Factor analysis for the adoption of nuclear technology in diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases

Objective: To identify and evaluate latent variables (variables that are not directly observed) for adopting and using nuclear technologiesin diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases. The measurementand management of these latent factors are important for healthcaredue to complexities of the sector. Methods: An exploratory factoranalysis study was conducted among 52 physicians practicing in theareas of Cardiology, Neurology and Oncology in the State of Sao Paulowho agreed to participate in the study between 2009 and 2010. Datawere collected using an attitude measurement questionnaire, andanalyzed according to the principal component method with Varimaxrotation. Results: The component matrix after factor rotation showedthree elucidative groups arranged according to demand for nucleartechnology: clinical factors, structural factors, and technologicalfactors. Clinical factors included questionnaire answers referring tomedical history, previous interventions, complexity and chronicityof the disease. Structural factors included patient age, physician’spractice area, and payment ability. Technological factors includedprospective growth in the use of nuclear technology and availabilityof services. Conclusions: The clinical factors group dimensionidentified in the study included patient history, prior interventions,and complexity and chronicity of the disease. This dimension is themain motivator for adopting nuclear technology in diagnosis andtreatment of chronic diseases

Markov Models in health care

Markov Chains provide support for problems involving decision on uncertainties through a continuous period of time. The greater availability and access to processing power through computers allow that these models can be used more often to represent clinical structures. Markov models consider the patients in a discrete state of health, and the events represent the transition from one state to another. The possibility of modeling repetitive events and time dependence of probabilities and utilities associated permits a more accurate representation of the evaluated clinical structure. These templates can be used for economic evaluation in health care taking into account the evaluation of costs and clinical outcomes, especially for evaluation of chronic diseases. This article provides a review of the use of modeling within the clinical context and the advantages of the possibility of including time for this type of study

Demandas tecnológicas em empresas: estudo no Parque Tecnológico de São Paulo

Este estudo é fundamentado no modelo do Parque Tecnológico de São Paulo (PTSP) proposto por Zouain (2003), que propõe um parque tecnológico urbano a partir da formação de clusters em áreas não contíguas. O objetivo consiste em compreender as demandas tecnológicas de empresas situadas na região do parque. Com base em estudos anteriores, foram realizados estudos de casos em empresas na região. As empresas têm como demandas potenciais a obtenção de certificações, globalização dos produtos, especialmente em relação ao mercado europeu; há também demandas estruturais, pela falta ou menor qualidade de insumos tecnológicos no mercado brasileiro; e demandas que contemplam maior interação entre os atores universidade, governo e comunidade empresarial, que são a qualificação técnica e acesso a financiamentos. Adicionalmente, percebe-se que as empresas locais que não têm participação estrangeira têm grande dificuldade para a alavancagem de seus negócios