Surgical site infection after caesarean section? There is an app for that: results from a feasibility study on costs and benefits

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the most common and, yet, preventable healthcare associated infections. In Ireland, the rate of Caesarean section (CS) is increasing, while postpartum hospital stay is decreasing, adversely affecting SSI among women. There is much need to develop post-discharge surveillance which can effectively monitor, detect, and arrange treatment for affected women. The use of modern technology to survey SSI following discharge from hospital remains unexplored. We report the results of a feasibility study which investigates whether an integrated mobile application (hereafter, app) is more cost-beneficial than a stand-alone app or telephone helpline at surveying SSI following CS. We find women prefer the integrated app (47.5%; n=116/244) over the stand-alone app (8.2%; n=20/244) and telephone helpline (18.0%; 44/244), although there is no significant difference in women's valuation of these services using willingness to pay techniques. The stand-alone app is the only cost-beneficial service due to low labour costs. Future research should employ alternative measures when evaluating the benefits of the health technology. The use of a mobile app as a mechanism for postpartum care could represent a considerable advancement towards technological health care

What women want:Exploring pregnant women's preferences for alternative models of maternity care

Depending on obstetric risk, maternity care may be provided in one of two locations at hospital level: a consultant-led unit (CLU) or a midwifery-led unit (MLU). Care in a MLU is sparsely provided in Ireland, comprising as few as two units out of a total 21 maternity units. Given its potential for greater efficiencies of care and cost-savings for the state, there has been an increased interest to expand MLUs in Ireland. Yet, very little is known about women’s preferences for midwifery-led care, and whether they would utilise this service when presented with the choice of delivering in a CLU or MLU. This study seeks to involve women in the future planning of maternity care by investigating their preferences for care and subsequent motivations when choosing place of birth. Qualitative research is undertaken to explore maternal preferences for these different models of care. Women only revealed a preference for the MLU when co-located with a CLU due to its close proximity to medical services. However, the results suggest women do not have a clear preference for either model of care, but rather a hybrid model of care which encompasses features of both consultant- and midwifery-led car

Development an assessment protocol to identify the characteristics of ASD using eye-tracking for special education purpose

The understanding of how written social information is processed by individuals with autism spectrum traits is important for the development and implementation of suitable educational interventions. The use of eye-tracking methodology offers us the possibility to analyze how information is being selected and has a great potential to inform our understanding of cognitive processing in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Our main goal is to develop an assessment protocol, which could identify if there are differences in the way individuals with low autism spectrum traits and high autism spectrum traits process written social information. This information helps to specify the development of educational techniques for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This study provides the necessary steps for the protocol implementation. We propose an experimental design that can clarify if there are some specific visual patterns when processing social information in the context of autism traits. The findings of our work could document future intervention techniques for social skills

What women want: exploring pregnant women\u27s preferences for alternative models of maternity care

Depending on obstetric risk, maternity care may be provided in one of two locations at hospital level: a consultant-led unit (CLU) or a midwifery-led unit (MLU). Care in a MLU is sparsely provided in Ireland, comprising as few as two units out of a total 21 maternity units. Given its potential for greater efficiencies of care and cost-savings for the state, there has been an increased interest to expand MLUs in Ireland. Yet, very little is known about women’s preferences for midwifery-led care, and whether they would utilise this service when presented with the choice of delivering in a CLU or MLU. This study seeks to involve women in the future planning of maternity care by investigating their preferences for care and subsequent motivations when choosing place of birth. Qualitative research is undertaken to explore maternal preferences for these different models of care. Women only revealed a preference for the MLU when co-located with a CLU due to its close proximity to medical services. However, the results suggest women do not have a clear preference for either model of care, but rather a hybrid model of care which encompasses features of both consultant- and midwifery-led car