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Journal of Medicine and Life 2021Cloud computing is among the most beneficial solutions to digital problems. Security is one of the focal issues in cloud computing technology, and this study aims at... (Review)
Review
Cloud computing is among the most beneficial solutions to digital problems. Security is one of the focal issues in cloud computing technology, and this study aims at investigating security issues of cloud computing and their probable solutions. A systematic review was performed using Scopus, Pubmed, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases. Once the title and abstract were evaluated, the quality of studies was assessed in order to choose the most relevant according to exclusion and inclusion criteria. Then, the full texts of studies selected were read thoroughly to extract the necessary results. According to the review, data security, availability, and integrity, as well as information confidentiality and network security, were the major challenges in cloud security. Further, data encryption, authentication, and classification, besides application programming interfaces (API), were security solutions to cloud infrastructure. Data encryption could be applied to store and retrieve data from the cloud in order to provide secure communication. Besides, several central challenges, which make the cloud security engineering process problematic, have been considered in this study.
Topics: Cloud Computing; Computer Security; Confidentiality; Delivery of Health Care; Humans; Software
PubMed: 34621367
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2021-0100 -
JMIR Medical Informatics Dec 2019Governments and health care providers are keen to find innovative ways to deliver care more efficiently. Interest in electronic consultation (e-consultation) has grown,... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Governments and health care providers are keen to find innovative ways to deliver care more efficiently. Interest in electronic consultation (e-consultation) has grown, but the evidence of benefit is uncertain.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the evidence of delivering e-consultation using secure email and messaging or video links in primary care.
METHODS
A systematic review was conducted on the use and application of e-consultations in primary care. We searched 7 international databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, EconLit, and Web of Science; 1999-2017), identifying 52 relevant studies. Papers were screened against a detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria. Independent dual data extraction was conducted and assessed for quality. The resulting evidence was synthesized using thematic analysis.
RESULTS
This review included 57 studies from a range of countries, mainly the United States (n=30) and the United Kingdom (n=13). There were disparities in uptake and utilization toward more use by younger, employed adults. Patient responses to e-consultation were mixed. Patients reported satisfaction with services and improved self-care, communication, and engagement with clinicians. Evidence for the acceptability and ease of use was strong, especially for those with long-term conditions and patients located in remote regions. However, patients were concerned about the privacy and security of their data. For primary health care staff, e-consultation delivers challenges around time management, having the correct technological infrastructure, whether it offers a comparable standard of clinical quality, and whether it improves health outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
E-consultations may improve aspects of care delivery, but the small scale of many of the studies and low adoption rates leave unanswered questions about usage, quality, cost, and sustainability. We need to improve e-consultation implementation, demonstrate how e-consultations will not increase disparities in access, provide better reassurance to patients about privacy, and incorporate e-consultation as part of a manageable clinical workflow.
PubMed: 31793888
DOI: 10.2196/13042 -
HERD Jan 2018Our review evaluated both the effects of single-occupancy patient rooms (SPRs) on patient outcomes for hospitalized adults and user opinion related to SPRs. (Review)
Review
AIM
Our review evaluated both the effects of single-occupancy patient rooms (SPRs) on patient outcomes for hospitalized adults and user opinion related to SPRs.
BACKGROUND
In 2006, a requirement for SPRs in hospitals was instituted in the United States. This systematic literature review evaluates research published since that time to evaluate the impact of SPRs.
METHODS
The review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Databases searched included MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus. Supplemental searches were performed. We included studies reporting patient outcomes or user opinion related to SPRs. Appraisal was conducted using a dual appraisal system of evidence levels and methodological quality.
RESULTS
Forty-three studies qualified for appraisal. Three were excluded due to methodological quality (no appraisal score). One study was appraised for three individual outcomes (i.e., falls, infections, and user opinion). Eleven studies with low methodological quality scores were not included in the narrative synthesis. Overall, 87% of studies reported advantages associated with SPRs (some a combination of advantages and disadvantages or a combination of advantages and neutral results). Outcomes with the best evidence of benefit include communication, infection control, noise reduction/perceived sleep quality, and preference/perception.
CONCLUSION
SPRs seem to result in more advantages than disadvantages. However, healthcare is a complex adaptive system, and decisions for 100% SPRs should be reviewed alongside related issues, such as necessary workflow modifications, unit configuration and other room layout decisions, patient populations, staffing models, and inherent trade-offs (e.g., the advantages of privacy compared to disadvantage of isolation).
Topics: Accidental Falls; Communication; Hospital Design and Construction; Humans; Infection Control; Noise; Patient Preference; Patient Satisfaction; Patients' Rooms; Restraint, Physical
PubMed: 29448834
DOI: 10.1177/1937586718755110 -
Journal of Housing and the Built... 2022Grounded in psychological and social constructs, the need for privacy is reflected in human socio-spatial behaviour and in our own home. To discuss housing privacy, this...
Grounded in psychological and social constructs, the need for privacy is reflected in human socio-spatial behaviour and in our own home. To discuss housing privacy, this article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) that identified theoretical and methodological aspects relevant to the topic. The research was based on consolidated protocols to identify, select and evaluate articles published between 2000 and 2021 in three databases (Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scielo), with 71 eligible articles identified for synthesis. The results showed a concentration of studies in the American, European and Islamic context, and the increase in this production since 2018. This was guided by the inadequacy of architectural and urban planning projects, by new forms of social interaction and, recently, by the COVID-19 pandemic. From a theoretical point of view, the SLR demonstrated the importance of investigating privacy in housing from a comprehensive perspective, observing its different dimensions (physical, social and psychological) and characterizing the issues involved and the context under analysis. Methodologically, the main instruments identified were: (i) to behavioural analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observations; (ii) to built environment evaluation, in addition to the previous ones, space syntax analysis, architectural design and photographs analysis; (iii) for the general characterization of users, the data collection regarding the socio-demographic and cultural context and the meanings attributed to spatial organizations; (iv) to characterize the participants of the investigations, the analysis of personality traits, the ways to personalize the space, user satisfaction/preferences and the influence of social interactions on these perceptions.
PubMed: 35317451
DOI: 10.1007/s10901-022-09939-z -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Mar 2024Data from the Internet of Things (IoT) enables the design of new business models and services that improve user experience and satisfaction. These data serve as... (Review)
Review
Data from the Internet of Things (IoT) enables the design of new business models and services that improve user experience and satisfaction. These data serve as important information sources for many domains, including disaster management, biosurveillance, smart cities, and smart health, among others. However, this scenario involves the collection of personal data, raising new challenges related to data privacy protection. Therefore, we aim to provide state-of-the-art information regarding privacy issues in the context of IoT, with a particular focus on findings that utilize the Personal Data Store (PDS) as a viable solution for these concerns. To achieve this, we conduct a systematic mapping review to identify, evaluate, and interpret the relevant literature on privacy issues and PDS-based solutions in the IoT context. Our analysis is guided by three well-defined research questions, and we systematically selected 49 studies published until 2023 from an initial pool of 176 papers. We analyze and discuss the most common privacy issues highlighted by the authors and position the role of PDS technologies as a solution to privacy issues in the IoT context. As a result, our findings reveal that only a small number of works (approximately 20%) were dedicated to presenting solutions for privacy issues. Most works (almost 82%) were published between 2018 and 2023, demonstrating an increased interest in the theme in recent years. Additionally, only two works used PDS-based solutions to deal with privacy issues in the IoT context.
PubMed: 38610408
DOI: 10.3390/s24072197 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Dec 2023Persons diagnosed with serious chronic illnesses and their caretakers experience multiple types of financial costs that strain their income and generate financial... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Persons diagnosed with serious chronic illnesses and their caretakers experience multiple types of financial costs that strain their income and generate financial distress. Many turn to medical crowdfunding (MCF) to mitigate the harms of these costs on their health and quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
This scoping review aims to summarize the research on MCF for persons diagnosed with serious chronic illness regarding study designs and methods; the responsible conduct of research practices; and study foci as they relate to stress, stress appraisals, and the coping processes.
METHODS
This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. Eligible studies were conducted in countries designated as high income by the World Bank and focused on beneficiaries diagnosed with serious chronic illness. The findings of the included studies were summarized as they related to the key concepts in a conceptual framework derived from an established stress, appraisal, and coping framework and a conceptual model of financial toxicity in pediatric oncology.
RESULTS
Overall, 26 studies were eligible for inclusion in the review. The main findings included a lack of integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches and the inconsistent reporting of the responsible conduct of research practices. The included studies focused on financial stressors that contributed to financial burden, such as out-of-pocket payments of medical bills, basic living expenses, medical travel expenses, and lost income owing to illness-related work disruptions. Few studies addressed stress appraisals as threatening or the adequacy of available financial resources. When mentioned, appraisals related to the global financial struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic or the capacity of social network members to donate funds. The consequences of MCF included the receipt of 3 forms of social support (tangible, informational, and emotional), privacy loss, embarrassment, and the propagation of scientifically unsupported information. Studies found that friends and family tended to manage MCF campaigns. Although most of the studies (21/26, 81%) focused on monetary outcomes, a few (5/26, 19%) concentrated on peoples' experiences with MCF.
CONCLUSIONS
The identified methodological gaps highlight the need for more robust and reproducible approaches to using the copious data available on public MCF platforms. The integration of quantitative and qualitative methods will allow for nuanced explorations of the MCF experience. A more consistent elaboration of strategies to promote the responsible conduct of research is warranted to minimize risk to populations that are vulnerable and express concerns regarding the loss of privacy. Finally, an examination of the unanticipated consequences of MCF is critical for the development of future interventions to optimize existing supports while providing needed supports, financial and nonfinancial, that are lacking.
Topics: Child; Humans; Medical Tourism; Pandemics; Quality of Life; Health Expenditures; Chronic Disease
PubMed: 38048149
DOI: 10.2196/44530 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2022The field of information security and privacy is currently attracting a lot of research interest. Simultaneously, different computing paradigms from Cloud computing to... (Review)
Review
The field of information security and privacy is currently attracting a lot of research interest. Simultaneously, different computing paradigms from Cloud computing to Edge computing are already forming a unique ecosystem with different architectures, storage, and processing capabilities. The heterogeneity of this ecosystem comes with certain limitations, particularly security and privacy challenges. This systematic literature review aims to identify similarities, differences, main attacks, and countermeasures in the various paradigms mentioned. The main determining outcome points out the essential security and privacy threats. The presented results also outline important similarities and differences in Cloud, Edge, and Fog computing paradigms. Finally, the work identified that the heterogeneity of such an ecosystem does have issues and poses a great setback in the deployment of security and privacy mechanisms to counter security attacks and privacy leakages. Different deployment techniques were found in the review studies as ways to mitigate and enhance security and privacy shortcomings.
Topics: Cloud Computing; Computer Security; Ecosystem; Privacy; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35161675
DOI: 10.3390/s22030927 -
Cureus Sep 2023Blockchain technology has gained attention as a potential solution for improving data security, privacy, and interoperability in various industries, including... (Review)
Review
Blockchain technology has gained attention as a potential solution for improving data security, privacy, and interoperability in various industries, including healthcare. In the field of dentistry, the implementation of blockchain holds promise for transforming dental practice and management. However, a comprehensive evaluation of the existing literature regarding the implementation of blockchain technology in dental practice is lacking. This systematic review aimed to assess the current evidence on the implementation of blockchain technology in dental practice and management. A systematic literature search was conducted using major databases to identify relevant studies. The search strategy included keywords related to blockchain technology and dentistry. The investigation was performed as per the PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting on the implementation, adoption, and outcomes of blockchain technology in dental practice and management were included. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed following predefined criteria. The initial search yielded a multitude of articles, and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six studies were included in the systematic review. The studies explored various aspects of blockchain technology implementation in dental practice, including data security, interoperability, supply chain management, and patient consent management. Furthermore, the use of blockchain-based systems showed potential benefits in enhancing supply chain management efficiency and patient consent authentication. This systematic review provided insights into the current state of blockchain technology implementation in dental practice and management. The findings suggested that blockchain technology has the potential to enhance data security, privacy, and interoperability in dental practices. However, further research and real-world implementation studies are needed to fully understand the impact of blockchain technology on dental practice and to address the existing challenges.
PubMed: 37868487
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.45512 -
Nursing Ethics May 2016The right of children to have their voice heard has been accepted by researchers, and there are increasing numbers of qualitative health studies involving children. The... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The right of children to have their voice heard has been accepted by researchers, and there are increasing numbers of qualitative health studies involving children. The ethical and methodological issues of including children in research have caused worldwide concerns, and many researchers have published articles sharing their own experiences.
OBJECTIVES
To systematically review and synthesise experts' opinions and experiences about ethical and methodological issues of including children in research, as well as related solution strategies.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design was a systematic review of opinion-based evidence, based on the guidelines by Joanna Briggs Institute.
METHODS
A search of five computerised databases has been conducted in April 2014 and 2271 articles were found. After screening the titles, abstracts, full texts and appraising the quality, 30 articles were finally included in the review. A meta-aggregative approach was applied in the data analysis and synthesis process.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Ethical approval is not needed as it is a systematic review of published literature.
RESULTS
Six themes were identified, including evaluating potential risks and benefits, gaining access, obtaining informed consent/assent, protecting confidentiality and privacy, building rapport and collecting rich data. The similarities and differences between research involving children and that involving adults were indicated.
CONCLUSION
All potential incentives should be justified when designing the study. Further studies need to research how to evaluate individual capacity of children and how to balance protecting children's right to participate and their interests in the research. Cultural differences related to researching children in different regions should also be studied.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Child; Confidentiality; Data Collection; Ethics, Research; Humans; Informed Consent; Qualitative Research; Research Design; Risk
PubMed: 25552586
DOI: 10.1177/0969733014564102 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Nov 2022Much research is being carried out using publicly available Twitter data in the field of public health, but the types of research questions that these data are being... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Much research is being carried out using publicly available Twitter data in the field of public health, but the types of research questions that these data are being used to answer and the extent to which these projects require ethical oversight are not clear.
OBJECTIVE
This review describes the current state of public health research using Twitter data in terms of methods and research questions, geographic focus, and ethical considerations including obtaining informed consent from Twitter handlers.
METHODS
We implemented a systematic review, following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, of articles published between January 2006 and October 31, 2019, using Twitter data in secondary analyses for public health research, which were found using standardized search criteria on SocINDEX, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Studies were excluded when using Twitter for primary data collection, such as for study recruitment or as part of a dissemination intervention.
RESULTS
We identified 367 articles that met eligibility criteria. Infectious disease (n=80, 22%) and substance use (n=66, 18%) were the most common topics for these studies, and sentiment mining (n=227, 62%), surveillance (n=224, 61%), and thematic exploration (n=217, 59%) were the most common methodologies employed. Approximately one-third of articles had a global or worldwide geographic focus; another one-third focused on the United States. The majority (n=222, 60%) of articles used a native Twitter application programming interface, and a significant amount of the remainder (n=102, 28%) used a third-party application programming interface. Only one-third (n=119, 32%) of studies sought ethical approval from an institutional review board, while 17% of them (n=62) included identifying information on Twitter users or tweets and 36% of them (n=131) attempted to anonymize identifiers. Most studies (n=272, 79%) included a discussion on the validity of the measures and reliability of coding (70% for interreliability of human coding and 70% for computer algorithm checks), but less attention was paid to the sampling frame, and what underlying population the sample represented.
CONCLUSIONS
Twitter data may be useful in public health research, given its access to publicly available information. However, studies should exercise greater caution in considering the data sources, accession method, and external validity of the sampling frame. Further, an ethical framework is necessary to help guide future research in this area, especially when individual, identifiable Twitter users and tweets are shared and discussed.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO CRD42020148170; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=148170.
Topics: Humans; Public Health; Reproducibility of Results; Social Media; PubMed; Access to Information
PubMed: 36445739
DOI: 10.2196/40380