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Journal of Medical Education and... 2024To better construct teaching resources, enhance real-time interaction and feedback between teachers and students in and out of class, and improve the teaching quality of...
OBJECTIVE
To better construct teaching resources, enhance real-time interaction and feedback between teachers and students in and out of class, and improve the teaching quality of parasitology, our team set up a WeChat public account .
METHODS
The data sources were mainly from original pictures and multimedia materials of different parasites collected and produced by our team, as well as related materials collected from traditional publications and digital media. With the instant interactive platform, course schedules and corresponding teaching contents were sent by push notifications, case-based learning was carried out, and 2-way communication between students and teachers was achieved. Teaching effectiveness was assessed using a self-evaluation questionnaire.
RESULTS
A WeChat public account suitable for our daily teaching of parasitology was established. The second recursion and implementation of the learning resources allowed students to conduct in-depth reading and get unrestricted access to high-quality resources through the public account. In addition, all contents were in digital forms and made the original resources reborn, which would make up for our current and future shortage of physical teaching specimens. Moreover, the results from the questionnaire indicated that all these actions encouraged students to master theoretical knowledge, improved their abilities of case analysis and communication, and increased their knowledge of academic progress.
CONCLUSION
Our WeChat public account can provide excellent learning materials for students and is a good supplement to the routine education of human parasitology.
PubMed: 38813087
DOI: 10.1177/23821205241255224 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2024Notifications are an essential part of the user experience on smart mobile devices. While some apps have to notify users immediately after an event occurs, others can...
Notifications are an essential part of the user experience on smart mobile devices. While some apps have to notify users immediately after an event occurs, others can schedule notifications strategically to notify them only on opportune moments. This tailoring allows apps to shorten the users' interaction delay. In this paper, we present the results of a comprehensive study that identified the factors that influence users' interaction delay to their smartphone notifications. We analyzed almost 10 million notifications collected in-the-wild from 922 users and computed their response times with regard to their demographics, their Big Five personality trait scores and the device's charging state. Depending on the app category, the following tendencies can be identified over the course of the day: Most notifications were logged in late morning and late afternoon. This number decreases in the evening, between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., and at the same time exhibits the lowest average interaction delays at daytime. We also found that the user's sex and age is significantly associated with the response time. Based on the results of our study, we encourage developers to incorporate more information on the user and the executing device in their notification strategy to notify users more effectively.
Topics: Smartphone; Humans; Female; Male; Mobile Applications; Adult; Middle Aged; Time Factors; Young Adult; Adolescent
PubMed: 38676228
DOI: 10.3390/s24082612 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2024Beauty surrounds us in many ways every day. In three experience sampling (ESM) studies we investigated frequency, category of eliciting stimuli (natural vs human-made)...
Beauty surrounds us in many ways every day. In three experience sampling (ESM) studies we investigated frequency, category of eliciting stimuli (natural vs human-made) and, the potential moderating role of several individual difference measures on such everyday experiences of beauty in an ecologically valid manner. Further, we explored the impact of such experiences on valence & arousal. Study 1 re-analysed data from a previous study, in line with the current aims. In Studies 2 and 3, we asked participants to report daily experiences of beauty using a mixed random and event-contingent sampling schedule. Mobile notifications (random sampling) prompted participants to take a photo and rate the beauty of their surroundings. Further, current valence and arousal were assessed. Notification frequency and total days of participation differed between these two studies. Participants were able to report additional experiences outside of the notification windows (event-contingent sampling). Our results indicate that we frequently encounter beauty in everyday life and that we find it in nature, in particular. Our results further suggest a mood-boosting effect of encounters with beauty. Lastly, our results indicate influences of individual differences however, these were inconclusive and require further attention.
Topics: Humans; Beauty; Female; Adult; Male; Young Adult; Arousal; Affect; Adolescent; Middle Aged
PubMed: 38658638
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60091-w -
Journal of Applied Clinical Medical... May 2024Radiotherapy (RT) treatment and treatment planning is a complex process prepared and delivered by a multidisciplinary team of specialists. Efficient communication and...
PURPOSE
Radiotherapy (RT) treatment and treatment planning is a complex process prepared and delivered by a multidisciplinary team of specialists. Efficient communication and notification systems among different team members are therefore essential to ensure the safe, timely delivery of treatments to patients.
METHOD
To address this issue, we developed and implemented automated notification systems and an electronic whiteboard to track every CT simulation, contouring task, the new-start schedule, and physician's appointments and tasks, and notify team members of overdue and missing tasks and appointments. The electronic whiteboard was developed to have a straightforward view of current patients' planning workflow and to help different team members coordinate with each other. The systems were implemented and have been used at our center to monitor the progress of treatment-planning tasks for over 2 years.
RESULTS
The last-minute plans were relatively reduced by about 40% in 2023 compared to 2021 and 2022 with a p-value < 0.05. The overdue contouring tasks of more than 1 day decreased from 46.8% in 2019 and 33.6% in 2020 to 20%-26.4% in 2021-2023 with a p-value < 0.05 after the implementation of the notification system. The rate of plans with 1-3 day planning time decreased by 20.31%, 39.32%, and 24.08% with a p-value < 0.05 and the rate of plans with 1-3 day planning time due to the contouring task overdue more than 1 day decreased by 49.49%, 56.89%, and 46.52% with a p-value < 0.05 after the implementation. The rate of outstanding appointments that are overdue by more than 7 days decreased by more than 5% with a p-value < 0.05 following the implementation of the system.
CONCLUSIONS
Our experience shows that this system requires minimal human intervention, improves the treatment planning workflow and process by reducing errors and delays in the treatment planning process, positively impacts on-time treatment plan completion, and reduces the need for compressed or rushed treatment planning timelines.
Topics: Humans; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; Radiotherapy Dosage; Neoplasms; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated; Workflow; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 38615273
DOI: 10.1002/acm2.14344 -
BMJ Open Quality Feb 2024The liver transplant assessment process involves a complex set of tests and clinical reviews to determine suitability for liver transplantation. We had an assessment...
The liver transplant assessment process involves a complex set of tests and clinical reviews to determine suitability for liver transplantation. We had an assessment process involving a 3-day inpatient stay and often experienced difficulties admitting patients to the prebooked bed due to a lack of inpatient bed availability.We aimed to change the process from a 3-day and 2-night inpatient stay to a 1-day day-case stay to reduce the demand for inpatient beds.Planning the new assessment process involved negotiations with many department staff to establish prebooked timeslots in 1 day. The improvement project was tested and refined through Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. The liver transplant assessment team used their established once-a-week meeting to learn what went well and to agree on revisions to the process for further testing. The process involved several adaptations, such as the removal and changing of individual time slots, reinforcement of early notification once patients had finished their tests and scheduling a separate outpatient appointment to provide time for junior doctor clerking and blood tests.The new day-case and outpatient coordinated liver transplant assessment process resulted in a reduction of inpatient hospital bed utilisation from an average of 257-20 inpatient bed days per annum. This reduction in inpatient bed utilisation was maintained for 3 years with a similar level of patient satisfaction. The cost avoidance was calculated at £381.96 per patient, which is a 63% reduction in cost. Assuming an average number of patients being assessed per annum of 110, this would result in an average cost avoidance of £42 016 per annum. The carbon footprint was calculated with an average reduction per patient from 618 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCOe) to 179 kgCOe.This project has highlighted how to change a complex inpatient assessment process to an alternative day-case and outpatient approach and could be considered useful learning for other inpatient assessment services, not just liver transplantation.
Topics: Humans; Liver Transplantation; Outpatients; Inpatients; Hospitalization; Patient Satisfaction
PubMed: 38351032
DOI: 10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002693 -
Journal of Imaging Informatics in... Feb 2024Radiology departments face challenges in delivering timely and accurate imaging reports, especially in high-volume, subspecialized settings. In this retrospective cohort...
Radiology departments face challenges in delivering timely and accurate imaging reports, especially in high-volume, subspecialized settings. In this retrospective cohort study at a tertiary cancer center, we assessed the efficacy of an Automatic Assignment System (AAS) in improving radiology workflow efficiency by analyzing 232,022 CT examinations over a 12-month period post-implementation and compared it to a historical control period. The AAS was integrated with the hospital-wide scheduling system and set up to automatically prioritize and distribute unreported CT examinations to available radiologists based on upcoming patient appointments, coupled with an email notification system. Following this AAS implementation, despite a 9% rise in CT volume, coupled with a concurrent 8% increase in the number of available radiologists, the mean daily urgent radiology report requests (URR) significantly decreased by 60% (25 ± 12 to 10 ± 5, t = -17.6, p < 0.001), and URR during peak days (95 quantile) was reduced by 52.2% from 46 to 22 requests. Additionally, the mean turnaround time (TAT) for reporting was significantly reduced by 440 min for patients without immediate appointments and by 86 min for those with same-day appointments. Lastly, patient waiting time sampled in one of the outpatient clinics was not negatively affected. These results demonstrate that AAS can substantially decrease workflow interruptions and improve reporting efficiency.
PubMed: 38343207
DOI: 10.1007/s10278-023-00917-7 -
COVID-19 Vaccination Telephone Outreach: A Primary Care Clinic Intervention Targeting Health Equity.WMJ : Official Publication of the State... Dec 2023Equitable COVID-19 vaccine access is essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. In many instances, COVID-19 vaccination notification and scheduling occurred through...
INTRODUCTION
Equitable COVID-19 vaccine access is essential to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. In many instances, COVID-19 vaccination notification and scheduling occurred through online patient portals, for which socially vulnerable populations have limited access. Our objective was to reduce disparities in COVID-19 vaccine access for the Black and socially vulnerable populations unintentionally excluded by our health system's patient portal-driven vaccine outreach through a telephone outreach initiative.
METHODS
From February 1, 2021, through April 27, 2021, telephone outreach was directed towards patients aged 65 and older without patient portal access at a large urban academic general internal medicine clinic. Univariate and multivariate analyses between those who did and did not receive telephone outreach were completed to assess the odds of vaccination, accounting for outreach status, sex, age, race/ethnicity, payor status, social vulnerability index, and Elixhauser Comorbidity count.
RESULTS
A total of 1466 patients aged 65 and older without active patient portals were eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Of these patients, 664 received outreach calls; 382 (57.5%) of them got vaccinated compared to 802 patients who did not receive outreach calls, of which 486 (60.6%) got vaccinated ( = 0.2341). Patients who received outreach calls versus those who did not were more likely to be female, younger, non-Hispanic Black, from high social vulnerability index census tracts, and have higher Elixhauser Comorbidity counts. Logistical analysis revealed an odds ratio (OR) with a nonstatistically significant trend favoring higher vaccination likelihood in the no outreach cohort with univariate analysis with no changes when adjustment was made for age, sex, race/ethnicity, payor, social vulnerability index, and Elixhauser Comorbidity count (univariate analysis: OR 0.88 [95% CI, 0.71-1.09]; model 1: OR 0.89 [95% CI, 0.72 - 1.10]; model 2 - 0.89 (0.72 - 1.11); model 3: OR 0.87 (95% CI, 0.70 -1.09)].
CONCLUSIONS
While our telephone outreach initiative was not successful in increasing vaccination rates, lessons learned can help clinicians and health systems as they work to improve health equity. Achieving health equity requires a multifaceted approach engaging not only health systems but also public health and community systems to directly address the pervasive effects of structural racism perpetuating health inequities.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Health Equity; Pandemics; Vaccination; Primary Health Care
PubMed: 38180942
DOI: No ID Found -
JMIR Perioperative Medicine Nov 2023Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are patient-centered, evidence-based guidelines for peri-, intra-, and postoperative management of surgical candidates...
BACKGROUND
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are patient-centered, evidence-based guidelines for peri-, intra-, and postoperative management of surgical candidates that aim to decrease operative complications and facilitate recovery after surgery. Anesthesia providers can use these protocols to guide decision-making and standardize aspects of their anesthetic plan in the operating room.
OBJECTIVE
Research across multiple disciplines has demonstrated that clinical decision support systems have the potential to improve protocol adherence by reminding providers about departmental policies and protocols via notifications. There remains a gap in the literature about whether clinical decision support systems can improve patient outcomes by improving anesthesia providers' adherence to protocols. Our hypothesis is that the implementation of an electronic notification system to anesthesia providers the day prior to scheduled breast surgeries will increase the use of the already existing but underused ERAS protocols.
METHODS
This was a single-center prospective cohort study conducted between October 2017 and August 2018 at an urban academic medical center. After obtaining approval from the institutional review board, anesthesia providers assigned to major breast surgery cases were identified. Patient data were collected pre- and postimplementation of an electronic notification system that sent the anesthesia providers an email reminder of the ERAS breast protocol the night before scheduled surgeries. Each patient's record was then reviewed to assess the frequency of adherence to the various ERAS protocol elements.
RESULTS
Implementation of an electronic notification significantly improved overall protocol adherence and several preoperative markers of ERAS protocol adherence. Protocol adherence increased from 16% (n=14) to 44% (n=44; P<.001), preoperative administration of oral gabapentin (600 mg) increased from 13% (n=11) to 43% (n=43; P<.001), and oral celebrex (400 mg) use increased from 16% (n=14) to 35% (n=35; P=.006). There were no statistically significant differences in the use of scopolamine transdermal patch (P=.05), ketamine (P=.35), and oral acetaminophen (P=.31) between the groups. Secondary outcomes such as intraoperative and postoperative morphine equivalent administered, postanesthesia care unit length of stay, postoperative pain scores, and incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting did not show statistical significance.
CONCLUSIONS
This study examines whether sending automated notifications to anesthesia providers increases the use of ERAS protocols in a single academic medical center. Our analysis exhibited statistically significant increases in overall protocol adherence but failed to show significant differences in secondary outcome measures. Despite the lack of a statistically significant difference in secondary postoperative outcomes, our analysis contributes to the limited literature on the relationship between using push notifications and clinical decision support in guiding perioperative decision-making. A variety of techniques can be implemented, including technological solutions such as automated notifications to providers, to improve awareness and adherence to ERAS protocols.
PubMed: 37921854
DOI: 10.2196/44139 -
Heliyon Oct 2023Natural catastrophes may strike anywhere at any moment and cause widespread destruction. Most people do not have the necessary catastrophe preparedness knowledge or...
Natural catastrophes may strike anywhere at any moment and cause widespread destruction. Most people do not have the necessary catastrophe preparedness knowledge or awareness. The combination of a flood and an earthquake can cause widespread destruction. Natural catastrophes have a domino effect on a country's economy, first by damaging infrastructure and then by taking human lives and other resources. The mortality tolls of both humans and animals have decreased as a result of recent natural disasters. So, we need a mechanism to identify and monitor floods and earthquakes. The suggested system uses a hybrid deep learning analysis to keep an eye on earthquake- and flood-affected areas. In order to boost the efficiency of the presented model, this research presents the improved sunflower optimisation (ESFO). In polynomial time, it determines the best time to schedule events. In view of the need for real-time monitoring of regions vulnerable to flooding and earthquakes, as well as the associated costs and precautions, this study focuses on systems. The suggested technology also sends a notification to the proper authorities whenever a person is detected in the area. In the event of an emergency, it can be used as a backup source of solar power. We then offer the best suitable depth and enable real-time earthquake detection with reduced false alarm rates through practical evaluation. Finally, we demonstrate that the projected model can be successfully deployed in a real-world, dynamic situation after being trained on a range of datasets.
PubMed: 37916091
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21172 -
JMIR Formative Research Aug 2023In the United States, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) surpasses 22,000 procedures annually. Due to the demanding and time-intensive process of an HCT, patients...
Mobile Technology to Monitor and Support Health and Well-Being: Qualitative Study of Perspectives and Design Suggestions From Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.
BACKGROUND
In the United States, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) surpasses 22,000 procedures annually. Due to the demanding and time-intensive process of an HCT, patients and family care partners face unique challenges involving their health and well-being. Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) may offer potential solutions to help boost health and well-being.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore and understand patients' experiences and perceptions about the use of the Roadmap 2.0 app, specifically its PPI features, during the acute phase of HCT.
METHODS
From an ongoing randomized controlled trial, HCT patients (n=17) were recruited to participate in semistructured qualitative interviews between October 2022 and January 2023 within a large academic medical center in the Midwestern states. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, interviews were conducted in person or via Zoom. The data were analyzed through constant comparative analysis. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines were followed.
RESULTS
The majority of the participants reported Roadmap 2.0 as easy to use and enjoyed the ability to track their health data (eg, steps, mood, sleep; 9/17). Regarding the use of PPIs during the acute phase of treatment, 88% of the participants reported interest in participating in PPIs, specifically the Pleasant Activity Scheduling (11/17) followed by Gratitude Journaling (7/17) activities. Additionally, participants provided recommendations on adapting Roadmap 2.0. The major recommendations were (1) "Working Together: Need for Dyadic Involvement," (2) "Connectivity with Other Patients," and (3) "Gap in Nutritional Support." Participants (10/17) expressed the importance of caregiver involvement in activities beyond treatment-related management for maintaining healthy patient-caregiver dyadic relationships. They also expressed their desire for connectivity with other patients undergoing HCT, primarily for comparing experiences and discussing topics such as symptom management (8/17). Lastly, participants identified a gap in nutritional support during the HCT process and expressed interest in an intervention that could promote healthy eating through education and notification reminders (9/17).
CONCLUSIONS
Participants openly expressed their eagerness to participate in research studies that foster connection and positive relationships with their caregivers as well as with other HCT patients. They emphasized the significance of having access to nutritional support or guidance and highlighted the potential benefits of using mobile technology to enhance these collective efforts.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04094844; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04094844.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)
RR2-10.2196/19288.
PubMed: 37651172
DOI: 10.2196/49806