Distributed wireless sensor network technologies have become one of the major research areas in healthcare industries due to rapid maturity in improving the quality of life. The implementation of ubiquitous healthcare systems provides rich contextual information and warning mechanisms against abnormal conditions with continual and remote monitoring of patients. This minimizes the need for healt...

Abstract Asymmetry in energy supply/demand policy is persistent, as governments around the world develop detailed plans to decarbonize supply, but comprehensive reduce demand are missing. Such asymmetry a systemic problem, and manifest many social systems, e.g. healthcare between curing illnesses investing preventive healthcare. There no existing explanation of asymmetry, however, corr...

BACKGROUND Out-of-pocket payments can have a large impact on the demand for healthcare. They can be essential not only to decrease unnecessary service use, but also to encourage the use of particular preventive services provided free of charge or at a lower price. Moreover, out-of-pocket payments may increase the costs of unhealthy behaviour and provide incentives for a healthier lifestyle. M...

Self-monitoring activities are increasingly parts of people’s everyday lives. Some of these measurements are performed voluntary rather than being referred by a physician, and conducted because of either a preventive health interest, or to better understand the body and its functions (so-called ‘Quantified Self’). In this article, we explore socio-technical complexities that may occur when intr...

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between socio-demographic factors and the quality of preventive care and chronic care of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in a country with universal health care coverage. METHODS Our retrospective cohort assessed a random sample of 966 patients aged 50-80years followed over 2years (2005-2006) in 4 Swiss university primary care settings (Basel/Geneva/Lausan...

BACKGROUND The Quebec central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in intensive care units (ICUs) Surveillance Program saw a decrease in CLABSI rates in most ICUs. Given the surveillance trends observed in recent years, we aimed to determine what preventive measures have been implemented, if compliance to measures was monitored and its impact on CLABSI incidence rates. METHODS All ...