between use of Close Friends and willingness to seek help.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
11/10/2022

Digital Therapeutics Summit Held at Dartmouth

Article Excerpt: Nearly 175 people representing the digital health and pharmaceutical industries, health care systems, clinicians, scientists, investors, Dartmouth students and faculty, and government officials representing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gathered on Dartmouth’s campus November 2 for daylong discussions centered on digital therapeutics. Hosted by Geisel School of Medicine’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) and Dartmouth’s Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship, the program provided an overview of the science and clinical practice of digital therapeutics, the current and anticipated paths to their global deployment, and a vision for the future. This is the first time these groups have come together in conversations hosted by an academic institution about the digital health landscape and may well be viewed as a seminal moment in the rapidly developing field.

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

Article Source: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine News

Posted in: Dissemination & Implementation // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
10/31/2022

Digital Health Summit Brings Together Leaders In Digital Therapeutics

Article Excerpt: Players from across the healthcare industry — including providers, payers, researchers, regulators and investors — will converge on Hanover Wednesday, November 2 for a digital health summit entitled “Clinically Validated Digital Therapeutics: Paths to Deployment.” The event, hosted by the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) and The Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth College, will cover the current state of digital therapeutics, and explore the paths to global deployment of this innovative type of healthcare. “We have a community, here at Dartmouth, that’s very well known for expertise in digital therapeutics,” says Lisa A. Marsch, Ph.D., Director of CTBH. CTBH is a nationally recognized Center of Excellence, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/mryf2uvj

Article Source: The Magnuson Center Blog

Posted in: Dissemination & Implementation // Tagged: ; ; ; ;
10/24/2022

Building Strong Futures: The Feasibility of Using a Targeted Digital Media Campaign to Improve Knowledge About Pregnancy and Low Birthweight Among Black Women

Bonnevie E, Rosenberg SD, Goldbarg J, Ashley-West A, & Smyser J. (2021). Building Strong Futures: The Feasibility of Using a Targeted Digital Media Campaign to Improve Knowledge About Pregnancy and Low Birthweight Among Black Women. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 25(1), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-03068-1

This article reports the campaign methods for a digital intervention targeting Black women in one Florida county to promote positive pregnancy-related knowledge and attitudes related to low birthweight. The Strong Beautiful Future campaign was tailored toward Black women around a reproductive empowerment lens. Content focused on emphasizing healthy pregnancy-related behaviors (prenatal care, nutrition, weight gain, and birthweight) and creating positive representations of Black women throughout the pregnancy stages, using images and videos. Content was posted 5-7 times each week on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for 2 years and digital ads and local social media influencers were used to promote the campaign. Researchers measured campaign engagement through digital metrics. After two years of campaign implementation, social media accounts had 1784 total followers, with most on Facebook (n=920). In the two years, on a monthly average, Facebook had the highest number of times the content was displayed, but Instagram showed highest level of engagement (number of likes, comments, shares, views and clicks). Three cross-sectional surveys were conducted online over the study period to examine Black women’s pregnancy-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Findings showed a non-significant increase in knowledge about prenatal care, weight gain, exercise, and health impacts of low birthweight. Overall, this study highlights how a targeted digital campaign to providing health information is feasible in reaching Black women in targeted locations.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
08/26/2022

In the US, A New Approach to Counting Overdoses

Article Excerpt: Accessing overdose data is particularly tricky in Texas, although a dearth of timely and complete numbers is also a problem in many other states. Often, the data isn’t updated in real time, nor does it include non-fatal overdoses. There may also be inconsistencies in how the deaths are reported. To change that, researchers across the United States have been setting up new digital platforms with reports from people who use drugs, medical examiners, and others. While these platforms may lack the rigor of official government numbers, the academics say the new data could tell Project Vida and programs like it where to focus efforts — and, they argue, could save lives.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/mwtyjdj9

Article Source: GCN

Posted in: Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;