Exploring small stories of older adults elicited by virtual nature videos with a randomized online survey.

Objective: Counteracting feelings of loneliness among older adults underscores the need to improve social well-being, for example, by sharing small stories. Interestingly, virtual representation of nature (VN) can stimulate social aspirations and trigger associations, which could be used as conversational material. Especially nature's characteristics of mystery and spaciousness seem promising.

Challenges and opportunities in mobile e-coaching.

Background: Mobile e-health technologies have proven to provide tailored assessment, intervention, and coaching capabilities for various usage scenarios. Thanks to their spread and adoption, smartphones are one of the most important carriers for such applications.

Problem: However, the process of design, realization, evaluation, and implementation of these e-health solutions is wicked and challenging, requiring multiple stakeholders and expertise.

Appreciating the Good Things in Life During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Evaluation of a Gratitude App.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had many negative consequences on the general public mental health. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of and satisfaction with an app with gratitude exercises to improve the mental health of people with reduced mental well-being due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as potential mechanisms of well-being change and dose-response relationships. A two-armed randomized controlled trial design was used, with two groups receiving the 6-week gratitude intervention app either immediately (intervention group,  = 424) or after 6 weeks (waiting list control group,  = 425).

Integrating Top-down and Bottom-up Requirements in eHealth Development: The Case of a Mobile Self-compassion Intervention for People With Newly Diagnosed Cancer.

Background: Psychosocial eHealth interventions for people with cancer are promising in reducing distress; however, their results in terms of effects and adherence rates are quite mixed. Developing interventions with a solid evidence base while still ensuring adaptation to user wishes and needs is recommended to overcome this. As most models of eHealth development are based primarily on examining user experiences (so-called bottom-up requirements), it is not clear how theory and evidence (so-called top-down requirements) may best be integrated into the development process.

Perceived Mental Workload Classification Using Intermediate Fusion Multimodal Deep Learning.

A lot of research has been done on the detection of mental workload (MWL) using various bio-signals. Recently, deep learning has allowed for novel methods and results. A plethora of measurement modalities have proven to be valuable in this task, yet studies currently often only use a single modality to classify MWL.

The use of technology in the context of frailty screening and management interventions: a study of stakeholders' perspectives.

Background: Health and social care interventions show promise as a way of managing the progression of frailty in older adults. Information technology could improve the availability of interventions and services for older adults. The views of stakeholders on the acceptability of technological solutions for frailty screening and management have not been explored.