Although many people have a positive intention to be more active, a key challenge remains to turn this intention into action. Social support as a motivational strategy can increase adherence in exercise and can be provided by relational agents as a substitute for human coaches. We first conducted an …

Background: Impaired upper extremity function due to muscle paresis or paralysis has a major impact on independent living and quality of life (QoL). Assistive technology (AT) for upper extremity function (i.e. dynamic arm supports and robotic arms) can increase a client’s independence. Previous studies …

BACKGROUND: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for wheelchair users' well-being, as it can have a major impact on their daily functioning. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can support a healthy lifestyle; however, these apps are not necessarily suitable for wheelchair users with spinal cord injury …

This thesis covers the development process of a realistic representation of a news item in VR. Additionally, the thesis aims to test whether this technology can generate empathic feedback in young adults from 20 to 30 years old. Another purpose is to make recommendations for future developers who are …

Background: The integrated uptake of patient-reported experience measures, using outcomes for the micro, meso and macro level, calls for a successful implementation process which depends on how stakeholders are involved in this process. Currently, the impact of stakeholders on strategies to improve …

Background: Despite the increasing attention for the positive effects of physical activity (PA), nearly half of the Dutch citizens do not meet the national PA guidelines. A promising method for increasing PA are mobile exercise applications (apps), especially if they are embedded with theoretically supported …

Objective: The Tilburg Frailty Instrument (TFI) is an instrument for assessing frailty in community-dwelling older people. Since its development, many studies have been carried out examining the psychometric properties. The aim of this study was to provide a review of the main findings with regard to …

Background: The last decade has seen a substantial increase in the use of mobile health apps and research into the effects of those apps on health and health behaviors. In parallel, research has aimed at identifying population subgroups that are more likely to use those health apps. Current evidence …

On the eve of the large-scale introduction of electric vehicles, policy makers have to decide on how to organise a significant growth in charging infrastructure to meet demand. There is uncertainty about which charging deployment tactic to follow. The main issue is how many of charging stations, of which …

The textile trading system is based on the ‘take-make-use-dispose’ linear economic model: as high amounts of resources are utilized at low costs, the final products become waste after being used for a only short period. This creates an unbalanced system that has to change. A circular economy model can …