Email Requests Research Articles

Status and Reputation Nudging

Status and reputation concerns are conjectured to be important especially in markets with information asymmetries between buyers and sellers, such as in credence goods markets. To investigate the effects of status and reputation on reciprocal behavior of sales personnel in a financial credence goods market, we run a natural field experiment. We send e-mail requests to insurance brokers asking for an appointment. We find that status nudging and, with a larger effect size, reputation nudging in the e-mails increase brokers’ response rates compared to a neutral request. Both effects are robust across all responses, only counting affirmative responses, and in urban and rural areas.

HOUT-08. PATIENT AND PHYSICIAN PERSPECTIVES ON LUMBAR PUNCTURE

Abstract OBJECTIVE To investigate patients’ and physicians’ perceptions of lumbar puncture (LP) and tolerability. METHODS Adult patients were surveyed prior to and after the procedure regarding patient perceptions and actual experience of LP. Presence of symptoms pre- and post-LP were compared by McNemar test; symptom severity score was rated 0–10, compared by Wilcoxon test; and relative risks were compared by Fisher’s exact test. In addition to patient surveys, email requests to complete an eight-question survey regarding LP tolerability was sent to faculty physicians at two academic centers. RESULTS A total of 154 patients and 302 physicians completed the surveys during 1/2017-5/2019. Ninety-one patients (59%) reported anxiety prior to-LP compared to 52 (34%) who reported anxiety after the LP (p< 0.0001). Whereas 74% of patients predicted LP to be painful prior to LP, only 48% reported that LP was painful after the procedure (p< 0.0001). On an 11-point scale, patients anticipated significantly greater pain from LP than they reported after the procedure (mean 3.4 and 2.0 respectively, p< 0.0001). Patients who anticipated pain were more likely to experience pain (RR=1.65, 95% CI 1.07–2.73). There was no significant difference in symptoms such as headache, nausea, generalized pain, vision or gait disturbance before and after the procedure. After the LP, 117 patients (77%) answered they would repeat LP if recommended by their doctors. Out of 302 physicians (40% women), the majority (81%) felt that the LP induces anxiety or worry in patients, and 50% answered that the LP is painful for patients in general. CONCLUSION We observed that although anticipation of pain contributed to pre-procedure anxiety, LP was generally well-tolerated. The majority of patients experienced minimal pain. The results of this study suggest that measures to reduce pre-procedure anxiety may improve the tolerability of LP, an important diagnostic tool in neuro-oncology.

Patient and physician perceptions: Importance and documentation of patient priorities in treatment planning and decision-making.

224 Background: The National Academies of Medicine prioritizes patient’s needs, values, and preferences when patient’s and care teams make treatment decisions. However, the collection of this patient information is not part of the formal clinical intake process, nor are pertinent questions included in EHR templates. Methods: Surveys were conducted of cancer patients and cancer physicians to understand perceptions on whether patients’ quality of life priorities (e.g work, hobbies, key events, household responsibilities) are discussed, documented and reflected in treatment plans. Physicians were recruited via a market research panel. Patients were recruited from the Cancer Care data base via an email request to complete an online survey. Results: From February to October, 2018, 310 cancer patients and 109 cancer physicians completed surveys. Cancer patients were mostly female, 91% had been diagnosed in the last year, 61% had breast cancer, and 55% were stage 1 or 2. Among physicians, 88% self-identified as trained in oncology, 33% practice at academic centers, 51% in community practices, 34% from the Northeast, 21% the Southeast, and 25% the Midwest. Most patients (62%) said it was very/extremely important their doctor know their priorities. Most physicians (66%) report they most of the time/always know patients’ personal quality of life priorities before finalizing treatment plans, and 62% say this information has a large/major impact on recommendations. However, only 40% of patients report having this conversation before treatment started. Although 76% of doctors said they discussed what is important to patients most of the time or always, only 60% report it is documented, usually in the social history or notes fields. Only 36% of patients are sure this information is entered into their medical record. Conclusions: Cancer patients want their doctors to know what is important to them, and physicians agree. However, documentation is often relegated to narrative notes fields in the EHR. Considering the key role patients’ priorities should play in treatment planning, there need to be standardized collection tools so this information can be timely collected and shared.

The scheduler’s balancing act of sensing and reacting: a behavioural perspective on scheduling

The scheduler has been extensively studied from the point of view of their schedules, using operations research. However, the scheduler not only fulfils a decision-maker role but also an informational role, responding to requests and disruptions, both from the supply and the demand side. Responding in a timely manner to such requests and disruptions is paramount for the scheduling job. Using a field study with job shadowing of schedulers in a Fortune 500 chemical company, we characterise the scheduler’s workflow in a simulation model; this allows us to discriminate between contextual factors of the scheduler’s job and behavioural factors inherent to them. Furthermore, it explicitly assesses the effect of increasing the frequency sensing of the outer world on responsiveness. Our findings show that the studied schedulers prioritise sensing activities related to checking emails rather than monitoring for disruptions in a decision support system. Thus, we find a higher potential for relative improvement in terms of responding to possible disruptions shown in decision support systems rather than responding to email requests. Moreover, we show that by adjusting email frequency checking and preemption behaviours, it is possible to revert an out of control situation to finite response times.

Lexical and morpho-syntactic modification of student requests: An empirical contribution to the study of (im)politeness in French e-mail speech acts

Despite considerable attention to the politeness of French requests, to date, no study has been devoted to the lexical variation within one and the same politeness strategy. In an attempt to overcome this shortcoming, this paper addresses lexical and morphosyntactic modification in university students’ requests to lecturers. On the basis of a corpus of 150 French students’ request e-mails, it is observed, on the one hand, that a large majority of requests include lexical items that mitigate the face-threat entailed by the request speech act. This is somewhat surprising, as the context in which these requests are grounded entails a weak degree of threat to the negative face of the recipient lecturer. On the other hand, unlike the politeness marker please, the terms of address that characterize formal communication are not systematically present. The results of this corpus analysis demonstrate that, even though a limited number of request strategies are used by students, the wording of their e-mails contains some degree of lexical variation in their choice of verbs and their use of lexical items to modify their requests. I also propose a naturalistic method consisting in eliciting e-mail speech acts, which avoids the downsides of semi-controlled production tasks.

The association between employment and the health of people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review.

There is strong evidence indicating that paid employment is generally good for the physical and mental health of the general population. This systematic review considers the association between employment and the health of people with intellectual disabilities. Studies published from 1990 to 2018 were identified via electronic literature databases, email requests and cross-citations. Identified studies were reviewed narratively. Twelve studies were identified. Studies were generally consistent in reporting an association between being in paid employment and better physical or mental health status. This review supports the view that the well-established association between employment and better health is similar for adults with and without intellectual disabilities. However, evidence establishing causality is lacking and further research to determine specific health benefits attributable to employment for people with intellectual disabilities and the causal pathways that operate is required.

What do we know about the health and health care of people with intellectual disabilities from minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom? A systematic review.

People with from minority ethnic communities face inequalities in health and health care. This systematic review considers the question of what we know about the health and health care of children and adults with intellectual disabilities from ethnic minority communities in the UK. Studies published from 1990 to 2018 were identified via electronic literature databases, email requests and cross-citations. Studies were reviewed narratively in relation to identified themes. Twenty-three studies were identified, most commonly focusing on South Asian communities. Very little information was identified on physical health or physical health care, with the identified evidence tending to focus on mental health care, access to specialist intellectual disability services, and inpatient services. Little is known about the health status of people with intellectual disabilities from minority ethnic groups in the UK. It is clear that they may experience barriers to accessing specialist intellectual disability services and other forms of health care.

Applied Linguistics Faculty Members’ Perceptions of (Im)politeness and (In)appropriateness of L2 Learners’ E-Mail Requests

A significant amount of contribution to pragmatics research comes from cross-cultural and developmental pragmatic studies with L2 learners in focus; however, despite broad interest in such analyses, the role of lecturers has been relatively ignored. As the lectures’ perceptions/opinions of L2 learners’ e-mail requests are important, L2 learners must become familiar with their lecturers’ perceptions of (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of e-mail requests. Therefore, through examining Iranian applied linguistics lecturers’ perceptions of (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of L2 learners’ e-mail requests, this study was an attempt to provide insights into lecturers’ ideal norms of (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of L2 learners’ e-mail requests. To this aim, a purposive sample of 38 university lectures participated in this study. A questionnaire was utilized to collect the data. The lecturers’ comments in the questionnaire served as the basis to identify the major themes (e.g., directness, language use accuracy, etc.). An in-depth qualitative analysis of the lecturers’ comments revealed that the perceptions of the lecturers were greatly influenced by the use of appropriate openings and closings of the e-mails. Also, language use accuracy and appropriateness were among the most recurring reasons mentioned by the lecturers to regard the e-mails as (in)appropriate and (im)polite. Overall, the results stress the importance of pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic aspects of language for applied linguistics lecturers. Findings have implications for L2 learners, teachers, and researchers.

Accuracy of self-reported cancer treatment data in young breast cancer survivors

BackgroundPatient-reports of cancer treatments are sometimes used in oncology research and clinically when medical records are unavailable. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of patient recall in this setting.Materials and methodsParticipants were recruited through an email request from the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation Army of Women seeking women diagnosed with breast cancer under age 50 and within the past ten years, self-reporting to have been treated with chemotherapy. After informed consent, participants received a web-based survey that inquired about use of and type of chemotherapy and endocrine therapy received. Medical records were reviewed, and discrepancies were defined as patient-report of a different class of drug than documented in the medical record, failing to report a documented class of drug, or responding “don’t know.”ResultsOf 171 eligible participants, completed questionnaires and medical records were available for 102 (60%). Median age at diagnosis was 41 years (range 25–49), and median time from diagnosis was 65.5 months (range 7–131). Ninety-two percent had completed college. Receipt of chemotherapy was documented in the medical records of 100% of these women who self-reported a personal history of chemotherapy, and there was also 98% concordance regarding receipt of endocrine therapy (yes vs. no). However, discrepancies were identified in 29% of patients regarding chemotherapy types. Time since diagnosis did not increase the likelihood of discrepancies.ConclusionHighly educated young women diagnosed with breast cancer more than five years prior accurately report whether or not they received broad systemic treatment categories. However, self-reports regarding specific drugs should be confirmed by medical record review.

Addressing the opioid crisis: An assessment of clinicians' training experience, practices, and attitudes within a large healthcare organization.

To assess provider practices and attitudes toward addiction care and pain management within a large healthcare system, as well as to determine the impact of prior training and perceived effectiveness of organizational implementation strategies. A cross-sectional study. Large healthcare organization comprising 21 hospitals. Three hundred and thirteen healthcare providers within a large healthcare organization. Training, practices, and attitudes toward opioid-related care. One thousand providers including physicians (MD/DO) and physician extenders (NP/PA) were contacted via email request. The Mann-Whitney test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate, was used for comparisons of continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Providers lacked prior pain management (36 percent), addiction (38 percent), or buprenorphine training (92 percent). Few providers were confident in treating opioid use disorders (OUD) (19 percent) and opioid tapering (24 percent) but interested in safe prescribing practices (81 percent). While most providers preferred to refer patients for OUD (89 percent), only a small portion felt appropriate services were readily available (22 percent). Trained providers appear significantly more engaged in checking Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database [median = 1 (Q1 = 1, Q3 = 2) vs 2(1, 3); p < 0.001], comfortable obtaining urine drug screens [2(2, 3) vs 3(2, 4); p < 0.002], and willing to treat OUD with additional support [3(2, 4) vs 4(3, 4); p < 0.022] compared to non-trained providers. Primary care providers were more likely to view OUDs in their scope of practice [4(2, 5) vs 4(3, 5); p < 0.016] and willing to treat OUD with additional support [3(2, 3) vs 3(2, 4); p < 0.0007] compared to specialists. Buprenorphine providers appear to have more confidence in skills for OUD [2(1, 3) vs 4(3, 4); p < 0.0001] and tapering [2(1, 2) vs 4(3, 5); p < 0.0001], and diminished preference to refer [2(1, 5) vs 1(1, 2); p < 0.0009] compared to non-buprenorphine providers. Providers within a large healthcare system lack training and confidence in management of opioid-related care. Buprenorphine training positively modified key attitudes toward addiction care, yet engagement in medication-assisted treatment remains limited. Providers are concerned about opioid risks, and view guideline implementation and direct input from addiction specialists as effective organizational strategies. Further research is needed to clarify the efficacy of such approaches.

‘I will not put this request at the very beginning’

Pragmatic (in)felicity in requests refers to the (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of one's language use. It has been a great challenge to L2 learners, as they are likely to compose grammatically correct but pragmatically infelicitous requests. Such infelicity could be associated with pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic factors, yet whether L2 learners are aware of those factors has been underexplored. To understand the effects of power, imposition, and modifications on email perception, we designed a matched guise test for 224 Chinese L2 learners, who were instructed to rate from 1 (very inappropriate/impolite) to 5 (very appropriate/polite) on four email requests (Power±; Imposition±). We found that (1) learners are highly aware of pragmalinguistic factors because they perceive requests mitigated by internal and external modifications as more appropriate and polite (p &lt; .05), (2) learners have limited awareness of power difference as they rank direct form as inappropriate in peer-to-peer interaction, and (3) learners cannot realise fully the sociopragmatic factors involved in high-imposition situations. The awareness of pragmatic (in)felicity among learners seems to be underdeveloped as regards degree of power and imposition. The findings could have some implications in language pedagogy.

The Comparison between Native Speakers of Indonesian and BIPA Learners in Producing Email Requests

This study examined a comparison between Native Speakers (NS) of Indonesian and Indonesian language as a foreign language (Bahasa Indonesia untuk Penutur Asing - BIPA) learners in making email requests. In particular, this study analysed the different aspects of pragmatics of variations in structure and politeness in emails. This study involved nine NS of Indonesian who were studying master’s level programs at the University of Melbourne, and eighteen BIPA learners who took the subject Indonesian 4 in Semester 2, 2018 at the University of Melbourne. Participants wrote an email request based on a given scenario, which was requesting leave in the context of a workplace in Indonesia. The data were obtained by providing participants a description of the scenario, which prompted them to write an email request asking permission to take time off work. However, participants had freedom in terms of the style and structure of the email. In general, this study aimed to examine how their pragmatics varies, especially in terms of structure and politeness.

Relational practices in Norwegian students’ e-mail requests in English A focus on openings and closings

The paper explores relational practices in openings and closings in Norwegian students’ e-mail requests in English. It investigates the range of opening and closing sequences and the frequency of their occurrence as well as their variation depending on the level of request imposition and social distance between the e-mail writer and the lecturer. The very high frequency of occurrence of openings and closings, considered to be optional e-mail elements, in a small corpus of 109 authentic e-mails demonstrates a clear orientation to interpersonal aspects of communication. An orientation to familiarity was identified in the openings while a slight preference for deference was found in the closings. Social distance appeared to affect relational practices to a greater extent than the level of imposition.

VITAMIN D TRENDS IN THE PEDIATRIC ORTHOPAEDIC POPULATION: A SURVEY

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a global issue, affecting adults and children of all ages, races and genders. Within the last decade, multiple studies have demonstrated the potential health benefits of vitamin D supplementation including improved bone health, reduced fracture risk, protection from autoimmune disease, and decreased cancer risk. Because of the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pediatric populations despite recent evidence of increased vitamin D supplementation in the US, our goal is to assess the knowledge of current vitamin D recommendations among Pediatric Society of North America (POSNA) members. It is our purpose to use the data to increase awareness and understanding of vitamin D amongst all pediatric providers. Methods: Our survey was distributed to 1316 POSNA members via a series of 2 email requests in which they were invited to participate in the survey on the Survey Monkey website. Their participation was entirely voluntary and they agreed to participate by responding positively on the first page of the survey. The data was depersonalized and analyzed via chi square and Fisher’s exact testing. Results: 395 responses were recorded. 9 participants opted out of the survey. 69% of participants rated their vitamin D knowledge as fair to good. 68% of participants have been in practice over ten years and represented most US geographic regions fairly equally. Most estimate that over 25% of their practice is vitamin D deficient with about a 50% compliance rate of supplementation. Over 30% of participants feel vitamin D management is mostly the role of the pediatrician, however 64% of participants discuss or check vitamin D levels in their practice for patients with repeat fractures, medical comorbidities, or nonunions most commonly. Conclusion: Survey participants demonstrated a wide variety of responses indicating their understanding of vitamin D testing and supplementation. Although providers estimate a high deficiency rate, many do not routinely check vitamin D. When they do check, there is no standard indication for testing or supplementation and many believe this to be the role of the pediatrician or endocrinologist. More studies are needed to provide a standardized protocol for vitamin D testing/supplementation in the pediatric orthopaedic literature.

3202 Columbia University’s Personalized IRB Liaison Service: Evaluation over its initial 2.5 years

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: National concerns about IRB-related research delays have led to re-assessment of IRB review processes at institutional levels. We sought to address whether a dedicated IRB Liaison Service at the Irving Institute’s central location could provide additional useful staff support to the investigator community for interactions with the IRB at various levels of protocol submission. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We evaluated the results of a user satisfaction survey and performed a focused in-depth analysis of Liaison Service impact. An online tracking and satisfaction survey was implemented for researchers to complete following each consultation. The goal was to gauge the uses, user types and usefulness of the Service, and to follow-up with researchers who might have additional questions. Data was gathered about users of the Service and their affiliations, and the topics and questions that were discussed. A terse summary was drafted to categorize each consultation that was conducted during office hour sessions. Additionally, surveys were emailed to researchers to gauge their experience with the Service and their overall satisfaction. Users completed the survey either in person at the end of the consultation, or by email request sent immediately following each in-person consultation. The impact of the IRB Liaison Service on IRB protocol approval times was analyzed for a random sub-sample of protocols for which consultations were provided. Consultations for studies with an associated IRB protocol number (i.e., at least initially submitted) from May 2015-June 2017 had been assigned a number in an Excel file. Using a randomization formula, a subset of 90 protocols was identified for further analysis. Protocols that did not result in an IRB submission and duplicate entries were removed. The final dataset consisted of 67 protocols. Those protocols were assessed by type of review process (expedited versus full board review), by status (new submission, first return, second return, etc.), and by which of the seven IRB committees completed the review. Consultations for each protocol included in this subset were reviewed using the notes about that consultation. IRB records in Columbia’s online research oversight system, Rascal, were also reviewed to assess the timing of and issues raised in subsequent IRB review. Factors examined included whether the protocol was approved at next submission and if not, whether questions raised in subsequent IRB returns were related to the topics discussed in the consultation. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Since its inception in January 2015 through June 2017 (2.5 years), a total of 501 in-person consultations have been performed, usually 25-30 per month. Users were primarily study coordinators and investigators. Most requests concerned new protocol development, policy questions or assistance in addressing IRB comments from submitted protocols. Survey response rate was 43%. Results of 215 competed satisfaction surveys were 100% positive. Of 67 unique protocols analyzed for outcomes of the consultation, 73% were subsequently approved within 14 days. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Overall, we have found the Liaison Service to be a popular addition to research support, and plan to continue the service. We will continue to evaluate its user satisfaction and usefulness. Additional focus will be placed on whether the Service can improve approval times for human subjects research for protocols using the Liaison Service.

Clinician knowledge, attitudes, and barriers to management of vulvovaginal atrophy: variations in primary care and gynecology.

Vulvovaginal atrophy is a common, but under-recognized condition affecting postmenopausal women. To guide development of an intervention to boost its detection and treatment, we surveyed primary care and gynecology clinicians practicing in an integrated healthcare system. We constructed a three-part survey that contained (1) eight multiple-choice knowledge questions; (2) three Likert-scale questions regarding clinicians' likelihood of assessing for vulvovaginal atrophy symptoms at a routine (well) visit, confidence in advising patients about symptoms and counseling about therapy; and (3) a 12-item check list of potential barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Analyses were performed using multiple regression. Of the 360 clinicians who were sent an e-mail request, 119 (90 primary care, 29 gynecology) completed the survey (33%). Responders and nonresponders did not differ by age, specialty, or clinician type. The proportion with correct responses to knowledge questions differed between primary care (63%) and gynecology (77%) (adjusted mean difference [AMD] =16, 95% CI [10-22]). Primary care clinicians were less likely than gynecology clinicians to assess for symptoms (AMD = 1.04, 95% CI [0.55-1.52]), and were less confident about their ability to advise on symptoms (AMD = 0.66, 95% CI [0.33-0.99]) and to counsel patients about treatment (AMD = 0.76, 95% CI [0.42-1.10]). Lack of time (71%) and educational materials (44%) were the most common barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Primary care and gynecology clinicians differ in their knowledge and confidence in managing vulvovaginal atrophy but report similar practice barriers. Addressing identified knowledge deficits and practice barriers may lead to improved management of vulvovaginal atrophy.

Using Existing Research Instruments: Copyright, Permission, and Fair Use

Using Existing Research Instruments: Copyright, Permission, and Fair Use

Identifying gaps in adolescent HIV care and treatment delivery in Asia: results of a regional health provider survey

ABSTRACTAdolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) have substantial challenges accessing and adhering to HIV care and antiretroviral therapy (ART). We conducted a study to gather data on clinical service practices to support ALHIV-focused care in Asia using a 31-question survey for healthcare providers on care and treatment services, support for adherence and retention, and tracking of risk behaviors. It was generated in Google Forms, available in seven languages (Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese Mandarin, English, Malay, Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese), and hosted via Google Drive. Survey request emails were distributed to individual stakeholders (e.g. HIV clinicians, researchers, policymakers), and via sector listserves. Survey completion denoted consent to participate. Descriptive statistics with median values are provided. Between December 2015 and May 2016, 82 respondents from Cambodia (17%), China (6.1%), India (3.6%), Indonesia (20%), Malaysia (12%), Thailand (23%), and Vietnam (18%) participated. Most were physicians (73%) from tertiary-level hospitals (66%); 16% reported caring for >100 patients, 42% for 21–100, and 31% for <20; 95% of ALHIV in their care were on ART, 20% were on a second-line regimen. ALHIV-specific services were offered by less than half of the respondent clinics, and included 22% with designated adolescent care providers, and 19% with adolescent clinic times. Transition preparation included how to navigate adult care services (82%) and communicate with new health providers (67%), and some used a multidisciplinary team of pediatric and adult providers to coordinate transition (35%). Their most commonly reported challenges in ALHIV care included socio-economic limitations impacting care uptake (e.g. transportation, food insecurity; 44%), difficulty supporting self-disclosure by the adolescent (44%), and poor ART adherence (42%). These study results highlight the variable scope of HIV care offered by pediatric HIV centers to ALHIV in Asia, as well as challenges with service delivery, social support, and engaging adult HIV providers in the transition preparation process.

VP33 Pharmacoeconomic Submission Requirements: Africa Compared With England

IntroductionThe South African Pharmacoeconomic Submissions Guideline (SAPG) is currently voluntary for medicines in the private health sector but may become mandatory and more widely used under the proposed National Health Insurance system. To make recommendations on evidence generation and areas where the SAPG could be strengthened, the study compared the SAPG requirements with other African pharmacoeconomic guidelines and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Methods Guide (NICE MG).MethodsThe World Health Organisation, International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA), HTA International, and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research websites were consulted, and email requests sent to named individuals from retrieved source material. The European Network for HTA Core Model® (version 3.0) (the Model®) provided the evaluation and comparison framework, using three criteria: completely, partly or not completely requiring the same or similar information as the Model®.ResultsOf the forty-five countries identified, only Egypt had a publicly available pharmacoeconomic guideline (Egyptian Pharmacoeconomic Guideline (EPG)). The guidelines varied considerably in their intended audience, size and content. All three guidelines’ primary focus was the cost and economic evaluation, and health problem and current use domains. Safety, organisational, ethical and legal aspects were poorly covered by the SAPG and EPG guidelines (less than thirty percent of issues in each domain completely / partly covered). The SAPG completely or partly required the same or similar information in the Model® for thirty-nine percent of total issues, the EPG thirty-three percent and the NICE MG sixty-six percentConclusionsThe SAPG was not as comprehensive as the NICE MG and poorly covered some key aspects of HTAs, suggesting that the SAPG could be developed to be more informative for decision-makers. Evidence generation should focus on describing the health problem the technology is targeting and on evidence that can be synthesized into cost-effectiveness analyses.

Teaching Genomic Pathology: Translating Team-Based Learning to a Virtual Environment Using Computer-Based Simulation.

Developing skills related to use of computer-based tools is critical for practicing genomic pathology. However, given the relative novelty of genomics education, residency programs may lack faculty members with adequate expertise and/or time to implement training. A virtual team-based learning (TBL) environment would make genomic pathology education available to more trainees. To translate an extensively implemented in-person TBL genomic pathology workshop into a virtual environment and to evaluate both knowledge and skill acquisition. Using a novel interactive simulation approach, online modules were developed translating aspects of the TBL experience into the virtual environment with a goal of acquisition of necessary computer-related skills. The modules were evaluated at 10 postgraduate pathology training programs using a pre-post test design with participants deidentified. A postmodule anonymous survey obtained participant feedback on module quality and efficacy. There were 147 trainees who received an email request to voluntarily participate in the study. Of these, 43 trainees completed the pretest and 15 (35%) subsequently completed the posttest. Mean overall scores were 45% on the pretest compared with 70% on the posttest ( P < .001; effect size = 1.4). Posttest improvement of results was similar for questions testing acquisition of knowledge versus skills. Regarding the 19 participants who took the survey, 18 (95%) would recommend the modules to others and believed they met the stated objectives. A simulation-based approach allows motivated pathology trainees to acquire computer-related skills for practicing genomic pathology. Future work can explore efficacy in a nonvoluntary setting and adaptation to different specialties, learners, and computer tools.