In my last blog post I’ve briefly explained the research topics related to my PhD project and how I aim to design of a physical activity app for breast cancer survivors, while also exploring personalization/tailoring theory to increase user engagement. In this blog post I will provide a brief review of physical activity apps, found in published literature that were specifically designed for this population. I’ve extracted papers from 3 online databases (PubMed, ACM and SCOPUS

In the beginning of November 2018, The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) published their annual trends report for next year. Since 2006, ACSM has been researching trends in the fitness market with professionals. By 2019, more than 2,000 people answered the questionnaire that had the 25 major tendencies of the previous year plus 14 new ones indicated by ACSM journal’s editors. There were few changes compared to the previous year, nevertheless some improvements in nome

Last week, Apple released the new iPhone XS. At the annual iPhones launch event, an amazing show that rarely disappoints, a new version of Apple's smartwatch was also announced. As you can see from the recorded talk on the company website, much of the presentation of Apple Watch 4 was devoted to health. Image: Apple Watch 4, principal areas of interest: Connectivity, Fitness & Health “Apple Watch has become an intelligent guardian for your health!” - Jeff Williams, Apple’s ch

I recently started practising yoga regularly again, and I'm loving it. Over the course of the summer, I’ve found it increasingly easier to twist into awkward positions with deceptively-endearing names or hold my balance on one leg while impersonating a tree blowing in the wind. What I'm saying is, I’m feeling stronger, more flexible and more relaxed. As I lie on the grass after class (yes, in Seville we do yoga in the park 😍), it doesn’t take long for my mind to go to that p

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, only second to cardiovascular disease. It is a disease, which can affect anyone; it doesn’t care if you are young or old, male or female. The number of new cases reported each year is increasing, and this is partly due to our growing and ageing global population. Now things sound bad, but fortunately because of continually improving cancer treatments, long-term prognosis is better than ever for many survivors and people are livi

A year has flown by since the beginning of my industrial doctorate in the European project CATCH. A time spent at Salumedia, a digital health company with an ideal infrastructure to start this journey - details of that experience in my previous blog post. This year helped me step into the field of mHealth and Cancer and to decide the specific area where my research could provide a valuable contribution. Last week, I started my secondment at Oncoavanze, an Oncology clinic also

When I first came to work with physical activity in the CATCH project I came across the Nordic Walking (NW) program of Oncoavanze Clinic, my host institution to develop the research. The program is coordinated by one of my supervisors, Prof. Dr. Matilde Mora, from University of Seville and VidaON association. Surprised to encounter this activity for the first time and especially in Seville, a city that has nothing of Nordic, I tried to learn more about NW and then I understoo

Social networks are an important communication tool in the contemporary world. Facebook presently has a daily use of 727 million people worldwide. There has been a significant upward trend in its adoption by older adults in recent years. This presents an opportunity to consider the potential for health intervention in the social media sphere. In fact, Facebook was already used as part of interventions to encourage people to engage in physical activity routines. Knowing that a