Dr. Rossel-Cid, Pedro

Aphasia, an alteration in the ability to use language, is a common consequence of stroke. Aphasia is treated by multidisciplinary teams including speech and language therapists. However, due to high workload and scarce resources, patients may not get enough therapy time. This article proposes MyAphasia, an application to help speech and language therapists in the treatment of aphasia in the acute phase, by assigning activities for the patient to perform independently. The application was evaluated by 11 speech and language therapists for 2 days. The results are promising: therapists found MyAphasia easy to use and helpful, potentially saving time and resources.

Background: Chronic pain affects millions worldwide, influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Catastrophizing predicts chronic pain outcomes, increased pain intensity, and worsening recovery. Virtual reality (VR) interventions offer innovative pain management strategies, but their effects on catastrophizing remain unclear. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the PRISMA guidelines. Studies involving adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain, VR-based interventions, and randomized controlled trials were included. The primary outcome was pain catastrophizing. Searches were conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, WoS, and PEDro until May 2025. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane RoB-2. Meta-analysis calculated effect sizes using mean differences (MD) and standardized mean differences (SMD) with fixed and randomized-effects models. Results: Of 306 records, 244 were screened, 19 underwent full-text review, and two additional studies were identified via Google Scholar. Nine studies were included, eight of which were meta-analyzed. The interventions included eight immersive and one non-immersive VR studies, lasting 3 to 12 weeks. A small but statistically significant effect was found when comparing VR-based interventions with controls (SMD = −0.26 [−0.48; −0.04]). Psycho-cognitive VR-based interventions had a significant effect (SMD = −0.32 [−0.56; −0.09]), while exercise-based VR did not (MD = −0.11 [−4.36; 4.14]). Immersive VR showed a small but significant effect when compared to non-intervention or sham controls (SMD = −0.37 [−0.75; −0.00]). However, when compared to all types of comparators, the effect was not statistically significant (SMD = −0.25 [−0.51 to −0.00]). Heterogeneity was moderate and not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: VR-based interventions, particularly immersive with psycho-cognitive approaches, show potential in reducing pain catastrophizing. Future randomized trials are needed to elucidate VR’s efficacy in managing pain catastrophizing.

Informal caregivers provide long-term, unpaid support to patients – usually family or friends – with serious illnesses. Although caregiving is essential, it can have adverse effects, e.g. physical and emotional exhaustion. Digital applications are a cost-effective alternative to manage these effects. However, applications for caregivers are usually centered on skill building and education rather than well-being, and general-purpose stress management applications – besides not specifically considering caregivers – frequently change and do not usually incorporate social aspects. To design a caregiver-centered application, we analyzed caregiver needs, specifically focusing on well-being aspects. We present Care4Plant, an application designed to measure the emotional dimension of caregivers’ burden based on the Zarit Burden Questionnaire, and suggest a set of mood improvement tasks accordingly. Care4Plant features a virtual plant that represents informal caregivers’ emotional well-being, allowing them to care for the plant through actions intended to manage their mental health and reduce stress, and to share their plant with other caregivers through a social network represented by a greenhouse. We conducted an evaluation of Care4Plant with nine users over two weeks. The results indicated good levels of usability and demonstrated that the approach of motivating users through the virtual plant was well-received.

Background The worldwide population over 60 years of age is increasing. Thus, older adults should maintain interest and participate in social and family activities to help preserve their independence and promote their well-being. Well-being is a part of human health in its most general sense which manifests itself in all areas of human activity. Leisure activities such as listening to an audiobook may provide enjoyment and promote relaxation in older people and help improve the well-being of older adults. Objective This study aims to investigate the impact of an audiobook mobile application on the well-being perception of older adults and to evaluate the usability of a mobile application specifically designed for this population. Methods This protocol is a quasi-experimental study that will be conducted with 60 older adults who will use an audiobook mobile application for 4 weeks. Participants will be evaluated pre and post intervention through validated questionnaires on digital competences, usability, and perception of well-being. Results A positive impact on the perception of well-being is expected in older adults who listen to poems through an audiobook mobile application. Conclusions This study will allow us to know the impact on the perception of the older adult’s well-being and stimulate other groups to do research on other populations and literary genres.

Technology can improve university students’ communication, helping them maintain relationships. Although there are many available technological tools, students face challenges—e.g., living far from home, failing grades, depression—that may isolate them from their networks. Most research into these topics has been conducted in countries in which students leave their parents’ home while at university, which is not the case for most students in southern Chile. In this context that has been seldom studied, this paper presents two studies, focusing on two research questions: (1) How do university students in southern Chile communicate? (2) Can a mobile application persuade university students to increase their communication patterns? To answer these questions, we conducted a survey with 90 students in southern Chile, and then developed a persuasive application called Social+Me, aimed at monitoring communication with students’ support networks and persuading them to keep in touch. We conducted a preliminary evaluation of Social+Me, and the application was well received by participants, who felt that it improved their communication with their social network. The main impact of our study lies in applying persuasive technologies to the communicative practice of university students to prevent students from feeling isolated or unsupported.

Aging is associated with a progressive decline in health, resulting in increased medical care and costs. Mobile technology may facilitate health self-management, thus increasing the quality of care and reducing costs. Although the development of technology offers opportunities in monitoring the health of older adults, it is not clear whether these technologies allow older adults to manage their health data themselves. This paper presents a review of the literature on mobile health technologies for older adults, focusing on whether these technologies enable the visualization of monitored data and the self-reporting of additional information by the older adults. The systematic search considered studies published between 2009 and 2019 in five online databases. We screened 609 articles and identified 95 that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Smartphones and tablets are the most frequently reported technology for older adults to enter additional data to the one that is monitored automatically. The recorded information is displayed on the monitoring device and screens of external devices such as computers. Future designs of mobile health technology should allow older users to enter additional information and visualize data; this could enable them to understand their own data as well as improve their experience with technology.

Smoking is the biggest avoidable health risk, causing millions of deaths per year worldwide. Persuasive applications are those designed to change a person’s behavior, usually in a specific way. Several mobile phone applications and messaging systems have been used to promote smoking cessation. However, most interventions use participants’ self-reports to track cigarette consumption and avoidance, which may not be accurate or objective. Previous proposals have used sensors to track hand movements and other contextual data to detect smoking or have used devices to detect smoke or breath carbon monoxide. This article proposes a low-cost wearable device that may be worn in a front shirt pocket or clipped to clothing to detect smoke and secondhand smoke. Furthermore, the device is integrated into a persuasive application to promote smoking cessation. The device was evaluated through an experiment to detect whether it may detect direct, passive, and no smoking conditions. The results are promising and may help improve tracking of cigarettes in persuasive applications.