Digital Health Science Digest: Issue 6
The Digital Health Science Digest is a bimonthly newsletter compiled by Duke Digital Health. We bring you the most interesting research publications, policy news, and other fun digital health science stuff.
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Issue 6
7/6/15
Tech
- Google X has developed a wrist-worn health tracker that will be specifically used for clinical trials. It can measure pulse, heart rhythm and skin temperature.
- IBM’s supercomputer Watson is in training to become a cancer specialist, reports the Washington Post.
- A recent survey by Forrester Research found that smartphone users spend 85% of their usage time on just 5 apps. Are any of them health apps? Not. Even. Close.
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Researchers at UCSF will use Apple’s ResearchKit to collect data on health issues faced by the LGBTQ community. The study is an effort to address under-reporting of health issues and outcomes in this community.
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For those of us who work locally, check out Durham Network of Care – individuals can search for health services in and around Durham, find health information, learn about insurance coverage options, and even create a personal health record! Consider sharing it with your research participants and/or patients.
Policy
- Free birth control saves women money (roughly $1.4 billion/year) and if you provide it, women will use it (and then unwanted pregnancies and abortion rates will decline – like, by a lot). This is important data for addressing health disparities, according to Isabel Sawhill from the Brookings Institution, who says, “single parenting is a primary driver of inequality and long-acting birth control is a powerful tool to prevent it.”
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Mayo clinic has opened an eICU, where doctors can monitor patients in 95 beds over 3 states using telemedicine. In doing so, Mayo is pushing Congress to allow Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine services
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced new rules on Wednesday designed to address housing discrimination and foster racial integration of neighborhoods. Maybe more integrated neighborhoods will mean better connected ones? Maybe they’ll mean healthier ones?
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ICYMI, #ACAHereToStay !!!!! Here are the 8 best lines from The Supreme Court’s majority opinion upholding the federal exchange. Our personal favorite is #8.
Research
- Using a Fitbit was associated with increased physical activity at 16 weeks, compared to wearing a pedometer, according to a recent study.
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A review of recent literature related to patient health portals and its relationship to engagement found that provider endorsement and portal usability were important factors in patient engagement.
- A cross-sectional study of low-income pregnant and postpartum women and Internet and mobile phone use (mostly) confirms previous findings: over 90% of women surveyed used a mobile phone, but numbers change frequently (<25% of women surveyed had changed phone numbers 2 or more times in the past year). Women are much less likely to have reliable Internet connection. Interestingly, this study reported that Black women were less likely to text, compared to white women.
- A web-based cognitive behavioral therapy treatment was reported to be effective at improving eating disorder pathology among women with eating disorders.
Random
- The Huffington Post recently launched Black Health
Matters, a sectionof HuffPo which “seeks to raise awareness around the health gap and spotlight efforts to make the medical field more inclusive.”
- Jesse Jackson is frustrated by the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley, and he’s doing something about it.
If you’d like to submit an event or article for us to publish in our digest, please send at least 3 weeks before the event to: erica.levine@duke.edu