Source: Freepik Copyright: pressfoto URL: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/schoolboy-with-laptop-his-desk_863190.htm#page=1&query=kids%20laptop%20school&position=21 License: Licensed by JMIR September 7, 2021 The world is increasingly surfing the web to access a wide range of goods and services, and food is no exception. In 2020, web-based food ordering platforms were used by almost 1 billion people across the world. The wide reach of these systems provides a tremendous opportunity to deliver public health interventions, and new research by the University of Newcastle published today in the Journal of Medical Internet Research has investigated the potential of these systems to improve food choices among primary school children. School canteens are the most common take-away foodRead More →

Source: Image created by the Authors Copyright: The Authors URL: https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/8/e29029/ License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) Using Social Media, UC Davis Research Identifies Stressors by Hannah Stevens and Karen Nikos-Rose August 27, 2021 While a life-altering pandemic has caused a substantial uptick in anxiety and depression symptoms among adults and children alike, LGBTQ+ youth have turned to peers in anonymous web-based discussion forums for support. New research from the University of California, Davis, suggests these LGBTQ+ teenagers—who already experience disproportionate levels of psychological adversity—exhibited increased anxiety on the popular r/LGBTeens subreddit throughout 2020 and the start of 2021. With physical isolation leading to an increase inRead More →

Source: Unsplash Copyright: freestocks URL: https://unsplash.com/photos/HAIPJ8PyeL8 License: Licensed by JMIR UC Davis Study Points Out Need to Consider Future Public Health Responses by Hannah Stevens and Karen Nikos-Rose July 19, 2021 Although people in early 2020 hoarded toilet paper, washed their hands incessantly, and wouldn’t leave home, 11 months later, the public pushed the envelope on COVID-19 safety precautions and ignored warnings, a new University of California, Davis, study suggests. Researchers in the Department of Communication examined people’s reactions and expressions of anxiety about news articles on Twitter. Additionally, they investigated reactions to fear-inducing health news over time, despite the steadily rising COVID-19 death toll, said Hannah Stevens,Read More →

Sue Bohle Executive Director Serious Play Conference Earlier in my career I headed a prominent PR agency in the entertainment video games industry. I began to wonder, “Why are kids so addicted, that they will play for hours, day after day”? Then one day, a developer called to ask me to promote his game – to teach kids math. I was hooked. So when I launched the first Serious Play Conference 14 years ago, I thought we were going to focus on the use of games for education. But at the first conference, trainers in healthcare, military, government and education researchers showed up. These earlyRead More →

Source: flickr Copyright: Rawpixel Ltd URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/147875007@N03/45789229201/ License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) It is becoming increasingly popular to conduct psychological research remotely so that researchers can study cognition and behavior when and where they naturally occur. Remote methods also increase accessibility, as participants are not required to travel to testing locations or meet face-to-face with researchers. This has been an especially important consideration during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, it is still unclear how best to validate digital tools for remote clinical research. Researchers at Cambridge Cognition and the University of Bristol have been thinking about various approaches to developing digital assessments for remote clinical research, whichRead More →

By Jessica Rivinius, Miami University news and communications As businesses and schools around the world grapple with the return to “normal” plans, two recent Miami University studies shed light on the effectiveness of various interventions targeting COVID-19, finding that vaccines alone will not end the pandemic. Though vaccines are powerful, nonpharmaceutical interventions are still needed. The first study found that mask wearing—together with transitioning to remote work and school—had the largest effect on reducing the transmission of the virus, more so than contact tracing or other interventions. The second study showed that even if vaccine compliance is just 20%, vaccines can considerably lower the totalRead More →

Source: iStock.com / Vida Health Copyright: oatawa / Vida Health https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/online-news-on-a-smartphone-woman-reading-news-or-articles-in-a-mobile-phone-screen-gm1280103742-378505340 Licensed by the authors New research in the peer-reviewed journal JMIR Diabetes shows significant reduction in blood sugar levels San Francisco, June 2, 2021 – New research published in JMIR Diabetes shows clinically meaningful reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels for participants enrolled in Vida Health’s virtual diabetes management program. The study’s findings suggest that Vida’s program represents an accessible, scalable, and effective solution to type 2 diabetes management and improved HbA1c. The study, “Improved Glycemic Control With a Digital Health Intervention in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: Retrospective Study,” examined the changes inRead More →

Source: iStock by Getty Images Copyright: mapodile URL: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/what-are-our-plans-for-today-royalty-free-image/892674188 License: Licensed by the authors Bond scores, reflecting patient/therapist rapport, were comparable to traditional human-delivered services across treatment modalities and were significantly higher than computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) programs. The findings challenge the notion that digital mental health interventions are, by definition, limited because they don’t involve a human touch. San Francisco, CA, May 11, 2021 – Woebot Health, a pioneer in the development of relational technologies and tools to support mental health, today announced that the results of its most recent study, titled “Evidence of Human-Level Bonds Established With a Digital Conversational Agent: Cross-sectional, RetrospectiveRead More →