Public Workshop Research Articles

Listening to the Silence: What does unrecorded information in the Electronic Health Record tell us? Findings from a Patient and Public Involvement Event

ABSTRACTObjectivesHandling missing information is an important methodological challenge in electronic health records research, with the reasons for missingness dictating how missing data should be handled. While there is extensive literature on methodological approaches to handling missing data, there is relatively little research with patients or clinicians investigating why information may be unrecorded in the medical records. A patient and public involvement event was held, embedded with a wider EHR event (UCL Festival of Digital Science - March 2016), to explore unrecorded information from a patient and researcher point of view with a view to developing further research in this area.
 ApproachCo-chaired by an academic and lay chair, members of the Farr Patient and Public Involvement Forum, academics, students and the general public attended workshop held during the Festival of Digital Health. A brief exercise was used to demonstrate the impact of missing data. Participants then worked in small facilitated groups to discuss situations where information about them (or people they knew) had not been recorded, the reasons why this information was not recorded and what the impact (or potential impact) was on the patient. A standardised data form was used by facilitators to record participants’ conversations. The data forms were summarised into Excel and a brief thematic analysis was conducted. A written evaluation of the workshop was also completed by participants and included in the analysis.
 ResultsThe evaluation was overwhelming positive about embedding PPI workshop within an event with a wider remit, from both researchers and patient and public representatives. Preliminary findings on reasons for missingness included change of address or provider (both general practice and secondary care), individual clinician approaches to recording data, process of computerisation of medical notes, early stages of disease not reported to GP and unwillingness to disclose more sensitive information such as sexually transmitted disease. Discussion also included reasons for misrepresented or other errors with data. Further findings from the framework analysis will be presented.
 ConclusionThis exploratory workshop showed that patient and public involvement events can be embedded successfully within events aimed at professionals. Preliminary findings suggest that reasons for missingness often related to features of the provider or clinician as well as the patient.

Mapping transit accessibility: Possibilities for public participation

The value of accessibility concepts is well-established in transportation literature, but so is the low adoption of accessibility-based instruments by practitioners. Based on the premise that leveraging accessibility concepts to address public involvement challenges could promote their adoption in planning practice, this research investigates mechanisms to promote social learning among participants in public workshops. Potential mechanisms of learning include specific tool-based interactions and how such interactions reinforce structures of learning such as alignment and imagination. This paper details iterative testing of these mechanisms with a tool called CoAXs (short for Collaborative ACCESSibility-based stakeholder engagement system), through focus groups and exploratory workshops. A mixed-methods analysis of the workshops supports the expectation that alignment and imagination correlate positively with social learning, as measured by reported learning and dialog quality. Specific interactions with the accessibility-based features of CoAXs in turn correlate positively with alignment and imagination, at individual and group levels of analysis. These findings, while not robustly generalizable, suggest that effective targeted stakeholder engagement for public transport can be structured around collaborative accessibility mapping. Adoption for broader public participation requires further development, especially the incorporation of actual day-to-day experiences such as unreliable operations.

Biomarkers of Tobacco Exposure: Summary of an FDA-Sponsored Public Workshop.

Since 2009, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has had the authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products in order to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco use. Biomarkers of exposure pertain to actual human exposure to chemicals arising from tobacco use and could play an important role across a number of FDA regulatory activities, including assessing new and modified-risk tobacco products and identifying and evaluating potential product standards. On August 3-4, 2015, FDA/CTP hosted a public workshop focused on biomarkers of exposure with participants from government, industry, academia, and other organizations. The workshop was divided into four sessions focused on: (i) approaches to evaluating and selecting biomarkers; (ii) biomarkers of exposure and relationship to disease risk; (iii) currently used biomarkers of exposure and biomarkers in development; and (iv) biomarkers of exposure and the assessment of smokeless tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems. This article synthesizes the main findings from the workshop and highlights research areas that could further strengthen the science around biomarkers of exposure and help determine their application in tobacco product regulation. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(3); 291-302. ©2016 AACR.

Health care financing and sustainability: A study of current conceptual dialectics in Ghana

One major challenge in health policy and planning in third world countries is the sustainability of publicly funded health insurance schemes. Economic renegence restricts the fiscal capacity of governments in Ghana to allocate limited public funds to financing a public sponsored health care insurance scheme. In the intervening time, the increasing demands within populations in the country for health care continue to escalate amidst political campaigns to increase access in health care and to motion towards universalism. General health care demands for the population grow as cost of treatment and enrolment increase resulting in sustainability issues; which are further perpetuated by institutional ineptitudes, limited public funds and managerial lapses. This study examines the current conceptual debates in Ghana on the funding and sustainability of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Using data from public fora, interviews, conferences, newspapers, workshops, television and radio discussions and parliamentary Hansards and manuscripts, the study revealed that as part of the public policy making process the current debate is generally influenced by stakeholders’ interest, power and solidarity even though there are attempts in some quarters to make political capital out of the debate. The complex relationship among the various stakeholders has stimulated an unabated discourse which has caused most of the stakeholders to adopt staunch positions in the debate.

Using Social Hub Media to Expand Public Participation in Municipal Urban Plans

Within the last decade, there has been a boost in social hub media websites such as Facebook, Instgram and Twitter. These websites were originally informal virtual places for friends to connect, but have gradually become used as tools for businesses, and more significantly, government to connect with citizens. Public participation is a form of civic duty that is required in all stages of planning. But fewer people in Jordan are taking part in the public participation process, and there is a trend towards an older group (over 40) of residents that come to such meetings or workshops.Generally, plans such as specific plans or general plans in Jordan often take years to implement and require all generations to give feedback on what is needed for the future. This study investigates the relationship between public participation and the rise of social hub media as a tool for engagement, demonstrating how municipalities in Jordan use Facebook. This research suggests that social hub media provides a two-way form of communication between the community and the local government, which aids in promoting authentic participation. Additionally, social media allows for efficient outreach and noticing of meetings or public workshops. As opposed to newspaper or website noticing, websites such as Facebook allow local governments to target a specific audience by location, age, or interests. Additionally, the true potential of Facebook as a participatory tool has not been discovered. Cities are developing their own ways of using it as a tool as there is no formal best practices manual for city planning departments. The findings of this study have provided the necessary information to develop a best practice manual for planning practitioners. The manual provides information on developing a Facebook Page as well as the implications of the technology.

Public Libraries and Student’s Information Needs in Democratic Society

The goal of this research was to examine information needs of students in democratic society with the emphasis on their perception and use of the public library in satisfying democratic and civil rights. In the research were used quantitative methodology (printed questionnaires) and participants were students of information sciences in Osijek (Croatia). Although research results showed that students mostly never (41%) or rarely (40%) searched for the information regarding their civil and democratic rights, they found that these rights were mostly important to them (mean 3.28). Less than a half of the respondents had information needs for democratic and civil rights in the area of education (42%). As expected more than a half of the respondents informed themselves about civil and democratic rights over the Internet (57%), while only 6% of them looked for that information in public libraries. Students mainly agreed that public libraries should provide access to the civil and democratic rights information (mean 4.13) by preparing public lectures, discussions, workshops or appropriate materials such as brochures (63%). Research data can be useful for public libraries in organizing collections and services for the support of democracy and civil rights.

Recipes and Revolutions: Consciousness–Raising and Feminist Picnics

The intimate connection between food and feminism was well documented in the consciousness­raising groups of the second wave. This article discusses this connection in relation to the collaborative creative work by the LEVEL collective, 'We need to talk', an ongoing series of public workshops and feminist picnics. The project celebrates the melding of the political and personal through the sharing of food and ideas. As part of this, 'Recipe for a Revolution' was a public event held at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane in 2014, where participants devised a collective social ‘recipe’ by conversing and sharing food at a mass picnic. By bringing significant recipes and plates of food to the picnic rug, the participants connected through personal narratives. The project discussed the role food plays in women’s lives, whether the kitchen is a playground or the battleground that Miriam Schapiro described forty years ago, and how we can use the idea of the recipe – a shared set of ingredients and methods – to open up possibilities for activism and advocate for change.

Review of Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013: The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)

The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) signed into law in November 27, 2013 by president Obama creates a uniform national standard for tracing drug products through the supply chain. The goal of DQSA is to enhance FDA’s ability to help protect consumers by detecting and removing potential dangerous products from the pharmaceutics distribution supply chain. A new electronic, interoperable system will identify and trace only prescription drugs in the finished form for human use while distributed in the United States. The purpose of this review was to shed light on a complex and complicated process that it will require cooperation between FDA and drug manufactures, wholesale drug distributors, repackagers and dispensers. The implementation of the DSCSA is based on several law requirements and FDA has developed a schedule with time frames for each of them to be executed over a 10-year period. From this review, FDA recommendations are provided through the FDA Guidance on Identifying Suspect Product document to help trading partners and provide information about the risk of suspect drugs entering the supply chain. Moreover, FDA organized on April 5-6, 2016 in Silver Spring, MD a public workshop to gather valuable feedback from stakeholders who shared their input about the implementation of the new electronic system and its requirements. By the end of 2023, a unified system will provide easier data exchange and less errors, and will increase the safety and security of the pharmaceutical distribution supply chain.
 
 Type: Student Project

Assessment of effectiveness of public integrity training workshops for civil servants – A case study

The general practice of civil servant training providers in Hungary is to evaluate their products only through surveying the reaction of participants. The obvious weakness of this practice is that the variance in the level of satisfaction does not necessarily coincide with the positive professional impact that the trainings are aimed to produce. This paper presents the results of an effectiveness assessment survey of a large public ethics and integrity training programme that was delivered to civil servants in Hungary. The trainings examined were delivered by the same methodology but conducted by 26 different trainers for 7362 participants. The assessment was not part either of the original project, or of the training design; it was run as an additional activity. The aim of the survey was to show that even with a simple method, applicable even with weak organizational capacities, information can be produced both for validation and curriculum development. The results prove that the trainings made a moderate but statistically significant impact on participants’ knowledge and attitudes, and most changes happened in the targeted direction. Beyond the validation of the training methodology, the survey also produced information on trainers’ performance and a relatively differentiated picture on participants’ learning that can contribute to the further development of the methodology. Thus, the results prove that even with simple quantitative survey methods, evidence for both validation and learning can be produced. The results also raised some questions for further research.

Antibiotic resistance awareness: a public engagement approach for all pharmacists.

The main objective of this study was to promote knowledge about antibiotic resistance development and good stewardship principles amongst the general population through pharmacy student-led public engagement workshops in high schools. Structured questionnaires, based on the Key Stage 4 curriculum were initially used to assess awareness and knowledge of antibiotic resistance issues amongst year 10 and 11 (GCSE stage) high school pupils. A Prezi-style presentation (https://prezi.com/) was subsequently developed to deliver a positive message that the young learners could share with friends and family. Misconceptions still exist regarding the correct and appropriate use of antibiotics. The person-person approach adopted by this study was well received, key antibiotic stewardship messages being delivered to the general population through either educational surveys or hands-on workshops. It is widely acknowledged that antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing society today. As healthcare professionals, pharmacists in all sectors have a crucial role to play in educating the public about antibiotics and how to use them effectively. This article describes the different ways by which all pharmacists can help educate the public on key issues, with particular emphasis on the next generation.

Strategies addressing inadequate information on health factors in pharmacoepidemiology studies relying on healthcare databases: commentary from a public workshop.

Strategies addressing inadequate information on health factors in pharmacoepidemiology studies relying on healthcare databases: commentary from a public workshop.

Sir Harold Walter Kroto (1939–2016)

The Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto passed away aged 76 on April 30, 2016. His name will always be associated with the discovery of C60 , for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1996 together with Rick Smalley and Robert Curl. Experiments designed to aid the discovery of molecules in space ultimately led to an entirely new branch of condensed-phase physics and chemistry.

Archiving and Memorializing Disasters. Report of a UN International Workshop

This paper reports on the <span class=”bold”>Archiving and Memorializing Disasters International Workshop</span>, a side event organized for the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held on March 14-18, 2015 in Sendai, Japan. The public workshop consisted of presentations by experts of disaster archives and a panel discussion. The wide-ranging backgrounds of these experts – anthropology, history and engineering – provided for a pioneering and interdisciplinary approach to the fields of disaster archives and memorialization. The aim of this workshop was to reflect on the potential roles of disaster archives and memorialization, with particular reference to the third priority for action – <span class=”bold”>Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience</span> – of the new UN-endorsed Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-30). Presentations covered several projects in digital archiving of disasters and research on memorialization processes of disasters. It was concluded that archiving and memorialization can, and should, play a complementary and significant role in disaster risk reduction.

Challenges of Institutional Coordination in Planning for Public Transportation in East Africa: Analysis Based on Perceptions of Stakeholders in Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi

<p><em>This paper examines the challenges of institutional coordination in planning for public transport in Dar</em><em>-</em><em>es-Salaam and Nairobi. Sources of data included literature review from published and unpublished documents, interviews with institutions involved in public transportation and workshops. The </em><em>data was coded and analyzed using structural-functional and content analysis.</em><em> Analysis of results showed a number of challenges that constrain institutional coordination in planning for public transport in the cities of Dar-es-salaam and Nairobi. Those challenges are inherently embedded in the institutional, political, cultural, economic and technological conditions of Tanzania and Kenya. This paper recommends establishment of a framework for institutional coordination in planning for public transport suited to circumstances of each of these countries. This will be a tool to address uncontrolled fragmentation of public transport agreements across different agencies, and a guide to different sectors to pursue individual public transport initiatives within the agreed policy objectives. Good governance and leadership principles should be central attributes in the framework for institutional coordination with emphasis on democratic participation and the development of partnerships between private and public sectors and citizens in planning for public transport.</em><em></em></p>

Mentoring Clinical Nurses to Write for Publication: Strategies for Success.

: Clinical nurses often find writing a challenge, but it's important to disseminate clinical practice initiatives that result in notable patient outcomes. Nurses have a responsibility to share what they do to improve patient care. The increased emphasis on the development and evaluation of evidence-based practice has made it necessary for nurses to share best practices that are associated with improved patient outcomes. We developed a six-month Writing for Publication workshop series designed to teach clinical nurses about the writing process and mentor them through the stages of preparing a manuscript to submit for publication. This successful program helped novice nurse authors become published professionals and had a great impact on our organization.

Leadership Through Scholarly Dissemination: The NYP Nursing Experience

Nurse leaders are consistently called upon to demonstrate their communication skills. In fact, excellence in communication is requisite for the leadership role. Yet the translation of day-to-day communication skills to the dissemination of nursing scholarship has not been a consistent part of the culture of nursing within our health care institutions. Although there are a number of reports of workshops to develop nurses' writing skills, the practice is not widespread, most especially workshops offered for frontline clinical nurses. The systematic review conducted by Derouin and colleagues1 indicated that between 2003 and 2014, there were reports of 17 programs, with only 9 of these offered for practicing nurses. The format of the program almost always included a writing for publication workshop followed by one-to-one or small-group mentoring for enhancing writing skills of participants. The yield, that is, the number of manuscripts submitted and/or published varied from program to program but ranged from 25% to 82% success.2,3 Main reasons for the higher yield may have been the small group size (N = 17) that participated and the use of 4 workshops over the project period. Both with the limited experiences with publication workshops for practicing nurses, and the similar workshops for nurse faculty and students, a number of strategies have been identified that promote success. These include the need to supplement workshops with one-to-one mentoring and/or coaching, provision of incentives for nurse participation, recognition of nurses' successes once they have published, and the requirement of manuscript submission from each workshop attendee.1 The current writing for publication project was launched in 2013 at NewYork Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital, which has 6 campuses, namely: Allen, Columbia University Medical Center, Lower Manhattan, Morgan Stanley Children's, Westchester, and Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Current practices in corrosion, surface characterization, and nickel leach testing of cardiovascular metallic implants.

In an effort to better understand current test practices and improve nonclinical testing of cardiovascular metallic implants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public workshop on Cardiovascular Metallic Implants: corrosion, surface characterization, and nickel leaching. The following topics were discussed: (1) methods used for corrosion assessments, surface characterization techniques, and nickel leach testing of metallic cardiovascular implant devices, (2) the limitations of each of these in vitro tests in predicting in vivo performance, (3) the need, utility, and circumstances when each test should be considered, and (4) the potential testing paradigms, including acceptance criteria for each test. In addition to the above topics, best practices for these various tests were discussed, and knowledge gaps were identified. Prior to the workshop, discussants had the option to provide feedback and information on issues relating to each of the topics via a voluntary preworkshop assignment. During the workshop, the pooled responses were presented and a panel of experts discussed the results. This article summarizes the proceedings of this workshop and background information provided by workshop participants. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1330-1341, 2017.

Roadmap for radioanalytical reference and performance evaluation materials for current and emerging issues

Reference materials are fundamental tools for radiochemistry measurements laboratories to establish and evaluate analytical methods, test measurement capabilities, quantify radionuclides, compare analytical results, and establish legal confidence defensibility in measurement results. Over the past decades the focus of low-level environmental reference material producers have adapted to evolving national and international priorities and needs. This document provides a Roadmap of high priority current and future low-level radionuclide Certified Reference and Performance Evaluation Materials that subject-matter experts have identified at NIST and other public workshops (Blueprints) as crucial to metrologists and program directors to address national and international issues.

公開研究集会 「太陽光発電システムの耐風設計の要点」の報告

公開研究集会 「太陽光発電システムの耐風設計の要点」の報告

Identifying Technologies and Communicating the Benefits and Risks of Disinfecting Wet Weather Flows

The primary objective of this project was to identify and communicate the benefits and risks of disinfecting wet weather flows by evaluating available disinfection technologies and identifying disinfection by-products and their potential risks to aquatic and human life. A decision-making framework was developed that could be used as a model to guide combined sewer overflow (CSO), sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) and stormwater (SW) disinfection control policies. This project was implemented as a case study in collaboration with the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection (Syracuse, NY). A literature review was completed that identified appropriate disinfection technologies and the associated disinfection by-products. A disinfection demonstration was conducted to verify findings of the literature review and fill data gaps. The data collected during this project were used by local stakeholders to select the most appropriate technologies. Information regarding the benefits and risks of disinfecting wet weather flows was also presented to the public during a public workshop. Based on findings from the literature review and disinfection demonstration, hazards associated with wet weather flow disinfection appear low, but the potential for public opposition can be high. Therefore, proper communication planning to include stakeholders in the decision-making process and conduct public outreach is required. Stakeholders were included throughout the project through workshops. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series ISBN: 9781843397090 (Print) ISBN: 9781780404448 (eBook)