A method for checking the quality of geographic metadata based on ISO 19157

With recent advances in remote sensing, location-based services and other related technologies, the production of geospatial information has exponentially increased in the last decades. Furthermore, to facilitate discovery and efficient access to such information, spatial data infrastructures were promoted and standardized, with a consideration that metadata are essential to describing data and services. Standardization bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization have defined well-known metadata models such as ISO 19115. However, current metadata assets exhibit heterogeneous quality levels because they are created by different producers with different perspectives. To address quality-related concerns, several initiatives attempted to define a common framework and test the suitability of metadata through automatic controls. Nevertheless, these controls are focused on interoperability by testing the format of metadata and a set of controlled elements. In this paper, we propose a methodology of testing the quality of metadata by considering aspects other than interoperability. The proposal adapts ISO 19157 to the metadata case and has been applied to a corpus of the Spanish Spatial Data Infrastructure. The results demonstrate that our quality check helps determine different types of errors for all metadata elements and can be almost completely automated to enhance the significance of metadata

An analysis of existing production frameworks for statistical and geographic information: Synergies, gaps and integration

The production of official statistical and geospatial data is often in the hands of highly specialized public agencies that have traditionally followed their own paths and established their own production frameworks. In this article, we present the main frameworks of these two areas and focus on the possibility and need to achieve a better integration between them through the interoperability of systems, processes, and data. The statistical area is well led and has well-defined frameworks. The geospatial area does not have clear leadership and the large number of standards establish a framework that is not always obvious. On the other hand, the lack of a general and common legal framework is also highlighted. Additionally, three examples are offered: the first is the application of the spatial data quality model to the case of statistical data, the second of the application of the statistical process model to the geospatial case, and the third is the use of linked geospatial and statistical data. These examples demonstrate the possibility of transferring experiences/advances from one area to another. In this way, we emphasize the conceptual proximity of these two areas, highlighting synergies, gaps, and potential integration. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Economic Valuation of Health Care Services in Public Health Systems: A Study about Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Nursing Consultations

Background: Identifying the economic value assigned by users to a particular health service is of principal interest in planning the service. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of economic value of nursing consultation in primary care (PC) by its users. Methods and Results: Economic study using contingent valuation methodology. A total of 662 users of nursing consultation from 23 health centers were included. Data on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, health needs, pattern of usage, and satisfaction with provided service were compiled. The validity of the response was evaluated by an explanatory mixed-effects multilevel model in order to assess the factors associated with the response according to the welfare theory. Response reliability was also evaluated. Subjects included in the study indicated an average Willingness to Pay (WTP) of €14.4 (CI 95%: €13.2–15.5; median €10) and an average Willingness to Accept [Compensation] (WTA) of €20.9 (CI 95%: €19.6–22.2; median €20). Average area income, personal income, consultation duration, home visit, and education level correlated with greater WTP. Women and older subjects showed lower WTP. Fixed parameters explained 8.41% of the residual variability, and response clustering in different health centers explained 4–6% of the total variability. The influence of income on WTP was different in each center. The responses for WTP and WTA in a subgroup of subjects were consistent when reassessed after 2 weeks (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.952 and 0.893, respectively). Conclusions: The economic value of nursing services provided within PC in a public health system is clearly perceived by its user. The perception of this value is influenced by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the subjects and their environment, and by the unique characteristics of the evaluated service. The method of contingent valuation is useful for making explicit this perception of value of health services

7th Drug hypersensitivity meeting: part two

No abstract availabl

A New Approach to the Quality Control of Slope and Aspect Classes Derived from Digital Elevation Models

The usefulness of the parameters (e.g., slope, aspect) derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is limited by its accuracy. In this paper, a thematic-like quality control (class-based) of aspect and slope classes is proposed. A product can be compared against a reference dataset, which provides the quality requirements to be achieved, by comparing the product proportions of each class with those of the reference set. If a distance between the product proportions and the reference proportions is smaller than a small enough positive tolerance, which is fixed by the user, it will be considered that the degree of similarity between the product and the reference set is acceptable, and hence that its quality meets the requirements. A formal statistical procedure, based on a hypothesis test, is developed and its performance is analyzed using simulated data. It uses the Hellinger distance between the proportions. The application to the slope and aspect is illustrated using data derived from a 2×2 m DEM (reference) and 5×5 m DEM in Allo (province of Navarra, Spain)