August 1st 2014.
The use of technology in clinical settings is of interest because virtualized interventions can reduce clinical contact time and increase reach in the population. The Virtual Look AHEAD Program demonstrated that a Virtual Clinician can be perceived as supportive of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and that those perceptions predict motivation for managing weight loss, which has significant associations with weight-loss outcomes. These results highlight an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of practitioners through the implementation of need-supportive, online lifestyle interventions.
To read more, go to: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/8/e169.full