Background:Children with asthma can decrease the impact of their disease by improving their physical activity (PA). However, health care providers lack interventions for children with asthma that effectively increase their PA levels and achieve behavior change. A technology-supported approach can positively influence PA and physical functioning in children.Objective:The aims of this study were to develop a technology-supported intervention that facilitates health care providers in promoting PA for children (aged 8 to 12 years) with asthma and to systematically describe this developmental process.Methods:Intervention mapping (IM) was applied to develop a blended and technology-supported intervention in cocreation with children with asthma, their parents, and health care providers. In accordance with the IM framework, the following steps were performed: conduct a needs assessment; define the intervention outcome, performance objectives, and change objectives; select theory-based intervention methods and strategies; create components of the intervention and conduct pilot tests; create an implementation plan; and create an evaluation plan.Results:We developed the blended intervention Foxfit that consists of an app with a PA monitor for children (aged 8 to 12 years) with asthma and a web-based dashboard for their health care provider. The intervention focuses on PA in everyday life to improve social participation. Foxfit contains components based on behavior change principles and gamification, including goal setting, rewards, action planning, monitoring, shaping knowledge, a gamified story, personal coaching and feedback, and a tailored approach. An evaluation plan was created to assess the intervention’s usability and feasibility for both children and health care providers.Conclusions:The IM framework was very useful for systematically developing a technology-supported intervention and for describing the translational process from scientific evidence, the needs and wishes of future users, and behavior change principles into this intervention. This has led to the technology-supported intervention Foxfit that facilitates health care providers in promoting PA in children with asthma. The structured description of the development process and functional components shows the way behavior change techniques are incorporated in the intervention.Trial Registration:International Clinical Trial Registry Platform NTR6658; https://tinyurl.com/3rxejksf
Behaviour Change Support Systems (BCSS), already running for the 10th time at Persuasive Technology, is a workshop that builds around the concept of systems that are specifically designed to help and support behaviour change in individuals or groups. The highly multi-disciplinary nature of designing and implementing behaviour change strategies and systems for the strategies has been in the forefront of this workshop from the very beginning. The persuasive technology field is becoming a linking pin connecting natural and social sciences, requiring a holistic view on persuasive technologies, as well as multi-disciplinary approach for design, implementation, and evaluation. So far, the capacities of technologies to change behaviours and to continuously monitor the progress and effects of interventions are not being used to its full potential. The use of technologies as persuaders may shed a new light on the interaction process of persuasion, influencing attitudes and behaviours. Yet, although human- computer interaction is social in nature and people often do see computers as social actors, it is still unknown how these interactions re-shape attitude, beliefs, and emotions, or how they change behaviour, and what the drawbacks are for persuasion via technologies. Humans re-shape technology, changing their goals during usage. This means that persuasion is not a static ad hoc event but an ongoing process. Technology has the capacity to create smart (virtual) persuasive environments that provide simultaneously multimodal cues and psycho-physiological feedback for personal change by strengthening emotional, social, and physical presence. An array of persuasive applications has been developed over the past decade with an aim to induce desirable behaviour change. Persuasive applications have shown promising results in motivating and supporting people to change or adopt new behaviours and attitudes in various domains such as health and wellbeing, sustainable energy, education, and marketing. This workshop aims at connecting multidisciplinary researchers, practitioners and experts from a variety of scientific domains, such as information sciences, human-computer interaction, industrial design, psychology and medicine. This interactive workshop will act as a forum where experts from multiple disciplines can present their work, and can discuss and debate the pillars for persuasive technology.
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Background: To experience external objects in such a way that they are perceived as an integral part of one's own body is called embodiment. Wearable technology is a category of objects, which, due to its intrinsic properties (eg, close to the body, inviting frequent interaction, and access to personal information), is likely to be embodied. This phenomenon, which is referred to in this paper as wearable technology embodiment, has led to extensive conceptual considerations in various research fields. These considerations and further possibilities with regard to quantifying wearable technology embodiment are of particular value to the mobile health (mHealth) field. For example, the ability to predict the effectiveness of mHealth interventions and knowing the extent to which people embody the technology might be crucial for improving mHealth adherence. To facilitate examining wearable technology embodiment, we developed a measurement scale for this construct. Objective: This study aimed to conceptualize wearable technology embodiment, create an instrument to measure it, and test the predictive validity of the scale using well-known constructs related to technology adoption. The introduced instrument has 3 dimensions and includes 9 measurement items. The items are distributed evenly between the 3 dimensions, which include body extension, cognitive extension, and self-extension.Methods: Data were collected through a vignette-based survey (n=182). Each respondent was given 3 different vignettes, describing a hypothetical situation using a different type of wearable technology (a smart phone, a smart wristband, or a smart watch) with the purpose of tracking daily activities. Scale dimensions and item reliability were tested for their validity and Goodness of Fit Index (GFI). Results: Convergent validity of the 3 dimensions and their reliability were established as confirmatory factor analysis factor loadings45 (>0.70), average variance extracted values40 (>0.50), and minimum item to total correlations50 (>0.40) exceeded established threshold values. The reliability of the dimensions was also confirmed as Cronbach alpha and composite reliability exceeded 0.70. GFI testing confirmed that the 3 dimensions function as intercorrelated first-order factors. Predictive validity testing showed that these dimensions significantly add to multiple constructs associated with predicting the adoption of new technologies (ie, trust, perceived usefulness, involvement, attitude, and continuous intention). Conclusions: The wearable technology embodiment measurement instrument has shown promise as a tool to measure the extension of an individual's body, cognition, and self, as well as predict certain aspects of technology adoption. This 3-dimensional instrument can be applied to mixed method research and used by wearable technology developers to improve future versions through such things as fit, improved accuracy of biofeedback data, and customizable features or fashion to connect to the users' personal identity. Further research is recommended to apply this measurement instrument to multiple scenarios and technologies, and more diverse user groups.
An important line of research within the Center of Expertise HAN BioCentre is the development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as an animal testing replacement organism. In the context of this, us and our partners in the research line Elegant! (project number. 2014-01-07PRO) developed reliable test protocols, data analysis strategies and new technology, to determine the expected effects of exposure to specific substances using C. elegans. Two types of effects to be investigated were envisaged, namely: i) testing of possible toxicity of substances to humans; and ii) testing for potential health promotion of substances for humans. An important deliverable was to show that the observed effects in the nematode can indeed be translated into effects in humans. With regard to this aspect, partner Preventimed has conducted research in obesity patients during the past year into the effect of a specific cherry extract that was selected as promising on the basis of the study with C. elegans. This research is currently being completed and a scientific publication will have to be written. The Top Up grant is intended to support the publication of the findings from Elegant! and also to help design experimental protocols that enable students to become acquainted with alternative medical testing systems to reduce the use of laboratory animals during laboratory training.
The ELSA AI lab Northern Netherlands (ELSA-NN) is committed to the promotion of healthy living, working and ageing. By investigating cultural, ethical, legal, socio-political, and psychological aspects of the use of AI in different decision-makingcontexts and integrating this knowledge into an online ELSA tool, ELSA-NN aims to contribute to knowledge about trustworthy human-centric AI and development and implementation of health technology innovations, including AI, in theNorthern region.The research in ELSA-NN will focus on developing and mapping ELSA knowledge around three general concepts of importance for the development, monitoring and implementation of trustworthy and human-centric AI: availability, use,and performance. These concepts will be explored in two lines of research: 1) use case research investigating the use of different AI applications with different types of data in different decision-making contexts at different time periods duringthe life course, and 2) an exploration among stakeholders in the Northern region of needs, knowledge, (digital) health literacy, attitudes and values concerning the use of AI in decision-making for healthy living, working and ageing. Specificfocus will be on investigating low social economic status (SES) perspectives, since health disparities between high and low SES groups are growing world-wide, including in the Northern region and existing health inequalities may increase with theintroduction and use of innovative health technologies such as AI.ELSA-NN will be integrated within the AI hub Northern-Netherlands, the Health Technology Research & Innovation Cluster (HTRIC) and the Data Science Center in Health (DASH). They offer a solid base and infrastructure for the ELSA-NNconsortium, which will be extended with additional partners, especially patient/citizens, private, governmental and researchrepresentatives, to have a quadruple-helix consortium. ELSA-NN will be set-up as a learning health system in which much attention will be paid to dialogue, communication and education.
JEWELS TOUR is a 4-year project funded by Interreg Europe and dealing with the valorisation of Jewish Cultural Heritage (JCH) in some European cities (Ferrara in Italy, Coimbra in Portugal, Erfurt in Germany, Lublin in Poland, Riga in Latvia, Ośrodek in Poland). Jewish cultural heritage is an integral part of the shared cultural heritage in Europe, and initiatives such as this project bring local stakeholders from different parts of Europe together to investigate the common responsibility of protecting tangible and intangible Jewish heritage. Across Europe, municipalities and local organizations recognize a need to make Jewish heritage accessible, and to do so in a sustainable way, that is in a way that benefit locals as well as visitors, with attention to economic as well as cultural and social benefits. The project aims is to devise policy instruments to promote Jewish cultural heritage, hereby including also digital ones, when possible. Technology is seen as an instrument to collect and share stories with equity, hereby also exploiting the emerging Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage that is promoted at European level.Societal IssueCultural heritage has been increasingly recognised as a strategic asset for an inclusive and sustainable development across Europe, due to its capacity to promote diversity and intercultural dialogue, while contributing to a stronger sense of belonging and mutual respect. The JEWELS TOUR project addresses the challenge of Jewish Cultural Heritage (JCH) discontinuity, reflecting both in a low level of investments and connection between heritage resources and local/regional productive sectors, as well as in the attractiveness regarding the promotion of JC assets as drivers for sustainable tourism and regional development.Benefit to societyIn recent years, Cultural Heritage has been increasingly recognised as a strategic resource for a sustainable and peaceful Europe, due to its capacity to promote diversity and intercultural dialogue, while contributing to a stronger sense of belonging and mutual respect . At EU level, cultural investments are considered as key drivers of territorial development and social cohesion, and as essential elements leading to the promotion of social innovation. JEWELS TOUR contributes to sustainable tourism and social innovation by revaluing Europe’s JCH, reinforcing the sense of belonging and cultural diversity in Europe.Collaborating partnersFerrara Municipality Italy, Breda University of Applied Sciences Advisory Partner Netherlands, Ośrodek "Brama Grodzka - Teatr NN" Partner Poland, Coimbra Municipality Partner Portugal, City of Erfurt Partner Germany, Riga Investment and Tourism Agency Partner Latvia, Lublin Municipality Partner Poland.
