Rapidly evolving technologies like data analysis, smartphone and web-based applications, and the Internet of things have been increasingly used for healthy living, fitness and well-being. These technologies are being utilized by various research studies to reduce obesity. This paper demonstrates design and development of a dataflow protocol that integrates several applications. After registration of a user, activity, nutrition and other lifestyle data from participants are retrieved in a centralized cloud dedicated for health promotion. In addition, users are provided accounts in an e-Learning environment from which learning outcomes can be retrieved. Using the proposed system, health promotion campaigners have the ability to provide feedback to the participants using a dedicated messaging system. Participants authorize the system to use their activity data for the program participation. The implemented system and servicing protocol minimize personnel overhead of large-scale health promotion campaigns and are scalable to assist automated interventions, from automated data retrieval to automated messaging feedback. This paper describes end-to-end workflow of the proposed system. The case study tests are carried with Fitbit Flex2 activity trackers, Withings Scale, Verizon Android-based tablets, Moodle learning management system, and Articulate RISE for learning content development.
The use of mobile and web tools in health care has greatly improved interactions between doctors, patients and healthcare professionals in the past few years. According to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) almost 75% of the 296,980 women in the United States that are diagnosed with breast cancer will have hormone receptor-positive breast cancers. Endocrine hormonal therapy (EHT) is very effective for nearly all women with hormone-receptive positive tumours and is the most widely prescribed one. The dedicated use and adherence to this therapy for 5 years has also shown larger reduction in recurrence [6]. However, even with such proven benefits, the adherence is limited to just 33% of all the women who are prescribed. In such cases, the use of interactive easy-to-use apps would promote and improve adherence [2]. Such apps should enable fast responses to patient queries, guide patients through treatment, help them understand symptoms, motivate them through educational content, and prompt interaction with their peers. In this paper, we describe an approach for accelerating app prototyping using the existing Google Android platform and converting it to a cross-platform web application thereafter. Google Firebase [1] is used as a database server to assist in monitoring and sending notifications to users without compromising the safety and security of patients' data. The proposed system and approach can also be further tailored for similar technology-assisted health promotion and intervention studies. The effectiveness of the approach is evaluated through a randomized controlled study with breast cancer patients conducted by the UTHSCSA research team.