Use In Healthcare Research Research Articles

Ethical Considerations for AI Use in Healthcare Research.

Ethical Considerations for AI Use in Healthcare Research.

Patients' subjective well-being: Determinants and its usage as a metric of healthcare service quality.

It is commonly suggested that patients' subjective well-being (SWB) can be affected by pre-treatment conditions and treatment experiences, and hence SWB can be used to measure and improve healthcare quality. With data collected in a hospital in the UK (N = 446), we investigated the determinants of patients' SWB and evaluated its use in healthcare research. Our findings showed strong relationships between pre-treatment conditions and patients' SWB: anxiety and depression negatively predicted SWB across all three domains, mobility positively predicted the life satisfaction and happiness domains, while the ability to self care and pain and discomfort also predicted SWB in some domains. In contrast, patients' satisfaction with the treatment only played minor roles in determining SWB, much less so the characteristics of their nurses. The general lack of associations between treatment experiences and patient's SWB highlighted the challenges of using SWB to measure healthcare quality and inform policy making.

Efficient Utilization of Korean Medical Fungal Pathogen Resource Bank for Clinical Research

A "pathogen resource" contains information about pathogens (e.g., bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa) and microbial derivatives (e.g., DNA, RNA, plasmid, clone, and cDNA). Pathogen resources are important for their potential use in healthcare research because they contain clinical and epidemiological information that is different from microbial resources. In October 2014, the "Nagoya Protocol" on access and benefit-sharing with the Convention on Biological Diversity was enacted to restrict the movement of transboundary pathogens and protect the natural pathogen resources of each country. On July 2017, the Korean Medical Fungal Pathogen Resource Bank (KMFRB) was established to secure, discover, and develop biological resources focused on medical fungi. KMFRB has since been operating under the National Culture Collection for Pathogens of the National Institute of Health based on the Act No. 13992. This report aims to provide general information regarding KMFRB and suggest efficient ways to utilize human fungal pathogen resources for clinical research.

Digital storytelling as a method in health research: a systematic review protocol

BackgroundDigital storytelling is an arts-based research method with potential to elucidate complex narratives in a compelling manner, increase participant engagement, and enhance the meaning of research findings. This method involves the creation of a 3- to 5-min video that integrates multimedia materials including photos, participant voices, drawings, and music. Given the significant potential of digital storytelling to meaningfully capture and share participants’ lived experiences, a systematic review of its use in healthcare research is crucial to develop an in-depth understanding of how researchers have used this method, with an aim to refine and further inform future iterations of its use.MethodsWe aim to identify and synthesize evidence on the use, impact, and ethical considerations of using digital storytelling in health research. The review questions are as follows: (1) What is known about the purpose, definition, use (processes), and contexts of digital storytelling as part of the research process in health research? (2) What impact does digital storytelling have upon the research process, knowledge development, and healthcare practice? (3) What are the key ethical considerations when using digital storytelling within qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method research studies? Key databases and the grey literature will be searched from 1990 to the present for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies that utilized digital storytelling as part of the research process. Two independent reviewers will screen and critically appraise relevant articles with established quality appraisal tools. We will extract narrative data from all studies with a standardized data extraction form and conduct a thematic analysis of the data. To facilitate innovative dissemination through social media, we will develop a visual infographic and three digital stories to illustrate the review findings, as well as methodological and ethical implications.DiscussionIn collaboration with national and international experts in digital storytelling, we will synthesize key evidence about digital storytelling that is critical to the development of methodological and ethical expertise about arts-based research methods. We will also develop recommendations for incorporating digital storytelling in a meaningful and ethical manner into the research process.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO registry number CRD42017068002.

Consideration of treatment fidelity to improve manual therapy research

Objectives: The purpose of this paper was to define treatment fidelity, review its use in health care research and suggest how it may be utilized in manual therapy research to improve the reliability and validity of the literature.Results: We offer an outline and a table of how manual therapy research may benefit from the concept of treatment fidelity.Discussion: While treatment fidelity is a newer concept, and has not been integrated into Physical Therapy or Manual Therapy research, when utilized, it can have positive effects on the reliability and validity of the techniques we evaluate.

A prospective observational study of machine translation software to overcome the challenge of including ethnic diversity in healthcare research.

AimThis study investigates whether machine translation could help with the challenge of enabling the inclusion of ethnic diversity in healthcare research.DesignA two phase, prospective observational study.MethodsTwo machine translators, Google Translate and Babylon 9, were tested. Translation of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) from 24 languages into English and translation of an English information sheet into Spanish and Chinese were quality scored. Quality was assessed using the Translation Assessment Quality Tool.ResultsOnly six of the 48 translations of the SDQ were rated as acceptable, all from Google Translate. The mean number of acceptably translated sentences was higher (P = 0·001) for Google Translate 17·1 (sd 7·2) than for Babylon 9 11 (sd 7·9). Translation by Google Translate was better for Spanish and Chinese, although no score was in the acceptable range. Machine translation is not currently sufficiently accurate without editing to provide translation of materials for use in healthcare research.

Guidance on Performing Focused Ethnographies with an Emphasis on Healthcare Research

Focused ethnographies can have meaningful and useful application in primary care, community, or hospital healthcare practice, and are often used to determine ways to improve care and care processes. They can be pragmatic and efficient ways to capture data on a specific topic of importance to individual clinicians or clinical specialties. While many examples of focused ethnographies are available in the literature, there is a limited availability of guidance documents for conducting this research. This paper defines focused ethnographies, locates them within the ethnographic genre, justifies their use in healthcare research, and outlines the methodological processes including those related to sampling, data collection and maintaining rigour. It also identifies and provides a summary of some recent focused ethnographies conducted in healthcare research. While the emphasis is placed on healthcare research, focused ethnographies can be applicable to any discipline whenever there is a desire to explore specific cultural perspectives held by sub - groups of people within a context - specific and problem - focused framework.

A Quantitative Content Analysis of Person-First Language Use in Healthcare Research, Healthcare Practice, and by Support Groups for People with Disabilities

This article reports the results of an original quantitative linguistic study that investigated patterns of language use referring to people with disabilities in three data source types: written by support groups run for and by people with disabilities, healthcare researchers, and healthcare providers respectively. Quantitative content analysis was used to categorize the language use in a target sentence in each of the 9000 data sources in terms of whether it emphasized the person (person-first language) or the disability (non-person-first language) following published guidelines. Statistical analysis was conducted using appropriate logistic regression models. There was a significant increase in the use of person-first language in healthcare research articles over the time period 1994-2013, although it remained a minority usage. Use of person-first language was significantly higher in documents produced by support groups run by people with disabilities than in documents produced by healthcare researchers and practitioners. This suggests that healthcare researchers and providers may be more likely to refer to people with disabilities in terms that emphasize the disability rather than the person. Further research is required to confirm these patterns and investigate whether there is a disparity between the wishes of people with disabilities and the language behavior of healthcare researchers and practitioners.

Computerized Adaptive Testing—Ready for Ambulatory Monitoring?

Computerized adaptive tests (CATs) have abundant theoretical advantages over established static instruments, which could improve ambulatory monitoring of patient-reported outcomes (PROs). However, an empirical demonstration of their practical benefits is warranted. We reviewed the literature and evaluated existing data to discuss the potential of CATs for use in ambulatory monitoring outside clinical facilities. Computerized adaptive tests are not being used for ambulatory monitoring, but initial results from their use in health care research allow for discussion of some issues relevant to ambulatory care. Evidence shows that CATs can capture the most relevant health outcomes as well as established static tools, with substantially decreased respondent burden. They can be more precise than static tools of similar length and can reduce floor and ceiling effects. Computerized adaptive tests can reliably measure a construct over time with different items, which yields the potential of introducing item exposure control in ambulatory monitoring. Studies have shown that CATs can be at least as valid as well-designed static tools in group comparisons, but further investigation is needed to determine whether psychometric advantages lead to increased responsiveness of CATs. Ambulatory monitoring of PROs demands short, yet very precise measurements, which can be repeated up to many times a day. Computerized adaptive tests may address several present shortcomings in ambulatory monitoring of PROs efficiently. However, most CAT developments have primarily focused on psychometric improvements. To use the full potential of CATs for ambulatory monitoring purposes, content must also be carefully considered.

The use of the life course paradigm and life course charts to explore referral for family history of breast cancer

Background Life course research methodologies are used extensively in historical and social science research. In 1998 the life course paradigm was introduced to provide a way of tracing the interplay of person and setting. The method has had a very limited use in nursing research, but in this study it was utilized as a way of capturing dynamic change by placing the individual within a context of four domains; location in time and place, linked lives, human agency and timing of lives. Objective To describe the paradigm, review its use in healthcare research and provide a specific example of its use in healthcare. Design This paper discusses a novel method of creating life course charts for a qualitative study exploring the differing experiences of women referred from primary care to specialist services due to a family history of breast cancer. Setting A nurse-led breast cancer family history clinic in the UK. Participants Twenty-two women. Methods Life charts were used in conjunction with a grounded theory approach to analyse data collected from semi-structured interviews. Findings Twenty-two life charts were created and the ability to layer the charts of multiple women to visualise similarities and differences aided the analysis. The life charts were a useful tool in the development of theoretical understandings and the psychosocial process of realisation of risk emerged as central to the initiation of referral. This was often apparent when approaching the age of an affected relative (anticipated onset) or when current circumstances emulate past experience (generational transference). Conclusions This approach to charting complex psychological, social and contextual factors throughout the life course was methodologically beneficial and could have a wider utility in nursing and healthcare research. As a research tool it enhanced a holistic approach to patient care issues and was helpful as an aid to understanding health behaviours linked to familial risk.

Rasch analysis for outcomes measures: some methodological considerations

Objective: To assess the four approaches to applying Rasch analysis to ordinal, repeated measures: (1) to perform separate Rasch analyses; (2) to perform a single analysis by treating the subjects measured on different occasions as distinct ones; (3) to perform a single analysis by treating items used on different occasions as distinct ones; and (4) to construct a 3-facet model by adding occasions as the third facet. Design: Various Rasch and 3-facet models applied to retrospective, cohort data. Setting: A stroke program at a rehabilitation hospital. Patients: 99 of the 107 consecutive patients admitted between March and October, 1990, average age 69 years, 40% of whom were women, with an average stay of 54 days. Intervention: Medical inpatient rehabilitation. Main Outcome Measure: The Functional Independence Measure (FIM), administered within 1 week of admission and discharge, and approximately 6 weeks after discharge. Results: The four approaches resulted in various occasion-specific and generalized measures of item difficulty, patient ability, and occasion severity. Although these measures turned out to be congruent with each other as they should, they generated different sources of information needed for formative and summative evaluation of health care outcomes. All four approaches were found to be useful, although each had its own limitations. A four-step strategy based on these approaches was therefore designed and recommended. Conclusion: Rasch analysis of ordinal, repeated measures poses a special challenge to those interested in health care outcomes. A multi-method strategy incorporating various approaches is therefore needed to optimize its use in health care research.

Development of a quality-of-life rating scale for use in health-care evaluation.

Many concepts derived from quality-of-life measurement research have been deemed appropriate for use in health-care research. However, available life-quality measurement instruments developed for use with chronically ill and disabled populations have limited research utility because of their relatively narrow foci. Development of a more widely applicable measure was undertaken, and the resultant instruments is described. Potential uses are also discussed.