JMIR Human Factors

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods in palliative care research is increasing. Most AI palliative care research involves the use of routinely collected data from electronic health records; however, there are few data on the views of palliative care health care professionals on the role of AI in practice. Determining the opinions of palliative care health care professionals on the potential uses of AI in palliative care will be useful for policymakers and practitioners to determine and inform the meaningful use of AI in palliative care practice.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects approximately 16 million Americans and often results in avoidable readmissions due, in part, to medication errors and lack of education. Tele-health interventions can support medication reconciliation and inhaler education following hospital discharge for patients with COPD.

In blended care, digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) integrate with face-to-face psychotherapy provided in person or via telehealth. To incorporate DMHIs into routine care for depression and anxiety, it is important to understand the needs and expectations of mental health professionals for blended DMHIs.

Addressing the complex medical and psychosocial needs of older adults is increasingly difficult in resource-limited care settings. In this context, socially assistive robots (SARs) provide support and practical functions such as orientation and information delivery. Integrating large language models (LLMs) into SAR dialogue systems offers opportunities to improve interaction fluency and adaptability. Yet, in real-world use, acceptability also depends on minimizing both technical and conversational errors, ensuring successful user interactions, and adapting to individual user characteristics.

A large amount of data is generated in healthcare facilities, yet it is rarely made available for secondary research use. The reasons are manifold. Most importantly, different stakeholders´ needs must be balanced. However, there are currently hardly any feasible solutions for this.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has the potential to reduce in-clinic visits and promote proactive and preventive care for patients with chronic disease in primary care. However, a decentralized approach of RPM in the primary healthcare (PHC) setting has not met stakeholders’ expectation regarding scalability. This study introduces a centralized virtual ward (CVW) led RPM, utilizing a multidisciplinary team approach to monitor patients with chronic diseases by clinicians that do not belong to the patients PHC centre.

Adolescents need comprehensive education and resources to promote their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and make informed decisions about their SRH. However, many adolescents fail to secure an opportunity to learn accurate and reliable SRH information, as they face sociocultural barriers, fear of prejudice, and societal stigma. Information available on digital platforms may not always be evidence-based and can further spread misinformation. Digital knowledge translation interventions that provide evidence-based SRH information in North America are limited.

Digital healthcare applications (DiGA) have been integrated into Germany’s healthcare system since 2019, offering certified medical devices for various health conditions. This study focuses on deprexis and Selfapy, the first two permanently approved DiGA for depressive disorders in Germany, to evaluate their usability for people ≥ 60 years. The study’s significance is underscored by the underrepresentation of older people in previous DiGA studies, accompanied with an emergent risk of distribution inequalities for this vulnerable population.

Regular lifestyle modification is crucial for chronic kidney disease (CKD) management, yet older patients often struggle to sustain behavior change and rely on support from their significant others such as family caregivers or partners. In such cases, both members of the dyad require accessible, jointly usable tools to maintain healthier behaviors over time. Given the ubiquity of instant messaging platforms, a digital intervention delivered via such a platform offers strong potential to empower CKD dyads in active lifestyle modification.

Subjective report of pain remains the gold standard for assessing symptoms in patients with chronic pain and their response to analgesics. This subjectivity underscores the importance of understanding patients’ personal narratives, as they offer an accurate representation of the illness experience.

Within the surgical field, there has been an evolution in the application of robotic technology. Fully automatic robotic systems and augmented visualization tools are being introduced and may eventually replace existing surgical extenders, such as the da Vinci surgical system. The literature on public perception of robotic surgery is growing, however, specific drivers of these attitudes remain under investigation.

Mobile health (mHealth), defined as health care facilitated by mobile devices, offers a promising strategy for enhancing disease management and treatment for patients with chronic conditions. However, there is limited information about how patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) use mHealth and their digital preferences.