Manage My Pain

This chapter describes the Manage My Pain digital pain management platform and its integration into the Transitional Pain Service at Toronto General Hospital. A collaboration between ManagingLife, the developer of Manage My Pain, and the Transitional Pain Service led to the creation of a patient-provider virtual community with the aim of managing complex pain after surgery so as to prevent the transition from acute post-surgical pain to chronic post-surgical pain. User engagement, motivation, and satisfaction are discussed with respect to the needs of (1) people living with pain and (2) health care providers. Challenges in implementation are described, along with new features developed for the digital platform as a result of the partnership between ManagingLife and the Transitional Pain Service.

Effecting Superior Pain Management Strategies by Combining Technology With Tradition

Today we are witnessing a significant rise in chronic diseases and chronic pain. Modern medicine appears not to be sufficient to relieve symptoms and reduce or eliminate discomfort. The following proffers the need to look at alternate strategies. In particular, it suggests that a solution might lie if we combine modern technology with ancient wisdom and traditional approaches. This chapter serves to highlight strategies for prudent pain management. “Pain is not just from physical disorders but also from combinations of physiological, pathological, emotional, psychological, cognitive, environmental, and social factors. The keys to successful pain control are the mechanisms that initiate and maintain pain.” “Now, the public and health professionals expect to control pain by using preventive and active strategies, including drugs and physical and psychosocial interventions.” (Holdcroft & Power, 2003).

Medical Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia

The first-line treatment of trigeminal neuralgia can be very effective, but side effects are often difficult for patients to tolerate. This chapter is a guide to the broad selection of medical therapies currently available for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia which includes oral therapies and other non-surgical methods of treatment such as IV medications, nasal sprays, topical ointments, and injections. The discussion of each treatment includes discussion of its evidence in current literature, its proposed mechanism of action, its dosing and appropriate setting for clinical use, and its side effect profile.

Chronic Mental Illness in Prisons

It has been known that psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent among prisoners. Many people with identifiable psychiatric illness do conflict with the law, often by no fault of their own but because of symptoms of their psychiatric illness and end up in jails. Poor communication between the prison, court, and hospital systems hinders the assessment and management of the mentally disordered offender, and medical intervention can actually delay release from custody. In conclusion Prisons are detrimental to mental-health, and the standards of psychiatric care are significantly lower than those for the general public. Certain remedial measures are to be implemented for a better future of prison and community because ultimately these prisoners will be released from prison and become a part of community. Beginning of reforms is the immediate need as a long journey ahead.

Diabetes Mellitus and Aging

Aging mirrors all the changes that occur over the period of life. It comes with various changes both positive and negative. Among all medical illnesses, Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most common and serious medical condition that has affected not only the aging population but also the young children and adults as well. Diabetes and its complications can contribute to aging process in a number of ways and the complications can speed up the aging process as well. For people with type 2 diabetes managing their emotional health can be as important as keeping their blood sugar under control. Patients with diabetes mellitus need psychological support throughout their life span from the time of diagnosis. However, provision of psychosocial support is generally inadequate due to its challenging nature of needs and demands on the healthcare systems. The present chapter will cover different aspects of diabetes mellitus and its impact on human life and also how with healthy coping mechanism one can prevent the distressing effect of diabetes on aging and vice versa.

Case Studies of Chronically Ill Children

Medical advances have increased the number of children who have survived and are now living with chronic medical conditions (Irwin & Elam, 2011; Singer 2012). Diseases and conditions that as recently as a decade ago were considered fatal or completely debilitating are now increasingly treated as chronic conditions. Among these are several types of cancer, HIV/AIDS, respiratory illnesses, and severe epilepsy. Increasingly, students with severe chronic conditions are educated in public schools instead of home or hospital settings. The purpose of this chapter is to present case studies of real children and families that will allow educators and others a personal glimpse into the lives of children with chronic illness and their families. Suggestions for analyzing the case studies are provided that will help teachers, administrators, and teacher educators to examine the complex issues surrounding the educational needs of children with chronic illnesses.

Preventing Alzheimer's Wandering

With increased life expectancy, the incidence of age-related cognitive impairments, faced by the elderly and older generations, is growing. Among the population with cognitive impairments, those that suffer from Alzheimer's disease are the most common. The Alzheimer's disease is a chronic degenerative brain disorder that is characterised by a failure of memory and, in some instances, by disorders in language, perception and planning. As a consequence of the progressive damages imposed by the illness, patients will increasingly seek and need assistance. This paper presents a tool to aid the development and managing of caregiving communities, comprising immediate family members, relatives, neighbours and healthcare professionals, to assist patients with Alzheimer's disease. Such communities could have a strong impact on the quality of care provided to the patients. At the same time, it is hoped that involving communities will significantly improve the quality of life of Alzheimer's patients and their families while reducing the costs related to the care provided.

Visual Communication to Improve Relationship Quality in Spousal Caregivers of Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease

The study investigated the effectiveness of an art therapy intervention in improving relationship quality of spousal caregivers and their spouses with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Two single case studies were conducted, each composed of a caregiver and spouse with AD. Intervention consisted of three art therapy sessions based on visual communication, or the mutual creation of artwork. Relationship quality was measured throughout the study using clinical notes, pretest and posttest, and caregiver daily reports of positive interactions with their spouse. Couple dynamics were found to influence how positively each art therapy directive was viewed; however, both caregivers noted valuing art therapy interventions for providing recreation and socialization. The intervention resulted in increased positive interactions in both case studies.

Towards an HCI-Based Symbiotic Environment for Alzheimer's Support

Alzheimer's Disease (AD), being the most common form of dementia diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, is a global problem with dramatic impact, as there is no cure for it and worsens as it progresses, eventually leading to death. As the sufferer declines s/he often withdraws from family and society, leading to a marginalized way of living. Considering the life expectancy rise, a looming global epidemic of AD is foreseen; hence, new approaches need to be considered regarding AD prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and confrontation. In this vein, an alternative approach (namely Symbiosis) towards a symbiotic Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) environment is presented in this chapter, as a means to facilitate, understand and incorporate the needs of the whole AD community (i.e., patients, caregivers and doctors), involving cutting-edge technology, special serious games and natural-user interfacing, embedded within an innovative design framework. Overall, Symbiosis acts as a technology-based mediator for AD's indoor and outdoor activities, fostering their social inclusion and increasing their quality of life in a symbiotic context.

STRIPA

Polypharmic patients are patients who chronically use five or more medicines. The number of polypharmacy patients continues to increase even though it is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. A medication review is an important measure to mitigate medication risks. It is known to effectively reduce the number of drug related problems per (polypharmic) patient. STRIP is a Dutch method to perform a structured medication review. Based on this method, the STRIPA(ssistent) tool is developed. However, whether or not this app is considered useful by the healthcare professional is not known yet. In order to assess this, a systematic literature study is conducted. In addition, an effectiveness study design is described. The results show that there is indeed a need for medication reviews and Dutch healthcare professionals are likely to adopt new technologies, an effectiveness study based on a randomized controlled trial is necessary to assess the effectiveness of STRIPA.