The Impact of Big Data Utilization on Quality Improvement in Inpatient Facilities

Introduction: Poor quality in healthcare has resulted in avoidable patient complications, including readmission rates. Big data in healthcare can be analyzed and built into a tools, with machine learning, to aid in reduced readmission rates and overall positive patient outcomes. Purpose of the Study: The intention of this study was to evaluate the ways that big data can be analyzed to improve healthcare, specifically readmissions, patient outcomes, and show cost savings. This study examined different ways that big data could be used in concordance with machine learning, including predictive analysis, to make these improvements. Methodology: The hypothesis was the use of big data has improved quality categories in inpatient facilities led to improved patient outcomes, decreased readmission rates, and reduced costs. 27 publications were included and limited to the English language and were published between the year(s) of 2010 and 2023. Results: The study displayed many solutions to different concerns within the scope of readmissions and patient outcomes through machine learning tools alongside big data. Examined were solutions for reducing readmission rates, and patient outcomes which further included addressing appointment no-shows, disease risks, and outcome outlook. Discussion: The hypothesis of this study was partially conclusive, as improvement to readmission rates and patient outcomes were examined, but financial data was unavailable to confirm cost savings potential. The study limitations included the inability to obtain financial statistics and the potential for machine learning training data to not be clean. An interview with an expert in quality was also conducted and subject opinions were displayed alongside its corresponding subcategory. Conclusion: The research provided descriptive and valuable data on the abilities of big data and machine learning techniques. Given the study limitations, there has been shown a need for research and data on the common use of these techniques within inpatient facilities

Healthcare Access Barriers in Rural America

In rural America, the path to accessing healthcare is met with many challenges. These challenges can present geographically and structurally within rural healthcare systems, as well as larger healthcare delivery entities. Due to these access barriers, rural Americans are at higher risk for developing poor health outcomes, as compared to their urban counterparts. Among these are higher mortality and morbidity rates, higher instances of chronic conditions, and higher rates of childhood obesity. Because rural communities are at risk for adverse health outcomes, it is vital that research and policy be geared toward reducing barriers to accessing healthcare within this population. To effectively understand the needs of this unique cultural cohort, healthcare institutions and agencies should utilize community-based participatory research (CBPR) to identify specific areas for improvement in the delivery and quality of rural healthcare. CBPR would reduce health disparities and improve quality of life for rural communities

Experience of Play Participation and Use of Lower Extremity Orthoses in Children with Cerebral Palsy: Case Study

This case study sought to understand the experience of a single family of a child with cerebral palsy (CP) using lower extremity orthoses (LEOs) in natural play contexts. CP is the most commonly occurring motor disability in childhood. Associated with CP, impairments in functional mobility, spasticity, varying degrees of muscle tone, ROM, and impaired gross and fine motor control are barriers to meaningful play experiences in this population. LEOs are widely prescribed devices for children with CP, used as walking aids and to improve/offset some of these performance deficits and body structures. Although, the true efficacy of LEOs is yet to be established. Play is the primary occupation of childhood, contributing to the development of cognitive, emotional, and physical skills of the child. Because play participation is vital to development throughout childhood, it is pertinent that habilitative professionals understand how use of a widely prescribed class of orthotics for children with CP may support and/or hinder participation in meaningful play experiences. Semi-structured interviews and video-recorded play observations were used to collect data. From this data, five themes emerged. These included; “LEOs support participation in gross motor play”, “Experience of social play/participation is adversely impacted by use of LEOs”, “Self-perception of braces and choice of play varies across contexts”, “LEOs as a facilitator and/or barrier to undesirable body positioning during play”, and “Pain/Discomfort caused by LEOs during play”

Say “No” to Discrimination, “Yes” to Accommodation: Why States Should Prohibit Discrimination of Workers Who Use Cannabis for Medical Purposes

This Article addresses the question of how the law should treat medical cannabis in the employment context. Using Colorado as a primary example, we argue that states such as Colorado should amend their constitutions and legislate to provide employment protections for employees who are registered medical cannabis cardholders or registered caregivers. Part I briefly traces the legal regulation of cannabis from an unregulated medicine known as cannabis to a highly regulated illicit substance known as marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. Our travail through this history reveals, unsurprisingly, an increasing demonization of cannabis throughout the twentieth century. That socio-legal demonization likely hindered the medical development of cannabis for at least a century. American society’s negative perception of cannabis began to yield, however, as scientific evidence of cannabis’s healing capacity gained popularity. Increased demand for medicinal cannabis resulted in a clash of perceptions between marijuana, the demonic influencer of immoral or criminal behavior, and cannabis, the angelic healer. It is this cognitive dissidence that helps explain the strange result of Brandon’s case. Part II surveys the role of employment law in protecting employees who use cannabis for medical purposes. We explore the public policy exception to at-will employment and various federal and state disability statutes. We conclude that judges can and should apply these measures to protect workers who may be vulnerable to discharge because of their cannabis use. Democracies cannot and should not depend on judges to make important changes in public policies, even when those changes are to common law doctrines created by judges in the first place. Part III surveys two states’ statutes—those of Nevada and Oklahoma—that protect workers who use medical cannabis from employment termination. Applying the knowledge gained from Part II, we collated what we believed to be the best language from the statutes of those two states and rewrote Colorado’s constitution in a manner that would account for employees’ interests and employer’s legitimate concerns. Part IV acknowledges that employers may be slow to change their medical cannabis policies. With this reality in mind, we review some best practices as to how employers can accommodate cannabis use among its workers, including appropriate exceptions to an accommodation policy that take into account employer’s legitimate business interests without cutting into the essential accommodations medical cannabis users need to become or remain productive members of the U.S. workforce

Early Warning Model of Dangerous Road Pavement Condition Using UAV

The inspection process of road pavement safety varies in size in length, and many local and federal authorities are responsible for such work. Using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has proven to be cost effective in road construction, maintenance and inspection work. Rapid deployment in response to user satisfaction and concerns is also a viable prospect for the use of UAVs. MDT has identified a portion of Nissler Road between Ramsay, Montana and the I-15/I-90 interchange west of Rocker as a candidate for enhanced roadway safety inspection using UAVs. Stephen Frazee of WET in Butte kindly provided our team with an UAV image they took of the road. With this image and some site visits, the goal of our senior design project will be to complete a geometric and pavement redesign of the given road and also develop an early warning process with UAV that includes; Inspect, Call for Immediate Response, and Design

Proinflammatory immune cells disrupt angiogenesis and promote germinal matrix hemorrhage in prenatal human brain

Germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) is a devastating neurodevelopmental condition affecting preterm infants, but why blood vessels in this brain region are vulnerable to rupture remains unknown. Here we show that microglia in prenatal mouse and human brain interact with nascent vasculature in an age-dependent manner and that ablation of these cells in mice reduces angiogenesis in the ganglionic eminences, which correspond to the human germinal matrix. Consistent with these findings, single-cell transcriptomics and flow cytometry show that distinct subsets of CD45+ cells from control preterm infants employ diverse signaling mechanisms to promote vascular network formation. In contrast, CD45+ cells from infants with GMH harbor activated neutrophils and monocytes that produce proinflammatory factors, including azurocidin 1, elastase and CXCL16, to disrupt vascular integrity and cause hemorrhage in ganglionic eminences. These results underscore the brain's innate immune cells in region-specific angiogenesis and how aberrant activation of these immune cells promotes GMH in preterm infants

From Desks To Zen: Impacts of Chair Yoga on Elementary Students’ Attention, Anxiety, and Self-Compassion

Yoga has been found to improve people’s lives in many ways. However, there is limited research on using chair yoga instead of mat yoga, especially with children in school settings. The current quasi-experimental study explored whether participating in eight sessions of chair yoga at school improved fourth-grade students’ (n=42) self-reports of their attention, anxiety symptoms, and levels of self-compassion. After the yoga intervention, analyses revealed that students reported significantly fewer generalized anxiety symptoms. Interestingly, their ratings of their mindfulness levels (part of the self-compassion scale) decreased significantly, indicating that they were less mindful at the time of completing the post-test measures. However, this study supports that children participating in chair yoga at school may report reduced anxiety symptoms

Wound Care Nurses Becoming Quitline Providers and Teaching Patients About Smoking Cessation and Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Our evidence-based practice project focuses on wound care nurses becoming Quitline providers and teaching patients about smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy. To guide our research, we used Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory. Smoking is a modifiable risk factor that is a part of the patient’s environment. Our research we used supports that smoking can affect wound healing. We believe that wound care nurses should be trained in smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy prescribing to be an advocate to patients and their journey to wound healing

Say “No” to Discrimination, “Yes” to Accommodation: Why States Should Prohibit Discrimination of Workers Who Use Cannabis for Medical Purposes

This Article addresses the question of how the law should treat medical cannabis in the employment context. Using Colorado as a primary example, we argue that states such as Colorado should amend their constitutions and legislate to provide employment protections for employees who are registered medical cannabis cardholders or registered caregivers. Part I briefly traces the legal regulation of cannabis from an unregulated medicine known as cannabis to a highly regulated illicit substance known as marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. Our travail through this history reveals, unsurprisingly, an increasing demonization of cannabis throughout the twentieth century. That socio-legal demonization likely hindered the medical development of cannabis for at least a century. American society’s negative perception of cannabis began to yield, however, as scientific evidence of cannabis’s healing capacity gained popularity. Increased demand for medicinal cannabis resulted in a clash of perceptions between marijuana, the demonic influencer of immoral or criminal behavior, and cannabis, the angelic healer. It is this cognitive dissidence that helps explain the strange result of Brandon’s case. Part II surveys the role of employment law in protecting employees who use cannabis for medical purposes. We explore the public policy exception to at-will employment and various federal and state disability statutes. We conclude that judges can and should apply these measures to protect workers who may be vulnerable to discharge because of their cannabis use. Democracies cannot and should not depend on judges to make important changes in public policies, even when those changes are to common law doctrines created by judges in the first place. Part III surveys two states’ statutes—those of Nevada and Oklahoma—that protect workers who use medical cannabis from employment termination. Applying the knowledge gained from Part II, we collated what we believed to be the best language from the statutes of those two states and rewrote Colorado’s constitution in a manner that would account for employees’ interests and employer’s legitimate concerns. Part IV acknowledges that employers may be slow to change their medical cannabis policies. With this reality in mind, we review some best practices as to how employers can accommodate cannabis use among its workers, including appropriate exceptions to an accommodation policy that take into account employer’s legitimate business interests without cutting into the essential accommodations medical cannabis users need to become or remain productive members of the U.S. workforce