Alias - Designing an application for creating personalised comics aimed for the Children and Youth Clinic at Haukeland University Hospital

Information that is handed out by hospitals is not always personalised for patients and their motivation is often lacking. Communication between healthcare and patients is mostly textual and verbal, sometimes overwhelming, leaving a risk of missing out on details. For children and youth, this can become a significant issue. This project acts as a pilot study and explores different approaches to personalizing this information such that it becomes more engaging and understandable for younger patients. An iterative design process contributes to shaping the design in order to meet requirements and aims. The design builds upon a national guideline pathway which has recently been incorporated across Norway. The evaluation shows that the final design is easy to use, informative and self explanatory. An outline for a future implementation of the application is then described and discussed.Masteroppgave i informatikkINF399MAMN-INFMAMN-PRO

Front-Line Physicians' Satisfaction with Information Systems in Hospitals

Day-to-day operations management in hospital units is difficult due to continuously varying situations, several actors involved and a vast number of information systems in use. The aim of this study was to describe front-line physicians' satisfaction with existing information systems needed to support the day-to-day operations management in hospitals. A cross-sectional survey was used and data chosen with stratified random sampling were collected in nine hospitals. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The response rate was 65 % (n = 111). The physicians reported that information systems support their decision making to some extent, but they do not improve access to information nor are they tailored for physicians. The respondents also reported that they need to use several information systems to support decision making and that they would prefer one information system to access important information. Improved information access would better support physicians' decision making and has the potential to improve the quality of decisions and speed up the decision making process.Peer reviewe

International Society for Disease Surveillance Conference 2011: Building the Future of Public Health Surveillance: Building the Future of Public Health Surveillance

Daniel Reidpath - ORCID: 0000-0002-8796-0420 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8796-04204pubpub1117

Saliva continine levels of babies and mothers living with smoking fathers under different housing types in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

Paper Session 15 - The Challenge of Second-Hand Smoke: PA15-3BACKGROUND: After the Smoking Ordinance enacted in HK since 1/2007, shifting of smoking from outdoor to home was found, home becomes a major source of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure of nonsmokers. OBJECTIVES: It aimed to assess the SHS exposure of babies and mothers living with smoking fathers of two housing types by using a biomarker. METHODS: Trios of smoking father, non-smoking mother and a baby under 18-months were recruited from Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) from 6/2008 to 10/2009. Consented couples completed the baseline survey including demographic data, fathers’ household smoking behaviors and mothers’ actions in protecting babies from household SHS exposure. Saliva samples from baby and mother were collected and then sent to the National University of Singapore for cotinine analyses. Log-transformations were used for the saliva cotinine due to skewed data. There were 2 housing types (public/private) and father was asked if they smoked at home (yes/no). MANOVA was used to compare the babies’ and mothers’ cotinine levels when fathers smoked at home under the 2 housing types. RESULTS: 1,158 trios were consented. 1,142 mothers’ and 1,058 babies’ samples were assayed. The mean age of the fathers and mothers was 35.5(±7.0) and 31.2(±4.9). The mean mothers’ cotinine level was 12.15ng/ml (±61.20) while babies’ was 2.38ng/ml (±6.01). 606 and 501 trios were living in public and private housing. Fathers’ smoked at home led to higher mothers’ and babies’ saliva cotininary (mean log of mothers’ cotininary: 0.14±0.62 vs. 0.05±0.55, p=0.06; babies: 0.16±0.38 vs. 0.07±0.34, p=0.003). Housing types influenced babies’ cotinine level (public: 0.17±0.37; private: 0.10±0.36, p=0.01). MANOVA showed that fathers smoked at home (Λ=0.99, p=0.01) and housing types (Λ=0.99, p=0.01) were positively related to the saliva cotinine levels. CONCLUSIONS: Father smoked at home and the housing types have greater impact on babies’ saliva cotininary, showing that they were highly exposed at home and in public housing environment. HK government should promote smoke-free homes and to provide more smoking cessation services to minimize the household SHS exposure to babiespublished_or_final_versio

The role of information in therapeutic decision-making for adults living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Background: People with MS (pwMS) are confronted with 16 therapies. These come with risks that have led to drug withdrawals and changes to prescribing regulations. Patient autonomy is seen as desirable and has challenged the role of the health care professional (HCP). Greater scrutiny of the decisional process is necessary to determine if complex decision-making can be influenced. Methods: i) Attendees to an MS conference (n=105) and a cohort of patients on treatment (n=76) were contacted about their current treatment status and if they had decisional conflict (DC). ii) Prospective study (n=73) of pwMS offered treatment, used instruments to map pwMS through their decision post-consultation. iii) Results informed a film aimed at pwMS (n=1001) and a comparator group without MS (n=148). Participants reviewed the film with the primary aim of measuring understanding of the concepts portrayed. Results: i) Data from the cohorts in methods i-ii (n=254) were compared. The treatment status ‘not satisfied’ was present in 113/254 (44%) and 135/254 (53%) had DC. ii) DC was significantly increased in a treatment naïve subgroup 75% (27/36), p=0.013. iii) In the ‘offered treatment’ study, making a treatment decision took a mean of 29 days (range 0-308). Multivariate regression analysis found those with less confidence in their healthcare decision-making were more likely to have DC (n=72, SURE scale; adjusted R2 0.11, p=0.02; SURE-subscale adjusted R2 0.04 p=0.04; DCG adjusted R2 0.04 p=0.04). iv) The neurologist perceived significantly more consensus during the consultation (39.24±6.54) than pwMS (31.22±10.64; p<0.001). A multivariate regression analysis found that shared decision making (SDM) was associated with lower DC alongside patient engagement (n=67, adjusted R2 0.382; p<0.001). v) There was a high level of film understanding in the total population (85%). vi) A multivariate regression analysis found that ‘education’ was associated with film ‘understanding’ (n=892, adjusted R2 0.023, p=0.000). This meant having less education was associated with increased understanding. A one point increase in education was associated with a .170 reduction in understanding. Conclusions: i) PwMS have high levels of DC when making treatment decisions. ii) Low engagement is associated with increased DC but an HCP consultation with good SDM is associated with lower DC. iii) A film produced a high level of understanding in both MS and non-MS populations. Those less educated had the highest understanding overall.Open Acces

E-learning and Digital Training in Healthcare Education

This book is dedicated to the current trends and new challenges that have emerged from the new e-learning environment, focusing on its potential to revolutionize Healthcare Education and exploring how it may help to better prepare future healthcare professionals for their daily practice. “E-learning and Digital Training in Healthcare Education: Current Trends and New Challenges” contains several research articles focused on new insights into the use of interactive and intuitive e-learning tools and innovative teaching methodologies that engage healthcare students in the new web-based environment training. It also includes several case studies of ‘pathfinder’ e-learning initiatives and surveys related to the penetration and acceptance of digital training in Healthcare Education