The application of virtual reality (VR) and robotic devices in neuromotor rehabilitation has provided promising evidence in terms of efficacy, so far. Usability evaluations of these technologies have ...been conducted extensively, but no overviews on this topic have been reported yet.
A systematic review of the studies on patients' and healthcare professionals' perspective through searching of PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsychINFO (2000 to 2021) was conducted. Descriptive data regarding the study design, participants, technological devices, interventions, and quantitative and qualitative usability evaluations were extracted and meta-synthetized.
Sixty-eight studies were included. VR devices were perceived as having good usability and as a tool promoting patients' engagement and motivation during the treatment, as well as providing strong potential for customized rehabilitation sessions. By contrast, they suffered from the effect of learnability and were judged as potentially requiring more mental effort. Robotics implementation received positive feedback along with high satisfaction and perceived safety throughout the treatment. Robot-assisted rehabilitation was considered useful as it supported increased treatment intensity and contributed to improved patients' physical independence and psychosocial well-being. Technical and design-related issues may limit the applicability making the treatment difficult and physically straining. Moreover, cognitive and communication deficits were remarked as potential barriers.
Overall, VR and robotic devices have been perceived usable so far, reflecting good acceptance in neuromotor rehabilitation programs. The limitations raised by the participants should be considered to further improve devices applicability and maximise technological rehabilitation effectiveness.
PROSPERO registration ref. CRD42021224141 .
Based on a multi-dimensional model of wellbeing in school that includes psychological, cognitive and social components, the aim of this investigation was to (a) analyse differences based on gender ...and school level (primary or middle school) in children’s subjective reports of their school wellbeing, (b) analyse correlates of subjective school wellbeing considering learning skills, grades and behavioural problems, and (c) investigate parents’ and teachers’ personal experiences and observations related to children with a low level of subjective school wellbeing. The sample comprised 1038 third- to eighth-grade students who completed the Questionnaire on School Wellbeing (QBS; Tobia and Marzocchi in QBS 8-13. Questionari per la valutazione del benessere scolastico e identificazione dei fattori di rischio QBS 8-13. Questionnaires for the evaluation of school wellbeing and the identification of risk factors, Erickson, Trento,
2015a
), which investigates the gratification obtained by results in school, relationships with teachers and classmates, emotional attitude towards school, and self-efficacy. The results showed significant gender differences (e.g., a better relationship with teachers but a poorer emotional attitude towards school for girls) and lower scores on school wellbeing in middle school students compared to primary school students. Among primary school students, wellbeing tended to be positively influenced by learning skills, whereas it was positively influenced by grades and negatively influenced by behavioural problems among middle school students. Finally, both parents and teachers of children with low levels of school wellbeing described greater feelings of worry, guilt, and tension in relation to the children’s difficulties. Parents reported more learning and emotional difficulties in these children, whereas teachers reported lower self-awareness. These results may offer insights to inform school policies and interventions aimed at improving children’s wellbeing.
The burden is high in caregivers of heart failure patients, but the literature on patient and caregiver predictors of caregiver burden is inconsistent. Also, it is unknown if caregiver contribution ...to heart failure self-care maintenance (i.e. helping patients to maintain heart failure stable) and self-care management (i.e. helping patients to act in case of heart failure worsening) increases caregiver burden.
To identify caregiver and patient predictors of caregiver burden in heart failure; and to evaluate if caregiver contribution to heart failure self-care maintenance and management increases caregiver burden.
A cross-sectional study with the enrolment of 505 caregivers of heart failure patients. We used the caregiver burden inventory and the caregiver contribution to self-care of heart failure index. We analysed the data using hierarchical regression.
Heart failure caregivers, mostly women (52.5%), with a mean age 56.5 (±14.9) years, cared for heart failure patients, mostly men (55.2%), with a mean age of 75.9 (±10.4) years. Caregiver predictors of higher caregiver burden were older age, female gender, fewer caregiving hours and poor social support. Patient predictors of higher caregiver burden were older age, better education, taking fewer medications and higher quality of life. Caregiver contribution to self-care maintenance and management were not significant predictors of caregiver burden.
Our results could help providers to identify heart failure caregivers who are more exposed to burden. As caregiver contribution to heart failure self-care improves patient outcomes and seems not burdensome for caregivers, providers may consider educating caregivers about self-care as a viable option for improving patient outcomes without increasing caregiver burden.
Abstract
COVID-19 has brought considerable changes and caused critical psychological responses, especially among frail populations. So far, researchers have explored the predictive effect of diverse ...factors on pandemic-related psychological distress, but none have focused on the impact of prior depression and anxiety symptomatology adopting an extended (10-year) longitudinal design. 105 patients aged over 60, affected by hypertension who participated in a previous longitudinal study were assessed through a follow-up telephone structured interview. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were used for assessing depression and anxiety symptoms and the psychological impact of COVID-19, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. At the assessment, participants did not report clinically relevant depression, anxiety, and psychological pandemic-related distress symptoms. However, significant mean differences between baseline and current follow-up evaluations for both depression and anxiety were found, reflecting a decrease in symptomatology over time (
p
< .001). Baseline depression symptoms (
β
= 1.483,
p
= .005) significantly predicted the psychological impact of COVID-19 after 10 years. Conversely, their decrease (
β
= −1.640,
p
< .001) and living with others (
β
= −7.274,
p
= .041) significantly contributed to lower psychological distress scores. Our findings provide insight into the predisposing influence of depressive symptoms on pandemic-related psychological distress ten years later. Preventive interventions and strategies considering these factors are needed to better pre-empt the severe mental consequences of the pandemic.
Abstract Dispositional optimism is an individual difference promoting psychosocial adjustment and well-being during adolescence. Dispositional optimism was originally defined as a one-dimensional ...construct; however, empirical evidence suggests two correlated factors in the Life Orientation Test – Revised (LOT-R). The main aim of the study was to evaluate the dimensionality of the LOT-R. This study is the first attempt to identify the best factor structure, comparing congeneric, two correlated-factor, and two orthogonal-factor models in a sample of adolescents. Concurrent validity was also assessed. The results demonstrated the superior fit of the two orthogonal-factor model thus reconciling the one-dimensional definition of dispositional optimism with the bi-dimensionality of the LOT-R. Moreover, the results of correlational analyses proved the concurrent validity of this self-report measure: optimism is moderately related to indices of psychosocial adjustment and well-being. Thus, the LOT-R is a useful, valid, and reliable self-report measure to properly assess optimism in adolescence.
Background
It is important to examine factors associated with patient adherence to hypertension control strategies.
Purpose
A meta-analysis was conducted to examine whether social support was related ...to adherence to healthy lifestyle and treatment medication in hypertensive patients.
Methods
Journal articles were searched in medical (CINAHL, MEDLINE), psychological (PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES), and educational (ERIC) electronic databases; in reference lists of selected papers; and in the reference list of a previous review.
Results
Findings of a set of meta-analyses indicated that (a) structural social support was not significantly related to overall adherence, (b) functional social support was significantly and positively related to overall adherence, (c) these findings were further confirmed in meta-analyses conducted on specific types of adherence, and (d) most results were characterized by heterogeneity across studies that was partially explained by moderator analyses.
Conclusions
Functional social support, but not structural social support, was associated with adherence in hypertensive patients.
Academic self-efficacy beliefs influence students' academic and career choices, as well as motivational factors and learning strategies promoting effective academic success. Nevertheless, few studies ...have focused on the academic self-efficacy of university students in comparison to students at other levels. Furthermore, extant measures present several limitations. The first aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid scale assessing university students' self-efficacy beliefs in managing academic tasks. The second aim was to investigate differences in academic self-efficacy due to gender, years of enrollment, and student status. The study involved 831 students (age
= 21.09 years;
= 1.34 years; 66.3% women) enrolled in undergraduate programs. Indicators of academic experiences and performance (i.e., number of exams passed and average exam rating) were collected. A new scale measuring students' academic self-efficacy beliefs was administered. Results from a preliminary Exploratory Factor Analysis were consistently supported by findings from a Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Multigroup CFA supported the presence of measurement invariance. Analyses revealed that the new scale has eight factors: "Planning Academic Activities," "Learning Strategies," "Information Retrieval," "Working in Groups," "Management of Relationships with Teachers," "Managing Lessons," "Stress Management," and "Thesis Work." Self-efficacy dimensions showed significant relations with academic experiences and students' performance indicators, as well as differences due to gender, years of enrollment, and student status. Findings are discussed in terms of practical implications for the implementation of intervention programs aimed at fostering self-efficacy beliefs and academic success.
Objective
Goal setting is an effective strategy to promote physical activity. Commercial apps that tackle physical activity often include goal setting; however, it is unknown whether the ...implementation of the goal-setting components is congruent with the theory. This study evaluated the quality of goal setting in popular free and paid physical activity apps by assessing the presence of effective goal-setting components.
Methods
A six-item scale was developed based on the goal-setting literature and used for coding each app for the presence/absence of goal-setting components (i.e. specificity, difficulty, action planning, timeframe, goal evaluation and goal re-evaluation). Cohen’s Kappa was used to evaluate inter-rater reliability for each scale item. The number of goal-setting components included in the 40 apps was calculated and the difference between free and paid apps was assessed.
Results
All scale items achieved satisfactory inter-rater reliability except ‘goal evaluation’. The most frequently included goal-setting components in popular physical activity apps were ‘goal specificity’ (95% of the apps) and ‘goal timeframe’ (67.5%). Conversely, only 47.5% and 25% of the apps implemented ‘action planning’ and ‘goal difficulty’, respectively, and none included ‘goal re-evaluation’. No differences emerged between free and paid apps.
Conclusions
The quality of the goal-setting strategy in popular physical activity apps could be improved by introducing components scarcely implemented to date. In particular, tailoring the goal difficulty to the users’ ability level and re-evaluating the goals based on achievements should be implemented to increase the quality of goal setting.
In the field of neurorehabilitation, robot-assisted therapy (RAT) and virtual reality (VR) have so far shown promising evidence on multiple motor and functional outcomes. The related effectiveness on ...patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been investigated across neurological populations but still remains unclear. The present study aimed to systematically review the studies investigating the effects of RAT alone and with VR on HRQoL in patients with different neurological diseases.
A systematic review of the studies evaluating the impact of RAT alone and combined with VR on HRQoL in patients affected by neurological diseases (i.e., stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's Disease) was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, and PsychINFO (2000-2022) were performed. Risk of bias was evaluated through the National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool. Descriptive data regarding the study design, participants, intervention, rehabilitation outcomes, robotic device typology, HRQoL measures, non-motor factors concurrently investigated, and main results were extracted and meta-synthetized.
The searches identified 3025 studies, of which 70 met the inclusion criteria. An overall heterogeneous configuration was found regarding the study design adopted, intervention procedures and technological devices implemented, rehabilitation outcomes (i.e., related to both upper and lower limb impairment), HRQoL measures administered, and main evidence. Most of the studies reported significant effects of both RAT and RAT plus VR on patients HRQoL, whether they adopted generic or disease-specific HRQoL measures. Significant post-intervention within-group changes were mainly found across neurological populations, while fewer studies reported significant between-group comparisons, and then, mostly in patients with stroke. Longitudinal investigations were also observed (up to 36 months), but significant longitudinal effects were exclusively found in patients with stroke or multiple sclerosis. Finally, concurrent evaluations on non-motor outcomes beside HRQoL included cognitive (i.e., memory, attention, executive functions) and psychological (i.e., mood, satisfaction with the treatment, device usability, fear of falling, motivation, self-efficacy, coping, and well-being) variables.
Despite the heterogeneity observed among the studies included, promising evidence was found on the effectiveness of RAT and RAT plus VR on HRQoL. However, further targeted short- and long-term investigations, are strongly recommended for specific HRQoL subcomponents and neurological populations, through the adoption of defined intervention procedures and disease-specific assessment methodology.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Arterial hypertension is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors. Despite this, individuals with ...hypertension often fail to follow medical advice to counteract cardiovascular risks. A physically active lifestyle is one of the most challenging behaviors to adopt. This study aimed to preliminarily investigate the effectiveness of a tailored print message intervention to increase physical activity in patients with arterial hypertension.
A sample of 188 patients with hypertension (mean age = 63 years; SD = 10.9; 50% men) participated in a theory-based tailored health communication intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to three parallel groups: (1) the tailored group, which received tailored health brochures; (2) the non-tailored group, which received non-tailored health brochures; or (3) the usual care group, which received no informative print materials. The longitudinal physical activity trajectories (baseline, 6- and 12-month follow-ups) were examined using repeated measures ANOVA and growth curve models.
At the baseline, 38.8% of patients achieved the target physical activity. This percentage rose to 43.0% at 6-month follow-up and 46.0% at 12-month follow-up. The descriptive statistics divided in function of the experimental group suggested differences in the longitudinal trend of the mean physical activity depending on the experimental group. However, statistical significance using repeated measures ANOVA did not support this observation. The analysis of the growth curves suggested that the tailored group showed a progressive increase in physical activity over twelve months (the model that best described the longitudinal trajectory was a linear growth model). The non-tailored group showed an increase in physical activity six months after the beginning of the intervention, followed by a decrease (free time score model). The usual care group did not change over time (no-growth model).
Findings suggest the effectiveness of the tailored intervention proposed. However, further investigations and empirical confirmations are required.
ISRCTN13415993 ( https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN13415993 ). Registration date: 08/04/2019.
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