International postgraduate programme in digital health
Description: The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), drawing on more than 25 years of experience delivering 100% online quality higher education, is launching a new international postgraduate programme in digital health. The programme will be run by the UOC's eHealth Center and is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). This postgraduate programme is part of the Argentina Campus Global initiative set up by the Argentinian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology.
The objective is to train healthcare professionals in Argentina, who will develop the competencies required to adapt scientific and professional processes that enable them to identify, design, implement and evaluate potential technological solutions that empower people and advance participatory health and the digital transformation of healthcare.
People involved: Marta Aymerich and Carme Carrion
Training European health professionals in how to produce clinical practice guidelines for rare diseases
Description: The UOC's eHealth Center has taken part in a European tender process to develop clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and clinical decision support tools (CDSTs) for rare diseases. Coordinated by the Government of Andalusia's Fundación Progreso y Salud (FPS), the project was developed for the 150 health professionals who are members of the 24 European Reference Networks (ERNs) for rare diseases. These diseases affect few people, and as a result there is a lack of research and little funding for research.
App EVALAPPS
Description: One of the strategies currently used to mitigate weight-related problems is to use mobile apps. However, it is important to distinguish between those that may be useful and those others that are not effective or may even be harmful.
The goal of the Evalapps project, led by Carme Carrion, member of the eHealth Center, lead researcher of the eHealth Lab research group and professor at the UOC's Faculty of Health Sciences, is to guide health professionals and users in choosing the apps that would be most helpful for weight control. In addition, Evalapps' developers seek to provide answers to questions such as which apps are backed by scientific evidence.
People involved: From UOC: Carme Carrion (coordinator), Noemí Robles i Francesc Saigí.
The other members of the team are nutritionist Mariona Balfegó; Guillem Cuatrecasas, an endocrinologist at the CPEN-Clínica Sagrada Família; Montse Moharra and Elisa Puigdomènech, who are experts in the assessment of medical technologies at the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia; Guillermo Paluzie, head of the Healthcare Documentation and Information Service at the Maresme and La Selva Health Corporation; and Alberto Zamora, an internal medicine doctor at Blanes Hospital.
Evalapps is a project funded by the Charles III Health Institute, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF
PSICODEM web app
Description: The fundamental characteristic of dementia is the development of multiple cognitive impairments, including memory loss, which is often accompanied by other impairments such as aphasia, apraxia, agnosia or other executive dysfunctions. Other symptoms and disorders often linked to dementia include anxiety, depression, and lack of autonomy.
The PSICODEM app helps determine the best psycho-social intervention, in accordance with the existing scientific evidence, and depending on the patient’s level of dementia and the aspects to be treated. This can mean just preventing further cognitive impairment, just treating the other symptoms and disorders, or treating both aspects at the same time.
People involved: Carme Carrion and Marta Aymerich.
Organizations involved: the UOC. This project received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation’s Carlos III Health Institute (PI09/90931).
MOOC on health literacy #alfabeSaludUOC
Description: Material from the Health Literacy: Proposals and Ideas to Care for Others and Ourselves MOOC, the first free online course to learn about tools to look after our health and make conscious decisions. Debate is also sparked on Twitter with the #alfabeSaludUOC hashtag. Videos from the course and a report analysing its development are made available in order to provide people with reliable information and materials so that they can learn to care for the health of others and themselves.
The people involved: Eulàlia Hernández (UOC), Manuel Armayones (UOC), Antoni Baena (UOC), Alícia Aguilar (UOC), Beni Gómez-Zúñiga (UOC), Juanjo Gil (CHMLC), Laura Fernández (UAB), Marc Fortes (COIB), Mònica Fernández (CSI), Montse Moharra (AQUAS), Montserrat Martínez (L’Eix), Rosa Estopà (UPF), Daria Roca (Hospital Clínic).
The organizations involved: UOC (eHealth Center, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, and PSiNET research group), Catalan Healthcare Evaluation and Quality Agency (AQUAS), Centre d’Higiene Mental Les Corts (CHMLC), Barcelona College of Nursing (COIB), Consorci Sanitari Integral (CSI), UAB Health and Ageing Foundation, Hospital Clínic, IULA-Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), L’Eix Atenció Psicològica.
Short #unitedforehealth videos: empowerment for health and digital health
Description: This series of short videos looks at the keys to empowering society through digital health and health literacy. The #unitedforehealth videos looks to make health accessible to people and present innovative initiatives. The videos are divided into two groups: ones with theoretical concepts and explanations (#IdeasU4eH) and ones with success stories (#ApplicationsU4eH).
The people involved: experts from a number of institutions, research centres and hospitals, and healthcare professionals including Paloma Amil, Joan Carles March, David Mateos or Eulàlia Hernández.
The organizations involved: UOC, Government of Catalonia's Department of Health, Andalusian School of Public Health, Galician School of Health for Citizens, Government of Andalusia's Salud Responde, Barcelona's Hospital Clínic, University of Murcia, University of Cadiz, University of Girona, Evaluation Service of the Canary Islands' Health Service.
Chronic and recurrent abdominal pain is a very significant problem for our society; its treatment is a challenge we must address. In children, recurrent abdominal pain is one of the most frequent types of chronic pain. It can occur in up to 12% of children and affects the daily lives of both the children and their families.
DARWeb offers an innovative solution, with online intervention that makes use of digital technology to facilitate access.
Research on this project has been completed. But Rubén Nieto is still offering the programme to families who need it. Contact him at rnietol@uoc.edu.
Solutions for healthy and active ageing: Collaborative Codesign Competition (CO3)
Description: older people's needs include the detection of high-risk emotional states and maintaining healthy self-care habits. The Collaborative Codesign Competition (CO3) was organized to come up with solutions for the challenges that older people face in their daily lives.
People involved: university students, health professionals, and members of an older people's recreational centre.
Organizations involved: HIMSS Europe, Badalona Serveis Assistencials, and the UOC.
UBESAFE. An app for promoting sexual health in the gay community
Description: the Ubesafe app seeks to promote and increase awareness of safe sexual practices in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Users can set up the app so they receive messages when they use certain other apps (eg dating apps such as Grindr, Wapo or Gayromeo), or when they approach a place they have personally identified as a place where they should be warned about potential unprotected sex situations.
People involved: Antoni Pérez, professor in the UOC's Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, and postgraduate studies coordinator.
Organizations involved: the UOC.
Nutrapp, an online nutrition education platform
Description: Nutrapp offers advice on nutrition to individuals, schools, associations and companies, and gives users answers to their doubts on the spot. It works using instant messaging apps, social media and the interactive web app nutrapp.cat.
People involved: Alicia Aguilar, director of the UOC's Master's Degree in Nutrition and Health.
Organizations involved: the UOC.
Open innovation in eHealth to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease
Description: OPENeHEALTH Parkinson is an open innovation programme involving the UOC community and those affected by the disease. Its goal is to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease.
People involved: Alicia Aguilar, director of the UOC's Master's Degree in Nutrition and Health.
Organizations involved: the UOC, the Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, and GMV Innovating Solutions.
COMJunts aids medical communication
Description: COMJunts is an app designed to help the families of children suffering rare diseases, offering them guidance and facilitating communication with medics. Its development stemmed from studies performed in the RecerCaixa programme's Junts project. The app focuses on seven different challenges faced by families, each one with a video in which health professionals and families offer the benefit of their experience, expandable text sections explaining the situation, a basic glossary of medical terms, and other resources and links to help users deals with everyday problems.
People involved: Rosa Estopà and Mercè Lorente (IULA-UPF), Ona Domènech (IULA-UPF and UOC Faculty of Arts and Humanities), Manuel Armayones, Beni Gómez-Zúñiga, Modesta Pousada (UOC eHealth Center and UOC Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences), Alicia García-Oliva (UOC Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences), Eduardo Tizzano (Clinical Genetics department at Vall d'Hebron Hospital), Jordi Cruz, Anna Ripoll and Regla Garci (FEDER).
Organizations involved: Obra Social "la Caixa", the Catalan Public Universities Association (ACUP), Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Vall d'Hebron Hospital, FEDER (Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases) and families connected to this organization.