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This paper reports on what has happened since Elliott ("Dynamic Assessment in Educational Settings: Realising Potential," 2003) in those applications of dynamic assessment that he considered. There continues to be two broad applications, one, largely researcher led, and the other, largely practitioner led, although there are examples of researcher-practitioners. Since Elliott, arguably, it is now relatively easy both to reach consensus over constructs and assessment processes and also to mutually respect differences through clarity over professional and assessment purposes. There is a fuller account than Elliott provided of educational psychologists' practice in the UK, which partly serves to highlight the difference in purpose and imperative to research and evaluate outcomes that persists for researchers and practitioners. The paper concludes by arguing that the premise in Elliott's title of "realising potential" was always contestable.

This paper honours a paediatrician whose career has been patchwork but distinguished, with many facets. It is a light-hearted look at the printed (infinitely preferable to the electronic) word. Although the obvious response is "read everything I have written", this would only drive down the stores of Prozac. Read the scientific literature of course. The oldie reads to stay one jump ahead on the ward round. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews rely on the judgement of others, so should be regarded with suspicion. Do your own research, and do not rely on the thoughts of other people. Read beyond PubMed. "There is more in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than is dreamed of in your PubMed" (Shakespeare). Read the giants of the past. Richard Asher has so much to teach. What are the seven sins of medicine, and how many have you committed? Asher is top read of the talk. Learn from the mistakes of the past. Your patient comes first. Read how the medical profession covered up the death of Steve Biko and never compromise with patient safety and your integrity. Finally, remember thou art mortal - read a real book for pleasure. Kindle reading must be like making love to an inflatable doll (not that I have done either). Choose what you relax with; for me, PG Wodehouse, Jane Austen, Billy Bunter and Wisden. Who said and why: 'Madam, under similar circumstances I would have kicked the Archangel Gabriel!'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High-frequency patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments are used to measure patients' symptoms after surgery for surgical research; however, the quality of those longitudinal PRO data has seldom been discussed.Objective: The aim of this study was to determine data quality-influencing factors and to profile error trajectories of data longitudinally collected via paper-and-pencil (P&P) or web-based assessment (electronic PRO [ePRO]) after thoracic surgery.Methods: We extracted longitudinal PRO data with 678 patients scheduled for lung surgery from an observational study (n=512) and a randomized clinical trial (n=166) on the evaluation of different perioperative care strategies. PROs were assessed by the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Lung Cancer Module and single-item Quality of Life Scale before surgery and then daily after surgery until discharge or up to 14 days of hospitalization. Patient compliance and data error were identified and compared between P&P and ePRO. Generalized estimating equations model and 2-piecewise model were used to describe trajectories of error incidence over time and to identify the risk factors.Results: Among 678 patients, 629 with at least 2 PRO assessments, 440 completed 3347 P&P assessments and 189 completed 1291 ePRO assessments. In total, 49.4% of patients had at least one error, including (1) missing items (64.69%, 1070/1654), (2) modifications without signatures (27.99%, 463/1654), (3) selection of multiple options (3.02%, 50/1654), (4) missing patient signatures (2.54%, 42/1654), (5) missing researcher signatures (1.45%, 24/1654), and (6) missing completion dates (0.30%, 5/1654). Patients who completed ePRO had fewer errors than those who completed P&P assessments (ePRO: 30.2% [57/189] vs. P&P: 57.7% [254/440]; P<.001). Compared with ePRO patients, those using P&P were older, less educated, and sicker. Common risk factors of having errors were a lower education level (P&P: odds ratio [OR] 1.39, 95% CI 1.20-1.62; P<.001; ePRO: OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.22-2.72; P=.003), treated in a provincial hospital (P&P: OR 3.34, 95% CI 2.10-5.33; P<.001; ePRO: OR 4.73, 95% CI 2.18-10.25; P<.001), and with severe disease (P&P: OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.33-1.99; P<.001; ePRO: OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.53-4.75; P<.001). Errors peaked on postoperative day (POD) 1 for P&P, and on POD 2 for ePRO.Conclusions: It is possible to improve data quality of longitudinally collected PRO through ePRO, compared with P&P. However, ePRO-related sampling bias needs to be considered when designing clinical research using longitudinal PROs as major outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this position paper is two-fold: first, to describe the state of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation education worldwide, noting current limitations and challenges; and second, to put forth an educational agenda regarding opportunities for an international collaborative approach toward standardization.Design: Relevant medical literature was reviewed through literature search, and materials from national organizations were accessed through the Internet. Taskforce members generated a consensus statement using an iterative consensus process through teleconferences and electronic communication.Setting: In 2018, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization convened the ECMOed Taskforce at two structured, face-to-face meetings of 40 healthcare practitioners and educators with expertise in caring for the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patient and in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation education.Patients: None.Interventions: None.Measurements and Main Results: The ECMOed Taskforce identified seven educational domains that would benefit from international collaborative efforts. Of primary importance, the Taskforce outlined actionable items regarding 1) the creation of a standardized extracorporeal membrane oxygenation curriculum; 2) defining criteria for an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation course as a vehicle for delivering the curriculum; 3) outlining a mechanism for evaluating the quality of educational offerings; 4) utilizing validated assessment tools in the development of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation practitioner certification; and 5) promoting high-quality educational research to guide ongoing educational and competency assessment development.Conclusions: Significant variability and limitations in global extracorporeal membrane oxygenation education exist. In this position paper, we outline a road map for standardizing international extracorporeal membrane oxygenation education and practitioner certification. Ongoing high-quality educational research is needed to evaluate the impact of these initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rating scale development in the field of language assessment is often considered in dichotomous ways: It is assumed to be guided either by expert intuition or by drawing on performance data. Even though quite a few authors have argued that rating scale development is rarely so easily classifiable, this dyadic view has dominated language testing research for over a decade. In this paper we refine the dominant model of rating scale development by drawing on a corpus of 36 studies identified in a systematic review. We present a model showing the different sources of scale construct in the corpus. In the discussion, we argue that rating scale designers, just like test developers more broadly, need to start by determining the purpose of the test, the relevant policies that guide test development and score use, and the intended score use when considering the design choices available to them. These include considering the impact of such sources on the generalizability of the scores, the precision of the post-test predictions that can be made about test takers' future performances and scoring reliability. The most important contributions of the model are that it gives rating scale developers a framework to consider prior to starting scale development and validation activities.

This paper focuses upon the many functions that are served by evaluations, and by the process of conducting them. Many forms or types of evaluation have evolved to serve these different functions; and a brief account is given of some of the most common of these forms and the issues or controversies that they have engendered. The discussion opens, after a brief historical note, by describing the differing views of Lee Cronbach and Michael Scriven about whether an evaluator should aim to educate stakeholders about the program so that they can make informed decisions about it, or whether evaluators should go further and make a value judgement about it. The discussion then moves on to the importance of not overlooking the unintended effects of a program that is under study; and after presenting a list of functions that evaluations can have, the remainder of the discussion deals with the "pros" and "cons" of, and the differences between, formative and summative evaluations.

The National Institute for the Evaluation of Education (INEE) in Mexico has begun to meet the challenges in evaluating indigenous children and teachers and the educational programs and policies targeted to them. Several evaluation projects are described in this paper. One is the "Previous, Free and Informed Consultation of Indigenous People," which focuses on quality of education they receive. A second is the design of a protocol for reducing cultural and linguistic bias in standardized tests, which requires oversampling of indigenous students and the involvement of anthropologists, linguists and indigenous teachers in item development. A third is an indigenous language evaluation for candidates for entry into the teaching profession, which they must pass before they can work in indigenous schools. A fourth is the development of a qualitative instrument for evaluating teacher performance. The instrument asks evaluated teachers to contextualize their planning; scorers decide whether the plan is adapted to the cultural context and the characteristics of the children. The projects described are only a starting point. In the near future, several dilemmas, such as the apparent trade-off between contextualization and quality, have to be faced and solved.

Assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process in both conventional and distance education contexts. Literature suggests that with the increase in the use of Information and Communications Technology in the delivery of learning, a number of institutions are resorting to formative assessment practices that are mediated by technology to not only provide flexible and more efficient means of assessment but also attain improved learning outcomes. This paper investigated student perceptions of the effectiveness of different types of formative assessment used in online learning environments. A 31-item questionnaire was used to gather data on student perceptions. On the level of difficulty, students generally perceived the various types of formative assessment as having no significant differences. Results further indicated that students received more prompt feedback from peer assessment and computer-marked assessment, compared to teacher-marked assessment. The findings of this study will support practitioners in eLearning to use formative assessment and feedback mechanisms more effectively to influence student engagement as well as learning outcomes.

The importance of temporality in learning has been long established, but it is only recently that serious attention has begun to be paid to the precise identification, measurement, and analysis of the temporal features of learning. From 2009 to 2016, a series of temporality workshops explored temporal concepts and data types, analysis methods for exploiting temporal data, techniques for visualizing temporal information, and practical considerations for the use of temporal analyses in particular contexts of learning. Following from these efforts, this two-part Special Section serves to consolidate research working to progress conceptual, technical and practical tools for temporal analyses of learning data. In addition, in this second and final editorial we aim to make four contributions to the ongoing dialouge around temporal learning analytics to help us move towards a clearer mapping of the research space. First, the editorial presents an overview of the five papers in Part 2 of the Special Section on Temporal Analyses, highlighting the dimensions of data types, learning constructs, analysis approaches, and potential impact. Second, it draws on the fluid relationship between 'analyzed time' and 'experienced time' to highlight the need for caution and criticality in the purposes temporal analyses are mobilized to serve. Third, it offers a guide for future work in this area by outlining important questions that all temporal analyses should intentionally address. Finally, it proposes next steps learning analytics researchers and practitioners can take collectively to advance work on the use of temporal analyses to support learning.

The implementation of the national Research Engagement and Impact Assessment in Australia provides a timely opportunity to review attempts to improve the non-academic impact of academic research. The impact agenda represents a new phase in academic research evaluation and funding, characterised by a heightened need to demonstrate a return on public investments in research. New imperatives seek the reorientation of some academic research towards more directly driving national innovation, meeting the needs of business, and contributing to improved social and economic outcomes. This paper reviews the policy journey of research impact in Australia from the proposed, but never implemented, Research Quality Framework (RQF) to the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA). Our analysis of policy developments from the Howard to the Turnbull Governments highlights the controversial nature of research impact assessment and the political and methodological challenges that have accompanied its implementation.

Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a simple and inexpensive type of chromatography that is extensively used in forensic laboratories for drugs of abuse analysis. In this work, TLC is optimized to analyze cocaine and its adulterants (caffeine, benzocaine, lidocaine and phenacetin) in which the sensitivity (visual determination of LOD from 0.5 to 14mgmL(-1)) and the selectivity (from the study of three different eluents: CHCl3:CH3OH:HCOOHglacial (75:20:5v%), (C2H5)2O:CHCl3 (50:50v%) and CH3OH:NH4OH (100:1.5v%)) were evaluated. Aiming to improve these figures of merit, the TLC spots were identified and quantified (linearity with R(2)>0.98) by the paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PS-MS), reaching now lower LOD values (>1.0μgmL(-1)). The method developed in this work open up perspective of enhancing the reliability of traditional and routine TLC analysis employed in the criminal expertise units. Higher sensitivity, selectivity and rapidity can be provided in forensic reports, besides the possibility of quantitative analysis. Due to the great simplicity, the PS(+)-MS technique can also be coupled directly to other separation techniques such as the paper chromatography and can still be used in analyses of LSD blotter, documents and synthetic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess how priority setting exercises for nutrition research are considered in publication.Design: Cross-sectional design.Settings: First, a citation analysis of priority setting exercises found in nutrition research until 2019 was conducted. The reasons for citation were extracted from the text of citing papers and the reasons were defined as: (i) acting on the research questions identified as priorities, (ii) acknowledging the priority setting exercise, (iii) using the same method, or (iv) previous knowledge to support evidence. Second, a survey with authors of the priority setting exercises was done to understand priority setters' perspectives on the impact and satisfaction of their work.Participants: Twenty-one priority setting exercise papers were included. In all, 434 citing papers were found, of which 338 were considered in the citation analysis. A sample of 17 authors representing 13 priority setting exercise papers completed the impact and satisfaction survey.Results: Half of the priority setting exercise papers were published by 2013. After excluding self-citations (n = 60), the priority setting papers had on average 18 citations. Priority setting exercises had a median of 1 (IQR = 0-1) citing manuscript that acted on the recommendations produced from priority setting exercises. Authors of the priority setting exercises expressed a desire for increased uptake of the results of the priority setting exercises by funding agencies. Key barriers for uptake were identified as challenges in involving stakeholders and the general public for participation in the priority setting exercise.Conclusions: Priority settings exercises are important efforts to guide nutrition research toward effective allocation of resources. However, there seems to be a limited consideration of these priority setting exercises in research papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Phadebas® Forensic Press Test is routinely used for the detection of saliva. However, assessment of the use of Phadebas® paper for this purpose has not been studied extensively. The suitability of Phadebas® paper as a presumptive screening tool for saliva on forensic exhibits, was investigated by analysing the following: (1) sensitivity, (2) specificity, (3) effects of temperature on sensitivity and specificity, (4) detection of saliva in mixed body fluid samples, and (5) influence of substrate porosity. The results of this study demonstrated that Phadebas® paper is more sensitive to α-amylase activity and less specific for saliva than previously reported. The use of an examination temperature of 37°C had no effect on sensitivity, but increased the incidence of cross-reactivity with other forensically relevant body fluid stains. Blood, urine and vaginal secretions can inhibit the detection of α-amylase activity with Phadebas® paper in mixed stains of saliva and body fluid. Substrate porosity is a weak predictor for the time taken for a saliva stain to achieve a strong positive result on Phadebas® paper. Overall, this study demonstrated that the Phadebas® Forensic Press Test has limitations as a presumptive test for the accurate identification of saliva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the level of agreement of disease flare severity (distinguishing severe, moderate, and mild flare and persistent disease activity) in a large paper-patient exercise involving 988 individual cases of systemic lupus erythematosus.Methods: A total of 988 individual lupus case histories were assessed by 3 individual physicians. Complete agreement about the degree of flare (or persistent disease activity) was obtained in 451 cases (46%), and these provided the reference standard for the second part of the study. This component used 3 flare activity instruments (the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group [BILAG] 2004, Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment [SELENA] flare index [SFI] and the revised SELENA flare index [rSFI]). The 451 patient case histories were distributed to 18 pairs of physicians, carefully randomized in a manner designed to ensure a fair case mix and equal distribution of flare according to severity.Results: The 3-physician assessment of flare matched the level of flare using the 3 indices, with 67% for BILAG 2004, 72% for SFI, and 70% for rSFI. The corresponding weighted kappa coefficients for each instrument were 0.82, 0.59, and 0.74, respectively. We undertook a detailed analysis of the discrepant cases and several factors emerged, including a tendency to score moderate flares as severe and persistent activity as flare, especially when the SFI and rSFI instruments were used. Overscoring was also driven by scoring treatment change as flare, even if there were no new or worsening clinical features.Conclusion: Given the complexity of assessing lupus flare, we were encouraged by the overall results reported. However, the problem of capturing lupus flare accurately is not completely solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the use of theories and evidence is often stressed in the development of health promotion interventions, this does not guarantee the success of an intervention. Thus, we need to reflect on intervention development processes that use different types of theories and evidence. In this paper, we provide a reflective discussion on how we identified evidence-based behavior change techniques and counseling themes for a health promotion intervention. In addition, we discuss the challenges that we encountered and what we learned during the process: a) a lack of previous research and meta-analyses, b) inconsistencies in evidence, c) integrating evidence and theories that have different starting points, and d) collaborating with researchers who represent different evidence and theories. During the process, we benefitted from having the clear goal of conducting evidence- and theory-based work. We solved the challenges by, for example, utilizing different types of evidence and being reflective about the reasons behind any inconsistencies in the evidence. In retrospect, we would have benefitted from closer collaboration between the teams that worked separately with different evidence. These kinds of reflective descriptions of development processes and the challenges encountered during them may help other researchers and professionals avoid encountering the same challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This data article describes a dataset showing the five-year performance of 471 researchers from 14 Hungarian research institutions, with a total of 3219 observations. Each observation represent items produced between the 1st January 2014 and the 31th December 2018 by a researcher employed in the sampled research institutions from one of six research output types. Due to a prestige and independence-controlled categorization of research output, and the scarcity of easily accessible, well-structured data curated for research performance evaluation, this dataset can play an important role in new research evaluation policies at Hungarian research institutions aiming to enhance global competitiveness by fostering scientific excellence and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurate quantification of pain in a clinical setting is vital. The use of an electronic pain scale enables data to be collected, analyzed, and utilized much faster compared with traditional paper-based scales. The advancement of smart technology in pediatric and adult pain evaluation may offer opportunities to introduce easy-to-use and reliable pain assessment methods within different clinical settings. If promptly introduced within different pediatric and adult pain clinic services, validated and easily accessible mobile health pain apps may lead to early pain detection, promoting improvement in patient's quality of life and leading to potentially less time off from school or work.Objective: This cross-sectional observational study aimed to investigate the interchangeability of an electronic visual analog scale (eVAS) app with a traditional paper visual analog scale (pVAS) among Australian children, adolescents, and adults for pain evaluation.Methods: Healthy participants (age range 10-75 years) were recruited from a sporting club and a secondary school in Melbourne (Australia). The data collection process involved application of pressure (8.5 kg/cm2) from a Wagner Force Dial FDK 20 to the midpoint of the thumb. The pressure was applied twice with a 5-minute interval. At each pressure application, participants were asked to randomly record their pain perception using the "eVAS" accessible via the "Interactive Clinics" app and the traditional pVAS. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine intermethod and intramethod reliabilities.Results: Overall, 109 healthy participants were recruited. Adults (mean age 42.43 years, SD 14.50 years) had excellent reliability, with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.96). Children and adolescents (mean age 13.91 years, SD 2.89 years) had moderate-to-good intermethod and intramethod reliabilities, with an ICC of 0.80 (95% CI 0.70-0.87) and average ICC of 0.80 (95% CI 0.69-0.87), respectively.Conclusions: The eVAS app appears to be interchangeable compared with the traditional pVAS among children, adolescents, and adults. This pain evaluation method may offer new opportunities to introduce user-friendly and validated pain assessment apps for patients, clinicians, and allied health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colorectal cancer screening by fecal occult blood testing has been an important public health test and shown to reduce colorectal cancer-related mortality. However, the low participation rate in colorectal cancer screening by the general public remains a problematic public health issue. This fact could be attributed to the complex and unpleasant operation of the screening tool.Objective: This study aimed to validate a novel toilet paper-based point-of-care test (ie, JustWipe) as a public health instrument to detect fecal occult blood and provide detailed results from the evaluation of the analytic characteristics in the clinical validation.Methods: The mechanism of fecal specimen collection by the toilet-paper device was verified with repeatability and reproducibility tests. We also evaluated the analytical characteristics of the test reagents. For clinical validation, we conducted comparisons between JustWipe and other fecal occult blood tests. The first comparison was between JustWipe and typical fecal occult blood testing in a central laboratory setting with 70 fecal specimens from the hospital. For the second comparison, a total of 58 volunteers were recruited, and JustWipe was compared with the commercially available Hemoccult SENSA in a point-of-care setting.Results: Adequate amounts of fecal specimens were collected using the toilet-paper device with small day-to-day and person-to-person variations. The limit of detection of the test reagent was evaluated to be 3.75 µg of hemoglobin per milliliter of reagent. Moreover, the test reagent also showed high repeatability (100%) on different days and high reproducibility (>96%) among different users. The overall agreement between JustWipe and a typical fecal occult blood test in a central laboratory setting was 82.9%. In the setting of point-of-care tests, the overall agreement between JustWipe and Hemoccult SENSA was 89.7%. Moreover, the usability questionnaire showed that the novel test tool had high scores in operation friendliness (87.3/100), ease of reading results (97.4/100), and information usefulness (96.1/100).Conclusions: We developed and validated a toilet paper-based fecal occult blood test for use as a point-of-care test for the rapid (in 60 seconds) and easy testing of fecal occult blood. These favorable characteristics render it a promising tool for colorectal cancer screening as a public health instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electronic data collection is increasingly being used for discrete choice experiments (DCEs).Objectives: To study whether paper or electronic administration results in measurement effects.Methods: Respondents were drawn from the same sample frame (an Internet panel) and completed a nearly identical DCE survey either online or on paper during the same period. A DCE on preferences for basic health insurance served as a case study. We used panel mixed logit models for the analysis.Results: In total, 898 respondents completed the survey: 533 respondents completed the survey online, whereas 365 respondents returned the paper survey. There were no significant differences with respect to sociodemographic characteristics between the respondents in both samples. The median response time was shorter for the online sample than for the paper sample, and a smaller proportion of respondents from the online sample were satisfied with the number of choice sets. Although some willingness- to-pay estimates were higher for the online sample, the elicited preferences for basic health insurance characteristics were similar between both modes of administration.Conclusions: We find no indication that online surveys yield inferior results compared with paper-based surveys, whereas the price per respondent is lower for online surveys. Researchers might want to include fewer choice sets per respondent when collecting DCE data online. Because our findings are based on a nonrandomized DCE that covers one health domain only, research in other domains is needed to support our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The collection of subgingival plaque samples with paper points is time-consuming and accident-sensitive. However, the collection of saliva is simple and contains pathogens of all intraoral surfaces. The aim of this study is to investigate whether a sampling strategy with mouthrinse (mouthrinse sample [MSP]; test) leads to results comparable with standard sampling method (multiple site test from the deepest pocket of each quadrant [MT4]; control).Methods: In 50 patients with periodontitis, subgingival plaque was sampled from the deepest pocket of each quadrant by using paper points and by gaining saliva with saline mouthrinse. Analysis was performed using a commercially available polymerase chain reaction test for 11 periodontal pathogens.Results: Detection frequency of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (MT4/MSP: 42%/36%), Porphyromonas gingivalis (78%/66%), Tannerella forsythia (98%/84%), Treponema denticola (94%/74%), Parvimonas micra (86%/62%), Campylobacter rectus (90%/76%), Eubacterium nodatum (64%/30%), Prevotella intermedia (58%/54%), and Eikenella corrodens (90%/82%) was higher with MT4 than MSP. For Fusobacterium nucleatum (100%/100%), there was no difference between test and control. Only detection frequency of Capnocytophaga species (68%/74%) was higher with MSP than MT4. Differences were significant for P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, T. denticola, P. micra, C. rectus, and E. nodatum.Conclusions: There is no significant difference between MT4 and MSP for detection frequency of key pathogen A. actinomycetemcomitans. Key pathogens P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, T. denticola, P. micra, C. rectus, and E. nodatum show statistically higher detection frequencies with MT4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Information security is essential for organisations, hence the risk assessment. Information security risk assessment (ISRA) identifies, assesses, and prioritizes risks according to organisational goals. Previous studies have analysed and discussed information security risk assessment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the models more systematically. Objective: This study aims to determine types of ISRA and fill a gap in literature review research by categorizing existing frameworks, models, and methods. Methods: The systematic literature review (SLR) approach developed by Kitchenham is applied in this research. A total of 25 studies were selected, classified, and analysed according to defined criteria. Results: Most selected studies focus on implementing and developing new models for risk assessment. In addition, most are related to information systems in general. Conclusion: The findings show that there is no single best framework or model because the best framework needs to be tailored according to organisational goals. Previous researchers have developed several new ISRA models, but empirical evaluation research is needed. Future research needs to develop more robust models for risk assessments for cloud computing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment pervades the learning process. This paper provides an overview of the application of technology to support and enhance diagnostic, formative and summative assessment. The focus is on examining how it can replace what already exists, improve the functionality, catalyse a redesign of the process and in some circumstances, make possible what was previously inconceivable. The paper considers formal and informal individual learning environments, group settings and assessment at a national or international scale.

Background: Changing the food environment is an important public health lever for encouraging sustainable food choices. Targeting the availability of vegetarian main meals served in cafeterias substantially affects food choice, but acceptability has never been assessed. We examined the effects of an availability intervention at a French university cafeteria on students' main meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking. Methods: A four-week controlled trial was conducted in a university cafeteria in Dijon, France. During the two-week control period, vegetarian main meals constituted 24% of the offer. In the subsequent two-week intervention period, this proportion increased to 48%, while all the other menu items remained unchanged. Students were not informed of the change. Student choices were tracked using production data, and daily paper ballots were used to assess student satisfaction with the meal offer and liking of the main meal they chose (score range [1;5]). Nutritional quality, environmental impact, and cost of production of meal choices were calculated for each lunchtime. Food waste was measured over 4 lunchtimes during control and intervention periods. An online questionnaire collected student feedback at the end of the study. Results: Doubling availability of vegetarian main meals significantly increased the likelihood of choosing vegetarian options (OR = 2.57, 95% CI = [2.41; 2.74]). Responses of the paper ballots (n = 18,342) indicated slight improvements in meal offer satisfaction from 4.05 ± 0.92 to 4.07 ± 0.93 (p = 0.028) and in liking from 4.09 ± 0.90 to 4.13 ± 0.92 (p < 0.001) during control and intervention periods, respectively. The end-of-study questionnaire (n = 510) revealed that only 6% of students noticed a change the availability of vegetarian main meals. The intervention led to a decrease in the environmental impact of the main meals chosen, a slight decrease in nutritional quality, a slight increase in meal costs and no change in food waste. Conclusions: Doubling availability of vegetarian main meals in a university cafeteria resulted in a twofold increase in their selection, with students reporting being more satisfied and liking the main meals more during the intervention period. These results suggest that serving an equal proportion of vegetarian and nonvegetarian main meals could be considered in French university cafeterias to tackle environmental issues. Trial registration: Study protocol and analysis plan were pre-registered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/pf3x7/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical free-text data (eg, outpatient letters or nursing notes) represent a vast, untapped source of rich information that, if more accessible for research, would clarify and supplement information coded in structured data fields. Data usually need to be deidentified or anonymized before they can be reused for research, but there is a lack of established guidelines to govern effective deidentification and use of free-text information and avoid damaging data utility as a by-product.Objective: This study aimed to develop recommendations for the creation of data governance standards to integrate with existing frameworks for personal data use, to enable free-text data to be used safely for research for patient and public benefit.Methods: We outlined data protection legislation and regulations relating to the United Kingdom for context and conducted a rapid literature review and UK-based case studies to explore data governance models used in working with free-text data. We also engaged with stakeholders, including text-mining researchers and the general public, to explore perceived barriers and solutions in working with clinical free-text.Results: We proposed a set of recommendations, including the need for authoritative guidance on data governance for the reuse of free-text data, to ensure public transparency in data flows and uses, to treat deidentified free-text data as potentially identifiable with use limited to accredited data safe havens, and to commit to a culture of continuous improvement to understand the relationships between the efficacy of deidentification and reidentification risks, so this can be communicated to all stakeholders.Conclusions: By drawing together the findings of a combination of activities, we present a position paper to contribute to the development of data governance standards for the reuse of clinical free-text data for secondary purposes. While working in accordance with existing data governance frameworks, there is a need for further work to take forward the recommendations we have proposed, with commitment and investment, to assure and expand the safe reuse of clinical free-text data for public benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: electronic health record; health information technology; implementation; lung cancer screening; lung cancer screening software; tracking EN electronic health record health information technology implementation lung cancer screening lung cancer screening software tracking 1674 1679 6 05/23/20 20200601 NES 200601 Problem Statement The development of a high-quality lung cancer screening (LCS) program poses many operational challenges. Sophisticated EHRs and integrated LCS software systems should universally support established practice standards in the most basic LCS services and more comprehensive LCS programs. Most proprietary LCS software systems are designed to capture and transfer digital imaging and radiology report information from local or independent diagnostic testing facilities, and autopopulate and autointegrate LCS patient and imaging data into the LCS software system. Thus, information regarding the patient's navigation through the LCS program may not be accessible to providers who have access to the EHR but who do not have access to the LCS software system. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: DETERMIND (DETERMinants of quality of life, care and costs, and consequences of INequalities in people with Dementia and their carers) is designed to address fundamental, and, as yet unanswered questions about inequalities, outcomes and costs following diagnosis with dementia. These answers are needed to improve the quality of care and equity of access to care, and therefore the quality of life, of people with dementia and their carers.Method: DETERMIND is a programme of research consisting of seven complementary workstreams (WS) exploring various components that may result in unequal dementia care: WS1: Recruitment and follow-up of the DETERMIND cohort-900 people with dementia and their carers from three geographically and socially diverse sites within six months following diagnosis, and follow them up for three years. WS2: Investigation of the extent of inequalities in access to dementia care. WS3: Relationship between use and costs of services and outcomes. WS4: Experiences of self-funders of care. WS5: Decision-making processes for people with dementia and carers. WS6: Effect of diagnostic stage and services on outcomes. WS7: Theory of Change informed strategy and actions for applying the research findings.Outcomes: During the life of the programme, analysing baseline results and then follow-up of the DETERMIND cohort over 3 years, we will establish evidence on current services and practice. DETERMIND will deliver novel, detailed data on inequalities in dementia care and what drives positive and negative outcomes and costs for people with dementia and carers, and identify factors that help or hinder living well with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acceptance of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as a legitimate form of scholarly investigation and the shape that it takes in post-secondary education are inherently discipline-specific. This paper examines how the character and heritage of public administration influence the acceptance of SoTL, and the form that it takes. It argues that the applied nature of public administration and its interdisciplinary character have influenced SoTL in the discipline. This study concludes systematic self-reflection by disciplines may be needed to identify potential factors that limit the acceptance and/or direction of SoTL in a discipline.

Many practitioner researchers strive to understand which assessment practices have the best impact on learning, but in authentic educational settings, it can be difficult to determine whether one intervention, for example the introduction of an online quiz to a course studied by diverse students, is responsible for the observed effect. This paper uses examples to highlight some of the difficulties inherent in assessment research and suggests some ways to overcome them. Problems observed in the literature include: assuming that if two effects are correlated then one must have caused the other; confounding variables obscuring the true relationships; experimental approaches that are too far removed from reality; and the danger that self-reported behaviour and opinion is sometimes different from student's actual behaviour. Practical solutions include: the use of an experimental or pseudo-experimental approach; the use of mixed methods; and the use of meta-analysis.

This article is written to inform educational community particularly in the respect of new tendencies in educational assessment and present a clear-cut picture of the recent studies conducted in the Black Sea Region. The review paper refers to the following countries: Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. It stresses the prevalent approach detected in these countries and sees the role of assessment as a tool to enhance the quality of education and obtain the reliable data that help professionals to make appropriate decisions in teaching and assessment.

This study compares the use and efficacy of assessment grading tools within postgraduate education courses in a regional Australian university and a regional university in the US. Specifically, we investigate how the quality of postgraduate education courses can be improved through the use of assessment rubrics or criterion referenced assessment sheets (CRA sheets). The researchers used a critical review of rubrics from Master of Education courses, interviews and a modified form of the Delphi method to investigate how one can assure the quality of assessment grading tools and their effects on student motivation and learning. The research resulted in the development of a checklist, in the form of a set of questions, that lecturers should ask themselves before writing rubrics or CRA sheets. The paper demonstrates how assessment grading tools might be researched, developed, applied and constantly improved in order to advance the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Dear Editor, We are pleased our article is of interest to readers of I Caries Research i and appreciate the opportunity to respond to the "Letter to Editor" comments by Balachandran et al. [2022] regarding our publication, "Dental Health Inequalities among Indigenous Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis"[Nath et al., 2021]. The funnel plot is a scatter diagram that represents study-specific effect sizes against study precision and means for detecting publication bias and exploring small study effect [Sterne et al., 2011]. Therefore, we decided to use a more generalized proxy terminology for dental caries inequality as "dental health inequalities.". [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the measurement equivalence of individual response scale types by using a patient reported outcome measure (PROM) collected on paper and migrated into electronic format for use on the subject's own mobile device (BYOD) and on a provisioned device (site device).Methods: Subjects suffering from chronic health conditions causing daily pain or discomfort were invited to participate in this single-site, single visit, three-way crossover study. Association between individual item and instrument subscale scores was assessed by using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and its CI. Participant attitudes toward the use of BYOD in a clinical trial were assessed through use of a questionnaire.Results: In this study, 155 subjects (females 83 [54%]; males 72 [46%]) ages 19 to 69 years (mean ± SD: 48.6 ± 13.1) were recruited. High association between the modes of administration (paper, BYOD, site device) was shown with analysis of ICCs (0.79-0.98) for each response scale type, including visual analogue scale, numeric rating scale, verbal response scale, and Likert scale. Of the subjects, 94% (146 of 155) stated that they would definitely or probably be willing to download an app onto their own mobile device for a forthcoming clinical trial. Forty-five percent of subjects felt BYOD would be more convenient compared with 15% preferring a provisioned device (40% had no preference).Conclusions: This study provides strong evidence supporting the use of BYOD for PROM collection in terms of the conservation of instrument measurement equivalence across the most widely used response scale types, and high patient acceptance of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Weight loss interventions have not been advocated for overweight/obese older adults due to potential loss of skeletal muscle and strength impacting on physical function with potential loss of independence. Carotenoids and polyphenols are inversely associated with sarcopenic symptomology. This paper reports the protocol of a study evaluating the efficacy of a high-protein, energy restricted diet rich in carotenoids and polyphenols on body composition, muscle strength, physical performance and quality of life in overweight and obese older adults.Methods: This randomised controlled clinical trial will recruit community-dwelling, healthy overweight and obese older adults (≥60 years) for a 12-week weight loss intervention. Seventy-three participants will be recruited and randomized to an energy restricted (~30% restriction), isocaloric diet (30% protein; 30% carbohydrate; 40% fat) enriched with either: a) 375 g/d of high carotenoid vegetables, 300 g/d high carotenoid fruit, and 40-60 ml extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO); or b) 375 g/d of lower carotenoid vegetables, 300 g/d lower carotenoid fruit, and 40-60 ml Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) based oil. All participants will receive individual dietary counselling each fortnight for the duration of the study and will be asked to maintain their habitual level of physical activity throughout the study. The primary outcome will be appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Secondary outcomes will include body weight, fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass (FM), muscle strength (Isometric hand-grip strength), physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) and health related quality of life (SF-36). Outcomes will be measured at baseline and at week 12.Discussion: The results of this study will provide a novel insight relating to the potential influence of high carotenoid and polyphenol intakes on attenuation of ASM during dietary energy-restricted weight loss in overweight and obese older adults.Trial Registration: The trial was registered on the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ( ACTRN12616001400459 ); Trial registration date: 10th October, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Knee-specific patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are important tools in evaluating the effectiveness of sports medicine interventions. The PROMs were originally developed for paper administration, but electronic data capture technologies offer potential benefits such as increased efficiency and accuracy. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of touch screen versus paper administration using several common knee-specific and general health surveys.Methods: Agreement between scores was compared for knee-specific PROMs administered on paper versus computer; paper versus tablet; computer versus tablet in 60 patients per group undergoing ACL reconstruction. Surveys were given at pre-operative assessment and between 1 and 7 days later. Weighted kappa statistic (κ) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to test agreement between the two modalities in: IKDC Subjective Knee Form, Marx Activity Scale, Tegner Activity Level Scale, and Lysholm Knee Scale. SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary scores were also assessed.Results: Response rate was over 90 %. Mean age was 29.6 ± 10.9 years, with patients in the paper-computer cohort being 4 years older than in the other groups. Agreement was substantial or better for all PROMs collected: IKDC Subjective (ICC: 0.79); Marx (ICC: 0.70); Lysholm (ICC: 0.65); and Tegner (κ = 0.67). Agreement for the SF-12 PCS (ICC: 0.77) and MCS (ICC: 0.73) was also found to have substantial agreement.Conclusion: In conclusion, touch screen-based PROMs are a valid capture method, providing reliable results relative to traditional paper survey administration. Digital methods of direct data capture may also foster multi-centre collaborations and allow for more accurate comparisons of outcomes between patient groups in clinical practice and orthopaedic research.Level Of Evidence: II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of magnesium sulfate for prevention of eclampsia on blood loss at time of cesarean delivery (CD). Methods: We conducted an electronic based search using the following databases: MEDLINE, PUBMED and the Cochrane Library. The search terms were “magnesium sulfate”, “preeclampsia” and “randomized”. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials of women with preeclampsia who delivered with or without magnesium sulfate therapy for seizure prophylaxis. Only trials with placebo or no treatment comparison groups were included. Primary outcome was postpartum hemorrhage. Secondary outcomes were estimated blood loss, change in hemoglobin, blood transfusion and eclampsia. Results: Five trials met inclusion criteria. The incidence of postpartum hemorrhage was similar between the two groups [magnesium sulfate: 754/4482 (17%); no magnesium sulfate: 775/4427 (18%); RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.88–1.06]. There was no statistical difference between any of the other blood loss outcomes reported in the included studies. The rate of eclampsia with magnesium sulfate was significantly lower than with placebo (42/5604, 0.7%, versus 107/5600, 1.9%; RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.28–0.57). Conclusions: Magnesium sulfate does not appear to affect blood loss intrapartum and postpartum in women with preeclampsia. Magnesium sulfate, therefore, should be continued during CD, given the benefit of seizure prophylaxis without any increased risk of hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we focus on participatory evaluation in the context of international development and specifically on the emerging empirical knowledge base. In a prior review and critique of research on participatory evaluation (Cousins and Chouinard 2012), we examined 121 studies, with only 21 (17%) situated in development contexts. However, the circumstances and challenges for international development and for development evaluation are distinct from those found in developed countries and therefore warrant separate consideration. To provide a more focused and detailed understanding of participatory evaluation in international development contexts, in this paper we augment our initial sample to a total of 40 studies on participatory evaluation in development published over the past 16.5 years. Based on an analysis of this research and related theoretical and conceptual contributions we identify and discuss eight emergent themes: multiplicity of relationships, consequences of stakeholder selection, characterization of participation, contextual complexity, methodological requirements, cultural influence, politics and power and learning and capacity building. We conclude with some reflections on an agenda for research.

Existing literature indicates that physical attractiveness positively affects variables such as income, perceived employee quality and performance evaluations. Similarly, in the academic arena, studies indicate instructors who are better looking receive better teaching evaluations from their students. Previous analysis of the website RateMyProfessors.com confirms this, indicating that instructors who are viewed by students as "hot" receive higher "quality" ratings than those who are "not." However, psychology literature indicates that perceptions of attractiveness are influenced by positive illusions, a property whereby individuals with higher quality relationships view each other more positively than objective observers. This paper uses data from Rate My Professors to investigate the existence of positive illusions in the instructor-student relationship. It finds that positive illusions exist, suggesting that existing literature overestimates the premium associated with physical attractiveness. Furthermore, the source of these illusions varies significantly between male and female instructors with important implications for the role of gender in workplace evaluations, hiring, promotion, and tenure.

The main problem of the educational evaluation validity is that it just copies the conceptual framework system of validity from educational measurement to its own conceptual system. The validity conceptual system that fits the need of theory and practice of educational evaluation has not been established yet. According to the inherent attributive character of educational evaluation, this paper constructs eight concepts of validity in educational evaluation: objective validity, construct validity, content validity, cross validity, subject validity, process validity, function validity and result validity, and elaborates its basis and connotation.

Recent software advances have led to an expansion of the development and usage of application programming interfaces (APIs). From millions of Android packages (APKs) available on Google Store to millions of open-source packages available in Maven, PyPI, and npm, APIs have become an integral part of software development. Like any software artifact, software APIs evolve and suffer from this evolution. Prior research has uncovered many challenges to the development, usage, and evolution of APIs. While some challenges have been studied and solved, many remain. These challenges are scattered in the literature, which hides advances and cloaks the remaining challenges. In this systematic literature review on APIs and API evolution, we uncover and describe publication trends and trending topics.We compile common research goals, evaluation methods, metrics, and subjects.We summarize the current state-of-the-art and outline known existing challenges aswell as newchallenges uncovered during this review. We conclude that the main remaining challenges related to APIs and API evolution are (1) automatically identifying and leveraging factors that drive API changes, (2) creating and using uniform benchmarks for research evaluation, and (3) understanding the impact of API evolution on API developers and users with respect to various programming languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Researchers administering surveys seek to balance data quality, sources of error, and practical concerns when selecting an administration mode. Rarely are decisions about survey administration based on the background of study participants, although socio-demographic characteristics like age, education, and race may contribute to participants' (non)responses.Objectives: In this study, we describe differences in paper- and web-based surveys administered in a national cancer survivor study of women with a history of cancer to compare the ability of each survey administrative mode to provide quality, generalizable data.Methods: We compared paper- and web-based survey data by socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, missing data rates, scores on primary outcome measure, and administrative costs and time using descriptive statistics, tests of mean group differences, and linear regression.Results: Our findings indicate that more potentially vulnerable patients preferred paper questionnaires and that data quality, responses, and costs significantly varied by mode and participants' demographic information. We provide targeted suggestions for researchers conducting survey research to reduce survey error and increase generalizability of study results to the patient population of interest.Conclusion: Researchers must carefully weigh the pros and cons of survey administration modes to ensure a representative sample and high-quality data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While hearing aids for a contralateral routing of signals (CROS-HA) and bone conduction devices have been the traditional treatment for single-sided deafness (SSD) and asymmetric hearing loss (AHL), in recent years, cochlear implants (CIs) have increasingly become a viable treatment choice, particularly in countries where regulatory approval and reimbursement schemes are in place. Part of the reason for this shift is that the CI is the only device capable of restoring bilateral input to the auditory system and hence of possibly reinstating binaural hearing. Although several studies have independently shown that the CI is a safe and effective treatment for SSD and AHL, clinical outcome measures in those studies and across CI centers vary greatly. Only with a consistent use of defined and agreed-upon outcome measures across centers can high-level evidence be generated to assess the safety and efficacy of CIs and alternative treatments in recipients with SSD and AHL.Methods: This paper presents a comparative study design and minimum outcome measures for the assessment of current treatment options in patients with SSD/AHL. The protocol was developed, discussed, and eventually agreed upon by expert panels that convened at the 2015 APSCI conference in Beijing, China, and at the CI 2016 conference in Toronto, Canada.Results: A longitudinal study design comparing CROS-HA, BCD, and CI treatments is proposed. The recommended outcome measures include (1) speech in noise testing, using the same set of 3 spatial configurations to compare binaural benefits such as summation, squelch, and head shadow across devices; (2) localization testing, using stimuli that rove in both level and spectral content; (3) questionnaires to collect quality of life measures and the frequency of device use; and (4) questionnaires for assessing the impact of tinnitus before and after treatment, if applicable.Conclusion: A protocol for the assessment of treatment options and outcomes in recipients with SSD and AHL is presented. The proposed set of minimum outcome measures aims at harmonizing assessment methods across centers and thus at generating a growing body of high-level evidence for those treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Most preventable adverse drug events and medication errors occur during medication ordering. Medication order entry and clinical decision support are available on paper or as computerized systems. In this post-hoc analysis we investigated frequency and clinical impact of blood glucose (BG) documentation- and user-related calculation errors as well as workflow deviations in diabetes management. We aimed to compare a paper-based protocol to a computerized medication management system combined with clinical workflow and decision support.Methods: Seventy-nine hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were treated with an algorithm driven basal-bolus insulin regimen. BG measurements, which were the basis for insulin dose calculations, were manually entered either into the paper-based workflow protocol (PaperG: 37 patients) or into GlucoTab(®)-a mobile tablet PC based system (CompG: 42 patients). We used BG values from the laboratory information system as a reference. A workflow simulator was used to determine user calculation errors as well as workflow deviations and to estimate the effect of errors on insulin doses. The clinical impact of insulin dosing errors and workflow deviations on hypo- and hyperglycemia was investigated.Results: The BG documentation error rate was similar for PaperG (4.9%) and CompG group (4.0%). In PaperG group, 11.1% of manual insulin dose calculations were erroneous and the odds ratio (OR) of a hypoglycemic event following an insulin dosing error was 3.1 (95% CI: 1.4-6.8). The number of BG values influenced by insulin dosing errors was eightfold higher than in the CompG group. In the CompG group, workflow deviations occurred in 5.0% of the tasks which led to an increased likelihood of hyperglycemia, OR 2.2 (95% CI: 1.1-4.6).Discussion: Manual insulin dose calculations were the major source of error and had a particularly strong influence on hypoglycemia. By using GlucoTab(®), user calculation errors were entirely excluded. The immediate availability and automated handling of BG values from medical devices directly at the point of care has a high potential to reduce errors. Computerized systems facilitate the safe use of more complex insulin dosing algorithms without compromising usability. In CompG group, missed or delayed tasks had a significant effect on hyperglycemia, while in PaperG group insufficient precision of documentation times limited analysis. The use of old BG measurements was clinically less relevant.Conclusion: Insulin dosing errors and workflow deviations led to measurable changes in clinical outcome. Diabetes management systems including decision support should address nurses as well as physicians in a computerized way. Our analysis shows that such systems reduce the frequency of errors and therefore decrease the probability of hypo- and hyperglycemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of e-Health technologies for purposes of both assessment and intervention has recently become an interest area in pediatric psychology. The purpose of this study is to present psychometric characteristics of a technology-based (i.e., tablet administration) approach for measuring quality of life (QOL) in children. Eighty children (8-12 years) completed the Quality of Life Systemic Inventory for Children (QLSI-C) twice over a 2-week delay, in a crossover design that used paper and tablet-based modes of administration. Equivalence of scores across methods was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), augmented by paired t test and Pearson's correlations. Test-retest reliability was assessed using paired t test and Pearson's correlations while internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's coefficient. Results showed a good concordance across methods of administration (ICCs = .72 to .91; r = .56 to .83). Paired t test showed no significant differences between the tablet and paper version of the QLSI-C. Internal consistency reliability yielded acceptable Cronbach's alphas for all QLSI-C scores, with all α > .70. Test-retest reliability for the tablet-administered QLSI-C was good (r = .66 to .90). Paired t test showed no significant difference between Time 1 and 2 for the QLSI-C scores, except for the state score. Findings established the reliability of the tablet-administered QLSI-C scores. This technology approach to assessment is more attractive for children, decreases time for administration, and enhances the ease of scoring. These advantages might encourage both clinicians and researchers to consider using e-Health developments in assessment in pediatric psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this article was to develop and apply an Internet-based headache diary (i-diary) for adolescents and compare it with a paper-diary (p-diary) regarding adherence, user acceptability and recorded headache activity.Methods: In a cross-sectional school-based study, a representative sample of 488 adolescents aged 12-18 years were randomly allocated by cluster sampling to record for three weeks in i-diaries or p-diaries their headache intensity, disability, and use of acute medication.Results: A significantly (p = 0.008) higher proportion of adolescents in the i-diary group used the diary at least once during the 21-day period (86% vs 76% for the p-diary). However, the p-diary group completed a significantly (p < 0.001) higher number of diary days (20.8 vs 15.0 days for the i-diary). The response rate for the i-diary-group was largely evenly distributed over the study period; conversely, approximately two-thirds of the adolescents using the p-diary responded on all 21 days, whereas one-fourth did not respond at all. The two diary types were rated as equal in easiness to remember (p = 0.25), but the i-diaries were more bothersome to use (p = 0.029).Conclusion: Although p-diary users completed a higher proportion of diary days, i-diaries provided more reliable and credible estimates of headache parameters because of better real-time assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To validate electronic versions of the Mini Pediatric and Pediatric Asthma Caregiver's Quality of Life Questionnaires (MiniPAQLQ and PACQLQ, respectively), determine completion times and correlate QOL of children and caregivers.Methods: A total of 63 children and 64 caregivers completed the paper and electronic MiniPAQLQ or PACQLQ. Agreement between versions of each questionnaire was summarized by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The correlation between MiniPAQLQ and PACQLQ scores from child-caregiver pairs was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient.Results: There was no significant difference (mean difference = 0.1, 95% CI -0.1, 0.2) in MiniPAQLQ Overall Scores between paper (5.9 ± 1.0, mean ± SD) and electronic (5.8 ± 1.0) versions, or any of the domains. ICCs ranged from 0.89 (Overall) to 0.86 (Emotional Function). Overall PACQLQ scores for both versions were comparable (5.9 ± 0.9 and 5.8 ± 1.0; mean difference = 0.0; 95% CI -0.1, 0.2). ICCs ranged from 0.81 (Activity Limitation) to 0.88 (Emotional Function). The electronic PACQLQ took 26 s longer (95% CI 11, 41; p < 0.001). Few participants (3-11%) preferred the paper format. MiniPAQLQ and PACQLQ scores were significantly correlated (all p < 0.05) for Overall (r paper = 0.33, r electronic = 0.27) and Emotional Function domains (r paper = 0.34, r electronic = 0.29).Conclusions: These electronic QOL questionnaires are valid, and asthma-related QOL of children and caregivers is related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Bleeding data in contraceptive trials are often collected using daily diaries, but data quality may vary due to compliance and recall bias. Text messaging is a widespread and promising modality for data collection.Study Design: This trial randomized participants 1:1 to use text messages or paper diaries to report on bleeding experienced during the 90 days after intrauterine device (IUD) insertion. Participants chose either the copper T380A or the 52-mg levonorgestrel IUD. Our primary outcome was number of days of reported bleeding data. We hypothesized that data gathered with daily text messages would have fewer missing values than paper diaries. Intention to treat analyses used the rank-sum test to compare medians.Results: Two hundred thirty women enrolled, and randomization yielded groups similar in baseline characteristics. Twenty percent of participants provided no bleeding data; of these, 77% were assigned to paper diaries. With 90 days of reporting, approximately 20% in each group provided complete bleeding data. The text group reported a median of 82 days [interquartile range (IQR) 40-89] and the paper group reported a median of 36 days (IQR 0-88) (p≤.001). The number of responses received decreased gradually over the 90-day period but was always higher in the text group. Women who had attained higher levels of education did well regardless of data collection modality, while response rates of text messages were greater among those with a high school education or less (p<.01).Conclusions: Participants reporting bleeding via text messages provided more complete data than women using paper diaries.Implications: Depending on resources and population of interest, text messages may be a useful modality to improve data collection for patient-reported outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The adoption and use of health information technology (IT) continues to grow around the globe. In Switzerland, the government nor professional associations have to this day provided incentives for health IT adoption.Objective: We aim to assess the proportion of physicians who are routinely working with electronic health data and describe to what extent physicians exchange electronic health data with peers and other health care providers. Additionally, we aim to estimate the effect of physicians' attitude towards health IT on the adoption of electronic workflows.Methods: Between May and July 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1200 practice based physicians in Switzerland. Respondents were asked to report on their technical means and where applicable their paper-based workarounds to process laboratory data, examination results, referral letters and physician's letters. Physicians' view of barriers and facilitators towards health IT use was determined by a composite score.Results: A response rate of 57.1% (n=685) was reached. The sample was considered to be representative for physicians in Swiss ambulatory care. 35.2% of the respondents documented patients' health status with the help of a longitudinal semi-structured electronic text record generated by one or more encounters in the practice. Depending on the task within a workflow, around 11-46% of the respondents stated to rely on electronic workflow practices to process laboratory and examination data and dispatch referral notes and physician's letters. The permanent use of electronic workflow processes was infrequent. Instead, respondents reported paper-based workarounds affecting specific tasks within a workflow. Physicians' attitude towards health IT was significantly associated with the adoption of electronic workflows (OR 1.04-1.31, p<0.05), but the effect sizes of factors related to the working environment (e.g., regional factors, medical specialty, type of practice) were larger.Conclusion: At present, only a few physicians in Swiss ambulatory care routinely work with electronic health data. Until more of their peers participate in electronic exchange of structured clinical information, most physicians will continue to stay in paper-based systems and workarounds. The survey found that physicians with a positive attitude towards health IT were more likely to adopt electronic workflows, but the impact is minor. It will likely be necessary to introduce financial incentives and develop national standards in order to promote the adoption by a critical mass of practicing clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]