Health Information Technology Commons^™

Technology Platform (Peer Plus) Supporting The Work Of Peer Recovery Coaches And The Communication Needs Of Individuals In Recovery From Substance Use Disorder: Protocol For An R21 Development And Usability Trial., Amanda Coupe, Jessica Pater, Rachel Pfafman, Victor P Cornet, Elisabeth Andrews, Mindy Flanagan, Dana Albright, Abhinay Balasani, Christopher Becker, Brian Parise, Erik Hess, Tammy Toscos

Health Services and Informatics Research

BACKGROUND: Substance use disorder (SUD) represents a significant public health concern in the United States. SUD recovery is complex and individualized, and support provided by peer recovery coaches (PRCs) can improve outcomes. The PRC-client relationship requires bidirectional mediated communication that is often informal but should be trackable, efficient, and aligned with health care privacy and security regulations. Current workflows and available apps do not meet these needs, illustrating the opportunity for client-centered technology tools. We have developed Peer PLUS (People Leveraging Urgent Support; Parkview Health System, Inc), a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-compliant mobile app and client management …

Trauma-Informed Conversational Agents For Mental Health: Understanding User Perspectives And Experiences, Xintong Lu, Shion Guha, Rachel Pfafman, Jessica Pater, Courtney L. Washington, Fayika Farhat Nova

Health Services and Informatics Research

Introduction:

Mental health conversational agents (MHCAs) offer scalable, accessible psychological support yet raise concerns about safety and appropriateness for trauma, exposed users. While trauma-informed care (TIC) principles, emphasizing safety, trust, empowerment, collaboration, peer support, and cultural sensitivity, are well-established in clinical practice, their application and user interpretation in chatbot contexts remain unexplored. This study aimed to explore (1) how users conceptualize trauma-informed care in the context of mental health chatbots and (2) what factors can help us predict whether users perceive their chatbot interaction as trauma-informed.

Methods:

A 59-item web-based survey (REDCap) assessed demographics, technology proficiency, adverse life experiences, chatbot …

Recommendations For Sharing Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Data With Patients Based On Clinician Interviews, Carly Daley, Jonathan Shirazi, Tina Allmandinger, Mindy Flanagan, Stephanie Pruitt, Hung-Yeh Lin, Victor P. Cornet, Jeanne Carroll, Yi Rong Tan, Tammy Toscos, Michael Mirro

Health Services and Informatics Research

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) capture an abundance of data that requires specific medical knowledge to interpret. Currently, there are no clear recommenda tions for sharing clinically meaningful CIED data with patients from the abundance of data in CIED remote monitoring reports.

OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were to explore clinicians’ perceptions of clinical care gaps related to CIED data that could be improved through patient access to data and to generate recom mendations for sharing CIED data with patients.

METHODS In this institutional review board-exempt, 2-phase sequential qualitative study, 42 semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 32 …

Current Landscape Of Mental Health Conversational Agents From A Trauma-Informed Care Lens: Scoping Review., Faye Kollig, Kira Voelker, Emily Ryan, Rachel Pfafman, Fayika Farhat Nova

Health Services and Informatics Research

BACKGROUND: Conversational agents (CAs) are increasingly used in mental health care to enhance access and engagement. However, their safe, ethical, and user-sensitive design remains a challenge. Despite growing attention to trauma-informed approaches in human-computer interaction, there is limited work on how the trauma-informed care (TIC) framework could be applied in the design of mental health CAs and no comprehensive synthesis to date.

OBJECTIVE: Guided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's TIC framework, this scoping review explored how TIC principles (safety; trustworthiness and transparency; collaboration and mutuality; empowerment, voice, and choice; peer support; and cultural, historical, and gender …

Primary Care Providers' Perspectives On Telehealth Medicare Annual Wellness Visits For Older Adults In A Midwestern Health System, Vaibhavi Mone, Paul Estabrooks, Jane Potter, Hongmei Wang, Jungyoon Kim

Health Services and Informatics Research

Background

Medicare annual wellness visits (AWVs) are vital for older adults' preventive care, which was transitioned to telehealth modalities during COVID-19. This study examined primary care providers' perceptions of telehealth-delivered AWVs and explored the factors influencing telehealth implementation using the Practical Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM).

Participants and Setting

Twenty-five primary care providers from eight clinics within an integrated health system in the Midwestern United States were interviewed. Eligibility required having conducted at least one telehealth AWV for patients aged 65 or older between March 2023 and October 2023.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews lasting 30–45 min were conducted using purposeful …

Ai Companions And Adolescent Social Relationships: Benefits, Risks, And Bidirectional Influences, Xiaoran Sun, Yunqi Wang, Brandon Mcdaniel

Health Services and Informatics Research

AI companions (AI-Cs)—rapidly emerging conversational agents built on large language models that can provide personalized humanlike companionship—create unprecedented opportunities for adolescents to form emotional bonds with nonhuman entities during a critical period for social development. In this article, we discuss the interplay between adolescents' use of AI-Cs and their social relationships based on theoretical hypotheses driving research on digital communication and adolescent well-being. We explore the benefits and risks of AI-Cs to social development based on the stimulation hypothesis and the displacement hypothesis: AI-Cs can provide safe spaces for identity exploration and emotional expression, potentially building skills that transfer to …

Objective Vs. Perceived Maternal Smartphone Use And Observed Mother-Infant Interaction Quality, Alison K. Ventura, Lara N. Wolfers, Sarah M. Coyne, Rachel Pfafman, Sabrina Uva, Karla I. Ceja Almontes, Aniruddha S. Shinde, Adam M. Galovan, Brandon Mcdaniel

Health Services and Informatics Research

Introduction:

Prior research links maternal smartphone use to reduced sensitivity and responsiveness to infant cues, but emerging evidence suggests that mothers' perceptions of their smartphone use - such as feelings of empowerment or distress - may also shape the quality of mother-infant interactions. This study examined how both objective and perceived smartphone use related to mother-infant interaction quality in naturalistic settings.

Method:

Participants were 147 mother-infant dyads from a longitudinal study of smartphone use and infant development. When infants were 2 months old, mothers completed 5 days of ecological momentary assessment (EMA), reporting time spent with their infant, perceived smartphone-related …

Dental Care Utilization And Expenditures Among Individuals With Asthma, Shillpa Naaval, Vaibhavi Mone

Health Services and Informatics Research

Objectives To examine dental care utilization and health and dental care expenditures among individuals with asthma.

Methods Data from the 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) (n = 21,405) were used to examine dental care utilization (any dental, preventive dental, and treatment dental visit) among individuals ≥ 1 year with and without asthma, and mean expenditures were summarized.

Results Overall, the asthma diagnosis was 13.2%, 14.7% in working-age adults compared to 9.5% in children. The percentage of treatment dental visits was higher overall (17.0% vs. 14.5%, p <  0.05) among the asthma group compared to the non-asthma group. Among individuals with asthma, those who had preventive dental visits had lower dental expenditures compared to those who had treatment dental visits for all age groups.

Conclusion Individuals with asthma had a higher prevalence of using dental treatment services. …

Leading Learning Health Systems: Strategies Used To Establish And Conduct A Learning Health System, Dawn M. Bravata, Cathy C. Schubert, Amy M. Kilbourne, Scotte R. Hartronft, Ashley L. Schwartzkopf, Jennifer L. Myers, Mindy L. Flanagan, Claire E. Donnelly, Stanley E. Taylor, Mathew J. Reeves, Anthony J. Perkins, Laura E. Myers, Indrakshi Roy, Robert E. Burke, Rachael A. Beard, Marcos Montagnini, Shivani K. Jindal, Greg Arling, Caroline Madrigal, Nicholas A. Rattray

Health Services and Informatics Research

Background

Learning health systems (LHS) improve patient and provider experiences, population health, and health system performance. LHS leaders develop LHS’ social and scientific infrastructures and align the LHS with host organization’s priorities. Although researchers have examined data infrastructure and Learning Community configurations, few studies have evaluated discrete strategies leaders deploy to construct a LHS.

Objectives

We described methods used to establish the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Geriatric LHS (GLHS) supporting older Veterans transitioning from hospital to home and examined strategies GLHS leaders used to conduct LHS activities.

Design

Qualitative methods were employed to review notes from all meetings and …

Telemedicine-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Tenacity) For Veterans With Chronic Migraine: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol., Teresa M Damush, Samantha M Calcatera, Olivia Datre, Lindsey Hayley, Charles Austin, Emily L Schlitz, Carin Lea Eubanks, Lynnie Harrison, Doyle Yuan, Stanley Taylor, Mindy Flanagan, John Ney, Elizabeth K Seng, Jason J Sico, Amy S Grinberg

Health Services and Informatics Research

BACKGROUND: Behavioral interventions for people with headache (HA) diseases have demonstrated clinical efficacy. Despite strong empirical support and endorsement by professional practice organizations, behavioral interventions are not widely accessible to HA patients. Clinic-based behavioral treatments remain inaccessible to many. The objectives of this study are to conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial and to determine the feasibility of the implementation of a cognitive behavioral therapy protocol for HA (CBT-HA) delivered via telehealth (TENACITY) compared to enhanced HA usual treatment (EHUT).

METHODS/DESIGN: TENACITY is a single-blinded, randomized, controlled, pilot trial with a single intervention arm and an EHUT control arm analyzed …

Use Of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy In A Nation-Wide Veterans Health Administration Sample: The Role Of Clinic, Therapist, And Patient Factors., Alan Mcguire, Mindy Flanagan, Madison E Stout, Jessica Coffing, Marina Kukla, Morgan Traylor, Laura Myers, Nancy Henry, Jessica Carter, Marianne Matthias

Health Services and Informatics Research

OBJECTIVE: To examine the use of CBT-CP (Cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic pain) by CBT-CP-trained therapists to treat patients with pain over a five-year period (October 2015-February 2020).

DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: CBT-CP is a core evidence-based practice that is central to multidisciplinary chronic pain care. However, research suggests that CBT-CP is underused. The current study used national Veterans Health Administration data to examine the use of CBT-CP by CBT-CP-trained therapists to treat patients with pain over a five-year period.

STUDY DESIGN: Multilevel modeling was used to evaluate clinic, therapist, and patient-level factors as predictors of CBT-CP receipt.

DATA COLLECTION: …

Objective Phone Use During Time With One’S Partner: Associations With Relationship And Individual Well-Being, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Sabrina Uva, Victor P. Cornet, Michelle Drouin

Health Services and Informatics Research

When a person chooses to interact with their phone instead of their partner (e.g., technoference, phubbing), it may diminish interactional quality, relationship satisfaction, and well-being. However, much of the research on technology use in relationships has utilized self-reports. We extend prior work by objectively measuring smartphone use in a sample of 247 adult participants (75% women; mean age = 30.87 years) to better understand the extent of use around one’s partner and the connection between this use and relational and personal well-being. Participants completed an online baseline survey and 8 days of phone tracking and nightly time diaries. On average, …

Perceptions Of Benefits And Drawbacks In Maintaining Back Burner Relationships Online: A Report On Gendered Differences Among College Students, Narissra Maria Punyanunt-Carter, Jayson L. Dibble, Michelle Drouin, Christian Chambless, Ryan J. Martinez, Kayren Larrimore, Sumeyya Akdilek

Health Services and Informatics Research

This report investigates the perceptions of college students regarding the benefits and drawbacks of maintaining back burner relationships online, with a specific focus on gender-based differences. A mixed-methods study design was utilized. Participants included 762 undergraduate students (71% female, 71% Caucasian, 92% heterosexual) from communication courses at a Southwestern university. Participants completed a Qualtrics survey, and data were analyzed using content analysis with a focus on thematic coding. Inter-coder reliability was established at 98%. Results identified distinct gender differences in the benefits and drawbacks of back burner relationships. Females reported benefits such as emotional comfort and maintaining friendships, while males …

A Brief Commentary On Human-Ai Attachment And Possible Impacts On Family Dynamics, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Amanda Coupe, Allison Weston, Jessica A. Pater

Health Services and Informatics Research

Objective: In this brief commentary article, we outline an emerging idea that it may be possible that as Conversational Artificial Intelligence (CAI) becomes a part of an individual’s environment and interacts with them their attachment system may become activated, potentially leading to behaviors—such as seeking out the CAI to feel safe in times of stress—that have typically been reserved for human-to-human attachment relationships. We term this attachmentlike behavior, but future work must determine if these behaviors are driven by a Human-AI attachment or something else entirely. Background: CAI is an emerging technical advancement that is the cornerstone of many everyday …

Preparing Public Health Researchers To Interact With State-Level Legislators: Evaluation Of The Texas Research-To-Policy Collaboration Project Training, Tiffni Menendez, Amelia Roebuck, Shelby Flores-Thorpe, Yuzi Zhang, Kathleen Manuel, Christine Jovanovic, Alexandra Van Den Berg, J. Taylor Scott, D. Max Crowley, Elizabeth C. Long, Deanna M. Hoelscher

Health Services and Informatics Research

To implement evidence-based health policy, public health researchers need to be equipped with the necessary skills or knowledge to engage with policymakers effectively. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Texas Research-to-Policy Collaboration (TX RPC) training on public health professionals and to compare the effectiveness of different training delivery modes (in-person or web-based). In the study, 59 researchers received training to increase their capacity for interacting with legislators and completed pre- and post-training surveys assessing three scales: self-efficacy, knowledge, and training needs. To determine researchers’ pre- and post-training changes, we applied paired t tests. Two-sample t tests were …

Parent And Child Attachment-Like Behaviors With Conversational Ai Agents And Perceptions Of Impact On Family Dynamics, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Amanda Coupe, Allison Weston, Jessica Pater

Health Services and Informatics Research

Objective: We explored parents’ and children’s attachment-like behaviors with artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled smart speakers (often called digital assistants; DAs) and associations with perceived impacts on family dynamics. Background: DAs (e.g., Alexa) are increasingly integrated into homes, with prior research reporting varied uses, benefits, and concerns, including perceived emotional attachments among children. Method: We conducted an online survey of 351 parents who owned DAs to assess frequency of use, perception of positive/negative impacts, and attachment-like behaviors with DAs. Utilizing linear regression we examined associations between variables. Results: Approximately half reported at least daily DA use. Overall, participants reported moderate attachment-like behavior, …

Sentiment Analysis Of #Meanspo Tweets: Humans Vs. Automatic Classifications, Fayika Farhat Nova, Aniruddha S. Shinde, Rachel Pfafman, Annalise Harrison, Caralyn Logan Delaney, Jessica Pater

Health Services and Informatics Research

With the increasing adoption of automatic text classifications driven by AI, there is a growing need to explore their safe and accurate applications, particularly in sensitive online communities. Sentiment analysis of X (formerly known as Twitter) data is widely used by researchers to automatically categorize textual data, providing valuable insights into the content of specific online communities. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of automatic sentiment classification models (TextBlob and Vader) by analyzing n=6930 #meanspo tagged tweets from 2020 to 2022 from X. This community is known for promoting harmful eating disorder related content, often in a harsh and …

Parent Social Media Use And Gaming On Mobile Phones, Technoference In Family Time, And Parenting Stress., Brandon Mcdaniel, Alison K. Ventura, Michelle Drouin

Health Services and Informatics Research

Possible effects of parent phone use on parent–child interactions and child behavior are of concern, warranting research to understand parent phone use. In this survey study of 183 families with a young child (M = 2.89 years), we examined parents’ phone use for texting/calling, social media (SM) use, mobile gaming (MG), and perceptions of cutting into family time; we also examined differences between mothers and fathers and associations with parenting stress. Mothers engaged in greater SM use but less MG compared to fathers; 61% of mothers and 38% of fathers used SM 31+ min per day, while 23% of …

Unveiling The "Toxic" World Of #Meanspo: Understanding Users' Emerging Online Eating Disorder Practices In X/Twitter, Fayika Farhat Nova, Rachel Pfafman, Caralyn Logan Delaney, Jessica Pater

Health Services and Informatics Research

Meanspo, an antagonistic form of online support within the eating disorder (ED) community, involves the direct solicitation or sharing of aggressive and insulting online content. This study presents findings from a comprehensive qualitative analysis of #meanspo content on X (previously Twitter) from May 2020 (N=752). Our analysis of tweets reveals that posts tagged with #meanspo can be of various natures. While commonly associated with extremely derogatory ED content, more than 80% of posts with the meanspo tag on X were non-aggressive. The study also explores potential inconsistencies in voluntary and involuntary meanspo specific content moderation, prompting inquiries into X's …

Providing Context To The "Unknown": Patient And Provider Reflections On Connecting Personal Tracking, Patient-Reported Insights, And Ehr Data Within A Post-Covid Clinic, Shaan Chopra, Jeanee Carroll, Jessica Pater

Health Services and Informatics Research

COVID Long Haul (CLH) is an emerging chronic illness for which the healthcare system continues to seek a common understanding of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. CLH experiences can differ drastically, necessitating personalized care plans. Because patients interact with different clinicians during their CLH journey, it becomes important to ensure interoperability and understand clinical relevance of different data that can support clinicians in making appropriate recommendations. We conducted qualitative research where we interviewed 13 patients, conducted a focus group with 8 clinicians, and analyzed care plan follow-up records. We report patient and clinician expectations from and interactions with clinic data. We …

Designing For Researcher Access In The U.S. Mortality Data Ecosystem, Dylan Thomas Doyle, Casey Fiesler, Jessica Pater, Jed R. Brubaker

Health Services and Informatics Research

Access to mortality data is critical for researchers for various reasons, including the development of life-saving medical interventions. However, high-quality mortality data is typically unavailable for researchers to access in a timely manner due to bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the coordination of managing mortality data across a vast information ecosystem. To identify opportunities to improve access to mortality data, we conducted a qualitative interview study with 20 experts with direct knowledge and experience with mortality data systems. From these interviews, we mapped the mortality data ecosystem and found that policy constraints are the main underlying cause of bottlenecks and inefficiencies. …

Bridging Public Health Research And State-Level Policy: The Texas Research-To-Policy Collaboration Project., Deanna M Hoelscher, Alexandra Van Den Berg, Amelia Roebuck, Shelby Flores-Thorpe, Kathleen Manuel, Tiffni Menendez, Christine Jovanovic, Aliya Hussaini, John T Menchaca, Elizabeth Long, D Max Crowley, J Taylor Scott

Health Services and Informatics Research

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: Significant barriers to the implementation of evidence-based policy exist. Establishing an infrastructure and resources to support this process at the state level can accelerate the translation of research into practice. This study describes the adaptation and initial evaluation of the Texas Research-to-Policy Collaboration (TX RPC) Project, focusing on the adaptation process, legislative public health policy priorities, and baseline researcher policy knowledge and self-efficacy.

INTERVENTION APPROACH: The federal Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC) method was adapted to the Texas legislative process in 2020. Policymakers and public health researchers were recruited using direct outreach and referrals. Legislators or their aides were …

Veggierx, A Healing Produce Prescription Yielding Positive Health Outcome Data, M. Bojrab-Wray, Michelle Drouin, L. Knoop, Lauren Reining, Dana Albright, K. Wehrle

Health Services and Informatics Research

Learning Outcome

Upon completion of reviewing the abstract content, attendees will be able to evaluate VeggieRx’s benefits, understand data analysis methods, and recognize best-practices for utilizing electronic health data in program assessment.

Background

Produce prescription programs are becoming popular across the U.S., as health care providers and dietitians work together to provide healthy food, resources, and education to individuals with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and at-risk pregnant mothers. Since 2021, our USDA GusNIP-funded program has provided these services to food insecure patients with these conditions. As this program exists within a health care system, we have unique …

Bidirectional Associations Between Mental Health Disorders And Chronic Diabetic Complications In Individuals With Type 1 Or Type 2 Diabetes., Maya Watanabe, Evan L Reynolds, Mousumi Banerjee, Morten Charles, Kara Mizokami-Stout, Dana Albright, Lynn Ang, Joyce M Lee, Rodica Pop-Busui, Eva L Feldman, Brian C Callaghan

Health Services and Informatics Research

OBJECTIVE: To determine bidirectional associations between the timing of chronic diabetes complications (CDCs) and mental health disorders (MHDs) in individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used a nationally representative health care claims database to identify matched individuals with type 1 or 2 diabetes or without diabetes using a propensity score quasirandomization technique stratified by age (0-19, 20-39, 40-59, and ≥60 years). CDCs and MHDs were identified using ICD-9/10 codes. We fit Cox proportional hazards models with time-varying diagnoses of CDCs or MHDs to investigate their association with the hazard of developing MHDs or …

Accuracy, Thoroughness, And Quality Of Outpatient Primary Care Documentation In The U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs., Michael Weiner, Mindy E Flanagan, Katie Ernst, Ann H Cottingham, Nicholas A Rattray, Zamal Franks, April W Savoy, Joy L Lee, Richard M Frankel

Health Services and Informatics Research

BACKGROUND: Electronic health records (EHRs) can accelerate documentation and may enhance details of notes, or complicate documentation and introduce errors. Comprehensive assessment of documentation quality requires comparing documentation to what transpires during the clinical encounter itself. We assessed outpatient primary care notes and corresponding recorded encounters to determine accuracy, thoroughness, and several additional key measures of documentation quality.

METHODS: Patients and primary care clinicians across five midwestern primary care clinics of the US Department of Veterans Affairs were recruited into a prospective observational study. Clinical encounters were video-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Using the Physician Documentation Quality Instrument (PDQI-9) added to …

Charting The Covid Long Haul Experience - A Longitudinal Exploration Of Symptoms, Activity, And Clinical Adherence, Jessica Pater, Shaan Chopra, Jeanee Carroll, Juliette Zaccour, Fayika Farhat Nova, Tammy Toscos, Shion Guha Ms, Phd, Fenlei Chang Md, Phd

Health Services and Informatics Research

COVID Long Haul (CLH) is an emerging chronic illness with varied patient experiences. Our understanding of CLH is often limited to data from electronic health records (EHRs), such as diagnoses or problem lists, which do not capture the volatility and severity of symptoms or their impact. To better understand the unique presentation of CLH, we conducted a 3-month long cohort study with 14 CLH patients, collecting objective (EHR, daily Fitbit logs) and subjective (weekly surveys, interviews) data. Our findings reveal a complex presentation of symptoms, associated uncertainty, and the ensuing impact CLH has on patients’ personal and professional lives. We …

Maternal Depression And Phone Use Around Their Children: A Phone Tracking And Daily Survey Study, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Brooklyn Coleman, Victor P. Cornet Ms, Lauren Reining, Rebecca Tegiacchi, Zachary Kaiser

Health Services and Informatics Research

Previous research has connected phone use with mood and depressive symptoms but has typically relied on self-report measures of phone use. The current study examined the potential connection between objectively tracked phone use and self-reported depressive symptoms among 42 U.S. mothers with a young child (M age = 2.34 years). Their phone use was measured continuously for 5 days via an app installed on their smartphones, and mothers also completed a nightly survey each day. Mothers spent an average of 4.73 hours on their phone each day (SD = 2.87; Range = 0.70 - 13.59), and maternal phone use occurred …

Association Between Psychosocial Acuity And Glycemic Control In A Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Clinic., Joseph Wardell, Dana K. Albright Phd, Claire Chang, Melissa A Plegue, Jung Eun Lee, Emily Hirschfeld, Ashley Garrity, Joyce M Lee, Melissa Dejonckheere

Health Services and Informatics Research

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the frequency of psychosocial risk and its associations with glycemic levels in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) seen by social work staff during regular clinical care.

METHODS: A retrospective longitudinal analysis of observational clinical data was conducted. Individuals (1-26 years) with known T1D who were seen at a pediatric diabetes clinic in a US academic medical center between 2014 and 2021 were included. Variables included psychosocial acuity, A1C, and demographic characteristics. Chi-square tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and mixed linear regressions were used to examine associations between demographic variables, psychosocial …

Dating Applications: A Honeypot For Sextortion Victims, Harmony Tavakoli, Calli Tzani, Maria Loannou, Thomas James Vaughan Williams, Michelle Drouin, Rachel Fletcher

Health Services and Informatics Research

Perpetrators often have easy access to victims via widely used social media networks, such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. Nowadays, dating applications have provided one more platform where sextortionists identify potential victims and lure them into extortion and victimization. Limited research and media coverage has revealed that sextortion can cause significant harm, with victims reporting negative psychological consequences, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Many empirical findings arise from explorations of webcam sextortion, with limited literature examining sextortion in social media platforms, and particularly online dating sites. In the current, exploratory study, we examine these modern trends directly via …

Technoference In Parenting And Impacts On Parent–Child Relationships And Child Development, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Lisa Linder, Mariek M.P. Vanden Abeele, Alison K. Ventura, Sarah M. Coyne, Rachel Barr

Health Services and Informatics Research

“Technoference” is a term that describes how parent media use (e.g., phone use) can interfere with parent–child relationships and interactions. Research has shown technoference effects on parents and children ranging in age from infancy to adolescence, such as decreased parent responsiveness and adverse child behavioral outcomes. However, potential benefits of parent media use have also been identified, such as media use to cope with stress, stay connected, increase breastfeeding perseverance, and seek parenting information. Technoference has only been researched for about a decade, and there are large research gaps. We propose a research agenda to parse out long-term or cumulative …