Enhancing learning and exploratory search with concept semantics in online healthcare knowledge management systems: An interactive knowledge visualization approach

Abstract

Healthcare is a knowledge intensive process, which requires large amount of information from various healthcare knowledge providers. However, this growing information makes challengeable for users in finding useful healthcare information to support their healthcare decision making. Knowledge management and knowledge management systems are drawing increasing attention in healthcare community. This paper proposes an online healthcare knowledge management framework and system prototype, featured with integrating knowledge learning and exploratory search for solving problems efficiently. Inspired by the knowledge to action framework in healthcare and the iterative process in software engineering, an iterative and incremental knowledge management model is designed to organize the activities during the knowledge learning and searching procedure. Supported by the knowledge-enhanced infrastructure of online healthcare information designed, domain knowledge learning and task knowledge learning environment can work collaboratively and interactively to improve the result of learning and exploratory search. Knowledge base also provides helpful information in an interactive way for solving problems. Given exploiting probabilistic information retrieval model and concept semantics described in Description Logics, a search intent discovery method and search intent guided learning and searching mechanism are designed within this environment for achieving the learning and search goal. The results of the experiments have proved the efficacy of the methods and process model used in the leaning-focused healthcare knowledge management system.