Provide Quality Information Research Articles

Off-Platform Threats in On-Demand Services

Problem definition: Online platforms that provide on-demand services are often threatened by the phenomenon of leakage, where customer-provider pairs may decide to transact to avoid paying the platform commissions. This paper investigates properties of services that make them vulnerable or resistant to leakage. Methodology: We develop two game-theoretical models that capture service providers' and customers' decisions whether to conduct their business on or off the platform. In the base model, we assume that customers are equipped with information to select their desired providers on the platform, whereas in the extension, we assume customers are randomly matched with available providers by the platform. Results: Leakage occurs if and only if the value of the counterparty risk from off-platform transactions is neither too small nor too large. Across both models, platforms tend to be more immunized against leakage as customer valuations for service increase or their waiting costs decrease. In the base model, platforms with larger provider pool sizes tend to be more immunized against leakage. In the extension, platforms that feature higher proportions of high quality providers or lower heterogeneity in service quality are more resistant to leakage. Finally, by comparing the degree of leakage or the platform's expected profit between both settings, we find that neither model of perfect information nor the imperfect information setting dominates the other for all parameter combinations. Managerial implications: Our results provide guidance to existing platform managers or entrepreneurs who are considering platforming'' their services. Namely, based on a few key features of the operating environment, managers can assess the severity of the threat of platform leakage for their specific business context. Our results also suggest how redesigning the waiting process and upskilling providers, as well as the conditions under which revealing provider quality information to customers can help to curb leakage.

Influence of culture, religion and experience on the decision of Pakistani women in Lothian, Scotland to use postnatal contraception: a qualitative study

IntroductionEvidence suggests that Pakistani women may experience difficulty accessing postnatal contraceptive (PNC) services. The study aimed to identify experience and decision-making around PNC provision for Pakistani women in Lothian, and...

Driving the Musculoskeletal Diagnosis Train on the High-Value Track.

Clinicians who provide high-value musculoskeletal care offer evidence-based management that can improve pain, function, and quality of life. However, the current approach to improving outcomes emphasizes treatment strategies at the expense of accurate diagnosis. Guidelines rarely provide quality information on differential diagnosis and prognosis. The disconnect is worrying, because accurate diagnosis can lead to more appropriate care and improved patient outcomes. In this Viewpoint, we reflect on how the clinician can refine musculoskeletal diagnoses to provide high-value care. We (1) argue that the link between musculoskeletal diagnosis and patient outcomes must be strengthened, (2) introduce a diagnostic framework to help clinicians go beyond "special tests," and (3) present new methods for researchers to move forward from diagnostic accuracy studies. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2020;50(3):118-120. doi:10.2519/jospt.2020.0603.

Influence of information sources on vaccine hesitancy and practices

IntroductionMany factors influence vaccination practices and attitudes. This study aimed to identify vaccine information sources used by parents of children aged 1–15 years to get a better understanding of the relation between vaccine information sources, practices for two vaccines (MMR, HBV), vaccine acceptance, and vaccine hesitancy. MethodsA total of 3938 parents, drawn by random sampling, were interviewed by telephone as part of the “2016 health barometer” survey. Vaccine information sources were described and analyzed according to socio-demographic variables. Multivariate logistic regression models were then built to explain vaccine information sources usage, vaccination practices and attitudes. ResultsHealthcare professionals (HCP), the Internet, and relatives were the three main vaccine information sources. Vaccination practices and acceptance were better when parents were getting information from HCPs compared with parents getting information from the Internet or relatives. Besides, getting information from the three different types of sources was associated with the highest rate of vaccine hesitancy: 70.9% (OR=4.6; P<0.0001) versus 34.6% among parents getting information from HCPs only. ConclusionThose results suggest an interest in providing quality information about vaccination on the Internet. The primary role of HCPs in vaccination decision is once again demonstrated.

Strategic Framework for Service Delivery Improvement in School Libraries

One of the fundamentals to building a knowledge-based economy is through the provision of quality information via school libraries. Schools play a fundamental role in raising an educated and informed nation. Therefore, the school library is fundamental to the teaching and learning activities of the school. The school library should be able to provide resources that are relevant to the school curriculum and also be able to provide quality information services to both students and teachers. That being said, this study introduces a school library assessment model that can be used by school management and librarians to evaluate the effectiveness of their school library resources and services. The proposed model integrates the IFLA school library guidelines and the LibQUAL model. The study is based on literature review to explicitly present the proposed model. The proposed school library assessment model is expected to help school librarians to implement the right programs and acquire the right resources for the school library, to be able to meet the users` information needs and satisfy them, thereby making the library relevant to the 21st century information era. This will further ensure that the school library is rightly positioned to support training and teaching activities effectively. As a result, quality education and lifelong learning skills will be realized.Keywords: School libraries, LibQUAL, quality, service, service delivery framework,

The Role of Formative Intervention in Diabetes in Primary and Secondary School Teachers

The children with diabetes mellitus have often difficulties regarding school adaptation and integration, generated largely by the special conditions of the disease. On the other hand, how the child succeds in this adaptation, interferes with the management of chronic disease and the quality of his life. An important role for the child with diabetes in school is played by the head teachers.The informations about this disease and the attitude towards the children affected by this disease are important variables in this direction. The objective of our study is improving the teachers knowledge and attitude toward diabetes in children by providing quality information and practical intervention techniques. 86 head teachers from elementary and secondary schools were interviewed regarding their knowledge about diabetes in children, and participated to a formative course about this disease. After their participation in a theoretical and practical training course, their knowledge and their attitude have been improved considerably and the follow-up evaluation (after 3 months) indicated a stability of informations and practical techniques for granting first aid, over time. The conclusion is that formative intervention of teachers is an important step in helping children with diabetes to better school adaptation and, also in improving the quality of their life.

Consumer Use of Provider Quality Report Cards: The Role of Dissemination and Media Coverage.

The objective of this study was to measure the dissemination of comparative provider quality information (CPQI) and evaluate its impact on consumers' awareness and use of CPQI. Two-period, random-digit-dial panel survey of chronically ill consumers residing in 14 regions of the United States; summaries of CPQI dissemination activities of regional multistakeholder alliances; and the LexisNexis Academic and Access World News databases. Fixed effects regression to isolate the effect of CPQI producers' dissemination activities and the print media's CPQI coverage on chronically ill consumers' self-reported awareness and use of CPQI. Direct CPQI dissemination had no overall effect on either awareness or use of CPQI. One unit increase in the media coverage of an Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) multistakeholder alliance report increased consumer awareness and use of CPQI by 1.4 percentage points (P=0.049) and 1.1 percentage points (P=0.009), respectively. Similar increases for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) CPQI and for the nonalliance, non-CMS CPQI improved CPQI use by 1.6 percentage points (P<0.001) and 0.2 percentage points (P=0.041), respectively. Even though CPQI producers' direct dissemination efforts had little impact, the small but significant consumer impacts of CPQI's limited press coverage suggests that limited use of media in the dissemination of report cards may be a significant factor behind low consumer awareness and use.

Whole Proteome Analysis of GA3 Response at Panicle Stage in Grape (Vitis vinifera) cv. Thompson Seedless

Rachis elongation is a crucial process in producing good quality table grapes. In compact clustered grape variety like Thompson Seedless, treating the flower panicles with a mild dose of GA3 results in loose clusters. We sprayed GA3 on Thompson Seedless panicles immediately after emergence, and the samples were collected at 6 h and 24 h after application. Whole proteome analysis revealed significant differential expression of 530 proteins of the total 1288 expressed proteins at two time-points. GO term enrichment analysis revealed enrichment of GO terms related to translation, biosynthetic processes, and photosynthesis in GA3-treated samples. As the process of rachis elongation requires enhanced carbon metabolism and accumulation of sugars through the expansion of phloem area, we attribute this to the overexpression of several proteins involved in these processes. Significantly highly expressed proteins also belonged to biological processes like the generation of precursor metabolites, cellular protein metabolic processes, response to abiotic stimulus, and protein metabolic processes. This study might be the first of its kind in deciphering the contribution of a different group of proteins during rachis elongation as an early response to GA3 application in seedless grapes. These results provide quality information on various physiological and biochemical changes occurring during early stages of rachis elongation.

Using Wikipedia to promote acoustics knowledge for the International Year of Sound 2020

Wikipedia is an important mechanism to share science information with the public. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) adopted a multi-component strategy to improve the health content on Wikipedia. For the International Year of Sound (IYS 2020), the Acoustical Society of America and NIOSH organized the online event Wiki4YearOfSound2020, to facilitate the improvement of Wikipedia content related to acoustics. IYS 2020 is a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound in all aspects of life and improve our understanding of sound-related issues at an international level. The Wiki4YearOfSound2020 platform (available in several languages) provides guidance to all who join. Ways to participate include promoting the project, suggesting a topic that should have a Wikipedia article, improving or translating existing articles, articles, or writing new ones. Educational programs can count on a platform and tools to train students to contribute high-quality content to Wikipedia as part of their class assignments. Throughout 2020 the Wikimedia outreach dashboard will allows anyone to monitor contributions and reach. This campaign is an opportunity to make content in acoustics one of the better-developed areas within Wikipedia, while providing quality information to everyone in the world- where they are actually looking for it.

Using Patient-Specific Quality Information to Unlock Hidden Healthcare Capabilities

Problem definition: We address two key questions faced by patients, physicians, and policy makers: (1) How do different types of patients benefit differently from elite surgeons? and (2) How can outcome data be used to achieve better healthcare at both the individual and social levels? Academic/practical relevance: Existing healthcare provider quality information, which is almost exclusively based on population averages, cannot detect differences in the surgeon effect for patients with different characteristics or medical conditions. Consequently, such information may under-state or over-state the benefit to an individual patient of seeking out an elite physician. This paper develops methods to generate patient-specific quality information and analyzes the impact on enabling patients to receive better care. Methodology: Using mitral valve surgery as the clinical setting, we study the quality of 188 cardiac surgeons at 35 hospitals in New York State with respect to different quality metrics, including a new quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) metric that combines many of the short-term and long-term effects of traditional metrics. By combining a patient choice model that considers outcome quality, travel distance, and waiting time on the surgical schedule with a queueing model of patient waiting time, we translate our empirical results into estimates of the relative value of population-average and patient-specific quality information for improving overall patient outcomes. We formulate patients’ choice of surgeons as a queueing system to compare the value of using population-average and patient-specific quality information to help patients find better care. Results: We observe that patients of different demographics and levels of acuity benefit differently from elite surgeons. We estimate that the societal benefits (i.e., the total patient utility) from using patient-specific information are comparable to those achievable by enabling the best surgeons to treat 10%–20% more patients under population-average information. Managerial implications: Patient-specific quality information, which calibrates outcome statistics by patient demographics and acuity, allows patients to obtain better healthcare, physicians to make better referrals, administrators to better focus improvement initiatives, and payers to better align incentives.

Pinning to Cope: Using Pinterest for Chronic Pain Management

Chronic pain is an increasing public health concern, with an associated poor quality of life. Social media platforms play an increasing role in health communication issues, but visual platforms such as Pinterest are understudied. This study analyzed 502 Pinterest posts for chronic pain-related variables, including health belief model constructs, as well as measures of social support and coping mechanisms. Most pins mentioned the high severity of chronic pain, and a third mentioned self-efficacy related to self-care, while almost 50% referred to cues to action related to self-care. This study positions Pinterest as a social media platform with the potential to both transfer knowledge and provide social support for patients with chronic pain. Health care and public health practitioners should consider participating in these conversations as well as providing quality information to ensure that reputably sourced information is available.

Does Transparency Matter? The Impact of Provider Quality and Cost Information on Health Care Cost and Preventive Services Use

Background: We tested whether provider quality and cost information had a meaningful impact on health care quality and costs at two large employers that introduced a transparent provider profiling system in 2006. Using retrospective claims from enrollees representing 3,928 covered lives in these two firms where the insurer was the sole provider of health insurance, we addressed two questions: 1) Did patients switch to higher quality and more efficient doctors when the provider rankings became available? 2) What is the effect of switching on total expenditures, out-of-pocket expenditures, and use of preventive services? Methods: We used nonlinear regression to identify factors associated with improvement in quality and cost efficiency of providers seen by covered enrollees. We used difference-in-differences regression to test the impact on expenditures and use of preventive services of those who switched to higher-rated physicians. Results: Age, illness burden, and female are positively associated with improvement in provider quality and efficiency. Provider portfolio improvement had a negative impact on expenditures, but the story with respect to prevention is mixed: preventive visits go up when the patient has an improved provider portfolio, but utilization of diagnostic screening procedures goes down. Conclusions: A common concern in medical markets is the lack of information for consumers to shop for health care. We find consumers exhibit behaviors that suggest they use such information when it is available and useful. These results suggest that consumers could process additional price and quality information to gain more value from their health insurance benefits.

Dynamic transparency: An audit of Mexico's Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs) aim to provide a channelled exchange between citizens and public officials that, irrespective of the citizen's identity, results in the provision of timely, relevant, and often new information about policy. We evaluated Mexico's FOIA by submitting 307 information requests on behalf of an average male citizen to government entities in the years 2007, 2013, and 2015. In 2007, we also submitted the same requests to 87 comparable entities on behalf of a male citizen who signalled economic and political clout. Encouragingly, entities do not discriminate between regular and seemingly influential citizens. Entities also answer more frequently and provide more information in 2015 compared to earlier years, but they are taking longer to answer, frequently charging fees, and often failing to provide quality information to questions they are legally bound to answer. Mexico's FOIA is a functional system demanding significant improvements.

A Brazilian Health Tech Start-Up Which Aim Is to Prevent Cancer Mortality and Reduce Treatment Costs With Early Detection and Primary Prevention

Background and context: Brazil is a huge and developing country that has an universal public system of health. This system takes care of approximately 75% of our population (150 millions). Cancer is a major problem in Brazil and have high mortality rates mainly because of late diagnosis and lack of information. Besides the mortality impact, it brings high costs to the health system (public and private) and have poor survival rates and lost of productive work people. Aim: To assess an technology system able the identify high risk patients, patients that have normal risk but have they screening exams delayed and propose an individual strategy to reduce the risk an give important information about primary and secondary prevention for the 5 principal solid tumors: breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer and colon cancer. Strategy/Tactics: We developed a Web based platform that can estimate the risk of developing cancer in general population based on questions and risk factor established by medical societies and science and stratifies into 3 groups: high risk (lifetime risk greater then 20%) moderated risk (normal risk but delayed screening exams) and normal risk. Based on the risk or delayed exams, the system generates a personalized strategy to reduce the risk or to ensure the necessary exams are completed. Besides this we give general information about the importance of prevention and habits that can reduce the risk of cancer. Program/Policy process: The system is based on the Web site http://www.previneo.com.br and was initially made available to all population. As the access rate got too high we had to restrict the access. Since then it has been provided as a service to interested companies to give Previneo the necessary financial sustainability. We have a giant acceptance by big corporations which are concerned in controlling the risk of their employees, saving lives and reducing the cost of the health insurance. Outcomes: We have found that approximately 40% of the population that need to do screening exams (by age and gender) do not make. Besides this we found 5%-12% of population in high risk of developing one or more of the solid tumors we assess (in concordance with international literature). All participants have approved the system and were empowered with important information about their health and certainly will have a better take care of their own life. What was learned: We have learned that with a Web based technology system we can achieve a big part of our population and provide quality information and effectively reduce the mortality and cost of a disease that will be the global leader of mortality in our world.

Why Do So Few Consumers Use Health Care Quality Report Cards? A Framework for Understanding the Limited Consumer Impact of Comparative Quality Information.

Despite growing investment in producing and releasing comparative provider quality information (CQI), consumer use of CQI has remained poor. We offer a framework to interpret and synthesize the existing literature's diverse approaches to explaining the CQI's low appeal for consumers. Our framework cautions CQI stakeholders against forming unrealistic expectations of pervasive consumer use and suggests that they focus their efforts more narrowly on consumers who may find CQI more salient for choosing providers. We review the consumer impact of stakeholder efforts to apply the burgeoning knowledge of consumers' cognitive limitations to the design and dissemination of the new generation of report cards; we conclude that while it is too limited to draw firm conclusions, early evidence suggests consumers are responding to the novel design and dissemination strategies. We find that consumers continue to have difficulty accessing reliable report cards, while the media remains underused in the dissemination of report cards.

Disentangling genetic structure for genetic monitoring of complex populations.

Genetic monitoring estimates temporal changes in population parameters from molecular marker information. Most populations are complex in structure and change through time by expanding or contracting their geographic range, becoming fragmented or coalescing, or increasing or decreasing density. Traditional approaches to genetic monitoring rely on quantifying temporal shifts of specific population metrics—heterozygosity, numbers of alleles, effective population size—or measures of geographic differentiation such as FST. However, the accuracy and precision of the results can be heavily influenced by the type of genetic marker used and how closely they adhere to analytical assumptions. Care must be taken to ensure that inferences reflect actual population processes rather than changing molecular techniques or incorrect assumptions of an underlying model of population structure. In many species of conservation concern, true population structure is unknown, or structure might shift over time. In these cases, metrics based on inappropriate assumptions of population structure may not provide quality information regarding the monitored population. Thus, we need an inference model that decouples the complex elements that define population structure from estimation of population parameters of interest and reveals, rather than assumes, fine details of population structure. Encompassing a broad range of possible population structures would enable comparable inferences across biological systems, even in the face of range expansion or contraction, fragmentation, or changes in density. Currently, the best candidate is the spatial Λ‐Fleming‐Viot (SLFV) model, a spatially explicit individually based coalescent model that allows independent inference of two of the most important elements of population structure: local population density and local dispersal. We support increased use of the SLFV model for genetic monitoring by highlighting its benefits over traditional approaches. We also discuss necessary future directions for model development to support large genomic datasets informing real‐world management and conservation issues.

Orientación al ciudadano en el “gobierno electrónico” de los municipios de Ecuador

Gracias al desarrollo de conectividad para Internet y de marcos institucionales, Ecuador está en condiciones de fortalecer el Gobierno Electrónico. El objetivo de la investigación es conocer el cumplimiento de los criterios de orientación al ciudadano en los sitios Web de los Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados municipales de Ecuador. Las hipótesis de investigación estiman un alto cumplimiento de las variables de provisión de información, consulta y participación activa de los ciudadanos. La metodología es cuantitativa y cualitativa. Entre junio y julio de 2017 se midieron de forma dicotómica 30 variables en 221 sitios Web municipales, además se realizó 51 entrevistas semiestructuradas a actores vinculados a la gestión pública local. Se concluye que las Web municipales de Ecuador no entregan información de calidad, generan pocos espacios de discusión, no hay una presencia consistente de atención a las demandas de los ciudadanos y que éstos se convierten en consumidores de datos, pero no generan opiniones. Pese a contar con infraestructura e institucionalidad no existe apropiación de las posibilidades del Gobierno Electrónico ni se ubican las condiciones para fortalecer la participación ciudadana. A Ecuador le queda camino por recorrer para contar con instituciones eficaces, responsables e inclusivas que acerquen a los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio a través del empleo eficiente de las tecnologías de información y comunicación.

Recall and Retention of Consent Procedure Contents and Decisions: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Residual tissue samples, i.e., samples excised for diagnosis or during treatment, are commonly used for medical research. In the Netherlands, they can be used provided the patient did not opt out of this use. Previous research has shown that recall of the informed consent procedure for tissue use is poor. Here, we investigate recall of three consent procedures: informed consent, opt-out, and opt-out plus (an opt-out procedure with an information procedure similar to that of informed consent). Methods: Patients (n = 1,319) with a variety of diseases were randomized into three trial arms: informed consent, opt-out plus, and opt-out. Questionnaires were administered 6 weeks and 6 months after randomization. Results: Six hundred and seventy-three and 553 patients returned the 6-week and 6-month questionnaire, respectively. In the informed consent arm, recall of having received a brochure (55.3%) or oral information (69.4%) was similar to that in the opt-out plus arm (48.5 and 71.6%, respectively), at the 6-week assessment. Significantly more respondents in the informed consent and the opt-out plus arms versus the opt-out arm recalled that they had been informed about being able to control tissue use and which consent procedure they had experienced (6-week questionnaire range 53.2–75.8 vs. 13.9–16.1%; 6-month questionnaire range 43.5–84.2 vs. 3.2–35.4%). There were no significant differences between the informed consent and opt-out plus arms in this regard. Conclusions: Recall of the consent procedure was similar in opt-out plus and informed consent procedures. Overall, recall was moderate, indicating that there is room for improvement in the quality of information provision.

The Impact of Conservatism Policy on Reporting Quality in Jordanian Banks Sector

Reporting quality considered to be a significant factor of the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB), while accounting conservatism is a serious constraint that linked to the main criteria of the accounting information. In this study, an investigation of the impact of conservatism policy on the reporting quality of banks in Jordan has been carried out. For this purpose, data is collected for 15 Jordanian banks listed on the official website of the Amman Stock Exchange for a total duration of 10 years from 2008-2017. Initially, it is examined whether the selected banks practice conservatism or not and then the variable is operationalized in terms of a categorical variable having two main categories of conservatism and non-conservatism. Similar the reporting quality is also a qualitative variable that is operationalized as a binary variable using the extent of disclosed information in financial statements as a proxy for reporting quality, like financial reports containing detailed information in the form of notes are considered as providing quality information having a value of 1 and 0 otherwise. The binary logistic regression method is adopted in this study as a quantitative technique for data analysis which expresses the impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable in form of the odds ratio. The study findings show that Jordanian banks most of the time implement conservatism policy and it significantly influences their reporting quality. Moreover, it has been found that Jordanian banks practice accounting conservatism while disclosing their financial information and such conservatism practice has a positive impact on their reporting quality.

Leadership Style and Job Effectiveness of Librarians in South-West Nigerian Universities

Job effectiveness of academic librarians in today's information age is important as they are expected to be the vanguard of acquiring, processing, storing and disseminating information to users. It is of utmost importance for academic librarians to provide quality information to support teaching, learning, research and community service. However, the general opinion among professional members and studies revealed low level of job effectiveness of librarians which could be due to certain factors in their work environment like leadership style. The study investigated the extent to which leadership style influenced job effectiveness of librarians in universities in South-West, Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design. Population of study consisted of 373 librarians from 35 university libraries in South-West, Nigeria. Total enumeration was used. A validated questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients for each of the variables ranged from 0.96 to 0.98. Response rate was 80.96%. Data analysis was done using correlation and multiple regression The findings showed that Leadership style in terms of transformational, transactional and laissez-faire had a significant positive relationship with job effectiveness (r =.704, p <.05). The study concluded that a positive relationship existed between leadership style and job effectiveness. This study made recommendations to improve job effectiveness and leadership styles, one of which is that academic librarians should use a leadership style that encourages effective performance from academic librarians at any given time.