Best Practices for Developing and Validating Scales for Health, Social, and Behavioral Research: A Primer.

Competencies ensure public health students and professionals have the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours to do their jobs effectively. Public health is a dynamic and complex field requiring robust competency statements and frameworks that are regularly renewed. Many countries have public health competencies, but there has been no evidence synthesis on how these are developed. Our research aim was to synthesize the extent and nature of the literature on approaches and best practices for competencies statement and framework development in the context of public health, including identifying the relevant literature on approaches for developing competency statements and frameworks for public health students and professionals using a scoping review; and, synthesizing and describing approaches and best practices for developing public health competency statements and frameworks using a thematic analysis of the literature identified by the scoping review. We conducted a scoping review and thematic analysis of the academic and grey literature to synthesize and describe approaches and best practices for developing public health competency statements and frameworks. A systematic search of six databases uncovered 13 articles for inclusion. To scope the literature, articles were assessed for characteristics including study aim, design, methods, key results, gaps, and future research recommendations. Most included articles were peer-reviewed journal articles, used qualitative or mixed method design, and were focused on general, rather than specialist, public health practitioners. Thematic analysis resulted in the generation of six analytical themes that describe the multi-method approaches utilized in developing competency statements and frameworks including literature reviews, expert consultation, and consensus-building. There was variability in the transparency of competency framework development, with challenges balancing foundational and discipline-specific competencies. Governance, and intersectoral and interdisciplinary competency, are needed to address complex public health issues. Understanding approaches and best practices for competency statement and framework development will support future evidence-informed iterations of public health competencies.

ABSTRACTThe concept of best practice has few friends in international development; however, the wholesale rejection of best practice is incorrect. The article first reviews the critique of best practice by describing its four main features and analyses it through a case study of public financial management (PFM) in Afghanistan country using three donor-funded projects that employ a best practice approach. The PFM projects are evaluated based on the four components of the critique. The article concludes with a modest reassessment of the continued salience of best practice in international development.

40 Background: A province-wide review of oncology regimens identified discrepancies in a number of regimens in systemic treatment computerized prescriber order entry (ST CPOE) systems. The potential patient harm from such discrepancies includes unnecessary toxicities and reduced treatment efficacy. The regimen review highlighted the need for a high-quality process to improve the safety of systemic treatment prescribing in Ontario. The objective of this work was to develop recommendations on best practices for the development and maintenance of oncology regimens. Methods: An expert multidisciplinary group of oncology clinicians and administrators was formed to review available literature and leverage their expertise to establish oncology-specific recommendations. These were then circulated to broader stakeholder groups for feedback and consensus. Results: Practical, consensus-based best practice recommendations for ST CPOE and pre-printed order regimen development and maintenance were created. Detailed processes for new regimen development are outlined in the table below. Moreover, broad areas of roles and responsibility, frequency of review, and sign-off were highlighted. This was repeated for regimen changes (not shown). Conclusions: There is a lack of guidance in the literature on best practices for oncology regimen development and maintenance. Careful analysis and application of the expertise of oncology professionals resulted in consensus-based best practice recommendations that will enable the advancement of safe, standardized, systemic treatment prescribing.[Table: see text]

The internationalization of education is an area of growing interest in postgraduate hospitality programs. This article explores the considerations for best practice in the curriculum development and delivery of postgraduate programs in international hospitality management. It examines how the embedding of principles and practices in a Master of International Hospitality Management program relates with the development of international best practice. A model for the consideration of ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric education strategies and practices in the development and delivery of such programs is presented. The article argues for the adoption of a geocentric approach.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly optimized processes across various sectors, enhancing efficiency and transforming digital interactions. However, as AI becomes more integrated into daily life, concerns about its social impacts and inherent biases have emerged. This study explores how AI technologies, such as facial recognition and Automatic Gender Recognition (AGR), can perpetuate and amplify societal prejudices, especially against transgender and non-binary individuals. The 2018 case of Amazon's Rekognition technology, which exhibited high false positive rates for individuals with dark skin, highlights the risks of algorithmic bias and mass surveillance. Given these challenges, this research performed performed a systematic mapping study of the literature on AI to present an analysis of problems and respective causes brought by facial recognition and AGR applications to trans and non-binary people. In a second phase, we developed and empirically assessed a catalog of 19 best practices for an ethical AI development grounded in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles. We aim to establish ethical standards that promote inclusivity to trans and non-binary people, mitigating algorithmic discrimination.

BackgroundAlthough technology is rapidly advancing in immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation, there is a paucity of literature to guide its implementation into health professions education, and there are no described best practices for the development of this evolving technology.ObjectiveWe conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews with early adopters of immersive VR simulation technology to investigate use and motivations behind using this technology in educational practice, and to identify the educational needs that this technology can address.MethodsWe conducted 16 interviews with VR early adopters. Data were analyzed via directed content analysis through the lens of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.ResultsThe main themes that emerged included focus on cognitive skills, access to education, resource investment, and balancing immersion. These findings help to clarify the intended role of VR simulation in health professions education. Based on our data, we synthesized a set of research questions that may help define best practices for future VR development and implementation.ConclusionsImmersive VR simulation technology primarily serves to teach cognitive skills, expand access to educational experiences, act as a collaborative repository of widely relevant and diverse simulation scenarios, and foster learning through deep immersion. By applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology theoretical framework to the context of VR simulation, we not only collected validation evidence for this established theory, but also proposed several modifications to better explain use behavior in this specific setting.

Human Resource ManagementVolume 34, Issue 2 p. 291-293 Article Response to “reexamining professional certification in human resource management,” by Carolyn Wiley Robert A. Levit, Robert A. Levit Robert A. Levit is a Senior Vice President at Ronin Enterprises. Dr. Levit's recent experience includes creating a strategic executive mindset for a new market niche in the telecommunications industry; shifting the culture of a utility company from a technical to a marketing focus; creating learning systems supporting competitive interest rates in a financial services company; creating information systems and ROI measures to evaluate program impact; and integrating Human Resource Development systems with corporate strategic objectives and marketing operations. He is the editor of Shared Wisdom: Best Practices In Development And Succession Planning. Bob earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University combining studies of psychology, organizational dynamics, law, physics, art history, literature, and global economics.Search for more papers by this author Robert A. Levit, Robert A. Levit Robert A. Levit is a Senior Vice President at Ronin Enterprises. Dr. Levit's recent experience includes creating a strategic executive mindset for a new market niche in the telecommunications industry; shifting the culture of a utility company from a technical to a marketing focus; creating learning systems supporting competitive interest rates in a financial services company; creating information systems and ROI measures to evaluate program impact; and integrating Human Resource Development systems with corporate strategic objectives and marketing operations. He is the editor of Shared Wisdom: Best Practices In Development And Succession Planning. Bob earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University combining studies of psychology, organizational dynamics, law, physics, art history, literature, and global economics.Search for more papers by this author First published: Summer 1995 https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.3930340205 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume34, Issue2Summer 1995Pages 291-293 RelatedInformation

Harmful and destructive behaviors are longstanding concerns for the Department of Defense (DoD) because they degrade force readiness. Despite decades of action, limited information is available about the extent that prevention activities are comprehensive, integrated, and effective, and the full prevention landscape is largely unknown. In 2021, the Defense Centers for Public Health-Aberdeen and the U.S. Army's People First Task Force conducted an environmental scan to understand this landscape. This article primarily examines whether reported prevention activities embodied best practices in development and evaluation. The scan was conducted from June to August 2021 using an electronic tool to identify and describe activities across all Army Components designed to address harmful behaviors like those indicated in DoD Instruction 6400.09. The tool included questions associated with effective prevention systems and activities, including systematic development and formal evaluation indicators. Data were summarized and stratified by various factors (e.g., activity type). The Inventory contained 270 valid prevention activities, with most reported as local or Command initiatives (81%). Suicide prevention (71%) was the most frequently reported target outcome. Thirty percent of activities reported more than 1 systematic development practice, and 71% of activities did not engage in formal evaluation. Activities addressing substance abuse and sexual assault and harassment prevention, respectively, reported using more best practices in development than activities addressing other outcomes. The majority (63%) of programs had been formally evaluated compared to initiatives (7%) and pilots (8%). This Inventory highlighted gaps in programming and is a crucial step toward understanding and improving the Army's prevention work. Its findings offer important considerations for optimizing DoD prevention activities. Inventories and scans are essential to ensure comprehensive, systematic, and integrated activity sets for preventing and mitigating harmful behaviors and may be an emergent best practice within the DoD prevention system.

There is little known about how academic medical centers (AMCs) in the US develop, implement, and maintain predictive modeling and machine learning (PM and ML) models. We conducted semi-structured interviews with leaders from AMCs to assess their use of PM and ML in clinical care, understand associated challenges, and determine recommended best practices. Each transcribed interview was iteratively coded and reconciled by a minimum of 2 investigators to identify key barriers to and facilitators of PM and ML adoption and implementation in clinical care. Interviews were conducted with 33 individuals from 19 AMCs nationally. AMCs varied greatly in the use of PM and ML within clinical care, from some just beginning to explore their utility to others with multiple models integrated into clinical care. Informants identified 5 key barriers to the adoption and implementation of PM and ML in clinical care: (1) culture and personnel, (2) clinical utility of the PM and ML tool, (3) financing, (4) technology, and (5) data. Recommendation to the informatics community to overcome these barriers included: (1) development of robust evaluation methodologies, (2) partnership with vendors, and (3) development and dissemination of best practices. For institutions developing clinical PM and ML applications, they are advised to: (1) develop appropriate governance, (2) strengthen data access, integrity, and provenance, and (3) adhere to the 5 rights of clinical decision support. This article highlights key challenges of implementing PM and ML in clinical care at AMCs and suggests best practices for development, implementation, and maintenance at these institutions.

Given the challenges with nutrition research, the Canadian Nutrition Society and Intertek Health Sciences Inc held an expert consultation in late 2019 to discuss the development and implementation of best practices for clinical trials on whole foods. Key challenges in the design, interpretation, and reporting of clinical efficacy studies on whole foods and opportunities for the future development of best practices are reported. Novelty: Outlines existing tools, resources, and checklists for clinical nutrition trials and provides clear and tangible steps to develop best practices for studies on whole foods.

Sustainable development in a transition economy: business case studies from Poland

Poland

In general, the utilisation of renewable resources is regarded as a contribution to sustainable development due to its reduction of environmental burdens and its support of regional development. In this paper we argue that a true contribution to sustainable development can be achieved only by considering the following additional sustainability criteria during product development: service and user orientation, efficiency, recyclability, flexibility and adaptability, fault-tolerance and risk prevention, employment, income and quality of life. From the discussion of these criteria, three key factors are derived: 1. development of quality products; 2. efficient resource use and reduction of environmental loadings; 3. and, economic competitiveness. The article then offers an example of good practice in product development, in which a competitive natural dyeing process was developed that fulfilled the quality requirements of the industy and of consumers, while simultaneously reducing environmental loadings. Finally, there is a presentation of widely applicable sustainability criteria that can be applied in the course of developing products based on renewable resources.

Examples of Good Practice in Sustainable Tourism Development

Development of awareness and capacity is a central component to the delivery of ICM and spans from local communities to national-level politicians. Education and training activities associated with ICM must be extremely varied to match both the existing capacity and role that the stakeholders play within the process of ICM. Consequently, there cannot be considered any effective “generic” ICM training; training must be tailored to match the requirements of target groups. The transfer and uptake of good-practice thus becomes an important aspect of quality enhancement in ICM capacity development. Six case studies from the Asia-Pacific region are presented that show diverse and innovative examples of good practice. A comparative analysis of these case studies is carried out in terms of institutional level of impact. In addition a generic systems-based evaluation framework is used to determine the extent to which the training impacts upon ICM implementation indicators. It is concluded that the exchange, transfer, and translation to local conditions of appropriate good practice in ICM capacity development can be an important element in enhancing the impact of ICM programs on the coastal environments and societies. Furthermore, there appears to be a positive link between the involvement of national/state/regional stakeholders in capacity-building initiatives and impacting a wider variety of indicators of ICM delivery.