Health Information Technology Commons^™

Political Prioritization For Digital Health And Health Equity Through Global Health Diplomacy, Vijay Kumar Chattu, Sujatha Alla, Bawa Singh

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

[Introduction] We have found the article "Digital health and health equity: How digital health can address healthcare disparities and improve access to quality care in Africa" published in the recent issue to be very relevant and interesting.¹ Qoseem et al have highlighted that there is a great need for continuous advocacy for strengthening the health systems through telehealth promotion and increasing access to healthcare services to achieve health equity.

Patient Perceptions Of Audio-Only Versus Video Telehealth Visits: A Qualitative Study Among Patients In An Academic Medical Center Setting, Ryan Kruis, Elizabeth A. Brown, Jada Johnson, Kit N. Simpson, James Mcelligott, Jillian Harvey

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Telehealth utilization surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering expanded health care access. Audio-only visits emerged as a crucial tool for patients facing technology or connectivity barriers to still use telehealth. This qualitative study aims to better understand patient perceptions of audio-only versus video telehealth visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how patients perceive the role of each in their overall health care. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 adult patients seeking care at an academic medical center located in the Southeast region of the United States. Patients had experienced both an audio-only and video telehealth visit within the …

Expanding A Behavioral View On Digital Health Access: Drivers And Strategies To Promote Equity, Maura M. Kepper, Lauren A. Fowler, Isabelle S. Kusters, Jean W. Davis, Manal Baqer, Sarah Sagui-Henson, Yunyu Xiao, Adati Tarfa, Jean C. Yi, Bryan Gibson, Kristin E. Heron, Nicole M. Alberts, Marissa Burgermaster, Veronica Njie-Carr, Lisa M. Klesges

Psychology Faculty Publications

The potential and threat of digital tools to achieve health equity has been highlighted for over a decade, but the success of achieving equitable access to health technologies remains challenging. Our paper addresses renewed concerns regarding equity in digital health access that were deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our viewpoint is that (1) digital health tools have the potential to improve health equity if equitable access is achieved, and (2) improving access and equity in digital health can be strengthened by considering behavioral science-based strategies embedded in all phases of tool development. Using behavioral, equity, and access frameworks allowed for …

Diagnostic Certainty During In-Person And Telehealth Autism Evaluations, Natasha N. Ludwig, Calliope Holingue, Ji Su Hong, Luther G. Kalb, Danika Pfeiffer, Rachel Reetzke, Deepa Menon

Speech-Language Pathology Faculty Publications

Background

Many diagnostic evaluations abruptly shifted to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, little is known about the impact on diagnosis patterns for children evaluated for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this clinical research study was to examine (1) the frequency of diagnoses evaluated beyond ASD; (2) the frequency of diagnoses made, including ASD; and (3) clinician diagnostic certainty for all diagnoses evaluated for children who received an evaluation due to primary concerns about ASD via telehealth during the pandemic compared to those evaluated in person before the pandemic at an ASD specialty clinic.

Methods

The sample included …

Assessment Of Interest In A Virtual Avatar-Based Nutrition Education Program Among Youth-Serving Community Partners, Basheerah Enahora, Gina L. Tripicchio, Regis Kopper, Omari L. Dyson, Jeffrey Labban, Lenka H. Shriver, Lauren A. Haldeman, Christopher K. Rhea, Jared T. Mcguirt

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Objective

Examine the appeal of a virtual avatar-led nutrition education program among youth-serving community partners in North Carolina.

Methods

We surveyed community partners using the Diffusion of Innovation Theory constructs of relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity. Logistic regression evaluated the appeal and likelihood of the program's future use.

Results

Community partners (n = 100) agreed that the program was an innovative (87%) and convenient (85%) way for youth and parents to learn about nutrition. Partners who perceived the program as a relative advantage to current programs had significantly higher odds of future use intention (P = 0.005). Those who found …

Counselors' Perceptions Of Their Preparedness For Telemental Health Services: A Phenomenological Examination, Daniel C. Holland, Jeffry L. Moe, Alan M. "Woody" Schwitzer, Shana Pribesh, Jeanel Franklin

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Background: To examine counselors' perceptions of their formal preparation for engaging in telemental health (TMH) counseling with the intent of gaining an understanding of their lived experiences.

Materials and Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven seasoned counselors who regularly engage in technology-mediated distance counseling.

Results: The results highlighted themes within two emerging categories: the counselor and training/education. Themes related to motivation and specific counselor attributes emerged from the first category and themes of availability, inadequacy, and modality emerged from the second category.

Discussion: The implications from this study suggest a lack of availability and standardization of effective training on …

Virtual Home Visits During Covid-19 Pandemic: Mothers' And Home Visitors' Perspectives, Abdullah Al-Taiar, Michele A. Kekeh, Stephanie Ewers, Amy L. Prusinski, Kimberly J. Alombro, Nancy Welch

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

The experiences of mothers enrolled in Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program with virtual home visiting (VHV) during the pandemic remain mostly unknown. This study aimed to describe in detail the experience of home visitors and mothers with VHV during COVID-19 pandemic. This is a prerequisite for guiding future efforts to optimize MIECHV services that are provided through virtual operation.

Methods

Focus groups discussion were conducted with home visitors (n = 13) and mothers (n = 30) who were enrolled in BabyCare program in Virginia from January 2019 to June 2022. This included mothers who received …

Future Implications Of Telehealth In Post-Covid World, Sujatha Alla, Vijay Kumar Chattu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

[Introduction] The recent global pandemic forced telehealth to play a greater role in global healthcare delivery due to limited healthcare accessibility. The advent of innovative communication technologies has made it easier for patients to get services like health assessment, diagnosis, interventions, supervision, and information remotely. Digital imaging, decision support software, virtual reality, machine learning for error reduction, Internet of Things (IoT) such as wearable sensors, assistive robots, advances in data management (tracking, transmission, and storage), real-time analytics or store-and-forward, are some of the dynamic technologies that provide strong evidence-based support to scalable and sustainable telehealth programs.

Tri-Molybdenum Phosphide (Mo3P) And Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Junctions For Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs) Detection, Baleeswaraiah Muchharla, Praveen Malali, Brenna Daniel, Alireza Kondori, Mohammad Asadi, Wei Cao, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali, Mickaël Castro, Mehran Elahi, Adetayo Adedeji, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni, Muni Raj Mauya, Kapil Kumar, Abdennaceur Karoui, Bijandra Kumar

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Detection and analysis of volatile organic compounds’ (VOCs) biomarkers lead to improvement in healthcare diagnosis and other applications such as chemical threat detection and food quality control. Here, we report on tri-molybdenum phosphide (Mo₃P) and multi- walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) junction-based vapor quantum resistive sensors (vQRSs), which exhibit more than one order of magni- tude higher sensitivity and superior selectivity for biomarkers in comparison to pristine MWCNT junctions based vQRSs. Transmission electron microscope/scanning tunneling electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray photo- electron spectroscopy studies reveal the crystallinity and the presence of Mo and …

Workshop #5: Workforce: Evacuations, Shelter Staffing, Workforce Structure, Capacity, Ppe, And Telemedicine: After-Action Report (Aar), Converge Nsf Working Group, Joshua G. Behr, Wie Yusuf, Jennifer Marshall, Elizabeth Dunn

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Participants in the breakout sessions for the CONVERGE COVID-19 Working Group’s Workshop 5 (Workforce) identified several issues, including unique staffing challenges for this compound event, needed training revisions to address shelter protocols specific to COVID-19, additional staffing needs based on the unusual use of congregate and non-congregate shelters to address COVID-19 risks, and the increased need for ancillary services for staff and volunteers during and after an event.

Ensuring shelter operations are maintained despite COVID-19 will require adequate staffing. Layoffs, furloughs and hiring freezes have affected base employee numbers, where many jurisdictions rely on county and city employees, along with …

Application Of The Unified Theory Of Acceptance And Use Of Technology Model To Predict Dental Students' Behavioral Intention To Use Teledentistry, Jafar H. Alabdullah, Bonnie L. Van Lunen, Denise M. Claiborne, Susan J. Daniel, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Tina S. Gustin

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Abstract

Teledentistry is an innovative technology that can be used to improve access to care and oral health outcomes. Dental students’ intention to use teledentistry after completing dental school has not been investigated.

Purpose

The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was used to predict intentions to use teledentistry among 4th-year U.S. dental students. Methods A cross-sectional approach was performed for a 7-week period in Spring 2019. All U.S. dental schools (N = 66) were invited to participate and 16 schools agreed to participate. An anonymous survey link was emailed to academic deans for dissemination to students. …

Using Social Media As A Platform For Increasing Knowledge Of Lung Cancer Screening In High-Risk Patients, Aimee Strong, Michelle Renaud

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Uptake in lung cancer screening for high-risk patients remains low. Eligible patients may not know that this preventive service is available and covered by insurance.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore using social media to educate patients about lung cancer screening and assess motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with health-care providers after viewing the educational program. Methods: Subjects ages 55 to 77 who were current smokers or former smokers who quit in the past 15 years with a more than 30-pack-year smoking history were recruited via a Facebook advertisement. Subjects completed a demographic survey and …

Mobile Technology Use And Mhealth Text Message Preferences: An Examination Of Gender, Racial, And Ethnic Differences Among Emerging Adult College Students, Kristin E. Heron, Kelly A. Romano, Abby L. Braitman

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) interventions are a potentially feasible way of targeting emerging adult college students' physical and mental health concerns, decreasing health-risk, and augmenting health promoting behaviors. However, there is limited evidence attesting to advantageous ways of designing mHealth treatments in a manner that is apt to be well-received by emerging adult college students at large, and gender, racial, and ethnic subgroups in particular. To address these research gaps, this exploratory study examined general trends, and gender (male, female), racial (White, Black), and ethnic (Latino, non-Latino) differences, in emerging adult college students' mobile technology ownership and phone plan characteristics, …

A Systematic Review On The Validity Of Teledentistry, Jafar H. Alabdullah, Susan J. Daniel

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the validity of using teledentistry in oral care examination and diagnosis.

Methods: In June 2016, a systematic search of the literature was conducted without time restrictions in three electronic databases (Ebscohost, Pubmed, and Scopus). Two reviewers screened the retrieved articles first by title and then by abstract to determine relevant articles for full text review. Studies included were as follows: (1) related to teledentistry, (2) available in full text and English, (3) compared teledentistry application to a gold standard, and (4) provided clear statistical tests for validity. The methodological …

Telehealth And Ehealth In Nurse Practitioner Training: Current Perspectives, Carolyn M. Rutledge, Karen Kott, Rebecca Poston, Christianne Fowler, Tina S. Haney

Nursing Faculty Publications

Telehealth is becoming a vital process for providing access to cost-effective quality care to patients at a distance. As such, it is important for nurse practitioners, often the primary providers for rural and disadvantaged populations, to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to utilize telehealth technologies in practice. In reviewing the literature, very little information was found on programs that addressed nurse practitioner training in telehealth. This article provides an overview of both the topics and the techniques that have been utilized for training nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students in the delivery of care utilizing telehealth. Specifically, this …

Telemedicine: The Practice Of Medicine At A Distance, Philip A. Reed

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Discusses the increase in the effectiveness and uses of telemedicine due to developments and advances in computing, imaging and telecommunications. History of telemedicine; Information on various areas of telemedicine; Reasons for disappearance of physicians' handwriting problems.