A revision and analysis of the comprehensiveness of the main longitudinal studies of human ageing for data mining research

Human aging is a global problem that will have a large socioeconomic impact. A better understanding of aging can direct public policies that minimize its negative effects in the future. Over many years, several longitudinal studies of human aging have been conducted aiming to comprehend the phenomenon, and various factors influencing human aging are under analysis. In this review, we categorize the main aspects affecting human aging into a taxonomy for assisting data mining (DM) research on this topic. We also present tables summarizing the main characteristics of 64 research articles using data from aging-related longitudinal studies, in terms of the aging-related aspects analyzed, the main data analysis techniques used, and the specific longitudinal database mined in each article. Finally, we analyze the comprehensiveness of the main databases of longitudinal studies of human aging worldwide, regarding which proportion of the proposed taxonomy's aspects are covered by each longitudinal database. We observed that most articles analyzing such data use classical (parametric, linear) statistical techniques, with little use of more modern (nonparametric, nonlinear) DM methods for analyzing longitudinal databases of human aging. We hope that this article will contribute to DM research in two ways: first, by drawing attention to the important problem of global aging and the free availability of several longitudinal databases of human aging; second, by providing useful information to make research design choices about mining such data, e.g., which longitudinal study and which types of aging-related aspects should be analyzed, depending on the research's goals

Feature Selection for the Classification of Longitudinal Human Ageing Data

We propose a new variant of the Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) method for coping with longitudinal data where variables are repeatedly measured across different time points. The proposed CFS variant is evaluated on ten datasets created using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), with different age-related diseases used as the class variables to be predicted. The results show that, overall, the proposed CFS variant leads to better predictive performance than the standard CFS and the baseline approach of no feature selection, when using Naïve Bayes and J48 decision tree induction as classification algorithms (although the difference in performance is very small in the results for J4.8). We also report the most relevant features selected by J48 across the datasets

The health impacts of place-based creative programmes on older adults’ health: a critical realist review

Place-based creative programmes can help alleviate the structural and place-related problems that affect older adults' health. However, it is unclear why these programmes achieve positive outcomes, and how these may vary across contexts. This critical realist review aimed to address these gaps. We were able to evidence why these programmes may work for older people's mental, social and physical health. Place-based creative programmes impact on health because they support social relatedness, motivation, self-continuity and self-efficacy. However, the circumstances under which and for whom these programmes work remain hidden since existing studies do not report sufficiently on context. We set out some of the general aspects of context that could form the basis of minimum standards for reporting

European consensus of criteria for the evaluation of good practices in chronic conditions

Los sistemas sanitarios reconocen las enfermedades crónicas como uno de sus grandes desafíos de salud del siglo XXI para los sistemas sanitarios. A pesar de ser en gran medida prevenibles, las enfermedades crónicas son importante causa de mortalidad y morbilidad en Europa. En 2015, más de 1,2 millones de personas en los países de la UE murieron por enfermedades y lesiones que podrían haberse evitado a través de políticas de salud pública más fuertes o de una atención médica más efectiva y menos fragmentada. La presente tesis doctoral reporta el desarrollo y resultados de una proceso de consenso internacional cuyo objetivo ha sido desarrollar criterios de evaluación para valorar el potencial de las prácticas clínicas e intervenciones y políticas sanitarias a la hora de disminuir la carga atribuible a las enfermedades crónicas en cuatro áreas de interés: Promoción de la salud y prevención primaria de condiciones crónicas; Intervenciones organizativas enfocadas al tratamiento de pacientes crónicos con condiciones clínicas múltiples; Intervenciones sobre el empoderamiento del paciente; e, Intervenciones y políticas orientadas a mejorar la diabetes (la diabetes se utiliza como condición paradigmática). Con objeto de acordar los criterios de evaluación y otorgarles relevancia distinta en función del dominio de interés, se desarrolló un consenso internacional mediante la técnica Delphi-modificada, en la que participaron 113 expertos de diferentes disciplinas procedentes de 23 países europeos. El proceso de consenso produjo 145 categoría de evaluación (28 categorías en el Delphi de Health promotion and primary prevention of chronic conditions, 50 en el de Organizational interventions aimed at dealing with complex chronic patients with multiple conditions, 28 en el de Patient empowerment interventions with chronic conditions y 39 categorías en el Delphi de diabetes as a case-study) orientadas a valorar cada uno de los citados dominios y ponderarlos en función de cada área de interés. El conjunto de criterios y categorías acordados para el caso paradigmático de Diabetes apoya la hipótesis de que los criterios de valoración son transferibles y aplicables a la evaluación de prácticas, intervenciones y políticas desarrolladas sobre otras condiciones crónicas. Consistentemente con lo observado en otras iniciativas europeas, en este consenso, los criterios relacionados con ‘diseño de la práctica’, ‘evaluación’, ‘sostenibilidad’ y ‘escalabilidad’ parecen ser componentes esenciales en el desarrollo e implementación de buenas prácticas en Europa. Por último, como virtualidad destacable de este proceso de consenso, el componente internacional de las decisiones consensuadas, apoya la posibilidad de que las prácticas evaluadas con los criterios y categorías acordados puedan ser transferidas a cualquier contexto europeo.<br /

Identifying those at risk of depression following a diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome: developing a screening intervention for use in the acute care hospital setting

Identifying patients at risk of developing depression following a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome is a new strategy that creates an important opportunity for the provision of early psychological support at a critical phase in a patient’s recovery. The aim of this research programme was to develop a brief depression risk assessment instrument for use by nurses in the clinical setting and test its psychometric properties using a mixed method approach

OSTOMY COMPLICATIONS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS: DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF TWO INSTRUMENTS

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Complications following intestinal ostomy surgery can diminish quality of life for individuals living with an ostomy, resulting in physical and psychosocial limitations. Risk factors contributing to ostomy complications are not well established in the literature. The purposes of this study were to: 1) identify risk factors contributing to the development of fecal ostomy complications; 2) describe the incidence and severity of early fecal ostomy complications; and 3) estimate the reliability and validity of two newly developed instruments, Ostomy Risk Factor Index (ORFI) and Ostomy Complication Severity Index (OCSI). Using a prospective longitudinal design, 71 adult patients who had undergone ostomy surgery were recruited from three acute care settings. Data were collected through self-administered surveys, medical record review, and direct observation prior to discharge and at 30 to 60 days post-operatively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, chi-square tests, correlation, and multiple regression. Psychometric properties of the Ostomy Risk Factor Index and the Ostomy Complication Severity Index were examined using content validity indices, Cohen coefficient kappa, Pearson correlation coefficient, and intra-class correlation. Two risk factors were found to be predictive of ostomy complications scores, stoma/abdomen characteristics (p= .007) and BMI (p= .002). Ostomy complications and ostomy adjustment were significantly inversely correlated (r= - 0.27, p=.04) and stoma care self-efficacy and ostomy adjustment were significantly correlated (r= .599, p= .01). The ORFI and OCSI demonstrated acceptable content validity (CVI= 0.9). ORFI demonstrated acceptable inter-rater reliability for 10 of the 14 items (k= 1.0) and excellent intraclass correlation of total scores between raters (r= .998, p= .001). The OCSI demonstrated acceptable inter-rater reliability for all of the items (k= .71- 1.0) and excellent intra-class vii correlation of total scores between raters (r= .991, p= .000). The OCSI demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha .68). In conclusion, this study provides new knowledge regarding risk factors, incidence and severity of ostomy complications, and provided support for the validity and reliability of two new instruments for the researcher and practitioner to reliably identify and describe important contributors (risk factors) and outcomes (complications) that affect care of the patient with an ostomy

Health of an aging America : issues on data for policy analysis

The papers in this report were background to a study conducted by the Panel on Statistics for an Aging Population, of the Committee on National Statistics, focusing on data needed over the next decade for health policy analysis for an aging America.Includes bibliographies.198

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE POSTINDUSTRIAL: SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES FOR STUDYING THE PAST IN THE PRESENT

Postindustrial urban landscapes are large-scale, complex manifestations of the past in the present in the form of industrial ruins and archaeological sites, decaying infrastructure, and adaptive reuse; ongoing processes of postindustrial redevelopment often conspire to conceal the toxic consequences of long-term industrial activity. Understanding these phenomena is an essential step in building a sustainable future; despite this, the study of the postindustrial is still new, and requires interdisciplinary connections that remain either unexplored or underexplored. Archaeologists have begun to turn their attention to the modern industrial era and beyond. This focus carries the potential to deliver new understandings of the industrial and postindustrial city, yet archaeological attention to the postindustrial remains in its infancy. Developments in the ongoing digital revolution in archaeology and within the social sciences and humanities have the potential to contribute to the archaeological study of the postindustrial city. The development of historical GIS and historical spatial data infrastructures (HSDIs) using historical big data have enabled scholars to study the past over large spatial and temporal scales and support qualitative research, while retaining a high level of detail. This dissertation demonstrates how spatial technologies using big data approaches, especially the HSDI, enhance the archaeological study of postindustrial urban landscapes and ultimately contribute to meeting the “grand challenge” of integrating digital approaches into archaeology by coupling reflexive recording of archaeological knowledge production with globally accessible spatial digital data infrastructures. HSDIs show great potential for providing archaeologists working in postindustrial places with a means to curate and manipulate historical data on an industrial or urban scale, and to iteratively contextualize this longitudinal dataset with material culture and other forms of archaeological knowledge. I argue for the use of HSDIs as the basis for transdisciplinary research in postindustrial contexts, as a platform for linking research in the academy to urban decision

Mapping the Division of Labour in Long-Term Residential Care Across Jurisdictions

Despite the international emphasis on care in private homes, the demand for long-term residential care is rising given the growing number of older persons and those living with severe disabilities. Rising acuity levels of residents have resulted in calls for more training for care providers and concerns have been raised about the supply of workers, drawing attention to the working conditions, pay, benefits and status attached to work in long-term residential care. This industry is a link in the international care chain, with wealthy countries seeking workers from poorer countries. Yet, cross-national data sources provide limited information on the long-term residential care labour force, reflecting the value attached to the sector and the level of concern about the well-being of the labour force. Data that are available indicate that care is prioritized, divided and measured in different ways in different contexts and that there are varying degrees of precariousness experienced by workers. The evidence from the data also suggests that the public not-for-profit sector and unionization are critical shelters for the mostly women providers. Using a feminist political economy approach, this thesis outlines data available from statistical sources in Europe and North America with a case examination of four countries: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden. It critically maps the comparative data on the supply of labour in this industry of health and social care, as well as on their locations and relations. It illustrates the extent to which the framing of care in conventional terms, influenced by both neoliberal and medical notions of care, limits the statistical infrastructure in terms of its capacity to adequately measure workforces involved in long-term residential care and to provide a basis for addressing the continuing supply of labour in this sector

Building on Progress - Expanding the Research Infrastructure for the Social, Economic, and Behavioral Sciences. Vol. 1

The publication provides a comprehensive compendium of the current state of Germany's research infrastructure in the social, economic, and behavioural sciences. In addition, the book presents detailed discussions of the current needs of empirical researchers in these fields and opportunities for future development. The book contains 68 advisory reports by more than 100 internationally recognized authors from a wide range of fields and recommendations by the German Data Forum (RatSWD) on how to improve the research infrastructure so as to create conditions ideal for making Germany's social, economic, and behavioral sciences more innovative and internationally competitive. The German Data Forum (RatSWD) has discussed the broad spectrum of issues covered by these advisory reports extensively, and has developed general recommendations on how to expand the research infrastructure to meet the needs of scholars in the social and economic sciences