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Role of Smart eHealth and eCare Technologies in the Age...
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Role of Smart eHealth and eCare Technologies in the Age of Pandemics

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 7304

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sari Merilampi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, RoboAI Research Laboratory, Pori, Finland
Interests: passive UHF RFID; wearable sensing; printed electronics; welfare technology; user experience; multidisciplinary knowledge transfer; user-centered development; service design and client involvement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The year 2020 proved to be something nobody expected. We have faced a global pandemic, experienced social distancing, seen overcrowded hospitals, death, fear, and grief. Additionally, the world economy has seen huge challenges. Supporting mental, physical, and social well-being has increasingly become a global focus. During these challenging circumstances, the role of smart eHealth and eCare technologies has increased extensively.  

Albeit terrible, the pandemic has offered a unique opportunity to develop innovative technical solutions for protecting people, improving health monitoring, boosting social interaction through digital services, and providing new virtual experiences, to give some examples. Novel uses for technology have emerged using robotics, virtual reality, smart wearables, data analytics, serious games, and digital culture and care services. Associated increased demand for these technologies has led to improving digital literacy and skills.  

This Special Issue will offer a forum for spreading best practices, including some of the latest technological advances and ideas for lowering risk, promoting health, and maintaining the quality of life during pandemics, with the help of modern technologies and digital services.  

Sadly, this may not be the last time humankind will confront such challenges. It is of key importance to take this opportunity to reflect and learn so that we can research and develop solutions that will help us in day-to-day life and during periods of challenge in the future. This Special Issue takes a unique multidisciplinary approach to the topic, with special attention to smart technologies and digital services. We, therefore, invite research articles, review, and viewpoint manuscripts devoted to various applications of smart eHealth and eCare technologies focused on enhancing holistic well-being during pandemics.

Dr. Sari Merilampi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Smart eHealth
  • eCare technologies
  • digital services
  • mental, social and physical well-being
  • age of pandemic

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1609 KiB  
Article
Mobile Robots and RFID Technology-Based Smart Care Environment for Minimizing Risks Related to Employee Turnover during Pandemics
by Anja Poberznik, Mirka Leino, Jenni Huhtasalo, Taina Jyräkoski, Pauli Valo, Tommi Lehtinen, Joonas Kortelainen, Sari Merilampi and Johanna Virkki
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12809; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212809 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3092
Abstract
During a pandemic, it is imperative that all staff members have up-to-date information on changing work practices in the healthcare environment. This article presents a way to implement work environment orientation amongst different groups in care facilities by utilizing mobile robots, radio frequency [...] Read more.
During a pandemic, it is imperative that all staff members have up-to-date information on changing work practices in the healthcare environment. This article presents a way to implement work environment orientation amongst different groups in care facilities by utilizing mobile robots, radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, and data synthesis. We offer a scenario based on a co-design approach, in which a mobile robot works as an orientation guide for new employees, RFID tags are applied on objects around the premises and people’s clothing. The mobile robot takes advantage of the information provided by its known location and each RFID tag read by the RFID reader integrated with the robot. We introduce the scenario here, along with the details of its practical test implementation. Further, the challenges met in the test implementation are discussed as well as the future potential of its application. In conclusion, our study indicates that repetitive training and orientation-related duties can be successfully transferred to a mobile robot. Through RFID, the mobile robot can deliver the relevant information to the right people and thus contribute to patient and personnel safety and the resource efficiency of the orientation process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Smart eHealth and eCare Technologies in the Age of Pandemics)
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11 pages, 3488 KiB  
Article
Do “Stay-at-Home Exercise” Videos Induce Behavioral Changes in College Students? A Randomized Controlled Trial
by Kazuki Fukui, Yuta Suzuki, Kazuki Kaneda, Sayo Kuroda, Makoto Komiya, Noriaki Maeda and Yukio Urabe
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11600; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111600 - 20 Oct 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3201
Abstract
The coronavirus disease pandemic has led to college students spending more time at home. “Stay-at-home exercise” videos to mitigate inactivity are currently available on various digital platforms; however, it is unclear whether these videos lead to behavioral changes among college students. This study [...] Read more.
The coronavirus disease pandemic has led to college students spending more time at home. “Stay-at-home exercise” videos to mitigate inactivity are currently available on various digital platforms; however, it is unclear whether these videos lead to behavioral changes among college students. This study aimed to investigate the improvement in physical activity (PA) resulting from “stay-at-home exercise” among college students. Overall, 150 college students were recruited, and 125 students (control group: 65; intervention group: 60) who completed baseline surveys were analyzed. The preliminary outcomes were PA, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), subjective well-being (SWB), and psychological stress (K6). Mixed model repeated-measure analysis of variance compared the outcomes before and after the intervention. After 8 weeks of “stay-at-home exercise”, there was no significant interaction in PA (F = 0.02, p = 0.89); however, a significant interaction for the general health subscale of HRQoL (F = 9.52), SWB (F = 6.70), and K6 (F = 7.83) was detected (p < 0.05). On comparing the pre- and post-intervention results, we found that only distributing an 8-week streaming video of “stay-at-home exercise” did not increase the amount of physical activity among participants, but it did have a positive effect on their mental health during the pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Smart eHealth and eCare Technologies in the Age of Pandemics)
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