The Calculus of M-estimation in R with geex

M-estimation, or estimating equation, methods are widely applicable for point estimation and asymptotic inference. In this paper, we present an R package that can find roots and compute the empirical sandwich variance estimator for any set of user-specified, unbiased estimating equations. Examples from the M-estimation primer by Stefanski and Boos (2002) demonstrate use of the software. The package also includes a framework for finite sample variance corrections and a website with an extensive collection of tutorials

Existentialism and Creative Practice

The creative process mimics the existentialist philosophy of human freedom and the responsibility to create one’s own meaning in life through an emphasis on invention, experimentation, and ceaseless becoming. Through my body of work, I examine the meaning-giving capacities of the viewer and creator as agents involved in a work of art. The sculptures, as well as found objects, have the power to illuminate the human circumstances they emerged from, while the process of making is also the process of learning, where objects can be used to understand ourselves and the world. Philosophical concepts can be accessed through art in the interest of advancing cross-disciniplary study

Effect of an Emergency Nurse Heart Failure Educational Intervention

Background: Research indicates many nurses lack the appropriate heart failure (HF) education necessary to assist with readmission reduction efforts. Employer approved nurse HF education has resulted in improved nurse HF knowledge, and, reduced readmissions. Problem: ED nurses require a competent knowledge of heart failure to effectively educate heart failure patients upon admission to the ED. No research has been conducted with ED nurse specific populations to assess ED nurse knowledge of heart failure, and, to determine if heart failure educational interventions increase ED nurse\u27 HF knowledge. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of an ED nurse b.eart failure educational intervention in improving ED nurses\u27 knowledge of heart failure. Methodology: A descriptive, prospective, one-group, comparative pre-test/ post-test intervention study design was used, with 24 (N=24) nurses filling out the Nurses Knowledge of Heart Failure Education Principles survey pre/post exposure to an evidenced-based heart failure educational intervention. Results: A significant increase in overall ED nurse heart failure knowledge scores was found pre/post intervention, rising from a pre-test M=78.54 (SD=9.38) to a post-test M=90.0 (SD=9.08), p \u3c .001, a passing score. Significant ED nurse HF knowledge gains were identified in the areas of HF medications, diet, weight, and symptom management (p \u3c .05), with a 171% increase in nurse passing scores

Existentialism and Creative Practice

The creative process mimics the existentialist philosophy of human freedom and the responsibility to create one’s own meaning in life through an emphasis on invention, experimentation, and ceaseless becoming. Through my body of work, I examine the meaning-giving capacities of the viewer and creator as agents involved in a work of art. The sculptures, as well as found objects, have the power to illuminate the human circumstances they emerged from, while the process of making is also the process of learning, where objects can be used to understand ourselves and the world. Philosophical concepts can be accessed through art in the interest of advancing cross-disciniplary study

Cost Effectiveness of Buprenorphine when Used Long Term versus Short Term Use

Since 1999, nearly 841,000 people have died from a drug overdose (CDC, 2022), and substance use disorder (SUD) continues to be a crisis that faces communities across the country. As the crisis continues across communities, the need for medication-assisted opioid use disorder (MOUD) therapy continues to surge. This was a retrospective analysis of archival data from large national data sources. We constructed well-matched cohorts of patients with short and long-term use of MOUD using propensity score matching of 3 months of baseline data. To measure the cost effectiveness of short-term buprenorphine use verse long-term buprenorphine use