Health information systems in Malta : past, present and future

It is well documented and recognized internationally that good quality health information is essential to public health in its endeavor to protect and promote the health of a nation. The need for dedicated health information systems within the Ministry for Health in Malta was felt more than 30 years ago, when the Chief Government Medical Officer at the time called for the introduction and implementation of a health service information system. This led to the development of a dedicated unit with the aims of providing basic statistical and epidemiological information, conducting surveys and evaluating health programmes. Over the years, this unit has developed into the current Directorate for Health Information and Research which is now responsible for maintaining ten population-based Health Registers and a five yearly National Health Interview Survey, in addition to other ad hoc research. This article traces the development of health information systems in Malta from their inception in the early 1980s to date.peer-reviewe

Reaching people at the periphery - Can the World Bank's population, health and nutrition operations do better?

Many population, health and nutrition (PHN) programs are designed to elicit behaviour changes in poor people living at the geographic and social peripheries. Few programs specifically target the disadvantaged, however, and research about clients focuses mainly on routine statistics rather than on whether education and services do or will meet clients needs. This paper looks at the Bank's past and present PHN work to see whether the approaches being used are likely to be effective in reaching clients at the periphery, and to suggest some directions for the future. The focus is on design and management of direct efforts to deliver services and education aimed at behavioral change, and hence on the interface between worker and client.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Economics&Finance,ICT Policy and Strategies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Housing&Human Habitats

Information Systems and Healthcare XXXIV: Clinical Knowledge Management Systems—Literature Review and Research Issues for Information Systems

Knowledge Management (KM) has emerged as a possible solution to many of the challenges facing U.S. and international healthcare systems. These challenges include concerns regarding the safety and quality of patient care, critical inefficiency, disparate technologies and information standards, rapidly rising costs and clinical information overload. In this paper, we focus on clinical knowledge management systems (CKMS) research. The objectives of the paper are to evaluate the current state of knowledge management systems diffusion in the clinical setting, assess the present status and focus of CKMS research efforts, and identify research gaps and opportunities for future work across the medical informatics and information systems disciplines. The study analyzes the literature along two dimensions: (1) the knowledge management processes of creation, capture, transfer, and application, and (2) the clinical processes of diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and prognosis. The study reveals that the vast majority of CKMS research has been conducted by the medical and health informatics communities. Information systems (IS) researchers have played a limited role in past CKMS research. Overall, the results indicate that there is considerable potential for IS researchers to contribute their expertise to the improvement of clinical process through technology-based KM approaches

The resolution of the genetics of gene expression

Understanding the influence of genetics on the molecular mechanisms underpinning human phenotypic diversity is fundamental to being able to predict health outcomes and treat disease. To interrogate the role of genetics on cellular state and function, gene expression has been extensively used. Past and present studies have highlighted important patterns of heritability, population differentiation and tissue-specificity in gene expression. Current and future studies are taking advantage of systems biology-based approaches and advances in sequencing technology: new methodology aims to translate regulatory networks to enrich pathways responsible for disease etiology and 2nd generation sequencing now offers single-molecular resolution of the transcriptome providing unprecedented information on the structural and genetic characteristics of gene expression. Such advances are leading to a future where rich cellular phenotypes will facilitate understanding of the transmission of genetic effect from the gene to organis

A Tough Pill to Swallow? The Lessons Learned from Mandatory RFID Adoption

On some occasions, information technology (IT) is mandated rather than voluntary. However, the impact of mandatory IT adoption receives little attention in the operations management literature, and the literature shows divergent predictions about how mandatory IT affects financial performance. Using the case of mandatory radio-frequency identification (RFID) adoption in manufacturing industries, this study applies long-horizon event study to examine 95 U.S. listed firms that have adopted mandatory RFID. The resultsshow that firms achieve significantly strong financial performance from mandatory adoption. Mandatory RFID is particularly beneficial for firms with good financial health, late adopters and high-clockspeed firms.The current study provides a deeper understanding of supplier benefits from mandatory systems supported by dominant customers. Based on the lessons learned from past mandatory RFID adoption, the present study can serve as guidance for future projects and contribute to the literature on operations management and information system

A Methodological Approach to Quality of Future Context for Proactive Smart Systems

Many current context-aware systems only react to the current situation and context changes as the occur. In order to anticipate to future situations and exhibit proactive behavior, these systems should also be aware of their future context. Since predicted context is uncertain and can be wrong, applications need to be able to assess the quality of the predicted context information. This allows applications to make a well-informed decision whether to act on the prediction or not. In this paper, we present prediction quality metrics to evaluate the probability of future situations. These metrics are integrated in a structured prediction component development methodology, which is illustrated by a health care application scenario. The metrics and the methodology address the needs of the developer aiming to build context-aware applications that realize proactive behavior with regard to past, present and future context. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.status: publishe

Exposure Matters: Examining The Physical And Psychological Health Impacts Of Toxic Contamination Using Gis And Survey Data

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the grassroots environmental movement brought national attention to the issues related to inequities in environmental quality. Previous research addressing these environmental inequities has progressively increased and advanced methodologically. However, the arguments and focus have been primarily limited to examining the socio-demographics in an ongoing debate of race and class. This thesis extends past the methodological stalemate focusing on the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) using survey data in an environmental justice case study of a community in south Florida. This approach examines the social, health and environmental impacts of a Superfund site on a low income, minority community. Using geo-coded survey (N=223) and environmental data (ash deposition patterns), this thesis employs path analysis to test the hypothesis that exposure matters. The exposure matters hypothesis suggests exposure (perceived, self-reported and actual) is a significant predictor of physical and psychological health. Results discuss significant findings, and then compare them with previous disaster and trauma-related research and present directions for future research

Nursing informatics: a personal review of the past, the present and the future

There is evidence that nurses have been involved in, or have been affected by health- related computer projects since the mid-1960's. Since those early years nurses have made many significant contributions to the wider bio-health informatics agenda. This article reflects on the evolution of Nursing Informatics, from attempts to define the discipline, through the development of support systems, to the current state-of-the-science for one particular and important field of study, namely clinical terminologies. The article concludes with a call for increased professionalisation of Nursing Informatics