How do medical doctors use a web-based oncology protocol system? A comparison of Australian doctors at different levels of medical training using logfile analysis and an online survey

BACKGROUND: Electronic decision support is commonplace in medical practice. However, its adoption at the point-of-care is dependent on a range of organisational, patient and clinician-related factors. In particular, level of clinical experience is an important driver of electronic decision support uptake. Our objective was to examine the way in which Australian doctors at different stages of medical training use a web-based oncology system (http://www.eviq.org.au). METHODS: We used logfiles to examine the characteristics of eviQ registrants (2009–2012) and patterns of eviQ use in 2012, according to level of medical training. We also used a web-based survey to evaluate the way doctors at different levels of medical training use the online system and to elicit perceptions of the system’s utility in oncology care. RESULTS: Our study cohort comprised 2,549 eviQ registrants who were hospital-based medical doctors across all levels of training. 65% of the cohort used eviQ in 2012, with 25% of interns/residents, 61% of advanced oncology trainees and 47% of speciality-qualified oncologists accessing eviQ in the last 3 months of 2012. The cohort accounted for 445,492 webhits in 2012. On average, advanced trainees used eviQ up to five-times more than other doctors (42.6 webhits/month compared to 22.8 for specialty-qualified doctors and 7.4 webhits/month for interns/residents). Of the 52 survey respondents, 89% accessed eviQ’s chemotherapy protocols on a daily or weekly basis in the month prior to the survey. 79% of respondents used eviQ at least weekly to initiate therapy and to support monitoring (29%), altering (35%) or ceasing therapy (19%). Consistent with the logfile analysis, advanced oncology trainees report more frequent eviQ use than doctors at other stages of medical training. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the Australian oncology workforce are registered on eviQ. The frequency of use directly mirrors the clinical role of doctors and attitudes about the utility of eviQ in decision-making. Evaluations of this kind generate important data for system developers and medical educators to drive improvements in electronic decision support to better meet the needs of clinicians. This end-user focus will optimise the uptake of systems which will translate into improvements in processes of care and patient outcomes

Computerized Clinical Decision Support Systems for decision support in patients with breast, lung, colorectal or prostate cancer

Sistemes electrònics; Càncer; Presa de decisionsSistemas electrónicos; Cáncer; Toma de decisionesElectronic systems; Cancer; Decision makingEl objetivo general de este informe de ETS es evaluar la seguridad, eficacia, efectividad y eficiencia de los sistemas electrónicos de apoyo a las decisiones clínicas (computerized Clinical Decision Support Systems o cCDSS), específicamente de los considerados de nivel medio (p. ej. calculadoras pronósticas o GPC automatizadas) y de nivel alto (aquellos que utilizan la IA para formular recomendaciones específicas para un paciente), para el apoyo a la toma de decisiones clínicas relativas al manejo terapéutico, seguimiento o pronóstico de pacientes con cáncer de mama, pulmón, colon-recto o próstata. También se propone evaluar el impacto de los cCDSS en cáncer a nivel organizativo, legal, ético y social/de pacientes.L'objectiu general d'aquest informe d'ETS és avaluar la seguretat, eficàcia, efectivitat i eficiència dels sistemes electrònics de suport a les decisions clíniques (computeritzed Clinical Decision Support Systems o cCDSS), específicament dels considerats de nivell mitjà (p. ex. calculadores pronòstiques o GPC automatitzades) i de nivell alt (aquells que utilitzen la IA per formular recomanacions específiques per a un pacient), per al suport a la presa de decisions clíniques relatives al maneig terapèutic, seguiment o pronòstic de pacients amb càncer de mama, pulmó, còlon-recte o pròstata. També es proposa avaluar l'impacte dels cCDSS en càncer a nivell organitzatiu, legal, ètic i social/de pacients.The overall objective of this HTA report is to evaluate the safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency of (computeritzed Clinical Decision Support Systems (cCDSS), specifically those considered medium level (e.g. prognostic calculators or automated CPGs) and high level (those that use AI to formulate patient-specific recommendations), for clinical decision support regarding the therapeutic management, follow-up, or prognosis of patients with breast, lung, colon-rectum or prostate cancer. It is also proposed to assess the impact of cCDSS in cancer at organizational, legal, ethical, and social/patient level

Développement et évaluation d'une simulation numérique visant à améliorer les habiletés relationnelles des infirmières dans un contexte de formation continue

Les personnes vivant avec le VIH (PVVIH) doivent recourir à un traitement antirétroviral (TAR) à vie pour contrôler leur charge virale et prévenir la transmission du virus. Nombreuses interventions ont ciblé le comportement individuel des PVVIH à prendre leur TAR, mais très peu d’entre elles ont visé la pratique professionnelle des infirmières alors qu’elles sont des acteurs clés dans les soins prodigués à ces personnes. Les infirmières ont une responsabilité sociale et professionnelle de respecter les normes de formation continue afin de développer de nouvelles compétences et de les maintenir à jour pour offrir des soins sécuritaires et de qualité à leur clientèle. Les technologies représentent une modalité prometteuse pour la formation numérique et la prestation des soins. Deux revues systématiques de revues systématiques ont été réalisées pour examiner les effets des technologies de l’information et des communications en santé de même que la formation numérique sur les soins infirmiers. Ce projet doctoral poursuit deux buts généraux : 1) Développer une simulation numérique ; 2) Évaluer quantitativement et qualitativement l’acceptabilité de la simulation auprès des infirmières. Deux objectifs ont permis de développer la simulation : 1.1) Explorer la pratique infirmière et ses défis dans l’accompagnement des PVVIH sous TAR ; 1.2) Décrire le processus de codéveloppement de la simulation et les leçons apprises. L’évaluation de la simulation a été répondue à l’aide de trois objectifs : 2.1) Mesurer les perceptions des infirmières quant aux éléments composant la simulation, sa qualité globale et l’acceptation de la technologie, le rôle de la simulation pour soutenir la pratique professionnelle et l’atteinte des objectifs d’apprentissage ; 2.2) Explorer l’expérience d’apprentissage ; 2.3) Comprendre comment la simulation numérique contribue au renforcement des habiletés relationnelles, à la progression et au transfert des apprentissages en pratique. Une étude qualitative a permis d’explorer la pratique infirmière et ses défis. Parmi les défis identifiés, notons particulièrement le manque de ressources pour aider un patient dont la prise du traitement est sous-optimale. Ce défi a été transformé en opportunité d’apprentissage dans un scénario clinique simulant l’histoire d’un patient virtuel pour qui la prise du TAR est difficile. Une approche collaborative a permis le codéveloppement de cette simulation numérique, soutenue par l’entretien motivationnel. Une consultation infirmière-patient avec des schèmes de communication préprogrammés a été scénarisée pour favoriser l’application d’habiletés relationnelles auprès du patient virtuel. L’apprentissage actif est illustré par des « quiz1 » et des rétroactions qui permettent d’apprendre de ses erreurs. L’évaluation de cette simulation a été réalisée à l’aide d’une étude mixte à devis convergent. Une étude préexpérimentale à groupe unique post-intervention a permis de décrire les perceptions de 27 infirmières quant à la simulation, à l’aide d’un questionnaire en ligne (80 énoncés). Cinq infirmières sur 27 ont participé à la composante qualitative, en partageant leur expérience d’apprentissage via un groupe de discussion en ligne. Une approche narrative a facilité l’intégration des résultats quantitatifs et qualitatifs pour enrichir la compréhension de ce qui a contribué à la progression des apprentissages. Les infirmières ont évalué favorablement l’acceptabilité de la simulation, dont sa qualité globale, l’acceptation de la technologie et les rôles de la simulation sur la pratique. Les infirmières perçoivent que la simulation permet de réfléchir globalement à leur pratique, d’améliorer leurs habiletés de communication et la qualité de la relation thérapeutique. Quatre thèmes illustrent l’expérience d’apprentissage : 1) Motivations à s’engager dans la recherche ; 2) Apprentissage dans un environnement réaliste, immersif, et de non-jugement ; 3) Utilité perçue de la simulation sur le plan des connaissances, de la réflexion, des habiletés relationnelles (importance de la communication, de l’écoute, de la présence) ; 4) Difficultés à s’engager dans la recherche. Les constats mixtes interprétatifs sont les suivants : 1) Le réalisme de la simulation donne l’impression d’avoir une pratique infirmière réelle et une expérience immersive ; 2) Une simulation flexible, perçue efficace et permettant le contrôle sur son apprentissage contribuent positivement à l’expérience ; 3) Conscientisation du soi et réflexion sur sa pratique relationnelle; 4) Consolidation des apprentissages et meilleure confiance en ses capacités.People living with HIV (PLHIV) have to take antiretroviral treatment (ART) for the rest of their lives to control the viral load and prevent HIV transmission. While many interventions have targeted PLHIV’s individual behaviour in taking their ART, very few have focused on the professional practice of nurses, even though they are key actors in the healthcare provided to PLHIV. Nurses have a social and professional responsibility to respect continuing education standards, to refresh their skills, and to acquire new ones so as to provide their clients with safe, quality care. Technology is a promising avenue for digital training and delivery of care. Two systematic reviews of systematic reviews were conducted to examine the effects of information and communication technologies as well as e-learning on nursing care. This doctoral project has two general goals: 1) Develop a virtual simulation; 2) Quantitatively and qualitatively assess the simulation’s acceptability to nurses. Two objectives were achieved to reach the first goal (simulation development): 1.1) Explore nursing practice to help PLHIV adhere to ART, and the challenges faced by nurses; and 1.2) Describe the simulation codevelopment process and the lessons learned. The second goal (simulation assessment) was met by pursuing the following three objectives: 2.1) Measure the nurses’ perceptions of the simulation’s design elements, its overall quality and technology acceptance, the simulation’s role in supporting the professional practice, and the achievement of the learning objectives; 2.2) Explore nurses’ learning experience; and 2.3) Understand how the digital simulation can contribute to nurses’ uptake of relational skills, learning progress, and transfer into practice. A qualitative study was performed to explore the nursing practice and its challenges. Among the challenges identified, one was salient: the lack of resources to help patients whose treatment-taking was suboptimal. This challenge was turned into a learning opportunity in a clinical scenario simulating a virtual patient having difficulty taking their ART. A collaborative approach helped codevelop this virtual simulation, informed by motivational interviewing. A nurse-patient consultation with preprogrammed communication schemes was scripted to encourage the nurses to apply relational skills with the virtual patient. The active learning is supported by quizzes and feedback that help nurses learn from their mistakes. A convergent mixed methods study was conducted to evaluate the simulation. A pre-experimental study with a one-group post-test design was used to describe 27 nurses’ perceptions of the simulation through an online questionnaire (80 items). Five of the 27 nurses participated in the qualitative component, sharing their learning experience in an online focus group. A narrative approach facilitated the integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings to better understand what contributed to learning progression. The nurses favourably assessed the simulation’s acceptability, including its overall quality, technology acceptance, and role in supporting practice. They stated that the simulation made them reflect about their practice as a whole, and helped improve their communication skills and the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Four themes illustrate the learning experience: 1) Motivations to engage in the simulation-based research; 2) Learning in a realistic, immersive, and non-judgmental environment; 3) Perceived utility of the simulation regarding knowledge, reflection, and relational skills (importance of communicating, listening, being present); and, 4) Perceived difficulty in engaging in the simulation-based research. The mixed methods study’s interpretative findings are as follows: 1) Influence of the simulation’s fidelity on nurses’ impression of getting real practice and of having an immersive learning experience; 2) Simulation’s perceived flexibility, efficacy, and control over one’s learning led to a positive learning experience; 3) Self-awareness and reflection in relational practice; and 4) Consolidation of the knowledge acquired and greater confidence in their abilities

Cognitive Foundations for Visual Analytics

In this report, we provide an overview of scientific/technical literature on information visualization and VA. Topics discussed include an update and overview of the extensive literature search conducted for this study, the nature and purpose of the field, major research thrusts, and scientific foundations. We review methodologies for evaluating and measuring the impact of VA technologies as well as taxonomies that have been proposed for various purposes to support the VA community. A cognitive science perspective underlies each of these discussions

Information between Data and Knowledge: Information Science and its Neighbors from Data Science to Digital Humanities

Digital humanities as well as data science as neighboring fields pose new challenges and opportunities for information science. The recent focus on data in the context of big data and deep learning brings along new tasks for information scientist for example in research data management. At the same time, information behavior changes in the light of the increasing digital availability of information in academia as well as in everyday life. In this volume, contributions from various fields like information behavior and information literacy, information retrieval, digital humanities, knowledge representation, emerging technologies, and information infrastructure showcase the development of information science research in recent years. Topics as diverse as social media analytics, fake news on Facebook, collaborative search practices, open educational resources or recent developments in research data management are some of the highlights of this volume. For more than 30 years, the International Symposium of Information Science has been the venue for bringing together information scientists from the German speaking countries. In addition to the regular scientific contributions, six of the best competitors for the prize for the best information science master thesis present their work