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11/25/2023

AI Can Help to Flag Students Struggling with Mental Health

Article Excerpt: Even pre-pandemic, mental health issues were plaguing higher education. Perhaps it’s unsurprising that only 12% of students think their university handles the issue of mental health well. With the situation still ongoing, easier, timely access to effective mental health services has never been more important. Now, with the assistance of artificial intelligence and data intelligence, this is possible. Location services, powered by network automation, can offer important student data and insights to pre-emptively flag when an individual might be experiencing mental distress. With the help of AI-driven technology, universities can quickly identify withdrawn behaviour – often a tell-tale sign of mental unwellness. If a student is spending most of their time confined to their accommodation, or continuously missing lessons, location services will pick it up. By leveraging this data, universities can then offer early intervention, whether from counsellors or mental health support teams.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/mp67t759

Article Source: University World News

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

07/14/2023

Does Artificial Intelligence Belong in Therapy?

Article Excerpt: For many, the nearest therapist these days isn’t someone sitting across from them in a room but a friendly face on the other side of a Zoom, or even a chat thread on a smartphone. In a quantum leap beyond those types of virtual encounters, increasingly, the entity offering mental health advice may not even be a human. Chat-based mental health services boomed during the pandemic, several of them using generative artificial intelligence chatbots to converse about mental health and offer virtual companionship. If that technology starts to make its way into professionally licensed mental health areas, Rep. Josh Cutler has filed legislation to make sure the usage is regulated and disclosed. And he had an unusual collaborator in that mission – his bill was co-written by the generative app ChatGPT.

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

Article Source: CommonWealth

06/05/2023

The Impact of Wearable Technology on Mental Health and Wellness

Article Excerpt: The impact of wearable technology on mental health and wellness is a topic that has been gaining increasing attention in recent years. As the use of wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and even smart clothing becomes more widespread, researchers and mental health professionals are exploring the potential benefits and drawbacks of these devices on our mental well-being.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/3jj87ywt

Article Source: CityLife

04/27/2023

ChatGPT Is Giving Therapy. a Mental Health Revolution May Be Next

Article Excerpt: ChatGPT itself warns that it is not a replacement for a psychologist or counsellor. But that has not stopped some people from using the platform as their personal therapist. In posts on online forums such as Reddit, users have described their experiences asking ChatGPT for advice about personal problems and difficult life events like breakups. Some have reported their experience with the chatbot being as good or better than traditional therapy.

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

Article Source: Aljazeera

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.

12/05/2022

Book Chapter Sneak Peak: Introduction And Aims of Digital Therapeutics for Mental Health and Addiction

Article Excerpt: In this first chapter, the book’s editors Jacobson, Kowatsch and Marsch “introduce a comprehensive overview of the field of digital therapeutics and research on their efficacy, effectiveness, scalability, and cost-effectiveness (pp. 1).” The authors are looking to introduce the topic of digital therapeutics to a broad audience and designed this book for people without a background in mental health or substance use. The authors’ vision includes conveying how advancements in technology can be leveraged to increase the effectiveness of interventions. Topics relating to structural considerations include the design of interventions, cultural adaptations, regulation, and data privacy.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/56jdnyae

Article Source: Centre for Digital Health Interventions News

10/05/2021

The ‘Patient of The Future’ Is Driving Radical Innovation in Healthcare

Article Excerpt: In recent years, we have seen thinking shift from focusing on a disease’s treatment to seriously considering the wider potential for its prevention, enabled by dramatic advances in data science and supported by a pressing need to reduce healthcare costs. Leaps forward in both digital tools and widespread collection of medical and health data have provided many opportunities for the healthcare industry to adapt and change. The advent of COVID-19 has been a great testing environment for these technologies where, for example, the adoption of telemedicine was no longer an option but an urgent need to plug the gap in face-to-face medical care.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/36e2srj2

Article Source: Pharmaphorum