Showing 29 results for App
Mouna Rafizadeh, Reza Safdari, Jaleh Shoshtarian Malak, Shaban Alizadeh,
Volume 17, Issue 2 (5-2023)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Simulation-based Mobile Education is one of the necessities of the new era as well as an escalating field to meet the needs of different educational systems and levels. Considering the increasing application of simulation-based technologies, and the popularity of Augmented Reality (AR) in the field of education, the present research aims to facilitate the initial steps in understanding the technical requirements and software used in developing these types of apps.
Materials and Methods: The data required for this research was collected by searching in library resources to identify the commonly used platform/software in designing and developing AR-based educational apps. At the same time, the included studies’ app features/sections were also extracted, and the total of this information was presented in a table. After indicating the mainly used software in the development of these types of apps, a simple app architecture and a how-to-develop model using the most practical software were illustrated.
Results: “3D Model display” and “multiple-choice questions” were identified as the minimum (basic) features of an AR-based educational app. To identify the most commonly used software in creating AR-based educational apps, articles were reviewed, required information was extracted, and gathered in form of a table. The results of the review showed that Unity 3D and Vuforia have the highest usage statistics in creating these types of apps. Finally, a simple model of the process of developing AR-based educational app and a sample output of this type of app were presented based on this information.
Conclusions: Simulation-based education is one of the prominent and growing topics worldwide. Augmented Reality is one of the most renowned and widely used technologies in this field. The results of this study encompass a set of basic features of an AR-based educational app as well as the software that can be used to create such apps. Therefore, this study can assist researchers interested in this field in navigating the simplest path to developing an AR-based educational app by providing them with an initial technical understanding of AR-based education.
Marjan Ghazi Saeedi, Mohammad Amin Abbasi Eslamloo, Kobra Darabiyan, Elham Ataei,
Volume 17, Issue 3 (8-2023)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Despite the continuous progress in medicine, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is still a progressive, incurable and chronic respiratory condition that limits the patients’ functions in various dimensions, and significantly reduce their quality of life. In this way, self-care of patients and the use of related tools have a significant effect in disease control and treatment. The purpose of this research was design and development of an android-based application for COPD.
Materials and Methods: This research was a descriptive developmental type with a practical approach. Initially, based on the study of library resources, guidelines, and the examination of the medical records of COPD inpatients in Firouzabadi Hospital, a questionnaire was designed to identify the information requirements, data items and features of the application. Then it was reviewed and finalized by a sample of 10 (randomized and convenience sampling) internal and lung specialist doctors in Firouzabadi and Hazrat Rasool hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, and then scenario tables and UML diagrams were illustrated to show the overall flow of the application. The application was designed and developed using the Java programming language in the Android Studio 2021 platform. After installing the application on the mobile phones of ten COPD patients of the internal and pulmonary clinic of Firouzabadi Shahre Rey Hospital, and using it for a week, the opinions of the patients about the usability of the application were collected through the QUIS questionnaire, and analyzed.
Results: Application sections were determined following experts’ survey, personal information items, clinical information, disease management, reporting, and training points, which were provided to patients after design for use and evaluation. At the end of the research, the results of the evaluation of the usability and satisfaction level of the application showed that from the patients’ point of view, the application is at a good level with an average score of 1.8 (out of 10 points).
Conclusion: The developed self-care application can be used to increase awareness, help to manage the disease, increase the level of quality of life, and reduce the complications and disease burden for patients with COPD.
Leila Erfannia, Azita Yazdani,
Volume 17, Issue 3 (8-2023)
Abstract
Background and Aim: With the spread of the Corona pandemic, the statistics of the number of mobile health applications have grown significantly. This research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the content of Persian language applications in the management of Covid-19.
Material and Methods: In this review research, a systematic search for Persian language programs in the field of Covid-19 management was conducted in four mobile application markets including Myket, Bazzar, Google Play and App Store. The content of the programs was evaluated based on a researcher-made checklist, which was verified according 3 specialist comments, in the five axes of ease of use, education, monitoring, privacy and data sharing. Programs that received more than 50% of the evaluation score were introduced as selected programs. By removing duplicate programs, 119 programs were extracted, of which 21 programs entered the final stage of quality evaluation based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and after a complete review of the content and capabilities.
Results: Based on the total points of the program, Safiran Salamat received the most score (31), Ac19 and mask were ranked next with 27 and 22 points, respectively. These three programs along with Corona Amar Tashkhis as fourth program received more than 50% of the content review and 17 other programs received less than 50% of the total score. Government has a great role in programs development (three program were government and one was non- government base). All 4 programs, had acceptable score in ease of use but none of them develop for user tracking. Pearson’s correlation test was used to test the relationship between the quality (total scores of apps) and the popularity (amount of downloads), and no significant correlation was observed.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that Iranian mobile applications have an acceptable performance in the fields of education and information sharing, but their low popularity makes the achievement of these goals far from expected. Marketing strategies can be effective as one of the useful policy in increasing the use of mobile health programs. Also, the inclusion of capabilities such as contact tracing and online consultations can be fruitful in the pursuit of goals.
Sanam Lotfi, Reza Safdari, Dr Kurosh Jafarian,
Volume 17, Issue 4 (10-2023)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Nutrition recommender systems are one of the most prominent technologies in the field of nutrition informatics that help users to have a healthy diet. These systems are able to suggest the most appropriate foods and meal plans considering the child's physical condition. Considering that children are the most vulnerable age group, one of the most important health goals in the early years of a child's life is achieving balanced and correct nutrition, and as a result this study was conducted with the aim of designing, creating and evaluating a children's nutrition recommendation system.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in 2022 in three stages to assess the needs of the informational elements of the nutrition recommender application. First, in order to determine data capabilities of the program, data needs analysis has been done. In the following, based on the needs assessment, the application was designed and its final version was created. The application was created in the Android Studio environment and then its technical applicability was done using the Nielsen questionnaire by 5 medical informatics and health information management experts.
Results: The required information capabilities of the program were determined and after the statistical analysis of the questionnaire, most of the items raised in it were deemed necessary by the experts participating in the research with a high percentage (90%) and were included in the application program. Then the design and creation of the nutrition recommender application for children 1 to 5 years old was done in the Android Studio programming environment. Finally, the use of Nielsen's exploratory evaluation questionnaire and its technical applicability were evaluated by experts. The average severity of the problems related to Nielsen's ten principles was 1.3, which is classified as minor problems.
Conclusion: Using the nutrition recommender application will be a useful solution to increase parents' awareness of the child's growth status in terms of age, height and head circumference. This program has improved nutritional health, improved mental health, and better growth of children and will play a significant role in preventing the occurrence of diseases by using appropriate nutritional recommendations.
Fatemeh Soofiabadi, Alireza Shahraki, Mohebali Rahdar,
Volume 18, Issue 3 (7-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Given the high sensitivity of the medical field, a mistake can cause irreparable damage to human society. For this reason, finding the symptoms of the disease and the relationships between them to facilitate the improvement of diseases is inevitable. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to first identify the symptoms of neurofibromatosis type 1 by specialists, then determine the relationship between the symptoms and the degree of their impact on each other in order to determine the most important criterion in improving the disease.
Materials and Methods: The present study is of a developmental-applied type in terms of its purpose and of a descriptive-survey type in terms of its data collection method. The case study of the present study is spinal disorders, of which neurofibromatosis type 1 has been diagnosed as one of them based on the opinion of experts. Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a genetic disorder that causes tumors in the nervous tissue. Accordingly, in the present study, the criteria, which are the symptoms of the disease, were first determined using the opinion of a group of experts and the implementation of the fuzzy Delphi method. In the next step, a model for the causal relationships between the symptoms of the disease is presented. For this purpose, a fuzzy cognitive map is drawn using MATLAB, FCMapper and Pajek software, then backward and forward scenarios are presented for neurofibromatosis type 1 and the disease improvement scenario is determined.
Results: The results showed that hormonal changes, flat brown spots on the skin, freckles in the armpit and groin area, soft bumps on the face or under the skin, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, bumps on the iris of the eye (Lish nodules), tumor in the optic nerve-ocular glioma, short stature, bone deformity, learning disabilities-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and larger than average head size are ranked first to twelfth, respectively. The causal relationships between the symptoms showed that the criterion of hormonal changes has the greatest impact on the criterion of freckles in the armpit or groin area; Therefore, if the hormonal changes criterion improves, neurofibromatosis type 1 will also improve.
Conclusion: The findings of this study have helped the medical community to have a better understanding of the symptoms of the disease so that doctors can improve their prevention and care recommendations based on the severity of the symptoms of the diseases.
Seyyedeh Fatemeh Mousavi Baigi, Reyhaneh Norouzi Aval, Masoumeh Sarbaz, Khalil Kimiafar,
Volume 18, Issue 4 (10-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Proficiency in medical terminology is a basic competency of most medical students, which ensures communication with other healthcare providers. Facing the lack of motivation and involvement of students, applications, and games based on smartphones are considered as a possible educational option. Due to the rapid expansion of these applications, a correct evaluation of their quality is often not provided. This study investigated and evaluated the quality of smartphone applications and games for teaching medical terminology.
Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted in August 2024, in the official stores of Bazaar and Google Play applications. The two main keywords “medical terminology” and “medical vocabulary” were searched in Persian and English. Two evaluators independently downloaded and evaluated smartphone-based applications and games for teaching medical terminology. The same checklist was used for data extraction. The quality of apps was measured using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). The points of each section, the final score of the retrieved applications, and the mean and standard deviation were obtained.
Results: In total, eighteen programs were included in this study, four of which were games. The average quality of the programs was between 2.70 and 4.30 (average 3.80) on a scale from 1 (inadequate) to 5 (excellent). The best scores are in performance (mean: 3.91), followed by information quality (mean: 3.15). Aesthetics (mean: 2.56) and mental quality of the program (mean: 2.58) had the lowest scores. Two applications offered data privacy, and four had privacy statements. The game ‘Dean Vaughn’ and the application ‘MediTerm’ received the highest overall scores.
Conclusion: This study provides an analysis and description of smartphone-based applications and games for teaching medical terminology to help students and users choose high-quality applications that suit their needs and tastes, and on the other hand, it provides the possibility of identifying research and operational gaps to strengthen and design more effective and better applications for the developers of these applications. The applications evaluated were generally of good overall quality, particularly in terms of functionality and information. However, some applications need to improve aspects such as aesthetics and subjective quality to increase their impact on users and ensure better security and privacy.
Maryam Jahanbakhsh, Mahnaz Noroozi, Majid Jangi, Fateme Ghadiri Kofrani,
Volume 18, Issue 5 (11-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Education on sexually transmitted diseases and functional disorders in Iranian women’s society are two important issues that should be addressed as aspects of sexual health. The evidence suggests that mobile phone-based applications can be a suitable tool to improve education in the field of sexual health. Therefore, in the current research, the design of the content model of the mobile phone-based application with an emphasis on diseases transmitted through sexual contact and functional disorders of women has been discussed.
Materials and Methods: The present study is applied-descriptive and was conducted in 3 stages as follows: determining the requirements of the application content model, designing it, and evaluating it. First, information needs were identified and extracted through a civilian review and a review of the App Store, Google Play, and Cafe Bazaar application stores. Then, the results were scientifically organized and reviewed and presented in the form of the application content form to a panel of 7 sexual health experts. The content model was reviewed by the experts and designed through UML diagrams and approved by technical specialists.
Results: The findings of the needs assessment phase consisted of compiling the content requirements of the application in the form of 6 areas: 1- sexual attitude and knowledge 2- improving the quality of sexual life 3- sexually transmitted diseases 4- HIV/AIDS 5- genital infections 6- dysfunction disorders and 41 sub-areas were approved by experts. The compiled model was drawn through the diagrams of the application, sequence, business process and state diagrams and was confirmed and developed during the evaluation with activity diagrams and display screens.
Conclusion: Mobile applications, which are not only more accessible than other technologies, but also provide a space for education, free from any shame and worry due to the one-way nature of the communication, are a suitable platform for increasing Iranian women’s attitudes and knowledge about their sexual health. The designed content model can serve as a Persian, scientific, and native prototype for the development and design of an application that can be implemented on mobile phones to educate women’s sexual health.
Samin Rezapour, Mohamad Jebraeily, Esmaeil Mehraeen, Haleh Ayatollahi,
Volume 19, Issue 1 (4-2025)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Breast self-examination is a recommended screening method that can be used by any woman at any age. Smartphone applications can be a low-cost and effective strategy to prevent breast cancer by changing behavior and encouraging women to be aware of their breast health. The purpose of this research is to determine the learning needs and preferences of women in the development of a BSE smartphone application.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023, The statistical population of the study included 120 women working in the faculties of Urmia University of Medical Sciences, who were selected through stratified proportional sampling. To collect data, a questionnaire was designed, the validity of which was confirmed based on the content validity method and expert opinion. The test-retest method was also used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, which resulted in a Pearson correlation coefficient of 85%. The rating of each item in the questionnaire was determined based on a five-point Likert scale (1-5). The Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software.
Results: From the perspective of women, the most important learning needs are related to breast cancer risk factors (4.68), the importance of early detection of breast cancer (4.33), how to perform breast self-examination (4.38), the role of breast self-examination in breast cancer prevention (4.18), ways to detect breast cancer early (4.11), types of physical activities (4.16) and healthy diet (4.08) related to breast cancer prevention. In terms of the technical capabilities of the application, the most important features include multimedia educational content (4.61), self-examination training (4.52), information about warning signs (4.33), self-examination time reminder (4.29) and ease of use (4.20).
Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that educational content should present risk factors and the role of diet and physical activity in preventing breast cancer, and teach how to accurately perform breast self-examination with multimedia content. Also, the technical capabilities of the smartphone application should be designed in a way that suits women’s learning needs while maintaining the confidentiality of information and the privacy of individuals.
Farzin Halabchi, Reza Safdari, Shahrbanoo Pahlevanynejad, Sahba Kazemipour,
Volume 19, Issue 2 (7-2025)
Abstract
Background and Aim: The World Health Organization defines physical inactivity as engaging in less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week for adults, which is recognized as a serious global health challenge with dangerous consequences for public health. Global statistics indicate that this issue is more prominent among women; in Iran, 61.9% of women do not engage in sufficient physical activity. The adoption and expansion of health-related technologies indicate their high potential in supporting self-care. This study aims to identify the necessary data elements for designing a personalized self-care fitness mobile application for women.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in two phases: literature review and data element needs assessment. In the first phase, relevant data elements for creating a personalized self-care fitness application for women were identified through scientific articles in databases and library resources, and a data elements checklist was prepared. In the second phase, based on the checklist, a questionnaire was designed by the researcher. Its validity was confirmed by the research team, and its reliability was calculated with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 91.3%.
Results: The aforementioned questionnaire was provided to 20 physicians from the sports medicine department at Mahdi Clinic, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, to thoroughly evaluate the proposed data elements in terms of their importance, measurability, and relevance. In total, 49 data elements were identified across seven sections: demographic information, health information, disease information, inappropriate behavioral habits, anthropometric data, reports, and lifestyle. Of these, 4 elements were removed due to incompatibility with the study objectives and low importance scores. Additionally, to facilitate future analyses, the remaining elements were re-categorized into 6 groups.
Conclusion: In this study, the key data elements required for designing and providing exercise programs specifically for women were identified and determined. This process aimed to enhance the level of physical activity and address the specific needs of women, thereby establishing a scientific and precise foundation for developing programs tailored to the physical and psychological characteristics of this group.