Current Issue : July-September Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa, accounting for over 1 million deaths annually. As CVD prevalence rises, Africa faces challenges in prevention, diagnosis, and management. Addressing this crisis requires innovative approaches, and artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative solution. Studies already show how machine learning (ML) algorithms can predict various CVDs from patients’ data with accuracy of 73.8%–97.7%. This review explores the potential of AI to improve African cardiovascular care while discussing opportunities, challenges, and pathways for effective implementation. Hence, a comprehensive literature review was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Africa Journals Online (AJOL), and other online publications and grey literature relevant to the topic. This study discusses opportunities offered by AI to revolutionize cardiovascular care and improve diagnostic accuracy to include predictive analytics, ML, and telemedicine to process structured and unstructured data from m-Health applications, wearable devices, and hospital records. Moreover, advanced applications could include genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and precision medicine. Despite its advantages, AI integration faces challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, high implementation costs, policy and funding constraints, as well as limited digital literacy among healthcare providers. Data privacy concerns also remain critical, with only 36 of 55 African countries enacting data protection laws. Pathways to overcome these barriers include Africa’s development of ethical standards for data use, investment in workforce training, collaborative partnerships, better funding structure, and strengthening of healthcare infrastructure and research....
Background: Depression is common among older adults with cancer. The USA‐developed CARE (Cancer and Ageing: Reflection for Elders) psychotherapy intervention, specifically addresses the unique needs of older people (≥ 70 years) navigating the challenges of ageing, depression, and cancer. Aims: To review and tailor the CARE resources to ensure they are culturally appropriate and acceptable for older Australians. Methods: Semi‐structured cognitive ‘think aloud’ interviews were conducted with older Australians (≥ 70 years) diagnosed with cancer. Participants reviewed the intervention resources for each session providing feedback on content relevance and understandability. Content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. Results: We completed 20 cognitive interviews. Participants had a mean age of 74 years (range 70–79) and most with a diagnosis of blood (55% n = 11) or breast cancer (45%, n = 9) within 10 years. Resource content resonated with participants and a telephonedelivered intervention was acceptable. Participants emphasised the need to simplify wording and modify language to reflect Australian culture. In Australia ‘elders’ is a cultural term used by First Nations peoples to identify a custodian of knowledge; most participants suggested changing this. For some participants, the analogy of ageism to racism used felt unfamiliar. Conclusions: This study highlights that cultural adaptation of psycho‐oncology interventions is required, even between English‐speaking countries, to ensure cultural appropriateness and enhance feasibility, acceptability and to maximise uptake for older adults facing cancer and depression....
Background and Objectives: Severe asthma poses significant clinical and economic burdens, with adherence to monitoring and treatment remaining a challenge despite biologic therapies. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of telemedicine-based home monitoring using the AioCare system in patients with severe asthma and to determine if weekly reminder messages improved adherence compared to standard monitoring. Materials and Methods: In this prospective, single-center randomized controlled pilot study, 30 adults with severe asthma were assigned to either a reminder group (weekly SMS or in-app messages) or a control group without reminders. All participants performed weekly home spirometry for 12 weeks using the AioCare system. Lung function parameters, Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores, adherence to monitoring, and patient satisfaction were assessed. Longitudinal data were analyzed using mixed-effects and generalized estimating equation models. Results: Adherence to home monitoring was significantly higher in the reminder group (11.47 ± 0.92 vs. 9.13 ± 3.16 sessions; p = 0.044). Overall, patient satisfaction was higher in the intervention group (p = 0.0044), with universal endorsement of the reminders and perceived educational benefit. No significant between-group differences were observed in lung function parameters. ACT scores showed a favorable trend in both groups, with a medium between-group effect size favoring the intervention (d = 0.42), although this did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Home monitoring with reminders is feasible, safe, and enhances adherence and satisfaction in severe asthma, although it did not significantly affect short-term changes in lung function or symptom control. Larger, longer-term studies are warranted to determine whether these engagement benefits translate into improved long-term clinical outcomes....
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy (iACT) and bibliotherapy-based ACT (bACT) in reducing anxiety and depression among women with breast cancer. Methods: In this three-arm randomized controlled trial, 99 participants were recruited from three oncology centers in Iran and randomly assigned to iACT, bACT, or a control group (n=33 each). Interventions lasted 6 weeks with a 4-week follow-up. The Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory-Short Formwere used to assess outcomes at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: The iACT group showed significantly greater reduction in depression and anxiety than the control group at postintervention and follow-up (all p < 0.001, except for post-intervention anxiety in iACT group was p = 0.001). The bACT group showed delayed but significant improvement in anxiety at follow-up (p > 0.001), but not in depression. Between-group comparisons revealed superior outcomes for iACT over bACT in both anxiety and depression post-intervention, though the difference in anxiety diminished by follow-up. Conclusions: Internet-based ACT was more effective than bACT or standard care in reducing anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients. These results support the broader use of guided Internet-based ACT interventions in oncology settings. Trial Registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT20231209060301N1....
BACKGROUND: Telemedicine usage surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping how patients access healthcare services. Its sustained role in post-pandemic healthcare may uncover long-term trends and variations in utilization. OBJECTIVE: To characterize telemedicine utilization from 2019 to 2024 and identify patient characteristics associated with telemedicine use. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed outpatient visits across five hospitals within the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) from January 1, 2019, to September 30, 2024. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was whether each outpatient encounter was conducted via telemedicine (vs in-person). We used multivariable logistic regression clustering on patients to assess associations between telemedicine use and patient- and encounterlevel characteristics, including demographics, insurance, patient portal use, income, clinical comorbidity, distance from care, provider specialty, encounter type, hospital index, and visit year. KEY RESULTS: The study included 46,149,734 visits among 2,248,341 patients. Telemedicine surged from 1% of visits pre-pandemic to 17% in April 2020, stabilized at 8–13% through late 2020, and remained 4–6% from 2022 to 2024. Telemedicine use was lower among older adults (aOR 0.67 for ages 40–64; 0.47 for ≥ 65 vs. < 40 years), males (aOR 0.90), and new visits (aOR 0.46). Higher use was observed among unmarried (aOR 1.10), patient portal users (aOR 1.44), patients with fewer comorbidities, those living ≥ 15 miles from care (aOR 1.42 vs. < 5 miles), lower-income (< $50,000 aOR 1.06 vs. $50,000-$100,000), and primary care (aOR 1.23 vs. specialty care). Telemedicine use was lower among Non-Hispanic Black (aOR 0.88), Hispanic (aOR 0.94), and Asian (aOR 0.82) patients compared to Non- Hispanic White patients. Patterns differed by clinical condition, with disproportionately higher use among White patients with mental health disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine use persists post-pandemic but reflects differences in access by age, race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and prior engagement with the patient portal. Targeted policies are needed to ensure equitable telemedicine adoption and accessibility for all patients....
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