The first undergraduate program in health promotion and prevention in Switzerland : context, concept, and challenges

In 2016, the only undergraduate program in health promotion and prevention (HP) in Switzerland to date was launched at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. HP in Switzerland is well institutionalized and anchored in health politics, but the profession of HP practitioners is not well established yet. The conceptualization of HP as outlined in the Ottawa Charta makes it quite complex to teach and learn HP within an undergraduate program. The program (180 ECTS) is offered as a full-time (3 years) and part-time (5 years) program to a maximum of 66 students. The outlined learning outcomes are based on the CompHP to ensure international transferability of HP competencies. The focus is on a threefold methodological approach, consisting of (1) practical training, (2) skills training (research, project management, and communication), and (3) interprofessional training. Experiences with 5 years of program implementation have revealed challenges, e.g., adapting the form of study to the current trend of flexible education to enable more self-directed learning opportunities and promoting better employability of the graduates. By providing a supportive learning environment for HP, the program contributes to publicity and quality assurance in practice and policy of HP in Switzerland and internationally

Towards the Automated Qualification of Tool Chain Design

Abstract. The development of safety-critical embedded systems is supported by a number of development tools, which are increasingly integrated into automated tool chains. Safety standards require these tool chains to be qualified, which is costly and requires a large effort. To reduce cost and effort tool chains can be composed of pre-qualified tools and then themselves pre-qualified by identifying the parts of tool chain software that have an impact on safety more exactly. In this paper we propose the use of a modeling language to describe this tool chain composition. This allows us to reduce effort even further by automatically analyzing the tool chain model for safety issues. It also promises to reduce the effort and cost of later steps in the deployment of the tool chain by formalizing the communication of safety issues and automating the generation of code for tool chain software

Automatic Deployment Space Exploration Using Refinement Transformations

To manage the complex engineering information for real-time systems, the system under development may be modelled in a high-level architecture de- scription language. This high-level information provides a basis for deployment space exploration as it can be used to generate a low-level implementation. During this deployment mapping many platform-dependent choices have to be made whose consequences cannot be easily predicted. In this paper we present an approach to the automatic exploration of the deployment space based on platform-based design. All possible solutions of a deployment step are generated using a refinement trans- formation. Non-conforming deployment alternatives are pruned as early as possible using simulation or analytical methods. We validate the feasibility of our approach by deploying part of an automotive power window optimized for its real-time be- haviour using an AUTOSAR-like representation. First results are promising and show that the optimal solution can indeed be found efficiently with our approach

Wicked facets of the German energy transition – examples from the electricity, heating, transport, and industry sectors

We shed light on wicked problems in the German energy transition. Our methods consist of a multiple-case study and multi-criteria analysis, utilising the wicked problems theoretical framework introduced by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber [1973. “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning.” Policy Sciences 4 (2): 155–169. Accessed August 20, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01405730]. Results from the energy supply, heating/cooling, transport, and industry sectors illustrate where and how the 10-point frame of wicked problems manifests in the German energy transition. The four cases exhibit more wicked tendencies in the governance domain than the technical domain and differ in their degrees of technology maturity, policy regulation, and knowledge states. We do not find that the German energy transition is inherently wicked. However, wickedness unfolds through the social setting into which technical solutions of the energy transition are embedded. We aim to highlight these intricacies and encourage scrutinising these wicked facets early on

Adopting Quality Criteria for Websites Providing Medical Information About Rare Diseases

BACKGROUND: The European Union considers diseases to be rare when they affect less than 5 in 10,000 people. It is estimated that there are between 5000 and 8000 different rare diseases. Consistent with this diversity, the quality of information available on the Web varies considerably. Thus, quality criteria for websites about rare diseases are needed. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to generate a catalog of quality criteria suitable for rare diseases. METHODS: First, relevant certificates and quality recommendations for health information websites were identified through a comprehensive Web search. Second, all considered quality criteria of each certification program and catalog were examined, extracted into an overview table, and analyzed by thematic content. Finally, an interdisciplinary expert group verified the relevant quality criteria. RESULTS: We identified 9 quality certificates and criteria catalogs for health information websites with 304 single criteria items. Through this, we aggregated 163 various quality criteria, each assigned to one of the following categories: thematic, technical, service, content, and legal. Finally, a consensus about 13 quality criteria for websites offering medical information on rare diseases was determined. Of these categories, 4 (data protection concept, imprint, creation and updating date, and possibility to contact the website provider) were identified as being the most important for publishing medical information about rare diseases. CONCLUSIONS: The large number of different quality criteria appearing within a relatively small number of criteria catalogs shows that the opinion of what is important in the quality of health information differs. In addition, to define useful quality criteria for websites about rare diseases, which are an essential source of information for many patients, a trade-off is necessary between the high standard of quality criteria for health information websites in general and the limited provision of information about some rare diseases. Finally, transparently presented quality assessments can help people to find reliable information and to assess its quality

Adopting Quality Criteria for Websites Providing Medical Information About Rare Diseases

BACKGROUND: The European Union considers diseases to be rare when they affect less than 5 in 10,000 people. It is estimated that there are between 5000 and 8000 different rare diseases. Consistent with this diversity, the quality of information available on the Web varies considerably. Thus, quality criteria for websites about rare diseases are needed. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to generate a catalog of quality criteria suitable for rare diseases. METHODS: First, relevant certificates and quality recommendations for health information websites were identified through a comprehensive Web search. Second, all considered quality criteria of each certification program and catalog were examined, extracted into an overview table, and analyzed by thematic content. Finally, an interdisciplinary expert group verified the relevant quality criteria. RESULTS: We identified 9 quality certificates and criteria catalogs for health information websites with 304 single criteria items. Through this, we aggregated 163 various quality criteria, each assigned to one of the following categories: thematic, technical, service, content, and legal. Finally, a consensus about 13 quality criteria for websites offering medical information on rare diseases was determined. Of these categories, 4 (data protection concept, imprint, creation and updating date, and possibility to contact the website provider) were identified as being the most important for publishing medical information about rare diseases. CONCLUSIONS: The large number of different quality criteria appearing within a relatively small number of criteria catalogs shows that the opinion of what is important in the quality of health information differs. In addition, to define useful quality criteria for websites about rare diseases, which are an essential source of information for many patients, a trade-off is necessary between the high standard of quality criteria for health information websites in general and the limited provision of information about some rare diseases. Finally, transparently presented quality assessments can help people to find reliable information and to assess its quality

2018 Proceedings of the International Conference on Trauma Surgery Technology in Giessen

The overarching goal of the gathering was to define a concept for technology design research in Giessen to improve patient outcomes through the design of assistive technology that assists both patients and surgeons. The emerging field of regenerative rehabilitation where trauma patients are treated by methods of regenerative medicine promises great improvements for our field, but clinical success is yet to be realised. The symposium was specifically organised to acknowledge and address these issues

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe