Designing a secure fail-safe cloud repository of paperworks of students and employees of educational institutions

The article discusses the main approaches to the design and development of an automated information system for a secure cloud repository of paperworks of students and employees of educational and research organisations (abstracts, essays, term papers and theses, master’s theses, deposited articles), providing secure storage and secure mobile access to stored data. The research and development of architectural solutions to ensure reliable and secure data storage using cloud technologies are described. The main problems of designing a secure repository and ways to solve them are considered. The cloud repository of written works is built on the basis of the Ceph distributed file system, which uses the NextCloud system and the virtual computing resources of the virtual network infrastructure of the Belarusian State University as a platform for building a cloud interface.

The factors influencing community nurses' usage of electronic health records: findings from focus groups

Electronic health records (EHRs) are integral to community nursing, and mobile access aids seamless, responsive care, prevents repetition and reduces hospital admissions. This saves time and money, enabling smoother workflows and increased productivity. Common practice among community nurses is to return to workbases to access EHRs. This research was conducted to explore what leads to inconsistency in EHR use. Focus groups were held with community nurses, and reflexive thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Nurses who used EHRs during consultations described the practice as integrative and informed, promoting collaborative care. Those who did not described EHRs as time-consuming, template-laden and a barrier to nurse-patient communication. One barrier to mobile working is the threat to collegiate teamworking and the social and clinical supports it provides. This study suggests specific strategies could increase mobile EHR engagement: role-specific training for effective EHR use; clear organisational directives; innovative team communication; and peer-to-peer coaching.

The library QR-projects in digital space

The technological solutions in culture and arts increase accessibility of cultural goods and intensity of cultural environment. QR-technologies designed by Denso Wave Incorporated have become digitalization component increasingly popular in library and information services. The mobile access points call for new ways of library and information services. The concept, characteristics and advantages of QR technology are examined; options for QR code application in libraries are suggested. As the majority of library users owns mobile phones, QR technologies provide unique opportunities. MTS (Mobile Telecommunications System) was the first company to initiate the project of using mobile phones to expand library information space: QR-code linking to books were placed in the city public places. Library applications for QR-codes are outlined, e. g. library information advertisement, user services, social events to promote reading, monitoring in the pandemic situation, etc. The opportunities and prospects for this resource are investigated by the examples of RNPLS&T, Belgorod State Universal Scientific Library, V. G. Korolenko Public Scientific Library (Glazov, Udmurt Republic), Centralized Library System (Georgievsk, Stavropol Territory). The author also suggests that QR codes may solve the problem of access to full and reliable information.

Supporting Heart Transplantation Aftercare through Mobile Access to Medical Records: Feasibility and Usability of the App “Phellow”

Background: Giving patients access to their medical records can improve health literacy, adherence to therapy, patients’ health-related self-care, doctor-patient communication, and quality of care. The application (app) phellow was developed to provide patients with mobile access to selected content of their medical records (i.e. physician letters, drug trough levels). It was tested at the heart transplantation (HTx) outpatient clinic at Heidelberg University Hospital among volunteer patients after heart transplantation as well as healthcare providers.Objective: The aims of this study were (1) to assess whether the phellow app can be effectively used by all users (usability) and (2) to determine if the app is feasible to be further implemented in routine care (feasibility). Methods: Usability was quantitatively measured through the System Usability Scale (SUS) among patients who actively used phellow. In addition, usability and feasibility were qualitatively measured through semi-structured guide-based interviews with patients (users, non-users) and health care providers from the HTx outpatient clinic. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and through correlation analyses. Qualitative data were pseudonymized, audiotaped, and transcribed verbatim. Themes were identified through thematic analysis.Results: The usability rating measured with the SUS questionnaire (N=31) was 79.9 (SD 14.1) which indicates a high usability. No statistically significant correlation was found between SUS scores and patients’ sociodemographic or phellow use characteristics. A more in-depth view on usability and feasibility was obtained from interviews with 16 patients and 7 health care providers (N=23). App appreciation, interest, and willingness-to-use were high. Tasks fit with clinic workflow and were perceived as clear. An improved technical support infrastructure, clearly defined responsibilities, and app-specific trainings were suggested for further implementation. Usability problems such as incompleteness of record, incomprehensible presentation of content, technical issues, and complex registration procedures were reported. Participants recommended usability improvements and suggested new functionalities.Conclusion: Despite some issues, usability of the phellow app was considered high. To be feasible for an implementation in routine care, usability problems should be solved. Accompanying research is crucial to monitor usability improvements and to assess effects of app use on patients and clinic workflow.

Access Across the Digital Divide for Intersectional Groups Seeking Online Health Information: A National Survey (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The digital divide refers to technological disparities based on demographic characteristics (e.g., race and ethnicity). Specifically, the lack of physical access to the Internet inhibits online health information seeking (OHIS) and exacerbates health disparities. Digital divide literature has adopted a multi-dimensional conceptualization of access by examining device and context of use, whereas OHIS literature has explored how intersectional identities influence OHIS. We combine these perspectives to explicate how unique context-device pairings operate differently across intersectional identities – particularly racial and ethnic groups – in the domain of OHIS. OBJECTIVE This study examines how different types of internet access relate to OHIS for different racial and ethnic groups. We investigate relationships between predisposing characteristics (i.e., age, sex, education, income), internet access (home-computer, public-computer, work-computer, and mobile), health need, and OHIS. METHODS Using data from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), participant responses (N = 5,247) were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) of a theoretical model of OHIS to explicate the roles of internet access and health need for racial and ethnic minority groups’ OHIS. Three separate group SEM models were specified based on Black/African American, Latino/a/x or Hispanic, and White self-categorizations. RESULTS In general, predisposing characteristics (i.e., age, sex, education, income) were associated with internet access, health need, and OHIS, internet access was associated with OHIS, and health need was associated with OHIS. In exploring our research questions, we disaggregated internet access and found that home-computer and mobile access were most consistently associated with OHIS. When disaggregating by racial and ethnic minority groups, we found several notable linkages between predisposing characteristics and internet access that differed for Black/African American and Latino/a/x or Hispanic individuals. Older racial and ethnic minorities tended to access the Internet on home and public computers less frequently, home-computer access was a stronger predictor of OHIS for White individuals, and mobile access was a stronger predictor of OHIS for non-White individuals. CONCLUSIONS Our findings necessitate a deeper unpacking of how physical internet access, the foundational and multifaceted level of the digital divide, impacts specific racial and ethnic groups and their OHIS. We find support for prior work on the digital divide, but also surface new insights, including distinct impacts of context-device pairings for OHIS and several relationships that differ between racial and ethnic groups. As such, we propose interventions with an intersectional approach to access to ameliorate the impact of the digital divide.