Mobile and tablet apps, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, wearable computing and domotics for health.

Patient violence against nurses in their work environments is a widespread global concern, particularly in the field of mental health care. A high prevalence of violent events impacts the well-being of nurses and may also impair overall ward climate. However, it has been proposed that nurses’ use limited techniques to prevent patient violence, and, therefore, more comprehensive methods for dealing with patient violence are needed. There is still restricted understanding of the ward climate during the occurrence of a violent event as well as how these incidents could be more effectively prevented. This study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences of violent events in psychiatric wards, give insight into ward climates and examine suggestions for violence prevention. This study employed a descriptive, exploratory design including focus groups (n = 5) and open-ended questions. The participants were registered and enrolled nurses (n = 22) working on three closed psychiatric in-patient wards in one Finnish hospital district. Focus groups were tape-recorded, transcribed and analyzed with inductive content analysis. Nurses’ experiences of violent events included a variety of warning signs and high-risk situations which helped them to predict forthcoming violence. Patient-instigated violent events were described as complicated situations involving both nurses and patients. When the wards were overloaded with work or emotions, or if nurses had become cynical from dealing with such events, well-being of nurses was impaired and nursing care was complicated. Suggestions for violence prevention were identified, and included, for example, more skilled interaction between nurses and patients and an increase in contact between nurses and patients on the ward. This study revealed the complexity of violent events on psychiatric wards as well as the implications of these events on clinical practice development and training, administration and policy. A routine process is needed through which nurses’ experiences and ideas concerning prevention of violent events are acknowledged.

Background. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness requiring self-management skills and information about the illness, its treatment, and where to get help with daily routines. Despite the systematic development of computer-based approaches in mental health, less systematic development of such methods can be found for patients with schizophrenia or psychosis. Objective. The aim is to describe the design and development process of patient-centered computer-based support system (Mieli.Net portal) for patients with schizophrenia spectrum psychoses. Methods. The process with a mixed methods approach includes four phases: analysis of users' needs, development of key patient information areas, development of a software prototype and to pilot the portal, and user evaluation by health care staff. Results. The computer-based patient support system is a promising health-promoting service to schizophrenic patients. It is important, that users of technology are involved in the development process, which will ensure that sites are user-friendly, information can be personalized, and mental patients' voices are heard in the development of patient education. Conclusions. The effectiveness needs to be evaluated carefully in future clinical trials. This will offer valuable information for policymakers, organizations and health care practitioners about the usability of web-based patient education in the area of mental health care.

Little effort has been made to investigate the potential of web programs aimed to support the mental wellbeing of adolescents in school environments in middle-income countries. A quasi-experimental feasibility study was conducted in Thailand with adolescents (N = 180) in three conveniently sampled high schools and with teachers (N = 12) who acted as program tutors. The web program was used in small groups, independently, or it was not used at all. No statistically significant changes were found between the groups regarding depression, stress, or satisfaction. Differences between program users (n = 61) and non-users (n = 48) were not significant. Acceptance was higher among adolescents who used the program independently (n = 40, 73% vs. n = 21, 39%; p = 0.001). Usability feedback did not differ between the groups. Support should be provided in order for programs to be potentially used. More information is needed regarding factors associated with the use of web programs.