Background: Practice guidelines emphasize the use of exercise and weight reduction as the first line of management for knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, less than half of the people with mild OA participate in moderate intensity physical activity. Given that physical activities have been shown to reduce pain, improve quality of life, and have the potential to reduce the progression of joint damage, many people with OA are missing the benefits of this inexpensive intervention. Objective: The...

Background: Physicians´ lack of knowledge contributes to underuse of insulin and poor glycemic control in adults with diabetes mellitus (DM). Traditional continuing medical education have limited efficacy, and new approaches are required. Objective: We report the design of a trial to assess the educational efficacy of InsuOnline, a game for education of primary care physicians (PCPs). The goal of InsuOnline was to improve appropriate initiation and adjustment of insulin for the...

Background: Work-related stress is a significant problem for both people and organizations. It may lead to mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, resulting in increased work absences and disabilities. Scalable interventions to prevent and manage harmful stress can be delivered with the help of technology tools to support self-observations and skills training. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of the P4Well intervention in treatment of stress-related...

Background: The Web provides widespread access to vast quantities of health-related information that can improve quality-of-life through better understanding of personal symptoms, medical conditions, and available treatments. Unfortunately, identifying a credible and personally relevant subset of information can be a time-consuming and challenging task for users without a medical background. Objective: The objective of the Personal Health Lens system is to aid users when reading...

Background: Providing safety education to parents of young children is important in the prevention of unintentional injuries in or around the home. We developed a Web-based, tailored safety advice module to support face-to-face counseling in the setting of preventive youth health care (E-health4Uth home safety) in order to improve the provision of safety information for parents of young children. Objective: This pilot study evaluated a Web-based, tailored safety advice module (E-health4Uth...

Background: An eHealth intervention using computer tailored technology including several behavior change techniques was developed to support the self-management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate and improve the usability of the eHealth intervention. Methods: We conducted a usability evaluation with 8 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, with a mixed methods design. We improved the usability through iterative cycles...

Background: Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) is a form of guided self-help that has been found to be effective for addressing several problems. The target for this type of therapy is usually restricted to one specific disorder. Tailoring the treatment widens the scope of ICBT in that it can address comorbid conditions directly. Objectives: The working, or therapeutic, alliance has been found to predict outcome in studies of face-to-face therapy. The extent to which these...

Background: Federal meaningful use standards are promoting adoption of online portals to personal health records (PHRs). However, relatively little is known regarding barriers and facilitators for vulnerable groups such as persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH). Objective: The objective of this study was to assess barriers and facilitators to use of online PHRs among PLWH. Methods: We conducted formative research using a written waiting room survey among 120 PLWH regarding...

Background: Due to limited reporting of intervention rationale, little is known about what distinguishes a good intervention from a poor one. To support improved design, there is a need for comprehensive reports on novel and complex theory-based interventions. Specifically, the emerging trend of just-in-time tailoring of content in response to change in target behavior or emotional state is promising. Objective: The objective of this study was to give a systematic and comprehensive...

Background: Internet interventions may provide opportunities for low threshold counseling using feedback to guide and support health behavior, including increased physical activity. Research shows that overweight and obese adolescents are less physically active than their peers of normal weight. There are good reasons to believe that Internet-based interventions may be particularly suitable for motivating adolescents to increase physical activity, but we need to gain further knowledge of what...

Background: The United States is currently in an age of obesity and inactivity despite increasing public awareness and scientific knowledge of detrimental long-term health effects of this lifestyle. Behavior-tracking diaries offer an effective strategy for physical activity adherence and weight management. Furthermore, Web-based physical activity diaries can engage meaningful partners in people’s social networks through fun online gaming interactions and generate motivational mechanisms...

Background: Most dietary and exercise interventions developed to date for cancer survivors have employed intensive clinic-based face-to-face counseling sessions. However, when the clinic-based face-to-face intervention ends, the participants cannot receive feedback from the experts, and the motivation for regular exercise and diet practices decreases. One way to overcome the shortcomings of clinic-based face-to-face intervention is to employ the Internet to this end. To maximize effectiveness...

Background: Most older cancer survivors (OCS) do not engage in regular physical activity (PA) despite well-known health benefits. With the increased use of mobile technologies among older adults, mobile tools may be an effective method to deliver PA promotion programs for OCS. Objective: To document the process of designing an OCS-friendly mobile-enabled Web application of PA promotion program. Methods: Mixed methods encompassing group discussions, individual interviews, and brief surveys...

Background: Several modifiable health and lifestyle factors are consistently associated with dementia risk and it is estimated that significantly fewer people would develop dementia if the incidence of risk factors could be reduced. Despite this, Australians’ awareness of the health and lifestyle factors associated with dementia risk is low. Within a national community education campaign, Alzheimer’s Australia developed a dementia risk reduction website providing information...

Background: While physical activity in individuals tends to decline steadily with age, there are certain periods where this decline occurs more rapidly, such as during early adulthood. Interventions aimed at attenuating the declines in physical activity during this transition period appear warranted. Objective: The purpose of the study was to test the feasibility and efficacy of a theoretically informed, website-delivered physical activity intervention aimed at students entering university....

Background: Population-based empirical information to inform health care professionals working with children with spina bifida currently is lacking. Spina bifida is a highly complex condition that not only affects mobility but many additional aspects of life. We have developed a pilot project that focuses on a broad range of domains: surgeries, development and learning, nutrition and physical growth, mobility and functioning, general health, and family demographics. Specifically, we will: (1)...

Background: Facilitating motor learning in patients during clinical practice is complex, especially in people with cognitive impairments. General principles of motor learning are available for therapists to use in their practice. However, the translation of evidence from the different fields of motor learning for use in clinical practice is problematic due to lack of uniformity in definition and taxonomy of terms related to motor learning. Objective: The objective of this paper was to...

Background: Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the most common cause of severe chronic pain and disability worldwide. Despite the impact of these conditions, disparity exists in accessing high quality basic care. As a result, effective treatments do not always reach people who need services. The situation is further hampered by the current models of care that target resources to a limited area of health services (eg, joint replacement surgery), rather than the entire continuum of MSK...