Mobile health applications are increasingly used in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to improve their self-management, nonetheless, without firm evidence of their efficacy. This meta-analysis was aimed to assess the efficacy of mobile health applications in supporting self-management as an intervention to reduce hospital admission rates and average days of hospitalization, etc. PubMed, Web of Science (SCI), Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for relevant articles published before November 14th, 2017. A total of 6 reports with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were finally included in this meta-analysis. Patients using mobile phone applications may have a lower risk for hospital admissions than those in the usual care group (risk ratio (RR) = 0.73, 95% CI [0.52, 1.04]). However, there was no significant difference in reducing the average days of hospitalization. Self-management with mobile phone applications could reduce hospital admissions of patients with COPD.

Stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality worldwide; yet; prior to this study; there had been no sufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of various transitional care interventions (TCI) on the disability and mortality of stroke survivors. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of TCI in reducing mortality and improving the activities of daily life (ADL) of stroke patients. PubMed; Web of Science; OVID; EMBASE; CINAHL; and Sino-Med were searched for articles published before November 2016. Thirty-one randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified in the study. This analysis showed that the total effect of TCI on reducing mortality was limited (Risk Ratio (RR) = 0.86; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.75–0.98); that only home-visiting programs could reduce mortality rates (RR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.17–0.67) compared with usual care; and that the best intervention was led by a multidisciplinary team (MT) ≤3 months (RR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.05–0.71). In addition; home-visiting programs also produced ADL benefit (RR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.31–0.81). Overall; there was a statistically significant difference in improving patients’ independence between TCI and usual care (RR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.02–1.23). However; none of the interventions was effective when they were differentiated in the analysis. It is the conclusion of this study that home-visiting programs; especially those led by MTs; should receive the greatest consideration by healthcare systems or providers for implementing TCI to stroke survivors.

Disrupting the process of memory reconsolidation could be a promising treatment for addiction. However, its application may be constrained by the intensity of addiction memory. This study aimed to develop and initially validate a new measure, the Addiction Memory Intensity Scale (AMIS), for assessing the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users. Two studies were conducted in China for item analysis (n = 345) and initial validation (n = 1550) of the AMIS. The nine-item AMIS was found to have two factors (labelled Visual Clarity and Other Sensory Intensity), which accounted for 64.11% of the total variance. The two-factor structure provided a reasonable fit for sample data and was invariant across groups of different genders and different primary drugs of use. Significant correlations were found between scores on the AMIS and the measures of craving. The AMIS and its factors showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α: 0.72–0.89) and test-retest reliability (r: 0.72–0.80). These results suggest that the AMIS, which demonstrates an advantage as it is brief and easy to administer, is a reliable and valid tool for measuring the intensity of addiction memory in illicit drug users, and has the potential to be useful in future clinical research.