Fundación INTRAS

Objectives: This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals' views on the use of technology in adult transitional care, identifying challenges, critical procedures, and enabling factors for adoption. Methods: This was a prospective, multisite qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured co-creation sessions that explored two main themes, clinical decision-making and technology use in transitional care, through the lenses of current practices, challenges, and future directions. Data were analysed using constant comparison analysis by three independent researchers through iterative open, axial, and selective coding, followed by an impact relationship analysis to explore interconnections between themes. Results: Eleven co-creation sessions were held involving 115 participants. Findings highlight five key transitional care processes, beginning with patient assessment and evaluation, continuing through discharge planning and adherence to protocols, and extending to post-discharge support and follow-up care. The results show how technology can enhance each of these steps by improving digital literacy, user-friendliness, interoperability, and the flow of information. Cross-cutting barriers such as limited resources, privacy concerns, and lack of trust in technology were also identified. Conclusions: Technological tools can support various aspects and processes of transitional care, but their effective adoption requires a distinct set of strategies to address the multiple and complex factors involved.

Abstract Even during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic health professionals were facing mental health challenges. The aim of this study was to examine the mental health of doctors, nurses and other professional groups in Europe and to identify differences between the professional groups. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in 8 European countries. We asked for demographic data, whether the participants were exposed to COVID-19 at work, for main information sources about the pandemic, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and major stressors. A MANCOVA was carried out to find predictors of mental health among health care professionals. The sample (N = 1,398) consisted of 237 physicians, 459 nurses, and 351 other healthcare professionals and 351 non-medical professionals with no direct involvement in patient care. The mean mental health of all groups was affected to a mild degree. Major predictors were profession group for depression and anxiety with higher scores especially in the group of the nurses and for the group working directly with COVID-patients. In the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the psychological burden on health professionals has remained high, with being nurse and working directly with COVID19 patients being particular risk factors for mental distress. We found as a main result that that nurses scored significantly higher on depression and anxiety than practitioners.

BackgroundLiving Labs are user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user cocreation approach, which integrates research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings. The Horizon 2020 Project VITALISE (Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure) unites 19 partners across 11 countries. The project aims to harmonize Living Lab procedures and enable effective and convenient transnational and virtual access to key European health and well-being research infrastructures, which are governed by Living Labs. The VITALISE consortium will conduct joint research activities in the fields included in the care pathway of patients: rehabilitation, transitional care, and everyday living environments for older adults. This protocol focuses on health and well-being research in everyday living environments.ObjectiveThe main aim of this study is to cocreate and test a harmonized research protocol for developing big data–driven hybrid persona, which are hypothetical user archetypes created to represent a user community. In addition, the use and applicability of innovative technologies will be investigated in the context of various everyday living and Living Lab environments.MethodsIn phase 1, surveys and structured interviews will be used to identify the most suitable Living Lab methods, tools, and instruments for health-related research among VITALISE project Living Labs (N=10). A series of web-based cocreation workshops and iterative cowriting processes will be applied to define the initial protocols. In phase 2, five small-scale case studies will be conducted to test the cocreated research protocols in various real-life everyday living settings and Living Lab infrastructures. In phase 3, a cross-case analysis grounded on semistructured interviews will be conducted to identify the challenges and benefits of using the proposed research protocols. Furthermore, a series of cocreation workshops and the consensus seeking Delphi study process will be conducted in parallel to cocreate and validate the acceptance of the defined harmonized research protocols among wider Living Lab communities.ResultsAs of September 30, 2021, project deliverables Ethics and safety manual and Living lab standard version 1 have been submitted to the European Commission review process. The study will be finished by March 2024.ConclusionsThe outcome of this research will lead to harmonized procedures and protocols in the context of big data–driven hybrid persona development among health and well-being Living Labs in Europe and beyond. Harmonized protocols enable Living Labs to exploit similar research protocols, devices, hardware, and software for interventions and complex data collection purposes. Economies of scale and improved use of resources will speed up and improve research quality and offer novel possibilities for open data sharing, multidisciplinary research, and comparative studies beyond current practices. Case studies will also provide novel insights for implementing innovative technologies in the context of everyday Living Lab research.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/34567

Receiving a dementia diagnosis is a difficult experience for most people and often affects their wellbeing negatively. To support people's wellbeing, in a therapeutic context, life-storytelling, reminiscence and mindfulness are used with people with dementia. In an everyday context, traditional games are used as a resource for stimulating memory, cognition and social activity. While an increasing number of creative strategies are available to support people with dementia, the area of board games design and their effect on wellbeing is underexplored.This paper reports on the evaluation of the This is Me (TIM) mindful life-storytelling board game by the European project MinD. Using a co-design methodology, TIM was developed with and for people with mild to moderate dementia to support their wellbeing by enhancing self-empowerment and social engagement. A focus group methodology was used to evaluate TIM with 50 people with dementia and 19 carers across four countries. TIM was evaluated with regard to the usability and experience of the design as well as people's emotional wellbeing, social engagement and agency.The thematic analysis demonstrated that the combination of life-storytelling and mindfulness allowed players to engage in meaningful social interaction and, as a result, they reported enjoyment, learning, more acceptance of the past and present situation, and that they perceived looking forward into the future together with others as helpful. The study demonstrates that design can be a useful means to support people with dementia in aspects of emotional wellbeing, social engagement and a sense of agency.

El presente artículo traduce el debate entre un matemático y un filósofo, que discuten -cada uno con una posición específica- sobre la imposibilidad o plausibilidad de la existencia de una inteligencia artificial de tipo humana en las máquinas y, sobre la emergencia de una consciencia en ellas. Un debate que surge dentro de una Universidad, al interior de su Facultad de filosofía, debido a la necesidad de abordar formalmente la cuestión. Posicionados en diferentes perspectivas, los autores concuerdan que los conceptos de mente, consciencia e inteligencia corresponden a la misma tendencia evolutiva y que la selección natural produjo en un continuum los procesos mentales que en nuestra especie emergen como más desarrollados o elevados y cuyo objeto ha sido la sobrevivencia.

Abstract BackgroundIntegrated care delivery is regarded as the most effective way of care provisioning to tackle challenges of dementia care, such as uncoordinated care, risk of hospitalizations, care planning and unmet needs. As Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments (CGAs) incorporate the key principles of integrated care, implementing CGAs in care practice might be highly relevant. However, this implementation should be supported by Digital Health Interventions in order to reach the full CGA capacity.Aims: To present the state‐of‐the‐art evidence on available CGAs for long‐term and home care, and digital platforms supporting the administration of CGAs.MethodsTwo search strategies were conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science. One focused on the validity and reliability of available CGAs for long‐term and home care settings, and the second search comprised digital platforms that support CGAs. Studies in English and Spanish and published up to July 30, 2020 were considered.ResultsA total of 73 studies reporting on the validity/reliability of 14 different CGAs, and five papers describing four digital platforms supporting CGAs were identified. Most of the CGAs covered a wide range of domains, evidence for good to excellent validity and reliability was reported for various instruments. Digital platforms showed some limitations and barriers regarding their usability and feasibility.ConclusionForemost, strong evidence of good to excellent validity and reliability was found for the Resident Assessment Instrument‐Minimum Data Set (RAI‐MDS) and subsequent updated instruments, similar results have been reported for multiple countries. For this reason, we recommend the use of its latest versions for long‐term care facilities and home care, the interRAI LTCF and interRAI HC. Regarding the digital platforms supporting CGAs, the inclusion of safe data storage, automatic notifications for assessment completion, individualized profile reports, automatic calculation of final outcomes, and facilitation of multidisciplinary assessments, were identified as key features to enhance their implementation. This project is part of the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions Innovative Training Network H2020‐MSCA‐ITN, under grant agreement number 813196.

Background: Generalisation of findings is an important aspect of research and essential for evidence-based practice. While generalisation is common in quantitative research, there is a lack of generalisability in qualitative research. This paper presents the experience and challenges faced by the Designing for People with Dementia (MinD) project in meeting the requirements to strengthen the generalisation of findings on the lived experience of people living with dementia and their engagement to co-create designs to empower their everyday living. Methods: Polit and Beck (2010)'s strategies to generalise qualitative findings were applied: (1) replication in sampling; (2) replication of studies; (3) meta-synthesis of findings; (4) reflexivity and conceptualization; (5) immersion with the data; and (6) thick description. Results: While it is possible to increase the generabilisabilty of qualitative evidence through the replication of the sampling to attain a large, heterogeneous sample in different and multiple contexts and environments; implementation of sound and robust research; conducting in-depth analysis and interpretation collaboratively for emergent themes; and meeting the thick description requirement, there are challenges that the project team faced in implementing some of the Polit and Beck's strategies because of the condition, namely dementia, that our participants are having. Other challenges faced were: the language and cultural diversity in the team; diverse work and organisational procedures; and the inter-disciplinary differences relating to the methods of enquiry, approaches and techniques to conduct research. These challenges will need to be identified and addressed at the start of the project with a strong leadership to ensure a seamless journey to complete the project successfully. Trust between the researchers and participants, and time to build this trust are critical to recruitment and participation in the study; these factors are of utmost important in research involving participants with condition such as dementia.

BACKGROUND Living Labs are user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user cocreation approach, which integrates research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings. The Horizon 2020 Project VITALISE (Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure) unites 19 partners across 11 countries. The project aims to harmonize Living Lab procedures and enable effective and convenient transnational and virtual access to key European health and well-being research infrastructures, which are governed by Living Labs. The VITALISE consortium will conduct joint research activities in the fields included in the care pathway of patients: rehabilitation, transitional care, and everyday living environments for older adults. This protocol focuses on health and well-being research in everyday living environments. OBJECTIVE The main aim of this study is to cocreate and test a harmonized research protocol for developing big data–driven hybrid persona, which are hypothetical user archetypes created to represent a user community. In addition, the use and applicability of innovative technologies will be investigated in the context of various everyday living and Living Lab environments. METHODS In phase 1, surveys and structured interviews will be used to identify the most suitable Living Lab methods, tools, and instruments for health-related research among VITALISE project Living Labs (N=10). A series of web-based cocreation workshops and iterative cowriting processes will be applied to define the initial protocols. In phase 2, five small-scale case studies will be conducted to test the cocreated research protocols in various real-life everyday living settings and Living Lab infrastructures. In phase 3, a cross-case analysis grounded on semistructured interviews will be conducted to identify the challenges and benefits of using the proposed research protocols. Furthermore, a series of cocreation workshops and the consensus seeking Delphi study process will be conducted in parallel to cocreate and validate the acceptance of the defined harmonized research protocols among wider Living Lab communities. RESULTS As of September 30, 2021, project deliverables <i>Ethics and safety manual and Living lab standard version 1</i> have been submitted to the European Commission review process. The study will be finished by March 2024. CONCLUSIONS The outcome of this research will lead to harmonized procedures and protocols in the context of big data–driven hybrid persona development among health and well-being Living Labs in Europe and beyond. Harmonized protocols enable Living Labs to exploit similar research protocols, devices, hardware, and software for interventions and complex data collection purposes. Economies of scale and improved use of resources will speed up and improve research quality and offer novel possibilities for open data sharing, multidisciplinary research, and comparative studies beyond current practices. Case studies will also provide novel insights for implementing innovative technologies in the context of everyday Living Lab research. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/34567