Employment and Training Legislation-1968; Background Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare.

This volume supplied background information for employment and training legislation for the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare of the United States Senate for 1968. It includes: (1) excerpts from reports and recommendations of national committees and commissions on civil disorders, rural poverty, technology and automation, food and fiber, and…

Information needs related to extension service and community outreach.

PubMed

Bottcher, Robert W

2003-06-01

Air quality affects everyone. Some people are affected by air quality impacts, regulations, and technological developments in several ways. Stakeholders include the medical community, ecologists, government regulators, industries, technology providers, academic professionals, concerned citizens, the news media, and elected officials. Each of these groups may perceive problems and opportunities differently, but all need access to information as it is developed. The diversity and complexity of air quality problems contribute to the challenges faced by extension and outreach professionals who must communicate with stakeholders having diverse backgrounds. Gases, particulates, biological aerosols, pathogens, and odors all require expensive and relatively complex technology to measure and control. Economic constraints affect the ability of regulators and others to measure air quality, and industry and others to control it. To address these challenges, while communicating air quality research results and concepts to stakeholders, three areas of information needs are evident. (1) A basic understanding of the fundamental concepts regarding air pollutants and their measurement and control is needed by all stakeholders; the Extension Specialist, to be effective, must help people move some distance up the learning curve. (2) Each problem or set of problems must be reasonably well defined since comprehensive solution of all problems simultaneously may not be feasible; for instance, the solution of an odor problem associated with animal production may not address atmospheric effects due to ammonia emissions. (3) The integrity of the communication process must be preserved by avoiding prejudice and protectionism; although stakeholders may seek to modify information to enhance their interests, extension and outreach professionals must be willing to present unwelcome information or admit to a lack of information. A solid grounding in fundamental concepts, careful and fair problem

Defining information need in health - assimilating complex theories derived from information science.

PubMed

Ormandy, Paula

2011-03-01

Key policy drivers worldwide include optimizing patients' roles in managing their care; focusing services around patients' needs and preferences; and providing information to support patients' contributions and choices. The term information need penetrates many policy documents. Information need is espoused as the foundation from which to develop patient-centred or patient-led services. Yet there is no clear definition as to what the term means or how patients' information needs inform and shape information provision and patient care. The assimilation of complex theories originating from information science has much to offer considerations of patient information need within the context of health care. Health-related research often focuses on the content of information patients prefer, not why they need information. This paper extends and applies knowledge of information behaviour to considerations of information need in health, exposing a working definition for patient information need that reiterates the importance of considering the patient's goals and understanding the patient's context/situation. A patient information need is defined as 'recognition that their knowledge is inadequate to satisfy a goal, within the context/situation that they find themselves at a specific point in the time'. This typifies the key concepts of national/international health policy, the centrality and importance of the patient. The proposed definition of patient information need provides a conceptual framework to guide health-care practitioners on what to consider and why when meeting the information needs of patients in practice. This creates a solid foundation from which to inform future research. © 2010 The Author. Health Expectations © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Information needs of the informal carers of women treated for breast cancer.

PubMed

Beaver, Kinta; Witham, Gary

2007-02-01

Although the vital role of informal carers has been acknowledged in government policy documents in the UK, the information needs of informal carers are not well documented. There is also uncertainty about where carers get their information from and whether they are satisfied with the information they receive. This study aimed to examine the information needs and sources of information for informal carers in the acute cancer setting; the informal carers of a sample of women treated for breast cancer. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 50 informal carers. Measures of information needs and sources were administered in addition to an in-depth exploration of information needs. The priority information needs of carers related to cure, spread of disease and treatments, a similar profile to that found for women with breast cancer in previous work. The main source of information for carers was the person they were caring for, although written information was also valued. Health professionals need to ensure that patients are well informed so that patients can provide information for carers and also need to take advantage of any opportunities to directly assess the information needs of carers to enable them to be more effective in their caring role.

The Institute of American Indian Arts Background Information (Task One of the Transition Evaluation). Background Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tippeconnic, John W., Jr.

The paper, prepared as Task One of the Institute of American Indian Arts Transition Evaluation, provides pertinent background information about the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A brief history of the Institute is given, with information about its philosophy and purpose; objectives; organization and administration; the…

Unmet Information Needs and Quality of Life in Young Breast Cancer Survivors in Japan

PubMed Central

Miyashita, Mika; Ohno, Shinji; Kataoka, Akemi; Tokunaga, Eriko; Masuda, Norikazu; Shien, Tadahiko; Kawabata, Kimiko; Takahashi, Miyako

2015-01-01

Background: Young breast cancer survivors have specific needs related to age. Clarifying the relationships between unmet information needs and quality of life (QOL) in young breast cancer survivors can contribute to constructing a support system to enhance QOL in patients. Objective: This study aimed to identify the unmet information needs and examine the relationships between unmet information needs and QOL in young breast cancer survivors in Japan. Methods: Participants completed an information needs questionnaire containing 26 items, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument–Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF), and a demographic and medical information questionnaire. Results: Fifty participants (30.7%) were unsatisfied with “overall communication with medical professionals.” The mean scores on all subscales of the WHOQOL-BREF of the participants who were satisfied with “overall communication with medical professionals” were significantly higher than those of the unsatisfied group. “follow-up tests,” “treatment for recurrence of breast cancer,” “strategies about communication with medical staff,” and “nutrition” were significantly related with all subscales in the WHOQOL-BREF. “Secondary menopause caused by hormonal therapy” was significantly related with physical and psychological health. Conclusions: Japanese young breast cancer survivors have unmet information needs, including age-specific issues. These unmet information needs are related to QOL. In particular, “overall communication with medical professionals,” which is the most unmet information need, is related to QOL. Implications for Practice: Oncology nurses should teach patients communication skills, provide adequate information, and provide education and emotional support to medical professionals to improve QOL in young breast cancer survivors. PMID:25254410

Army women's sexual health information needs.

PubMed

von Sadovszky, Victoria; Ryan-Wenger, Nancy

2007-01-01

To ascertain Army women's specific sexual health information needs prior to developing a theoretically based, self-administered intervention to promote safer sexual practices during deployment. An exploratory design was employed to address the research questions. Participants (N= 131) were Army women recruited from Army posts around the United States. The women ranged in age from 18 to 68 years (M= 30.8, SD= 10.5), were of varied ethnicity, and had an average time in service of 8.0 years (SD= 6.6). Desire for knowledge about sexual health and safer sexual practices were measured with forced-choice responses based upon DiIorio's Safer Sex Questionnaire (DiIorio, Parsons, Lehr, Adame, & Carlone, 1992) and open-ended questions to assess past information received, quality of that information, and information desired. Participants had moderate levels of sexual risk behaviors. Forced-choice responses yielded little desire for information regarding safer sexual practices. Women identified different sexual health and safer sexual information needs based upon whether they were at a normal duty station or during deployment. Participants did not identify many information needs; however, their sexual behaviors indicate the need for interventions.

The information needs and information seeking behaviour of family doctors.

PubMed

Bryant, Sue Lacey

2004-06-01

To explore the information needs and information seeking behaviour of family doctors, identifying any differences in attitudes and behaviours deriving from membership of a training practice and investigating the impact of a practice librarian. A case study of general practitioners (GPs) in Aylesbury Vale incorporated a quantitative study of use of the medical library, and two qualitative techniques, in-depth interviews and group discussions. A total of 58 GPs, almost three quarters of those in the Vale, participated; 19 via individual interviews and a further 39 via two group discussions. Family doctors are prompted to seek information by needs arising from a combination of professional responsibilities and personal characteristics. A need for problem-orientated information, related to the care of individual patients, was the predominant factor that prompted these GPs to seek information. Personal collections remain the preferred information resource; electronic sources rank second. The study demonstrated low use of the medical library. However, both vocational training and the employment of a practice librarian impacted on library use. The study illuminates the information needs and preferences of GPs and illustrates the contribution that librarians may make at practice level, indicating the importance of outreach work.

Delivering information: A descriptive study of Australian women’s information needs for decision-making about birth facility

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Little information is known about what information women want when choosing a birth facility. The objective of this study was to inform the development of a consumer decision support tool about birth facility by identifying the information needs of maternity care consumers in Queensland, Australia. Methods Participants were 146 women residing in both urban and rural areas of Queensland, Australia who were pregnant and/or had recently given birth. A cross-sectional survey was administered in which participants were asked to rate the importance of 42 information items to their decision-making about birth facility. Participants could also provide up to ten additional information items of interest in an open-ended question. Results On average, participants rated 30 of the 42 information items as important to decision-making about birth facility. While the majority of information items were valued by most participants, those related to policies about support people, other women’s recommendations about the facility, freedom to choose one’s preferred position during labour and birth, the aesthetic quality of the facility, and access to on-site neonatal intensive care were particularly widely valued. Additional items of interest frequently focused on postnatal care and support, policies related to medical intervention, and access to water immersion. Conclusions The women surveyed had significant and diverse information needs for decision-making about birth facility. These findings have immediate applications for the development of decision support tools about birth facility, and highlight the need for tools which provide a large volume of information in an accessible and user-friendly format. These findings may also be used to guide communication and information-sharing by care providers involved in counselling pregnant women and families about their options for birth facility or providing referrals to birth facilities. PMID:22708648

Patients in need of medicine information.

PubMed

Kazaryan, I; Sevikyan, A

2015-01-01

Reliable medicine information is important not only for physicians and pharmacists, but also for patients [6]. However, the results of studies implemented in some countries show that patients may have slightly different needs and preferences in using sources of information [1, 4, 5, 7]. The main objective of patient medicines information is assisting consumers to achieve safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals [2, 3]. To identify patients' needs in medicine information and sources they use to receive it. We interviewed 1059 people who had visited community pharmacies in 10 regions of Armenia and Yerevan. Previously developed questionnaire was used for interviewing patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS program. We found that consumers need medicine information. 68.9% of respondents often use pharmaceuticals only if necessary medicines information is available. The majority of them believe that it is important to have information about therapeutic indications of pharmaceuticals to be used (91.8%), their dosage and method of administration (91.1%), contraindications (82.4%), adverse reactions (81.9%) and the simultaneous use of multiple medicines (76.5%). 58.9% of consumers value information about medicine's price. More than 70% of patients often seek information from health professionals and use medicines package information leaflets (PIL), and more than 75% of respondents mainly trust the same sources. 71.5% of respondents read package leaflets, while 42.0% of consumers do this several times. Only 36.7% of respondents completely understand information in a leaflet. Patients in Armenia need medicine information. They prefer to receive information from sources they trust.Many patients do not understand the content of package information leaflets (PILs) due to barriers, which can be removed by introducing appropriate regulatory provisions for their content and readability.

Physician Information Needs in Managing Delirium

PubMed Central

Taft, Teresa; Nelsen, Scott D; Slager, Stacey; Weir, Charlene

2017-01-01

Delirium has the highest occurrence rate of any complication in hospitalized adults over the age of 65. The study objective was to determine physician information needs for use in the development of electronic clinical decision support for physicians managing the care of patients with delirium. Critical incident interviews were conducted with 8 experienced internal medicine physicians and 1 cardiologist. Thematic analysis revealed the following 6 themes: 1) Clinician’s experience an impoverished information field for mental status, 2) Uncertainty is pervasive, 3) Extensive information foraging effort is required for cohesive story building, 4) Goal Conflict leads to missed diagnosis and early closure, 5) Diffusion of Responsibility for treating delirium is common, and 6) Use of structured delirium resources is minimal. Elicited information needs were identified and physician recommendations for improving access to information needed in managing the care of patient’s with delirium are reported. Information elicited in this study is useful for designing delirium clinical decision support that supports physician cognition.

29 CFR Appendix A to §§ 1605.2 and... - Background Information

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Background Information A Appendix A to §§ 1605.2 and 1605... §§ 1605.2 and 1605.3—Background Information In 1966, the Commission adopted guidelines on religious... of Trans World Airlines' business, and would therefore, exceed the duty to accommodate Hardison. In...

29 CFR Appendix A to §§ 1605.2 and... - Background Information

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Background Information A Appendix A to §§ 1605.2 and 1605... §§ 1605.2 and 1605.3—Background Information In 1966, the Commission adopted guidelines on religious... of Trans World Airlines' business, and would therefore, exceed the duty to accommodate Hardison. In...

Health information needs of pregnant women: information sources, motives and barriers.

PubMed

Kamali, Sudabeh; Ahmadian, Leila; Khajouei, Reza; Bahaadinbeigy, Kambiz

2018-03-01

Pregnant women should be provided with relevant and useful information to manage this specific period of their lives. Assessing information needs of this group is a prerequisite for providing this information. The aim of this study was to assess the information needs of pregnant women during their pregnancy and childbirth. This descriptive study was conducted on the pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics and obstetricians/gynaecologists' offices in Kerman, Iran, in 2015. Data were collected using a self-administered, valid and reliable questionnaire. A total of 400 women participated in the study. Most pregnant women needed information about care of the foetus (n = 344, 86%), physical and psychological complications after delivery (n = 333, 83%), development and growth of the foetus (n = 330, 82.5%), pregnancy nutrition (n = 327, 82%) and special tests during pregnancy (n = 326, 81.5%). They mostly (n = 195, 49%) looked for information when they were suffering from a disease or pregnancy complications. As pregnant women need extensive information to be able to take care of themselves and their babies, their information needs should be identified and taken into consideration when planning educational programmes for this group of women. © 2017 Health Libraries Group.

On User Studies and Information Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, T. D.

1981-01-01

Examines the concepts involved in user studies, information needs, and information seeking behavior to propose a basis and direction for future research in information science. Twenty-eight references are listed. (RAA)

Information Needs of the Ceramic Industry; A Users-Need Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janning, Edward A.; And Others

This report examines the problems in the flow of scientific and technological information in the Ceramic Industry. The research methodology used involved a panel of experts which defined the functions performed by ceramists and their corresponding information needs, listed sources of information available to ceramists, and defined problems and…

The information needs of new radiotherapy patients: how to measure? Do they want to know everything? And if not, why?

PubMed

Zeguers, Maaike; de Haes, Hanneke C J M; Zandbelt, Linda C; Ter Hoeven, Claartje L; Franssen, Sanne J; Geijsen, Debbie D; Koning, Caro C E; Smets, Ellen M A

2012-01-01

To establish 1) further psychometric properties of the information preference for radiotherapy patients scale (IPRP); 2) what information new radiotherapy patients want to receive; 3) which patients have a lower information need. Eligible patients (n = 159; response rate 54%) of 15 radiation oncologists completed the IPRP and provided background characteristics before their first radiotherapy consultation. Exclusion criteria were: age <18 years, having undergone radiotherapy before, unable to read and write Dutch, cognitive problems or a brain tumor. Reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.84-0.97) and concurrent validity (r from .39 to .57, p < 0.001) of the subscales of the IPRP were good. New radiotherapy patients want extensive information about their disease, treatment, procedures, side effects, and prognosis (mean scores between 4.1 and 4.4 on a scale from 1 to 5) but less information about psychosocial issues (mean = 3.4). Patients who are older and male, have lung or rectal cancer, more difficulty understanding and a higher trait anxiety level, need less information. The IPRP can reliably and validly address information needs of patients undergoing radiation treatment. Most new radiotherapy patients want much information. Yet, information giving should be tailored according to their background, understanding and anxiety. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Postmastectomy Information Needs and Information-seeking Motives for Women with Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Latifi, Masoome; Salimi, Sohrab; Barahmand, Nilofar; Fahimnia, Fateme; Allahbakhshian Farsani, Leili

2018-01-01

Health information-seeking behavior is a key concept in the empowerment of women with breast cancer after mastectomy for self-care management. Thus, a real understanding of their information needs and their information-seeking behavior may open up new opportunities for their postsurgery cares. The current research was conducted to identify the information needs and information-seeking motives of women with breast cancer after mastectomy. This is an applied qualitative research. Samples included 17 women with breast cancer after mastectomy selected from two hospitals of Shahid Mohammadi and Persian Gulf and Omid Central Chemotherapy in Bandar Abbas. Data were collected using semi-structured interview on winter 2014 and analyzed using qualitative content analysis method. Three basic contents were extracted including information needs related to mental health, physical health related to disease and personal daily activities along with their subcategories, and representing common experience and perception of mastectomized women seeking for health information. Furthermore, hope, self-esteem, return to life, and available social support resources were expressed as the main information-seeking motives. Considering research findings, mastectomized women need to receive information in wide range of health and thus pursue purposeful behavior. Hence, it is necessary that required actions and measures are taken by health-care authorities, especially institutions responsible for women health, to support and meet information needs of the patients considering their information-seeking motives.

Health Information Needs of Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Mark; Robertson, Steve

2014-01-01

Objective: To understand the views of men and service providers concerning the health information needs of men. Design: A men's health programme was implemented aimed at developing new health information resources designed for use by local organizations with men in socially disadvantaged groups. Research was carried out at the scoping stage to…

What is left unsaid: an interpretive description of the information needs of parents of children with asthma.

PubMed

Archibald, Mandy M; Caine, Vera; Ali, Samina; Hartling, Lisa; Scott, Shannon D

2015-02-01

Parents of children with asthma provide the vast majority of day-to-day asthma care. Understanding their information needs is an essential step to provide meaningful and effective family-centered asthma education. To gain insight into the information needs and information deficits of parents of children with asthma, we conducted an interpretive descriptive study to capture the perspectives of 21 parents from diverse backgrounds whose 23 children with asthma had a range of illness trajectories and management scenarios. Parents were purposively sampled from two asthma clinics and one pediatric emergency department in a large urban center in North America. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2011-2012. In data analysis, parents' self-identified information needs were distinguished from analysts' interpretations of information deficits. Participants' knowledge did not always reflect time since diagnosis, and information needs and deficits persisted for years. Parents often reported receiving little or no little or no education about asthma and its management. An asthma management information hierarchy was identified, starting with the most foundational, recognizing severity; followed by acute management; prevention versus crisis orientation; and knowing "about" asthma. In the absence of adequate and accurate education, parents' beliefs about the nature of asthma as an acute rather than chronic condition shaped their asthma management decisions and information-seeking behaviors. Information deficits were affected by interactions with health care providers. These parents' pervasive unmet information needs and deficits highlight the need for comprehensive, problem-oriented asthma education. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Persona Development and Educational Needs to Support Informal Caregivers.

PubMed

Al Awar, Zeina; Kuziemsky, Craig

2017-01-01

Informal caregivers are playing an increasing role in community based care delivery. Research is needed that looks at the educational needs of informal caregivers as a precursor to HIT design to support community care delivery. A challenge is informal caregivers have very diverse educational needs. Personas are an approach to describe user characteristics as part of systems design and this approach could be used to understand and categorize the various educational needs of informal caregivers. This paper addresses this research need and provides a method for persona development and the identification of educational needs for informal caregivers.

Information needs and information seeking in primary care: a study of nurse practitioners.

PubMed

Cogdill, Keith W

2003-04-01

The objective was to understand the information-related behavior of nurse practitioners (NPs), a population of clinicians responsible for an increasing proportion of primary care. Two phases of data collection addressed seven research questions. The initial phase of data collection was a questionnaire sent to 300 NPs, who were asked to report their experiences of needing information as a result of patient encounters as well as their experiences of seeking information. The second phase of data collection entailed a series of interviews with twenty NPs following their encounters with patients to collect data on instances of information needs and information seeking. NPs most frequently needed information related to drug therapy and diagnosis. NPs with a master's degree were found to perceive information needs more frequently than their colleagues who had not received a master's degree. The information resources NPs used most frequently were consultations with colleagues, drug reference manuals, and textbooks and protocol manuals. NPs were more likely to pursue needs related to drug therapy with a print resource and needs related to diagnosis with a colleague. The generalizability of a need emerged as a negative predictor of information seeking. This study has addressed a number of questions about the information-related behavior of NPs in primary care practices and led to the development of a temporal model of information seeking in these settings. Results of this research underscore the importance of access to information resources in primary care practices. This study's findings also support the development of educational and outreach programs to promote evidence-based decision making among primary care clinicians.

Informed consent needed for sterilization or research.

PubMed

Barnett, B

1998-01-01

Informed choice involves enabling family planning clients to base their decisions about contraceptive use upon adequate information. It is a process in which clients give their permission to undergo a procedure, take a medication, or participate in a study after being fully informed. Informed consent protects an individual's freedom of choice, respects his or her autonomy, is important in both family planning programs and reproductive health research, and should always be available to clients seeking health services. Although written informed consent is not needed for most reproductive health services, it should be obtained from men and women who undergo sterilization, since that involves surgery and is considered permanent. In addition, people who volunteer to participate in contraceptive studies need to be fully informed of the risks and benefits of any new drugs or devices they receive. Volunteers should understand the potential effects of methods upon their physical health and other aspects of their lives. Ethical reviews need to be conducted before research begins.

Mothers' knowledge and information needs relating to childhood immunizations.

PubMed

Baker, Lynda M; Wilson, Feleta L; Nordstrom, Cheryl K; Legwand, Carol

2007-01-01

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine mothers' literacy level and knowledge, information needs, and information-seeking behaviors related to the vaccine(s) their children were receiving. A convenience sample of 15 mothers with one child and 15 mothers with two or more children was recruited at a free, urban, walk-in immunization clinic in Detroit. Participants completed the REALM test and a demographic form. Structured interviews were conducted to assess a mother's knowledge, information needs, and information-seeking behavior relating to the vaccines. The average reading skills were at the 7th- to 8th-grade level. Only four mothers knew the name and purpose of the vaccine their child was receiving. Information needs of the 26 mothers who did not know the name or purpose of the vaccine were categorized as immediate or deferred according to Krikelas's model of information seeking. More mothers with one child had immediate information needs, while more mothers with two or more children had deferred information needs. Primary sources of vaccine information were physicians and nurses. More research needs to be done to determine which nursing interventions work best to satisfy a mother's information needs.

Synthetic fiber production facilities: Background information for proposed standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodwin, D. R.

1982-10-01

Standards of performance to control emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from new, modified, and reconstructed synthetic fiber production facilities are being proposed under section III of the Clean Air Act. This document contains information on the background and authority, regulatory alternatives considered, and environmental and economic impacts of the regulatory alternatives.

Web-Based Surveillance of Public Information Needs for Informing Preconception Interventions

PubMed Central

D’Ambrosio, Angelo; Agricola, Eleonora; Russo, Luisa; Gesualdo, Francesco; Pandolfi, Elisabetta; Bortolus, Renata; Castellani, Carlo; Lalatta, Faustina; Mastroiacovo, Pierpaolo; Tozzi, Alberto Eugenio

2015-01-01

Background The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes can be minimized through the adoption of healthy lifestyles before pregnancy by women of childbearing age. Initiatives for promotion of preconception health may be difficult to implement. Internet can be used to build tailored health interventions through identification of the public's information needs. To this aim, we developed a semi-automatic web-based system for monitoring Google searches, web pages and activity on social networks, regarding preconception health. Methods Based on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines and on the actual search behaviors of Italian Internet users, we defined a set of keywords targeting preconception care topics. Using these keywords, we analyzed the usage of Google search engine and identified web pages containing preconception care recommendations. We also monitored how the selected web pages were shared on social networks. We analyzed discrepancies between searched and published information and the sharing pattern of the topics. Results We identified 1,807 Google search queries which generated a total of 1,995,030 searches during the study period. Less than 10% of the reviewed pages contained preconception care information and in 42.8% information was consistent with ACOG guidelines. Facebook was the most used social network for sharing. Nutrition, Chronic Diseases and Infectious Diseases were the most published and searched topics. Regarding Genetic Risk and Folic Acid, a high search volume was not associated to a high web page production, while Medication pages were more frequently published than searched. Vaccinations elicited high sharing although web page production was low; this effect was quite variable in time. Conclusion Our study represent a resource to prioritize communication on specific topics on the web, to address misconceptions, and to tailor interventions to specific populations. PMID:25879682

Separation of foreground and background from light field using gradient information.

PubMed

Lee, Jae Young; Park, Rae-Hong

2017-02-01

Studies of computer vision or machine vision applications using a light field camera have been increasing in recent years. However, the abilities that the light field camera has are not fully used in these applications. In this paper, we propose a method for direct separation of foreground and background that uses the gradient information and can be used in various applications such as pre-processing. From an optical phenomenon whereby the bundles of rays from the background are flipped, we derive that the disparity sign of the background in the captured three-dimensional scene has the opposite disparity sign of the foreground. Using the majority-weighted voting algorithm based on the gradient information with the Lambertian assumption and the gradient constraint, the foreground and background can be separated at each pixel. In regard to pre-processing, the proposed method can be used for various applications such as occlusion and saliency detection, disparity estimation, and so on. Experimental results with the EPFL light field dataset and Stanford Lytro light field dataset show that the proposed method achieves better performance in terms of the occlusion detection, and thus can be effectively used in pre-processing for saliency detection and disparity estimation.

Cervical Cancer Screening and Perceived Information Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whynes, David K.; Clarke, Katherine; Philips, Zoe; Avis, Mark

2005-01-01

Purpose: To identify women's sources of information about cervical cancer screening, information which women report receiving during Pap consultations, information they would like to receive, and the relationships between perceived information needs, personal characteristics and information sources. Design/methodology/approach: Logistic regression…

Information needs of academic medical scientists at Chulalongkorn University.

PubMed Central

Premsmit, P

1990-01-01

The information needs of scientists in English-speaking countries have been studied and reported in the library literature. However, few studies exist on the information-seeking patterns of scientists in developing countries, and no study has examined the information needs of medical scientists in developing Asian countries. This study investigated the information needs of academic medical scientists at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The results indicate that medical scientists have three types of information needs: identifying up-to-date information, obtaining relevant studies and data, and developing research topics. Thai scientists' information-seeking behavior was different from that of scientists in developed countries. The study shows a high use of libraries as information providers; Thai medical scientists rely heavily on information from abroad. PMID:2224302

The Effects of Background Information on Standarized Test Scores.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feeley, Joan T.; Wepner, Shelley B.

A study was conducted to determine the effects of exposure to the topics included on the comprehension subtest of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (ND), Form F, on college freshmen's performance on the test. In addition, the study investigated whether those students with background information would indicate their awareness of this knowledge on a…

International Student Perceptions of Information Needs and Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yi, Zhixian

2007-01-01

This study examines international student information needs and whether education level, age, and gender affect their information use. An e-mail survey revealed that international students need information that supports their academic courses, and those with higher education levels use databases, remote access to library offerings, and e-journals…

Informational need of emotional stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonov, P. V.; Frolov, M. V.

According to the informational theory of emotions[1], emotions in humans depend on the power of some need (motivation) and the estimation by the subject of the probability (possibility) of the need staisfaction (the goal achievement). Low probability of need satisfaction leads to negative emotions, actively minimized by the subject. Increased probability of satisfaction, as compared to earlier forecast, generates positive emotions, which the subject tries to maximize, i.e. to enhance, to prolong, to repeat. The informational theory of emotions encompasses their reflective function, the laws of their appearance, the regulatory significance of emotions, and their role in organization of behavior. The level of emotional stress influences the operator's performance. A decrease in the emotional tonus leads to drowsiness, lack of vigilance, missing of significant signals and to slower reactions. An extremely high stress level disorganizes the activity, complicates it with a trend toward incorrect actions and reactions to insignificant signals (false alarms). The neurophysiological mechanisms of the influence of emotions on perceptual activity and operator performance as well as the significance of individuality are discussed.

Standardised measures of needs, stigma and informal care in schizophrenia using a bottom-up, cross-cultural approach

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background There is a lack of instruments to measure the needs, stigma and informal care of people with schizophrenia that take account of sociocultural variation and patients' and formal and informal carers' opinions and experiences. Aims To develop questionnaires to measure stigma, needs and informal (non-professional) care for people with schizophrenia. Method We undertook the study in seven countries and in English, Spanish and Portuguese. We first held focus group discussions with patients, formal carers (professionals) and informal carers (family and friends) in Spain, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela to elicit the main dimensions of needs, stigma and informal care. We then held nominal group discussions about these dimensions with patients, family members and professionals in Spain, Portugal and the UK, to develop the instruments. Results Three hundred and three people participated in 46 focus groups and results were discussed in three nominal groups, each involving eight participants. Three instruments were developed in this iterative process: needs for care (46 items), stigma (38 items) and informal care (20 items). Conclusions These instruments are based on service users' and carers' views and experiences and have cross-cultural validity. They will have application in assessment of outcomes for people with schizophrenia and their families. PMID:23730337

Family information needs at childhood cancer treatment completion.

PubMed

Wakefield, Claire E; Butow, Phyllis; Fleming, Catharine A K; Daniel, Gunar; Cohn, Richard J

2012-04-01

Despite the recognized importance of information provision across the cancer trajectory, little research has investigated family information needs recently after childhood cancer. This mixed-methods, multiperspective, study explored the information needs of families of childhood cancer survivors in the first year post-treatment. In total, 112 semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 19 survivors (mean age 16.2 years, off treatment for ≤36 months), 44 mothers, 34 fathers, and 15 siblings. Interviews were analyzed inductively, line-by-line, using the framework of Miles and Huberman. Emergent themes were cross-tabulated by sample characteristics using QSR NVivo8. Participant views were mixed regarding the need for a "finishing treatment review" with their oncologist (the primary information source for most families); however, many mothers (29/44) and fathers (17/34) and most siblings (14/15) reported receiving insufficient information post-treatment. Information regarding fertility and how to prepare for likely post-treatment challenges were the most cited unmet needs. Online support was ranked highest by survivors (mean score: 7/2/10) and siblings (7.4/10), whilst parents preferred an information booklet (often due to concerns about accessing accurate and relevant information from the Internet). While many participants reported feelings of isolation/loneliness, many were reluctant to attend face-to-face support groups/seminars. Family members of survivors may experience the most acute unmet needs for information about fertility and in preparation for post-treatment challenges. However, provision of the correct amount of information at the right time for each family member during a highly stressful period remains clinically challenging. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

76 FR 69287 - National Instant Criminal Background Check System Section Agency Information Collection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-08

... System Section Agency Information Collection Activities: Existing collection, comments requested the Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) Brochure ACTION: 60-Day Notice of Information Collection Under Review. The... Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Section has submitted the following information collection request...

The information needs of women diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome – implications for treatment and health outcomes

PubMed Central

Avery, Jodie C; Braunack-Mayer, Annette J

2007-01-01

Background This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study about the information women diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) want to know about their condition and the consequences of this information for future treatment and health outcomes. Methods In-depth qualitative interviews regarding their information needs were undertaken with ten South Australian women diagnosed with PCOS. These women were aged 28–38 years and at differing stages of their fertility experience. The time since diagnosis ranged from 1–17 years. The main outcome measures sought were the identification of the information needs of women diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) during different periods of their lives; how and where they obtain this information, and the consequences of this information for future treatment and health outcomes. Results The women with PCOS in this study preferentially used the Internet for their information needs, as it had the advantages of convenience, privacy and accessibility, when compared with traditional mechanisms of information provision. Conclusion Giving a name to a collection of symptoms may bring relief and provide recognition that there really is a problem. However, with a diagnosis comes the need to have questions answered. A diagnosis of a chronic condition such as PCOS necessitates decision-making regarding possible treatment strategies and lifestyle choices. Information is needed in order to participate in shared decision making. The Internet proved to be a most versatile and beneficial source of information source for women with PCOS, if its limitations are taken into consideration. PMID:17578583

The information content of cosmic microwave background anisotropies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, Douglas; Contreras, Dagoberto; Narimani, Ali; Ma, Yin-Zhe

2016-06-01

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) contains perturbations that are close to Gaussian and isotropic. This means that its information content, in the sense of the ability to constrain cosmological models, is closely related to the number of modes probed in CMB power spectra. Rather than making forecasts for specific experimental setups, here we take a more pedagogical approach and ask how much information we can extract from the CMB if we are only limited by sample variance. We show that, compared with temperature measurements, the addition of E-mode polarization doubles the number of modes available out to a fixed maximum multipole, provided that all of the TT, TE, and EE power spectra are measured. However, the situation in terms of constraints on particular parameters is more complicated, as we explain and illustrate graphically. We also discuss the enhancements in information that can come from adding B-mode polarization and gravitational lensing. We show how well one could ever determine the basic cosmological parameters from CMB data compared with what has been achieved with Planck, which has already probed a substantial fraction of the TT information. Lastly, we look at constraints on neutrino mass as a specific example of how lensing information improves future prospects beyond the current 6-parameter model.

The Needs and Resources of Drug Information at Community Pharmacies in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Birarra, Mequanent Kassa

2017-01-01

Background Community pharmacists are in a key position to provide information on drugs and thus promote the rational use of drugs. Objectives The present study was designed to determine the needs and resources of drug information in community pharmacies. Methods A prospective institution based cross-sectional study was carried out and data were collected on 48 community pharmacists in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, using interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Results Almost all pharmacists (N = 47, 97.9%) often receive drug related queries and these were mainly from consumers (N = 41, 85.4%). While most questions relate to drug price (N = 29, 60.4%) and dosage (N = 21, 43.8%), the information resources mainly referred to were drug package inserts and national standard treatment guidelines. However, limited availability of information resources as well as limited ability to retrieve relevant information influenced the practice of pharmacists. Female pharmacists claimed better use of different information resources than males (P < 0.05). Conclusions Community pharmacists in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, are often accessed for drug related information. But there are limitations in using up to date and most reliable resources. Therefore, intervention aimed at improving pharmacists' access to and evaluation of drug information is urgently needed. PMID:28951876

Informational Needs of Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Fang, Carolyn Y; Longacre, Margaret L; Manne, Sharon L; Ridge, John A; Lango, Miriam N; Burtness, Barbara A

2012-04-01

Treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) can lead to considerable functional impairment. As a result, HNSCC patients experience significant decrements in quality of life, high levels of emotional distress, deteriorations in interpersonal relations, and increased social isolation. Studies suggest that HNSCC patients may have extensive informational and psychosocial needs that are not being adequately addressed. However, few programs have been developed to address the needs of HNSCC patients. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study of HNSCC patients to: 1) characterize patients' informational needs; and 2) describe preferred formats and time points for receiving such information. The majority of participants desired additional information regarding treatment options, managing changes in swallowing and speaking, and staying healthy after treatment. Overall, patients with early-stage disease reported more informational needs compared to patients with advanced disease. Female patients were more likely to desire information about coping with emotional stress and anxiety than male patients. Younger patients (29-49 years) were more interested in receiving information about sexuality after cancer compared to their older (50+) counterparts. Although information was requested throughout the cancer trajectory, most patients preferred to receive such information at diagnosis or within 1-3 months post-treatment. The majority of patients reported having computer and Internet access, and they were most receptive to receiving information delivered via the Internet, from a DVD, or from pamphlets and booklets. The relatively high percentage of patients with computer and Internet access reflects a growing trend in the United States and supports the feasibility of disseminating health information to this patient population via Internet-based programs.

HOSPITAL MANAGERS' NEED FOR INFORMATION ON HEALTH TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS.

PubMed

Ølholm, Anne Mette; Kidholm, Kristian; Birk-Olsen, Mette; Christensen, Janne Buck

2015-01-01

There is growing interest in implementing hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) as a tool to facilitate decision making based on a systematic and multidisciplinary assessment of evidence. However, the decision-making process, including the informational needs of hospital decision makers, is not well described. The objective was to review empirical studies analysing the information that hospital decision makers need when deciding about health technology (HT) investments. A systematic review of empirical studies published in English or Danish from 2000 to 2012 was carried out. The literature was assessed by two reviewers working independently. The identified informational needs were assessed with regard to their agreement with the nine domains of EUnetHTA's Core Model. A total of 2,689 articles were identified and assessed. The review process resulted in 14 relevant studies containing 74 types of information that hospital decision makers found relevant. In addition to information covered by the Core Model, other types of information dealing with political and strategic aspects were identified. The most frequently mentioned types of information in the literature related to clinical, economic and political/strategic aspects. Legal, social, and ethical aspects were seldom considered most important. Hospital decision makers are able to describe their information needs when deciding on HT investments. The different types of information were not of equal importance to hospital decision makers, however, and full agreement between EUnetHTA's Core Model and the hospital decision-makers' informational needs was not observed. They also need information on political and strategic aspects not covered by the Core Model.

Inmate Informational Needs Survey. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogel, Brenda

A survey was conducted to identify the information needs of a five percent sample of men and women incarcerated in seven Maryland State Correctional Facilities for use in planning relevant library services to this population. Findings indicated a lack of basic information concerning rules for correct institutional behavior, with one third of the…

Immigrant background and orthodontic treatment need. Quantitative and qualitative studies in Swedish adolescents.

PubMed

Josefsson, Eva

2010-01-01

During the last three decades there has been an increased influx of refugees and immigrants into Scandinavia. The overall aim of this thesis was primarily to improve our knowledge of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need, both normative and self-perceived, in adolescents of varying geographic origin. A further aim was to determine whether any differences with respect to perception of general appearance and psychosocial well-being were related to geographic origin. Papers I and II concerned self perceived and normative orthodontic treatment need. About 500 12-13 year-old subjects, stratified into different groups: A-Sweden, B-Eastern/Southeastern Europe, C-Asia and D-other countries, answered a questionnaire and underwent clinical examination by the author. In paper III the association between the two variables in papers I and II was investigated. Paper IV was a follow up study, at 18-19 years of age, of the relationship between geographic origin and prevalence of malocclusion, self-perceived treatment need, temporomandibular symptoms and psychosocial wellbeing. In Paper V a qualitative study of 19-20-year-old subjects was conducted, to identify the strategies they had adopted to handle the issue of persisting poor dental aesthetics. The main findings were that at 12-13 years of age, immigrant subjects had a lower perceived orthodontic treatment need than subjects of Swedish background. Girls of Swedish background had the highest self-perceived treatment need, whilst girls of non-Swedish background were most concerned that fixed appliance therapy would be painful. In a few of the clinical variables measured at 12-13 years of age, the Swedish group exhibited the greatest space deficiency and irregularity in both the maxillary and mandibular anterior segments and greater overjet, compared to the Eastern/Southeastern European and Asian groups. The clinical implications were negligible. The orthodontic treatment need according to "Index of Orthodontic Treatment

Information Practice and Malpractice. . .Do We Need Malpractice Insurance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mintz, Anne P.

1984-01-01

Relates interview responses of seven information brokers on proper practice of information and extent of malpractice (e.g., industrial espionage, breaches of client or source confidentiality). Types of protection against malpractice--contracts, good educational background for entry-level positions, continuing education, personal values,…

Students Seeking Access to Four-Year Institutions: Community College Transfers [Background Information].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Jamillah

This publication provides background information for a hearing by the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education and Outreach on December 3, 1997. The Introduction presents the Committee announcement, press release, agenda, information about transfer efforts in California, facts and figures about the community colleges, and the text of…

In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions. Methods This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA. Results The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were level of education and working experience, while for the caregivers the level of education was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, age, marital status, and level of education of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs. Conclusions The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs. PMID:21982344

Follow-up Care Education and Information: Identifying Cancer Survivors in Need of More Guidance

PubMed Central

O’Malley, Denalee M.; Hudson, Shawna V.; Ohman-Strickland, Pamela A; Bator, Alicja; Lee, Heather S.; Gundersen, Daniel A.; Miller, Suzanne M.

2015-01-01

Background Cancer survivors engage in cancer screenings and protective health behaviors at suboptimal rates despite their increased risk for future illness. Survivorship care plans and other educational strategies to prepare cancer survivors to adopt engaged roles in managing long-term follow-up care and health risks are needed. In a sample of cancer survivors, we identified patient characteristics and psychosocial predictors associated with increased follow-up care informational needs. Methods Cross-sectional surveys were administered to early stage breast and prostate survivors (N=278; 68% breast) at least two years post-treatment from four community hospital programs in New Jersey between May 2012-July 2013. Patient demographics, medical history, psychosocial characteristics (i.e., worries about the future, fear of disease recurrence, and patient activation) and perceptions of oncology and primary care were assessed. Results African American survivors (AOR =2.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–5.68) and survivors with higher comorbidity (AOR=1.16, CI 1.01–1.33) were more likely to want additional information to guide follow-up care. Adjusting for race and comorbidities, survivors who wanted more information to guide their follow-up care reported greater worries about the future (p<0.05) and fears about disease recurrence (p<0.05) compared to those who did not want additional information. Conclusions Results emphasize the need to develop cancer survivorship educational strategies that are both responsive to the needs of specific populations (e.g., African American survivors and patients with multiple comorbidities) and the psychosocial profiles that motivate requests for more extensive follow-up guidance. PMID:25524391

The information content of cosmic microwave background anisotropies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scott, Douglas; Contreras, Dagoberto; Narimani, Ali

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) contains perturbations that are close to Gaussian and isotropic. This means that its information content, in the sense of the ability to constrain cosmological models, is closely related to the number of modes probed in CMB power spectra. Rather than making forecasts for specific experimental setups, here we take a more pedagogical approach and ask how much information we can extract from the CMB if we are only limited by sample variance. We show that, compared with temperature measurements, the addition of E -mode polarization doubles the number of modes available out to a fixedmore » maximum multipole, provided that all of the TT , TE , and EE power spectra are measured. However, the situation in terms of constraints on particular parameters is more complicated, as we explain and illustrate graphically. We also discuss the enhancements in information that can come from adding B -mode polarization and gravitational lensing. We show how well one could ever determine the basic cosmological parameters from CMB data compared with what has been achieved with Planck , which has already probed a substantial fraction of the TT information. Lastly, we look at constraints on neutrino mass as a specific example of how lensing information improves future prospects beyond the current 6-parameter model.« less

Getting what they need when they need it. Identifying barriers to information needs of family caregivers to manage dementia-related behavioral symptoms.

PubMed

Werner, Nicole E; Stanislawski, Barbara; Marx, Katherine A; Watkins, Daphne C; Kobayashi, Marissa; Kales, Helen; Gitlin, Laura N

2017-02-22

Consumer health informatics (CHI) such as web-based applications may provide the platform for enabling the over 15 million family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease or related dementias the information they need when they need it to support behavioral symptom management. However, for CHI to be successful, it is necessary that it be designed to meet the specific information needs of family caregivers in the context in which caregiving occurs. A sociotechnical systems approach to CHI design can help to understand the contextual complexities of family caregiving and account for those complexities in the design of CHI for family caregivers. This study used a sociotechnical systems approach to identify barriers to meeting caregivers' information needs related to the management of dementia-related behavioral symptoms, and to derive design implications that overcome barriers for caregiver-focused web-based platforms. We have subsequently used these design implications to inform the development of a web-based platform, WeCareAdvisor,TM which provides caregivers with information and an algorithm by which to identify and manage behavioral symptoms for which they seek management strategies. We conducted 4 focus groups with family caregivers (N=26) in a Midwestern state. Qualitative content analysis of the data was guided by a sociotechnical systems framework. We identified nine categories of barriers that family caregivers confront in obtaining needed information about behavioral symptom management from which we extrapolated design implications for a web-based platform. Based on interactions within the sociotechnical system, three critical information needs were identified: 1) timely access to information, 2) access to information that is tailored or specific to caregiver's needs and contexts, and 3) usable information that can directly inform how caregivers' manage behaviors. The sociotechnical system framework is a useful approach for identifying information

Information gains from cosmic microwave background experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seehars, Sebastian; Amara, Adam; Refregier, Alexandre; Paranjape, Aseem; Akeret, Joël

2014-07-01

To shed light on the fundamental problems posed by dark energy and dark matter, a large number of experiments have been performed and combined to constrain cosmological models. We propose a novel way of quantifying the information gained by updates on the parameter constraints from a series of experiments which can either complement earlier measurements or replace them. For this purpose, we use the Kullback-Leibler divergence or relative entropy from information theory to measure differences in the posterior distributions in model parameter space from a pair of experiments. We apply this formalism to a historical series of cosmic microwave background experiments ranging from Boomerang to WMAP, SPT, and Planck. Considering different combinations of these experiments, we thus estimate the information gain in units of bits and distinguish contributions from the reduction of statistical errors and the "surprise" corresponding to a significant shift of the parameters' central values. For this experiment series, we find individual relative entropy gains ranging from about 1 to 30 bits. In some cases, e.g. when comparing WMAP and Planck results, we find that the gains are dominated by the surprise rather than by improvements in statistical precision. We discuss how this technique provides a useful tool for both quantifying the constraining power of data from cosmological probes and detecting the tensions between experiments.

Information needs in people with diabetes mellitus: a systematic review.

PubMed

Biernatzki, Lisa; Kuske, Silke; Genz, Jutta; Ritschel, Michaela; Stephan, Astrid; Bächle, Christina; Droste, Sigrid; Grobosch, Sandra; Ernstmann, Nicole; Chernyak, Nadja; Icks, Andrea

2018-02-14

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyse currently available knowledge on information needs of people with diabetes mellitus, also considering possible differences between subgroups and associated factors. Twelve databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library were searched up until June 2015. Publications that addressed self-reported information needs of people with diabetes mellitus were included. Each study was assessed by using critical appraisal tools, e.g. from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Extraction and content analysis were performed systematically. In total, 1993 publications were identified and 26 were finally included. Nine main categories of information needs were identified, including 'treatment-process', 'course of disease', 'abnormalities of glucose metabolism' and 'diabetes through the life cycle'. Differences between patient subgroups, such as type of diabetes or age, were sparsely analysed. Some studies analysed associations between information needs and factors such as participation preferences or information seeking. They found, for example, that information needs on social support or life tasks were associated with information seeking in Internet forums. Information needs in people with diabetes mellitus, appear to be high, yet poorly investigated. Research is needed regarding differences between diverse diabetes populations, including gender aspects or changes in information needs during the disease course. The review protocol has been registered at Prospero ( CRD42015029610 ).

Ecological Information Needs for Environmental Justice

PubMed Central

Burger, Joanna; Harris, Stuart; Harper, Barbara; Gochfeld, Michael

2014-01-01

The concept that all peoples should have their voices heard on matters that affect their well-being is at the core of environmental justice (EJ). The inability of some people of small towns, rural areas, minority, and low-income communities, to become involved in environmental decisions is sometimes due to a lack of information. We provide a template for the ecological information that is essential to examine environmental risks to EJ populations within average communities, using case studies from South Carolina (Savannah River, a DOE site with minority impacts), Washington (Hanford, a DOE site with Native American impacts), and New Jersey (nonpoint, urbanized community pollution). While the basic ecological and public health information needs for risk evaluations and assessments are well described, less attention has been focused on standardizing information about EJ communities or EJ populations within larger communities. We suggest that information needed about EJ communities and populations includes demographics, consumptive and nonconsumptive uses of their regional environment (for example, maintenance and cosmetic, medicinal/religious/cultural uses), eco-dependency webs, and eco-cultural attributes. A purely demographics approach might not even identify EJ populations or neighborhoods, much less their spatial relation to the impact source or to each other. Using information from three case studies, we illustrate that some information is readily available (e.g., consumption rates for standard items such as fish), but there is less information about medicinal, cultural, religious, eco-cultural dependency webs, and eco-cultural attributes, all of which depend in some way on intact, functioning, and healthy ecosystems. PMID:20409031

Information needs of case managers caring for persons living with HIV.

PubMed

Schnall, Rebecca; Cimino, James J; Currie, Leanne M; Bakken, Suzanne

2011-05-01

The goals of this study were to explore the information needs of case managers who provide services to persons living with HIV (PLWH) and to assess the applicability of the Information Needs Event Taxonomy in a new population. The study design was observational with data collection via an online survey. Responses to open-ended survey questions about the information needs of case managers (n=94) related to PLWH of three levels of care complexity were categorized using the Information Needs Event Taxonomy. The most frequently identified needs were related to patient education resources (33%), patient data (23%), and referral resources (22%) accounting for 79% of all (N=282) information needs. Study limitations include selection bias, recall bias, and a relatively narrow focus of the study on case-manager information needs in the context of caring for PLWH. The study findings contribute to the evidence base regarding information needs in the context of patient interactions by: (1) supporting the applicability of the Information Needs Event Taxonomy and extending it through addition of a new generic question; (2) providing a foundation for the addition of context-specific links to external information resources within information systems; (3) applying a new approach for elicitation of information needs; and (4) expanding the literature regarding addressing information needs in community-based settings for HIV services.

NEEDS - Information Adaptive System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, W. L.; Benz, H. F.; Meredith, B. D.

1980-01-01

The Information Adaptive System (IAS) is an element of the NASA End-to-End Data System (NEEDS) Phase II and is focused toward onboard image processing. The IAS is a data preprocessing system which is closely coupled to the sensor system. Some of the functions planned for the IAS include sensor response nonuniformity correction, geometric correction, data set selection, data formatting, packetization, and adaptive system control. The inclusion of these sensor data preprocessing functions onboard the spacecraft will significantly improve the extraction of information from the sensor data in a timely and cost effective manner, and provide the opportunity to design sensor systems which can be reconfigured in near real-time for optimum performance. The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary design of the IAS and the plans for its development.

A comparison of the information needs of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Malaysia and the United kingdom.

PubMed

Gopal, Raja Lexshimi Raja; Beaver, Kinta; Barnett, Tony; Ismail, Nik Safiah Nik

2005-01-01

Little is known about the information needs of women with breast cancer in non-Western societies. This study examined the priority information needs of 100 women with breast cancer in Malaysia and compared the findings to previous work involving 150 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the United Kingdom. The study used a valid and reliable measure, the Information Needs Questionnaire (INQ). The INQ contained 9 items of information related to physical, psychological, and social care, used successfully in Canada and the United Kingdom. The INQ was shown to have cross-cultural relevance and sensitivity. For Malaysian women, information about likelihood of cure, sexual attractiveness, and spread of disease were the most important information needs. For UK women, similar priorities were evident, apart from the item on sexual attractiveness, which was ranked much lower by women in the United Kingdom. The cultural similarities and differences that emerged from this study have implications for nurses in the cancer field caring for people from a diversity of cultural backgrounds. Breast care nurses are not a feature of the Malaysian healthcare system, although the findings from this study support the view that specialist nurses have a vital role to play in meeting the psychosocial needs of women with breast cancer in non-Western societies.

Dynamics and cultural specifics of information needs under conditions of long-term space flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feichtinger, Elena; Shved, Dmitry; Gushin, Vadim

are related not only to individual traits of the subjects, but to their nationality and cultural background as well. Cultural differences in information and communication needs of Russian and European crewmembers led to necessity of adaptation of psychological support to the specifics of each group. The results of the study suggest that the problem of information, communication and media-related needs should be studied thoroughly, with consequent development of recommendations for psychological support of international crews.

Understanding user needs for carbon monitoring information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duren, R. M.; Macauley, M.; Gurney, K. R.; Saatchi, S. S.; Woodall, C. W.; Larsen, K.; Reidmiller, D.; Hockstad, L.; Weitz, M.; Croes, B.; Down, A.; West, T.; Mercury, M.

2015-12-01

The objectives of the Understanding User Needs project for NASA's Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) program are to: 1) engage the user community and identify needs for policy-relevant carbon monitoring information, 2) evaluate current and planned CMS data products with regard to their value for decision making, and 3) explore alternative methods for visualizing and communicating carbon monitoring information and associated uncertainties to decision makers and other stakeholders. To meet these objectives and help establish a sustained link between science and decision-making we have established a multi-disciplinary team that combines expertise in carbon-cycle science, engineering, economics, and carbon management and policy. We will present preliminary findings regarding emerging themes and needs for carbon information that may warrant increased attention by the science community. We will also demonstrate a new web-based tool that offers a common framework for facilitating user evaluation of carbon data products from multiple CMS projects.

Adapting the Content of Cancer Web Sites to the Information Needs of Patients: Reliability and Readability

PubMed Central

Bermúdez-Tamayo, Clara; Pernett, Jaime Jiménez; Garcia-Gutierrez, Jose Francisco; Cózar-Olmo, José Manuel; Valero-Aguilera, Beatriz

2013-01-01

Abstract Background: People who use the Internet to research health topics do not usually find all the information they need and do not trust what they read. This study was designed to assess the reliability, accessibility, readability, and popularity of cancer Web sites in Spanish and to analyze the suitability of Web site content in accordance with the specific information needs of cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This was a two-phase, cross-sectional, descriptive study. The first phase involved data gathering through online searches and direct observation. The second phase involved individual structured interviews with 169 patients with breast, prostate, bladder, and kidney cancer. Spearman rank correlations were calculated between variables. Results: Most sites belonged to nonprofit organizations, followed by universities or medical centers (14%). Thirty-one percent of the Web sites had quality seals, 59% provided details of authorship, 62% provided references to bibliographic sources, 38% identified their funding sources, and 54% showed the date of their last update. Twenty-one percent of the Web sites did not meet the minimum accessibility criteria. With regard to readability, 24% of the texts were considered to be “quite difficult.” Patients' information needs vary depending on the type of cancer they have, although all patients want to know about the likelihood of a cure, survival rates, the side effects, and risks of treatment. Conclusions: The health information on cancer available on the Internet in Spanish is not very reliable, accessible, or readable and is not necessarily the information that breast, kidney, prostate, and bladder cancer patients require. The content of cancer Web sites needs to be assessed according to the information needs of patients. PMID:24073899

Hospital managers need management information systems.

PubMed

Davis, S; Freeman, J R

1976-01-01

A new hospital director seeking to bring his institution to the brink of solvency found himself with ten pounds of data but no "information"--at least, not the kind of information he could use as a basis for management decisions. What he needed was a system that would not only present data, but the meaning of the data. Such a system is the integrated MIS.

Accessible information for people with complex communication needs.

PubMed

Owens, Janet S

2006-09-01

Information can be empowering if it is accessible. While a number of known information access barriers have been reported for the broader group of people with disabilities, specific information issues for people with complex communication needs have not been previously reported. In this consumer-focused study, the accessibility of information design and dissemination practices were discussed by 17 people with complex communication needs; by eight parents, advocates, therapists, and agency representatives in focus groups; and by seven individuals in individual interviews. Participants explored issues and made recommendations for content, including language, visual and audio supports; print accessibility; physical access; and human support for information access. Consumer-generated accessibility guidelines were an outcome of this study.

In the Information Age, do dementia caregivers get the information they need? Semi-structured interviews to determine informal caregivers' education needs, barriers, and preferences.

PubMed

Peterson, Kendra; Hahn, Howard; Lee, Amber J; Madison, Catherine A; Atri, Alireza

2016-09-23

Most patients with dementia or cognitive impairment receive care from family members, often untrained for this challenging role. Caregivers may not access publicly available caregiving information, and caregiver education programs are not widely implemented clinically. Prior large surveys yielded broad quantitative understanding of caregiver information needs, but do not illuminate the in-depth, rich, and nuanced caregiver perspectives that can be gleaned using qualitative methodology. We aimed to understand perspectives about information sources, barriers and preferences, through semi-structured interviews with 27 caregivers. Content analysis identified important themes. We interviewed 19 women, 8 men; mean age 58.5 years; most adult children (15) or spouses (8) of the care recipient. Dementia symptoms often developed insidiously, with delayed disease acknowledgement and caregiver self-identification. While memory loss was common, behavioral symptoms were most troublesome, often initially unrecognized as disease indicators. Emerging themes: 1.) Barriers to seeking information often result from knowledge gaps, rather than reluctance to assume the caregiver role; 2.) Most caregivers currently receive insufficient information. Caregivers are open to many information sources, settings, and technologies, including referrals to other healthcare professionals, print material, and community and internet resources, but expect the primary care provider (PCP) to recommend, endorse, and guide them to specific sources. These findings replicated and expanded on results from previous quantitative surveys and, importantly, revealed a previously unrecognized essential factor: despite receiving insufficient information, caregivers place critical value on their relationship with care recipient PCPs to receive recommendations, guidance and endorsement to sources of caregiving information. Implications include: 1.) Greater public education is needed to help caregivers identify and

Staffing Preschools: Background Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, Lilian G.; Weir, Mary K.

This report explores background variables related to preschool teaching, and emphasizes that statistics fluctuate in early childhood education. The increase for preprimary enrollment of 3- and 4-year-olds was 26 percent from 1966 to 1967. Accurate figures on preschool teaching personnel are not available, but a large proportion of Head Start…

Current information technology needs of small to medium sized apparel manufacturers and contractors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wimple, C., LLNL

1998-04-01

This report documents recent efforts of the American Textile Partnership (AMTEX{sup TM}) Demand Activated Manufacturing Architecture (DAMA) Project to identify opportunities for cost effective enhanced information technology use by small to medium sized apparel manufacturers and contractors. Background on the AMTEX/DAMA project and objectives for the specific DAMA Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) effort are discussed in this section. The approach used to gather information about current opportunities or needs is outlined in Section 2 Approach, and relevant findings are identified and a brief analysis of the information gathered is presented in Section 3 Findings. Recommendations based on the analysis,more » are offered in Section 4 Recommendations, and plans are suggested for DAMA follow-on in Section 5 Future Plans. Trip reports for each of the companies visited are contained in Appendix E - Company Trip Reports. These individual reports contain the data upon which the analysis presented in Section 3 Findings is based.« less

CIRUN: Climate Information Responding to User Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busalacchi, A. J.

2009-12-01

The Earth System will experience real climate change over the next 50 years, exceeding the scope of natural climate variability. A paramount question facing society is how to adapt to this certainty of climate variability and change. In response, OSTP and NOAA are considering how comprehensive climate services would best inform decisions about adaptation. Similarly, NASA is considering the optimal configuration of the next generation of Earth, environmental, and climate observations to be deployed over the coming 10-20 years. Moreover, much of the added-value information for specific climate-related decisions will be provided by private, academic and non-governmental organizations. In this context, over the past several years the University of Maryland has established the CIRUN (Climate Information: Responding to User Needs) initiative to identify the nature of national needs for climate information and services from a decision support perspective. To date, CIRUN has brought together decisionmakers in a number of sectors to help understand their perspectives on climate with the goal of improving the usefulness of climate information, observations and prediction products to specific user communities. CIRUN began with a major workshop in October 2007 that convened 430 participants in agriculture, parks and recreation, terrestrial ecosystems, insurance/investment, energy, national security, state/local/municipal, water, human health, commerce and manufacturing, transportation, and coastal/marine sectors. Plenary speakers such as Norman Augustine, R. James Woolsey, James Mahoney, and former Senator Joseph Tydings, breakout panel sessions, and participants provided input based on the following: - How would you characterize the exposure or vulnerability to climate variability or change impacting your organization? - Does climate variability and/or change currently factor into your organization's objectives or operations? - Are any of your existing plans being affected by

Information Needs of Parents about Learning Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McConkey, Roy

2003-01-01

A survey of more than 400 parents and carers of children and adults with severe learning disabilities in Northern Ireland found respondents' most common sources of information were social workers, staff in schools and centers, and general practitioners. Needed information most commonly concerned available services, leisure and holidays, and…

A Strategy for Minimizing Background Signal in Autoinductive Signal Amplification Reactions for Point-of-Need Assays.

PubMed

Brooks, Adam D; Yeung, Kimy; Lewis, Gregory G; Phillips, Scott T

2015-09-07

Rapid point-of-need assays are used to detect abundant biomarkers. The development of in situ signal amplification reactions could extend these assays to screening and triaging of patients for trace levels of biomarkers, even in resource-limited settings. We, and others, have developed small molecule-based in situ signal amplification reactions that eventually may be useful in this context. Herein we describe a design strategy for minimizing background signal that may occur in the absence of the target analyte, thus moving this in situ signal amplification approach one step closer to practical applications. Specifically, we describe allylic ethers as privileged connectors for linking detection and propagating functionality in a small molecule signal amplification reagent. Allylic ethers minimize background reactions while still enabling controlled release of a propagating signal in order to continue the signal amplification reaction. This paper characterizes the ability of allylic ethers to provide an amplified response, and offers insight into additional design considerations that are needed before in situ small molecule-based signal amplification becomes a viable strategy for point-of-need diagnostics.

A Strategy for Minimizing Background Signal in Autoinductive Signal Amplification Reactions for Point-of-Need Assays

PubMed Central

Brooks, Adam D.; Yeung, Kimy; Lewis, Gregory G.

2015-01-01

Rapid point-of-need assays are used to detect abundant biomarkers. The development of in situ signal amplification reactions could extend these assays to screening and triaging of patients for trace levels of biomarkers, even in resource-limited settings. We, and others, have developed small molecule-based in situ signal amplification reactions that eventually may be useful in this context. Herein we describe a design strategy for minimizing background signal that may occur in the absence of the target analyte, thus moving this in situ signal amplification approach one step closer to practical applications. Specifically, we describe allylic ethers as privileged connectors for linking detection and propagating functionality in a small molecule signal amplification reagent. Allylic ethers minimize background reactions while still enabling controlled release of a propagating signal in order to continue the signal amplification reaction. This paper characterizes the ability of allylic ethers to provide an amplified response, and offers insight into additional design considerations that are needed before in situ small molecule-based signal amplification becomes a viable strategy for point-of-need diagnostics. PMID:26604988

Do cancer-specific websites meet patient's information needs?

PubMed

Warren, Emily; Footman, Katharine; Tinelli, Michela; McKee, Martin; Knai, Cécile

2014-04-01

To evaluate commonly used cancer websites' information provision, we developed and applied an Information Comprehensiveness Tool to breast and prostate cancer websites. We first collated questions from a systematic literature review on patient information needs. We then classified the questions in terms of spectrum of care, theme, and nature of question. "Breast cancer" and "prostate cancer" were typed into Google, and websites listed on the first page of results were selected. Two researchers, blind to each others' scores, assessed the same websites using the coding system. Each question was scored on a 3-point scale as not (0%), partially (50%) and fully (100%) answered by two researchers. Average scores were calculated across all questions. Inter-rater reliability was assessed. We identified 79 general, 5 breast, and 5 prostate cancer questions. Inter-rater reliability was good, with an intraclass coefficient of 0.756 (95% CIs 0.729-0.781). 17 questions were not answered thoroughly by any website. Questions about "future planning", "monitoring", and "decision-making" were discussed least. Biomedical questions scored highest. More comprehensive information needs to be provided on breast and prostate cancer websites. This ICT can improve cancer information online and enable patients to engage more actively regarding their information needs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Central information portal on rare diseases : Implementation of quality- and needs-oriented information management].

PubMed

Litzkendorf, Svenja; Pauer, Frédéric; Zeidler, Jan; Göbel, Jens; Storf, Holger; Graf von der Schulenburg, J-Matthias

2017-05-01

A central information portal on rare diseases (ZIPSE) has been conceptualized and implemented that allows patients, relatives and health care professionals to access quality-assured information. For this purpose, quality criteria have been developed specifically for rare diseases. At the same time, the information basis should take into account the specific needs of those interested. The needs of patients and relatives regarding online-based information are analyzed. Based on this, we examined to what extent the information basis, which is available according to the ZIPSE quality criteria, can cover these needs. If necessary, measures have to be developed to ensure quality- as well as needs-oriented information management. Qualitative interviews with patients and relatives were conducted, which were then evaluated using content analysis. Subsequently, a quantitative evaluation of the information on rare diseases in the portal was made. The research addresses how many websites do not fulfil the quality criteria, from which group of provider these websites originate and which criteria are not fulfilled. This is followed by a comparison of the quantitative and qualitative results. When looking for information on the Internet, the websites of self-help groups represent a significant source. These are perceived as very trustworthy and in the later course of the disease, offer detailed information on important information areas. Information websites from self-help groups, however, often do not meet quality requirements. Therefore, a transparent representation is made regarding the quality of the ZIPSE information pages. Pages that are not quality-assured can be actively requested, but will be clearly identified.

How do hospitalised patients with Turkish migration background estimate their language skills and their comprehension of medical information – a prospective cross-sectional study and comparison to native patients in Germany to assess the language barrier and the need for translation

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Today more than two million people with Turkish migration background live in Germany making them the largest ethnic minority in the country. Data concerning language skills and the perception of medical information in hospitalised patients with Turkish migration background (T) are scarce. Our study is the first to gather quantitative information on this important subject. Methods T and hospitalised German patients without migration background (G) of our university hospital were prospectively included into a cross-sectional study and completed a questionnaire - each group in the appropriate language (T: Turkish, G: German). Results 121 T and 121 G were included. Groups significantly differed in age (T: 44.9 ± 17.8, G: 56.9 ± 16.7y) and proportion of males (T: 37.2, G: 54.5%) but not regarding the proportion of college graduates (T: 19.3, G: 15.7%). The majority of T was born in Turkey (71%) and is of Turkish nationality (66%). 74% of T speak mainly Turkish at home; however, 73% speak German at work. 74.4% of T self-rated their German linguistic proficiency as “average” or better while 25.6% reported it as “very bad” or “bad”. 10.7% of T need translation in order to pursue everyday activities. T were significantly less satisfied with the physician’s information on disease and estimated to understand significantly less of what the physician told them: 46.3% of T estimated their reception of the physician’s information to be “average” or worse. 43.3% of T had the impression that it would have helped them “much” or “very much” to be aided by an interpreter at the hospital. The information transmitted while giving informed consent to invasive medical procedure was judged to be “mostly” or “completely” sufficient by the majority of T (76%) and G (89.8%). In this setting 37 of 96 T (38.5%) reported being helped by an interpreter – in most cases (64.9%) a family member. Conclusion Although the majority of

Using research evidence to inform staff learning needs in cross-cultural communication in aged care homes.

PubMed

Gillham, David; De Bellis, Anita; Xiao, Lily; Willis, Eileen; Harrington, Ann; Morey, Wendy; Jeffers, Lesley

2018-04-01

Developed countries worldwide are facing an unprecedented demand for aged care services, with recent migrants of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds increasingly recruited as care workers while at the same time there is growing cultural diversity among aged care residents. This situation is compounded by rapidly changing technology and varied educational levels of care workers from diverse backgrounds. The objectives were threefold: to identify staff learning needs to enable them to provide high-quality cross-cultural care; to improve team cohesion; and identify preferred learning approaches. An interpretive qualitative study utilising focus group and interview data informed the development of an education resource. Fifty six care workers from four residential aged care facilities participated in either focus groups or interviews conducted in private meeting rooms within the care facilities. Participants included personal care attendants, registered and clinical nurses, managers, hospitality staff and allied health professionals. Focus group and interview data were categorised and thematically analysed. Data relevant to cross-cultural care, team cohesion and preferred learning approaches informed education resource development, including case studies. Major themes identified the need to promote cultural awareness and understanding, and strategies for cross-cultural care and communication. Themes related to team cohesion demonstrated that staff were already sympathetic and sensitive to cross-cultural issues, and that culturally and linguistically diverse staff add value to the workforce and are supported by the organisation. Staff required clear, uncomplicated education resources to equip them with skills to address problematic cultural situations. Preferred learning approaches varied and highlighted the need for varied educational materials and approaches, as well as time efficient, opportunistic education strategies for the busy workplace. An education

Acquisition of background and technical information and class trip planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackinnon, R. M.; Wake, W. H.

1981-01-01

Instructors who are very familiar with a study area, as well as those who are not, find the field trip information acquisition and planning process speeded and made more effective by organizing it in stages. The stage follow a deductive progression: from the associated context region, to the study area, to the specific sample window sites, and from generalized background information on the study region to specific technical data on the environmental and human use systems to be interpreted at each site. On the class trip and in the follow up laboratory, the learning/interpretive process are at first deductive in applying previously learned information and skills to analysis of the study site, then inductive in reading and interpreting the landscape, imagery, and maps of the site, correlating them with information of other samples sites and building valid generalizations about the larger study area, its context region, and other (similar and/or contrasting) regions.

Preservice Teachers' Attitudes toward Inclusion and toward Students with Special Educational Needs from Different Ethnic Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markova, Maria; Pit-Ten Cate, Ineke; Krolak-Schwerdt, Sabine; Glock, Sabine

2016-01-01

Drawing on social cognition frameworks, we experimentally examined preservice teachers' implicit attitudes toward students with special educational needs (SEN) from different ethnic backgrounds and preservice teachers' explicit attitudes toward inclusive education. Preservice teachers (N = 46) completed an evaluative priming task and…

[Effects of exposure frequency and background information on preferences for photographs of cars in different locations].

PubMed

Matsuda, Ken; Kusumi, Takashi; Hosomi, Naohiro; Osa, Atsushi; Miike, Hidetoshi

2014-08-01

This study examined the influence of familiarity and novelty on the mere exposure effect while manipulating the presentation of background information. We selected presentation stimuli that integrated cars and backgrounds based on the results of pilot studies. During the exposure phase, we displayed the stimuli successively for 3 seconds, manipulating the background information (same or different backgrounds with each presentation) and exposure frequency (3, 6, and 9 times). In the judgment phase, 18 participants judged the cars in terms of preference, familiarity, and novelty on a 7-point scale. As the number of stimulus presentations increased, the preference for the cars increased during the different background condition and decreased during the same background condition. This increased preference may be due to the increase in familiarity caused by the higher exposure frequency and novelty resulting from the background changes per exposure session. The rise in preference judgments was not seen when cars and backgrounds were presented independently. Therefore, the addition of novel features to each exposure session facilitated the mere exposure effect.

Training needs for toxicity testing in the 21st century: a survey-informed analysis.

PubMed

Lapenna, Silvia; Gabbert, Silke; Worth, Andrew

2012-12-01

Current training needs on the use of alternative methods in predictive toxicology, including new approaches based on mode-of-action (MoA) and adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concepts, are expected to evolve rapidly. In order to gain insight into stakeholder preferences for training, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) conducted a single-question survey with twelve experts in regulatory agencies, industry, national research organisations, NGOs and consultancies. Stakeholder responses were evaluated by means of theory-based qualitative data analysis. Overall, a set of training topics were identified that relate both to general background information and to guidance for applying alternative testing methods. In particular, for the use of in silico methods, stakeholders emphasised the need for training on data integration and evaluation, in order to increase confidence in applying these methods for regulatory purposes. Although the survey does not claim to offer an exhaustive overview of the training requirements, its findings support the conclusion that the development of well-targeted and tailor-made training opportunities that inform about the usefulness of alternative methods, in particular those that offer practical experience in the application of in silico methods, deserves more attention. This should be complemented by transparent information and guidance on the interpretation of the results generated by these methods and software tools. 2012 FRAME.

Responding to GPs' information resource needs: implementation and evaluation of a complementary medicines information resource in Queensland general practice

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Australian General Practitioners (GPs) are in the forefront of primary health care and in an excellent position to communicate with their patients and educate them about Complementary Medicines (CMs) use. However previous studies have demonstrated that GPs lack the knowledge required about CMs to effectively communicate with patients about their CMs use and they perceive a need for information resources on CMs to use in their clinical practice. This study aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a CMs information resource in Queensland (Qld) general practice. Methods The results of the needs assessment survey of Qld general practitioners (GPs) informed the development of a CMs information resource which was then put through an implementation and evaluation cycle in Qld general practice. The CMs information resource was a set of evidence-based herbal medicine fact sheets. This resource was utilised by 100 Qld GPs in their clinical practice for four weeks and was then evaluated. The evaluation assessed GPs' (1) utilisation of the resource (2) perceived quality, usefulness and satisfaction with the resource and (3) perceived impact of the resource on their knowledge, attitudes, and practice of CMs. Results Ninety two out of the 100 GPs completed the four week evaluation of the fact sheets and returned the post-intervention survey. The herbal medicine fact sheets produced by this study were well accepted and utilised by Qld GPs. The majority of GPs perceived that the fact sheets were a useful resource for their clinical practice. The fact sheets improved GPs' attitudes towards CMs, increased their knowledge of those herbal medicines and improved their communication with their patients about those specific herbs. Eighty-six percent of GPs agreed that if they had adequate resources on CMs, like the herbal medicine fact sheets, then they would communicate more to their patients about their use of CMs. Conclusion Further educational interventions on CMs need to

Information to Change the World--Fulfilling the Information Needs of Technology Transfer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duberman, Josh; Zeller, Martin

1996-01-01

Provides an introduction to fulfilling the information needs of technology transfer. Highlights include a definition of technology transfer; government and university involvement; industry's role; publishers; an annotated list of information sources and contacts; technology assessment, including patent searching, competitive intelligence, and…

National healthcare systems and the need for health information governance.

PubMed

Hovenga, Evelyn J S

2013-01-01

This chapter gives an overview of health data, information and knowledge governance needs and associated generic principles so that information systems are able to automate such data collections from point-of-care operational systems. Also covered are health information systems' dimensions and known barriers to the delivery of quality health services, including environmental, technology and governance influences of any population's health status within the context of national health systems. This is where health information managers and health informaticians need to resolve the many challenges associated with eHealth implementations where data are assets, efficient information flow is essential, the ability to acquire new knowledge desirable, and where the use of data and information needs to be viewed from a governance perspective to ensure reliable and quality information is obtained to enhance decision making.

Informing Severely III Patients: Needs, Shortcomings and Strategies for Improvement

PubMed Central

Strohbuecker, Barbara; Gaertner, Jan; Stock, Stephanie

2011-01-01

Summary The scope of palliative care has expanded gradually over the last decade. Provision of palliative care is not restricted to the last months of life as in some out-dated concepts. It addresses the needs of severely ill patients in all care settings (in- and outpatients, home care, hospices). Particularly in the last years, the value of integrating palliative care early in the disease trajectory of life-threatening and incurable diseases has become increasingly acknowledged. In order for patients to fully benefit from the concept of early integration of palliative care, they need to be provided with information tailored to their disease trajectory. For example, patients and relatives need to know how symptoms such as pain, depression, fatigue, breathlessness, or anxiety can be alleviated. The patients’ knowledge and understanding will support the coping process, improve comfort and enhance patient participation and autonomy. Since information needs are highly individual and vary throughout the course of the disease, an interactive approach of assessing the patients’ needs and responding to them adequately is mandatory. In this article, the information needs of advanced cancer patients and their families are explained, shortcomings of the present information concepts are discussed, and an integrative approach to responding to patients’ information needs throughout the care pathway is advocated. PMID:21547020

Identifying Employer Needs from Accounting Information Systems Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillon, Thomas W.; Kruck, S. E.

2008-01-01

As the need for new hires with accounting and information technology knowledge increases, a new major in accounting information systems (AIS) has emerged. This new AIS degree is a hybrid of accounting concepts and common business subjects combined with key information technology issues. Employers were presented with 56 core content areas found in…

A qualitative analysis of the information needs of informal carers of terminally ill cancer patients.

PubMed

Rose, K E

1999-01-01

This article discusses issues relating to information arising from a qualitative study of the experiences of informal carers of terminally ill cancer patients. Qualitative data analysis, drawing on methods of literary criticism, revealed that information was a key area in carers' experience. The findings are presented in the context of needing to provide individualized care to every family and deal with information needs relating to the illness and prognosis. The question of who is in possession of what information is raised, and the effect that this can have on couples is discussed, together with the issue of false information which carers may receive. The discussion centres on the complexity of understanding carers' information needs and considers how these are affected by the context within which carers operate. The work of Glaser and Strauss on awareness contexts is discussed in this respect. Finally, the importance of the nurse's role as a sensitive mediator of information is considered.

Assessing Unmet Information Needs of Breast Cancer Survivors: Exploratory Study of Online Health Forums Using Text Classification and Retrieval

PubMed Central

Rastegar-Mojarad, Majid; Wang, Yanshan; Ruddy, Kathryn J; Haddad, Tufia C; Liu, Hongfang

2018-01-01

Background Patient education materials given to breast cancer survivors may not be a good fit for their information needs. Needs may change over time, be forgotten, or be misreported, for a variety of reasons. An automated content analysis of survivors' postings to online health forums can identify expressed information needs over a span of time and be repeated regularly at low cost. Identifying these unmet needs can guide improvements to existing education materials and the creation of new resources. Objective The primary goals of this project are to assess the unmet information needs of breast cancer survivors from their own perspectives and to identify gaps between information needs and current education materials. Methods This approach employs computational methods for content modeling and supervised text classification to data from online health forums to identify explicit and implicit requests for health-related information. Potential gaps between needs and education materials are identified using techniques from information retrieval. Results We provide a new taxonomy for the classification of sentences in online health forum data. 260 postings from two online health forums were selected, yielding 4179 sentences for coding. After annotation of data and training alternative one-versus-others classifiers, a random forest-based approach achieved F1 scores from 66% (Other, dataset2) to 90% (Medical, dataset1) on the primary information types. 136 expressions of need were used to generate queries to indexed education materials. Upon examination of the best two pages retrieved for each query, 12% (17/136) of queries were found to have relevant content by all coders, and 33% (45/136) were judged to have relevant content by at least one. Conclusions Text from online health forums can be analyzed effectively using automated methods. Our analysis confirms that breast cancer survivors have many information needs that are not covered by the written documents they

Perceived need for information of patients with haematological malignancies: a literature review.

PubMed

Rood, Janneke A J; Eeltink, Corien M; van Zuuren, Florence J; Verdonck-de Leeuw, Irma M; Huijgens, Peter C

2015-02-01

To provide insight into the perceived need for information of patients with haematological malignancies. Providing timely and accurate information to patients diagnosed with a haematological malignancy is a challenge in clinical practice; treatment often has to start promptly, with little time to inform patients. Literature review. A comprehensive literature search was conducted from all available literature to May 2013 in the databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and PubMed (Medline). Relevant studies were reviewed regarding the perceived need for information on various topics, sources of information and satisfaction with information provided. The initial search revealed 215 articles, fourteen of which were relevant. Patients need basic information on the disease (diagnosis and diagnostics), treatment (various treatment options, side effects and duration), prognosis (curability and prolonging life) and all other topics (recovery, self-care and psychosocial functioning). Need for detailed information varied between studies. Patients expressed a higher need for medical than for psychosocial information. Patients preferred to receive information from their doctors the most, followed by nurses. Most studies described patients' satisfaction with the information provided. Based on the limited number of data available, medical information is for patients of higher priority compared to psychosocial information. Patients need basic information on diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and all other topics. Need for detailed information varied between studies. Patients were satisfied with the provided information, preferably offered by doctors and nurses. The perceived need for information and satisfaction with the information provided differs strongly between patients. In clinical practice, more attention is needed for information tailored to the patient, taking into account important moderating factors such as age, type of cancer, time

A qualitative exploration of the perceptions and information needs of public health inspectors responsible for food safety

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background In Ontario, local public health inspectors play an important frontline role in protecting the public from foodborne illness. This study was an in-depth exploration of public health inspectors' perceptions of the key food safety issues in public health, and their opinions and needs with regards to food safety information resources. Methods Four focus group discussions were conducted with public health inspectors from the Central West region of Ontario, Canada during June and July, 2008. A questioning route was used to standardize qualitative data collection. Audio recordings of sessions were transcribed verbatim and data-driven content analysis was performed. Results A total of 23 public health inspectors participated in four focus group discussions. Five themes emerged as key food safety issues: time-temperature abuse, inadequate handwashing, cross-contamination, the lack of food safety knowledge by food handlers and food premise operators, and the lack of food safety information and knowledge about specialty foods (i.e., foods from different cultures). In general, participants reported confidence with their current knowledge of food safety issues and foodborne pathogens. Participants highlighted the need for a central source for food safety information, access to up-to-date food safety information, resources in different languages, and additional food safety information on specialty foods. Conclusions The information gathered from these focus groups can provide a basis for the development of resources that will meet the specific needs of public health inspectors involved in protecting and promoting food safety. PMID:20553592

Distinguishing vegetation from soil background information. [by gray mapping of Landsat MSS data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richardson, A. J.; Wiegand, C. L.

1977-01-01

In aircraft and satellite multispectral scanner data, soil background signals are superimposed on or intermingled with information about vegetation. A procedure which accounts for soil background would, therefore, make a considerable contribution to an operational use of Landsat and other spectral data for monitoring the productivity of range, forest, and crop lands. A description is presented of an investigation which was conducted to obtain information for the development of such a procedure. The investigation included a study of the soil reflectance that supplies the background signal of vegetated surfaces. Landsat data as recorded on computer compatible tapes were used in the study. The results of the investigation are discussed, taking into account a study reported by Kauth and Thomas (1976). Attention is given to the determination of Kauth's plane of soils, sun angle effects, vegetation index modeling, and the evaluation of vegetation indexes. Graphs are presented which show the results obtained with a gray mapping technique. The technique makes it possible to display plant, soil, water, and cloud conditions for any Landsat overpass.

Information Needs of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgical Oncology Patients.

PubMed

Gillespie, Jacqueline; Kacikanis, Anna; Nyhof-Young, Joyce; Gallinger, Steven; Ruthig, Elke

2017-09-01

A marked knowledge gap exists concerning the information needs of hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgical oncology patients. We investigated the comprehensive information needs of this patient population, including the type and amount of information desired, as well as the preferred method of receiving information. A questionnaire was administered to patients being treated surgically for cancers of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, or bile ducts at Toronto General Hospital, part of the University Health Network, in Toronto, Canada. The questionnaire examined patients' information needs across six domains of information: medical, practical, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. Among 36 respondents, the importance of information and amount of information desired differed significantly by domain (both p < 0.001). This group of patients rated information in the medical and physical domains as most important, though they also desired specific items of information from the emotional, practical, and social domains. Patients' overwhelming preference was to receive information via a one-on-one consultation with a healthcare provider. It is important for healthcare providers working with HPB surgical oncology patients to be comprehensive when providing information related to patients' cancer diagnosis, prognosis, associated symptoms, and side effects of treatment. Certain emotional, practical, and social issues (e.g., fears of cancer recurrence, drug coverage options, relationship changes) should be addressed as well. Face-to-face interactions should be the primary mode of delivering information to patients. Our findings are being used to guide the training of healthcare providers and the development of educational resources specific to HPB surgical oncology patients.

Experiences of informational needs and received information following a prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defect.

PubMed

Carlsson, Tommy; Bergman, Gunnar; Wadensten, Barbro; Mattsson, Elisabet

2016-06-01

To explore the need for information and what information was actually received following prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart defect, in a country where termination of pregnancy beyond 22 weeks of gestation is not easily possible because of legal constraints. Twenty-six Swedish-speaking pregnant women (n = 14) and partners (n = 12) were consecutively recruited for semi-structured telephone interviews following the prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart defect. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Although high satisfaction with the specialist information was described, the information was considered overwhelming and complex. Objective, honest, and detailed information about multiple subjects were needed, delivered repeatedly, and supplemented by written information/illustrations. Eighteen respondents had used the Internet to search for information and identified issues involving searching difficulties, low quality, and that it was too complex, insufficient, or unspecific. Those who terminated their pregnancy criticized that there was a lack of information about termination of pregnancy, both from health professionals and online sources, resulting in unanswered questions and unpreparedness. Individuals faced with a prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart defect need individualized and repeated information. These needs are not all adequately met, as individuals are satisfied with the specialist consultation but left with unanswered questions regarding pregnancy termination. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Experiences of informational needs and received information following a prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defect

PubMed Central

Bergman, Gunnar; Wadensten, Barbro; Mattsson, Elisabet

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective To explore the need for information and what information was actually received following prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart defect, in a country where termination of pregnancy beyond 22 weeks of gestation is not easily possible because of legal constraints. Methods Twenty‐six Swedish‐speaking pregnant women (n = 14) and partners (n = 12) were consecutively recruited for semi‐structured telephone interviews following the prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart defect. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results Although high satisfaction with the specialist information was described, the information was considered overwhelming and complex. Objective, honest, and detailed information about multiple subjects were needed, delivered repeatedly, and supplemented by written information/illustrations. Eighteen respondents had used the Internet to search for information and identified issues involving searching difficulties, low quality, and that it was too complex, insufficient, or unspecific. Those who terminated their pregnancy criticized that there was a lack of information about termination of pregnancy, both from health professionals and online sources, resulting in unanswered questions and unpreparedness. Conclusion Individuals faced with a prenatal diagnosis of a congenital heart defect need individualized and repeated information. These needs are not all adequately met, as individuals are satisfied with the specialist consultation but left with unanswered questions regarding pregnancy termination. © 2016 The Authors. Prenatal Diagnosis published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:26991536

Alternatives Assessment Frameworks: Research Needs for the Informed Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Molly M.; Malloy, Timothy F.; Tickner, Joel A.; Edwards, Sally

2015-01-01

Background Given increasing pressures for hazardous chemical replacement, there is growing interest in alternatives assessment to avoid substituting a toxic chemical with another of equal or greater concern. Alternatives assessment is a process for identifying, comparing, and selecting safer alternatives to chemicals of concern (including those used in materials, processes, or technologies) on the basis of their hazards, performance, and economic viability. Objectives The purposes of this substantive review of alternatives assessment frameworks are to identify consistencies and differences in methods and to outline needs for research and collaboration to advance science policy practice. Methods This review compares methods used in six core components of these frameworks: hazard assessment, exposure characterization, life-cycle impacts, technical feasibility evaluation, economic feasibility assessment, and decision making. Alternatives assessment frameworks published from 1990 to 2014 were included. Results Twenty frameworks were reviewed. The frameworks were consistent in terms of general process steps, but some differences were identified in the end points addressed. Methodological gaps were identified in the exposure characterization, life-cycle assessment, and decision–analysis components. Methods for addressing data gaps remain an issue. Discussion Greater consistency in methods and evaluation metrics is needed but with sufficient flexibility to allow the process to be adapted to different decision contexts. Conclusion Although alternatives assessment is becoming an important science policy field, there is a need for increased cross-disciplinary collaboration to refine methodologies in support of the informed substitution and design of safer chemicals, materials, and products. Case studies can provide concrete lessons to improve alternatives assessment. Citation Jacobs MM, Malloy TF, Tickner JA, Edwards S. 2016. Alternatives assessment frameworks: research

Patients' need for information provision and perceived participation in decision making in doctor-patient consultation: Micro-cultural differences between French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland.

PubMed

Camerini, Anne-Linda; Schulz, Peter J

2016-03-01

To explore micro-cultural differences in patients' need for information provision, perceived participation in decision making, and related concepts during the doctor-patient consultation between French- and Italian-speaking patients in Switzerland. In 2012, 153 French- and 120 Italian-speaking patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) were surveyed on their need for information provision, perceived participation in decision making, cLBP knowledge, psychological empowerment, and trust in their doctor. T-tests and regression analyses with interaction terms were performed. Results show that French- and Italian-speaking patients significantly differed in their participation in decision making, with French-speaking patients reporting higher involvement. Need for information provision was related to empowerment among French- and to trust among Italian-speaking patients. For participation in decision making, trust was the only related concept among French-, and cLBP knowledge among Italian-speaking patients. Significant interaction terms indicate a moderation of micro-cultural background. Findings point towards differences in the relationships between individual patient characteristics (i.e. knowledge, empowerment) and relational doctor-patient characteristics (i.e. trust) and patients' need for information provision and participation in decision making between French- and Italian-speaking patients in Switzerland. Doctors should be aware of these differences when dealing with patients of different micro-cultural backgrounds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Need for information in a representative sample of outpatients with schizophrenia disorders.

PubMed

Andrade, Mário César Rezende; Slade, Mike; Bandeira, Marina; Evans-Lacko, Sara; Martin, Denise; Andreoli, Sérgio Baxter

2018-05-01

Providing adequate information and involving patients in treatment have become an essential component of mental health care. Despite this, research regarding the extent to which this need has been met in clinical services is still scarce. To investigate the need for information about psychiatric condition and treatment among outpatients with schizophrenia disorders and how this need is associated with service use, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Need for information about condition and treatment, using the corresponding domain in the Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN), in a representative sample of 401 schizophrenia outpatients in Santos, Brazil was assessed. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to investigate the association of information as a reported need and as an unmet need with service use variables, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Need for information was reported by 214 (53.4%) patients, being met in 101 (25.2%) and unmet in 113 (28.2%). Hierarchical regression indicated a significant association of a reported need with higher age of onset, family monitoring medication use last year and lower education level, which was only associated with an unmet need. Information was a commonly reported need and which was often unmet, showing no significant association with service use. Greater attention should be given by mental health services to information provision.

"I might not have cancer if you didn't mention it": a qualitative study on information needed by culturally diverse cancer survivors.

PubMed

O'Callaghan, Clare; Schofield, Penelope; Butow, Phyllis; Nolte, Linda; Price, Melanie; Tsintziras, Spiri; Sze, Ming; Thein, Thida; Yiu, Dorothy; Mireskandari, Shab; Goldstein, David; Jefford, Michael

2016-01-01

Immigrants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds diagnosed with cancer face multiple challenges with health systems foreign to them. There is scarce understanding about their needs following cancer treatment in the survivorship phase. Unmet needs were examined in immigrant Chinese and Greek cancer survivors in order to assist development of relevant and useful information resources for these CALD groups. Qualitative descriptive design was used. Adult cancer survivors, whose native language was Mandarin, Cantonese or Greek, were recruited through ethnic cancer support groups and cancer specialists in two Australian cities. Six focus groups were conducted, two in each native language group. Recorded responses were transcribed, translated into English, and thematically analysed. Thirty-nine CALD cancer survivors participated from Greek (11), Cantonese (14) and Mandarin (14) backgrounds. Thematic findings included as follows: ongoing cancer-related stressors, cancer misunderstandings, coping strategies, 'survivor' seldom reflects self-appraisal, and additional CALD survivorship information needed. Immigrant cancer survivors may prefer 'recovery' to 'survivorship' descriptors and need information similar to Caucasian cancer survivors alongside as follows: resources for navigating health care, financial and community entitlements; caregiver-directed information to enhance their support; explanations about differences in health care approaches between survivors' original and adopted countries; and acknowledgment of survivorship diversity within CALD groups. Immigrant cancer survivors' additional requirements to native survivors likely reflect challenges in dealing with foreign environments and varied levels of acculturation within group members. Identification of immigrant cancer survivorship issues may support development of targeted resources for promoting survivors' self-care and capacity for finding, choosing, and using existing support options.

Automated Classification of Consumer Health Information Needs in Patient Portal Messages.

PubMed

Cronin, Robert M; Fabbri, Daniel; Denny, Joshua C; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell

2015-01-01

Patients have diverse health information needs, and secure messaging through patient portals is an emerging means by which such needs are expressed and met. As patient portal adoption increases, growing volumes of secure messages may burden healthcare providers. Automated classification could expedite portal message triage and answering. We created four automated classifiers based on word content and natural language processing techniques to identify health information needs in 1000 patient-generated portal messages. Logistic regression and random forest classifiers detected single information needs well, with area under the curves of 0.804-0.914. A logistic regression classifier accurately found the set of needs within a message, with a Jaccard index of 0.859 (95% Confidence Interval: (0.847, 0.871)). Automated classification of consumer health information needs expressed in patient portal messages is feasible and may allow direct linking to relevant resources or creation of institutional resources for commonly expressed needs.

Information needs of adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their parent-carers.

PubMed

McCarthy, Maria C; McNeil, Robyn; Drew, Sarah; Orme, Lisa; Sawyer, Susan M

2018-05-01

This study aimed to explore health-related information needs of adolescent and young adults (AYAs) and their parent-carers and to examine demographic and clinical variables associated with unmet information needs, including patient activation. In a national cross-sectional study, 196 Australian AYAs diagnosed with cancer between 15 and 25 years and within 24 months of diagnosis and 204 parent-carers reported on total and unmet needs for cancer and health-related information. Fifty-one percent of AYAs were male, 81% had completed treatment and 86% were treated in adult hospitals. AYAs and parents reported high levels of total need for information. The mean number of unmet needs was 5.63 and 6.82 for AYAs and parents, respectively. AYAs reported the highest unmet needs in relation to their cancer (e.g. late effects and cancer recurrence, and having children in the future). The highest unmet parent information needs were related to medical information about their child as well as information on financial issues for their children and themselves. Unmet information need was associated with psychological distress (posttraumatic stress symptoms) for AYAs and parents. Patient activation was negatively associated with unmet information needs for AYAs. Demographic and treatment variables were not significantly associated with information needs. These findings indicate the importance of information needs for AYAs and their carers. The association between patient activation and information needs suggests that promoting young people's engagement with healthcare is a key opportunity within AYA care. Parent information needs and associated emotional distress additionally highlight the importance of family-centered care.

Health information technology needs help from primary care researchers.

PubMed

Krist, Alex H; Green, Lee A; Phillips, Robert L; Beasley, John W; DeVoe, Jennifer E; Klinkman, Michael S; Hughes, John; Puro, Jon; Fox, Chester H; Burdick, Tim

2015-01-01

While health information technology (HIT) efforts are beginning to yield measurable clinical benefits, more is needed to meet the needs of patients and clinicians. Primary care researchers are uniquely positioned to inform the evidence-based design and use of technology. Research strategies to ensure success include engaging patient and clinician stakeholders, working with existing practice-based research networks, and using established methods from other fields such as human factors engineering and implementation science. Policies are needed to help support primary care researchers in evaluating and implementing HIT into everyday practice, including expanded research funding, strengthened partnerships with vendors, open access to information systems, and support for the Primary Care Extension Program. Through these efforts, the goal of improved outcomes through HIT can be achieved. © Copyright 2015 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Automated Classification of Consumer Health Information Needs in Patient Portal Messages

PubMed Central

Cronin, Robert M.; Fabbri, Daniel; Denny, Joshua C.; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell

2015-01-01

Patients have diverse health information needs, and secure messaging through patient portals is an emerging means by which such needs are expressed and met. As patient portal adoption increases, growing volumes of secure messages may burden healthcare providers. Automated classification could expedite portal message triage and answering. We created four automated classifiers based on word content and natural language processing techniques to identify health information needs in 1000 patient-generated portal messages. Logistic regression and random forest classifiers detected single information needs well, with area under the curves of 0.804–0.914. A logistic regression classifier accurately found the set of needs within a message, with a Jaccard index of 0.859 (95% Confidence Interval: (0.847, 0.871)). Automated classification of consumer health information needs expressed in patient portal messages is feasible and may allow direct linking to relevant resources or creation of institutional resources for commonly expressed needs. PMID:26958285

Health information technology knowledge and skills needed by HIT employers.

PubMed

Fenton, S H; Gongora-Ferraez, M J; Joost, E

2012-01-01

To evaluate the health information technology (HIT) workforce knowledge and skills needed by HIT employers. Statewide face-to-face and online focus groups of identified HIT employer groups in Austin, Brownsville, College Station, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and webinars for rural health and nursing informatics. HIT employers reported needing an HIT workforce with diverse knowledge and skills ranging from basic to advanced, while covering information technology, privacy and security, clinical practice, needs assessment, contract negotiation, and many other areas. Consistent themes were that employees needed to be able to learn on the job and must possess the ability to think critically and problem solve. Many employers wanted persons with technical skills, yet also the knowledge and understanding of healthcare operations. The HIT employer focus groups provided valuable insight into employee skills needed in this fast-growing field. Additionally, this information will be utilized to develop a statewide HIT workforce needs assessment survey.

Health Information Technology Knowledge and Skills Needed by HIT Employers

PubMed Central

Fenton, S.H.; Gongora-Ferraez, M.J.; Joost, E.

2012-01-01

Objective To evaluate the health information technology (HIT) workforce knowledge and skills needed by HIT employers. Methods Statewide face-to-face and online focus groups of identified HIT employer groups in Austin, Brownsville, College Station, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and webinars for rural health and nursing informatics. Results HIT employers reported needing an HIT workforce with diverse knowledge and skills ranging from basic to advanced, while covering information technology, privacy and security, clinical practice, needs assessment, contract negotiation, and many other areas. Consistent themes were that employees needed to be able to learn on the job and must possess the ability to think critically and problem solve. Many employers wanted persons with technical skills, yet also the knowledge and understanding of healthcare operations. Conclusion The HIT employer focus groups provided valuable insight into employee skills needed in this fast-growing field. Additionally, this information will be utilized to develop a statewide HIT workforce needs assessment survey. PMID:23646090

Information Needs of Nurse Care Managers

PubMed Central

Dorr, David A.; Tran, Hanh; Gorman, Paul; Wilcox, Adam B.

2006-01-01

Unmet information needs of physicians and patients are common, but those of nurse care managers – defined as collaborative care planners for with chronic conditions – are less well understood. We taped and transcribed daily activities and conducted semi-structured interviews of 7 care managers, and analyzed questions elicited through this work through a variety of frameworks. PMID:17238532

The Information Needs of Practicing Physicians in Northeastern New York State*

PubMed Central

Strasser, Theresa C.

2012-01-01

The information needs of practicing physicians in seventeen counties of upstate New York were surveyed by questionnaire. A 45.6% response, or 258 usable replies, was obtained. Computer-aided market analysis indicated that the areas of greatest need for improved information were new developments in specialties and government regulations relating to health care. Sources most frequently used were journal papers, colleagues, and books, in that order. Specialty-related differences occurred with both specific information needs and source use. Degree date, geographical location, and type of practice (hospital, nonhospital, private, and so on), and involvement in research or education were also analyzed in relation to information needs and sources. Implications for library service are discussed. PMID:23509429

Patients’ Need for Tailored Comparative Health Care Information: A Qualitative Study on Choosing a Hospital

PubMed Central

Zwijnenberg, Nicolien C; Bloemendal, Evelien; Damman, Olga C; de Jong, Judith D; Delnoij, Diana MJ; Rademakers, Jany JD

2016-01-01

Background The Internet is increasingly being used to provide patients with information about the quality of care of different health care providers. Although online comparative health care information is widely available internationally, and patients have been shown to be interested in this information, its effect on patients’ decision making is still limited. Objective This study aimed to explore patients’ preferences regarding information presentation and their values concerning tailored comparative health care information. Meeting patients’ information presentation needs might increase the perceived relevance and use of the information. Methods A total of 38 people participated in 4 focus groups. Comparative health care information about hip and knee replacement surgery was used as a case example. One part of the interview focused on patients’ information presentation preferences, whereas the other part focused on patients’ values of tailored information (ie, showing reviews of patients with comparable demographics). The qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results The following themes were deduced from the transcripts: number of health care providers to be presented, order in which providers are presented, relevancy of tailoring patient reviews, and concerns about tailoring. Participants’ preferences differed concerning how many and in which order health care providers must be presented. Most participants had no interest in patient reviews that were shown for specific subgroups based on age, gender, or ethnicity. Concerns of tailoring were related to the representativeness of results and the complexity of information. A need for information about the medical specialist when choosing a hospital was stressed by several participants. Conclusions The preferences for how comparative health care information should be presented differ between people. “Information on demand” and information

34 CFR 75.119 - Information needed if private school students participate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Information needed if private school students... PROGRAMS How To Apply for a Grant Application Contents § 75.119 Information needed if private school... students enrolled in private schools, the application must include the information required of subgrantees...

34 CFR 75.119 - Information needed if private school students participate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Information needed if private school students... PROGRAMS How To Apply for a Grant Application Contents § 75.119 Information needed if private school... students enrolled in private schools, the application must include the information required of subgrantees...

Evidence-based information needs of public health workers: a systematized review.

PubMed

Barr-Walker, Jill

2017-01-01

This study assessed public health workers' evidence-based information needs, based on a review of the literature using a systematic search strategy. This study is based on a thesis project conducted as part of the author's master's in public health coursework and is considered a systematized review. Four databases were searched for English-language articles published between 2005 and 2015: PubMed, Web of Science, Library Literature & Information Science Index, and Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA). Studies were excluded if there was no primary data collection, the population in the study was not identified as public health workers, "information" was not defined according to specific criteria, or evidence-based information and public health workers were not the major focus. Studies included in the final analysis underwent data extraction, critical appraisal using CASP and STROBE checklists, and thematic analysis. Thirty-three research studies were identified in the search, including twenty-one using quantitative methods and twelve using qualitative methods. Critical appraisal revealed many potential biases, particularly in the validity of research. Thematic analysis revealed five common themes: (1) definition of information needs, (2) current information-seeking behavior and use, (3) definition of evidence-based information, (4) barriers to information needs, and (5) public health-specific issues. Recommendations are given for how librarians can increase the use of evidence-based information in public health research, practice, and policy making. Further research using rigorous methodologies and transparent reporting practices in a wider variety of settings is needed to further evaluate public health workers' information needs.

School Buildings Services Information Needs Assessment: Volumes 1 and 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. School Buildings Services.

This report presents an information needs assessment for an office automation plan to be undertaken for the School Building Services Branch of the Alberta Department of Education. This exercise complements the work of two senior committees within the Department: (1) the Electronic Information Processing Needs Study Steering Committee, and (2) the…

Speaking up: Teens Voice Their Health Information Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smart, Kathryn A.; Parker, Randy Spreen; Lampert, Joan; Sulo, Suela

2012-01-01

School nurses provide an important role in the continuity of health care especially for adolescents who are at high risk for significant health concerns. The purpose of this study was to assess adolescents' health information needs and identify their preferences for accessing health information. Using an inductive qualitative research design, 11…

Pediatric information seeking behaviour, information needs, and information preferences of health care professionals in general emergency departments: Results from the Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) Needs Assessment.

PubMed

Scott, Shannon D; Albrecht, Lauren; Given, Lisa M; Hartling, Lisa; Johnson, David W; Jabbour, Mona; Klassen, Terry P

2018-01-01

The majority of children requiring emergency care are treated in general emergency departments (EDs) with variable levels of pediatric care expertise. The goal of the Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) initiative is to implement the latest research in pediatric emergency medicine in general EDs to reduce clinical variation. To determine national pediatric information needs, seeking behaviours, and preferences of health care professionals working in general EDs. An electronic cross-sectional survey was conducted with health care professionals in 32 Canadian general EDs. Data were collected in the EDs using the iPad and in-person data collectors. Total of 1,471 surveys were completed (57.1% response rate). Health care professionals sought information on children's health care by talking to colleagues (n=1,208, 82.1%), visiting specific medical/health websites (n=994, 67.7%), and professional development opportunities (n=941, 64.4%). Preferred child health resources included protocols and accepted treatments for common conditions (n=969, 68%), clinical pathways and practice guidelines (n=951, 66%), and evidence-based information on new diagnoses and treatments (n=866, 61%). Additional pediatric clinical information is needed about multisystem trauma (n=693, 49%), severe head injury (n=615, 43%), and meningitis (n=559, 39%). Health care professionals preferred to receive child health information through professional development opportunities (n=1,131, 80%) and printed summaries (n=885, 63%). By understanding health care professionals' information seeking behaviour, information needs, and information preferences, knowledge synthesis and knowledge translation initiatives can be targeted to improve pediatric emergency care. The findings from this study will inform the following two phases of the TREKK initiative to bridge the research-practice gap in Canadian general EDs.

Needs and Implications for Information Technology Course Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janicki, Thomas N.; Cummings, Jeffrey; Kline, Douglas

2014-01-01

As the demand for Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) graduates remains strong, it is imperative that the curriculums in IS and IT programs meet employer needs. IS and IT educators encounter a continuing challenge to ensure that their courses and curriculum stay up to date with new and evolving technological changes in the…

Perceived need for information among patients with a haematological malignancy: associations with information satisfaction and treatment decision-making preferences.

PubMed

Rood, Janneke A J; van Zuuren, Florence J; Stam, Frank; van der Ploeg, Tjeerd; Eeltink, Corien; Verdonck-de Leeuw, Irma M; Huijgens, Peter C

2015-06-01

For patients with haematological malignancies, information on disease, prognosis, treatment and impact on quality of life is of the utmost importance. To gain insight into the perceived need for information in relation to sociodemographic and clinical parameters, comorbidity, quality of life (QoL) and information satisfaction, we compiled a questionnaire based on existing validated questionnaires. A total of 458 patients diagnosed with a haematological malignancy participated. The perceived need for information was moderate to high (40-70%). Multivariate regression analyses showed that a higher need for information was related to younger age, worse QoL, being member of a patient society and moderate comorbidity. The need for disease and treatment-related information was higher than the need for psychosocial information. A higher need for disease and treatment-related information was associated to being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. A higher need for psychosocial information was related to a lower educational level. The information provision could be improved according to 41% of the patients. Higher satisfaction with provided information was associated with better QoL. Most patients (62%) reported that they wanted to be fully informed about their illness and actively involved in treatment decision-making. The results contribute to improving patient-tailored information provision and shared decision-making in clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

People and Decisions: Meeting the Information Needs of Managers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blake, J.I.; LeMaster, E.

2000-10-01

The information needs of managers with respect to avian species at the SRS are identified. The process by which information is integrated into decision making are discussed. Numerous studies of upland bird species at SRS were conducted as part of the DOE Biodiversity Program. This information is being incorporated into biological assessments and plan through modeling and geographic information systems.

The need to know: The information needs of parents of infants with an intellectual disability-a qualitative study.

PubMed

Douglas, Tracy; Redley, Bernice; Ottmann, Goetz

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to explore the information needs of parents of infants with an intellectual disability in the first year of life. Parents whose infant has an intellectual disability need access to information if they are to facilitate optimal care for their child. A lack of timely, accurate information provision by health professionals, particularly nurses and midwives, can increase parental stress and hinder access to the supports they and their infant require. A qualitative descriptive methodology was used for the study. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with parents of 11 children with intellectual disabilities in Victoria, Australia in 2014. Data were analysed using descriptive thematic analysis. Parents experienced challenges accessing quality information during the first year of their child's life. Parents required incremental information provision to build a strong knowledge base to facilitate optimal care for their infants. Three types of knowledge were identified as crucial for parents: knowledge about (1) the infant's condition; (2) the infant's specific needs and (3) available supports and services. Health professionals were the key resource to access this information. Health professionals' responsibilities include providing relevant, timely information to parents of infants with intellectual disabilities. This study conceptualises three types of information parents need to develop a strong knowledge base to guide their infant's care and provides guidance concerning the optimal timing for the delivery of information. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Meeting the ranging of informational needs of chronic low back pain sufferers: conceptual design and rationale of the interactive website ONESELF.

PubMed

Schulz, Peter J; Rubinelli, Sara; Mariotti, Guido; Keller, Nicola

2009-01-01

Information plays an important role in the management and treatment of chronic pain conditions. Often, however, delivered information does not address specific difficulties of consumers. The present study illustrates the design and implementation of the website ONESELF - run by the Institute of Communication and Health of the University of Lugano - which has been created to meet the ranging of informational needs of chronic low back pain sufferers. ONESELF rests on an integrated idea of health literacy that highlights the kind of information consumers need to inform their decisions about back pain. This idea has been tested through a qualitative analysis of requests posted by users in the forum of ONESELF between July 2006 and December 2007. Users seek information to build their declarative (factual) and procedural knowledge, as well as to evaluate that knowledge and apply it to the context of their own life. Online interactional tools such as ONESELF are a promising source of health communication, provided that the content manager of the website and the health professionals collaborate in a rigorously structured manner. ONESELF can benefit traditional medical consultations in helping screen requests from patients that do not need to see a doctor, and in acting as a repository of background information that saves consultation time for more urgent matters.

Information Needs and Preferences of Parents Considering Treatment of Child Anxiety.

PubMed

Mak, Leanne; Walker, John R; Hiebert-Murphy, Diane; Altman, Gary

2017-04-01

To assess the information needs and preferences of parents who were making decisions concerning treatment for their child's anxiety. Ninety-three parents were recruited from hospital-based clinics, a parent group, and a public information meeting. They completed a survey about preference for decision-making involvement, information needs, and preferences concerning source and amount of information. Most (69%) parents indicated that they prefer a collaborative decision-making role. They rated very highly the need for general information related to treatment and information related to psychosocial interventions and medication treatment. Fewer parents rated information about logistics of treatment (e.g., scheduling, cost) as highly important although this information was considered important by many parents. Direct discussions with a provider, written information, and information accessed through the internet were the most preferred sources of information. Many parents indicated a preference for substantial amounts of information about psychosocial and medication treatments. Much of the information that parents want concerning treatment is not widely available. It would be helpful to develop evidence-based brochures and web information resources that focus on answering parents' questions concerning treatment of children's anxiety.

Modeling Clinical Information Needs in the Context of a Specific Patient

PubMed Central

Price, Susan L.

2000-01-01

Investigators have tried various approaches to link clinical information directly to information sources that may contain answers to clinical questions. Developing a model of clinical information needs that may arise in the context of viewing information about a specific patient is a preliminary step to finding an efficient, useful solution to the information retrieval problem. This poster illustrates a method of modeling clinical information needs in the context of a specific patient that that is adapted from entity-relationship models used in database design.

Whats the story? Information needs of trauma teams.

PubMed

Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Burd, Randall S

2008-11-06

This paper reports on information needs of trauma teams based on an ethnographic study in an urban teaching hospital. We focus on questions posed by trauma team members during ten trauma events. We identify major categories of questions, as well as information seekers and providers. In addition to categories known from other critical care settings, we found categories unique to trauma settings. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for information technology support for trauma teams.

'What I Really Needed Was the Truth'. Exploring the Information Needs of People with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

PubMed

Grieve, Sharon; Adams, Jo; McCabe, Candida

2016-03-01

UK guidelines indicate that individuals with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) require information and education to support self-management. The present qualitative study explored the specific information requirements of patients with CRPS and provides insight into how health professionals can best provide this. Following informed consent, eight semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with adults living with CRPS. Participants were asked about their experience of receiving information since diagnosis and the information that they would prefer to receive. Interviews were transcribed and data analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes related to individuals' experience of receiving information. These were: 'Facing the unknown', which describes how participants reported that little information was available and the impact of this; and 'The need to be an expert', which describes how they needed to be proactive to seek this information themselves. Three themes related to the information that the individual would choose to receive. These were: 'Seeking the truth', which describes the need for knowledge - particularly accurate, honest information; 'The shared experience', which describes the positive and negative aspects of sharing information with others experiencing CRPS; and 'Access to expertise', which describes the need for access to reliable information, resources and expertise. The reported lack of information resulted in a struggle for participants to understand their condition, and access professional expertise and appropriate treatments. Health professionals require access to accurate information in order to share this with individuals with CRPS in a timely manner. Easily accessible and high-quality patient resources to facilitate early referral for expertise are required. A central resource to identify local expertise would be valuable. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The information needs of occupational therapy students: a case study.

PubMed

Morgan-Daniel, Jane; Preston, Hugh

2017-06-01

This article summarises a case study on the information needs of Masters level Occupational Therapy 5 (OT) students at one English university. A mixed methods questionnaire was used to explore motivators for information-seeking, preferred information resources and barriers inhibiting the satisfaction of information needs. Thirteen recommendations for practice were formulated, focusing on how information professionals can best facilitate OT students' learning and evidence-based research skills in preparation for clinical practice. The study was completed by Jane Morgan-Daniel, who received a Distinction for her work from Aberystwyth University, where she graduated with an MSC in Information and Library Studies in December 2016. She has written this article together with her dissertation supervisor, Hugh Preston. A. M. © 2017 Health Libraries Group.

Studies analysing the need for health-related information in Germany - a systematic review.

PubMed

Pieper, Dawid; Jülich, Fabian; Antoine, Sunya-Lee; Bächle, Christina; Chernyak, Nadja; Genz, Jutta; Eikermann, Michaela; Icks, Andrea

2015-09-23

Exploring health-related information needs is necessary to better tailor information. However, there is a lack of systematic knowledge on how and in which groups information needs has been assessed, and which information needs have been identified. We aimed to assess the methodology of studies used to assess information needs, as well as the topics and extent of health-related information needs and associated factors in Germany. A systematic search was performed in Medline, Embase, Psycinfo, and all databases of the Cochrane Library. All studies investigating health-related information needs in patients, relatives, and the general population in Germany that were published between 2000 and 2012 in German or English were included. Descriptive content analysis was based on predefined categories. We identified 19 studies. Most studies addressed cancer or rheumatic disease. Methods used were highly heterogeneous. Apart from common topics such as treatment, diagnosis, prevention and health promotion, etiology and prognosis, high interest ratings were also found in more specific topics such as complementary and alternative medicine or nutrition. Information needs were notable in all surveyed patient groups, relatives, and samples of the general population. Younger age, shorter duration of illness, poorer health status and higher anxiety and depression scores appeared to be associated with higher information needs. Knowledge about information needs is still scarce. Assuming the importance of comprehensive information to enable people to participate in health-related decisions, further systematic research is required.

Dimensions of Air Traffic Control Tower Information Needs: From Information Requests to Display Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durso, Francis T.; Johnson, Brian R.; Crutchfield, Jerry M.

2010-01-01

In an effort to determine the information needs of tower air traffic controllers, instructors from the Federal Aviation Administration's Academy in Oklahoma City were asked to control traffic in a high-fidelity tower cab simulator. Information requests were made apparent by eliminating access to standard tower information sources. Instead,…

How could Health Information Exchange Better Meet the Needs of Care Practitioners?

PubMed Central

Kaushal, R.; Vest, J.R.

2014-01-01

Summary Background Health information exchange (HIE) has the potential to improve the quality of healthcare by enabling providers with better access to patient information from multiple sources at the point of care. However, HIE efforts have historically been difficult to establish in the US and the failure rates of organizations created to foster HIE have been high. Objectives We sought to better understand how RHIO-based HIE systems were used in practice and the challenges care practitioners face using them. The objective of our study were to so investigate how HIE can better meet the needs of care practitioners. Methods We performed a multiple-case study using qualitative methods in three communities in New York State. We conducted interviews onsite and by telephone with HIE users and non-users and observed the workflows of healthcare professionals at multiple healthcare organizations participating in a local HIE effort in New York State. Results The empirical data analysis suggests that challenges still remain in increasing provider usage, optimizing HIE implementations and connecting HIE systems across geographic regions. Important determinants of system usage and perceived value includes users experienced level of available information and the fit of use for physician workflows. Conclusions Challenges still remain in increasing provider adoption, optimizing HIE implementations, and demonstrating value. The inability to find information reduced usage of HIE. Healthcare organizations, HIE facilitating organizations, and states can help support HIE adoption by ensuring patient information is accessible to providers through increasing patient consents, fostering broader participation, and by ensuring systems are usable. PMID:25589903

Information and research needs of acute-care clinical nurses.

PubMed Central

Spath, M; Buttlar, L

1996-01-01

The majority of nurses surveyed used the library on a regular but limited basis to obtain information needed in caring for or making decisions about their patients. A minority indicated that the libraries in their own institutions totally met their information needs. In fact, only 4% depended on the library to stay abreast of new information and developments in the field. Many of the nurses had their own journal subscriptions, which could account in part for the limited use of libraries and the popularity of the professional journal as the key information source. This finding correlates with the research of Binger and Huntsman, who found that 95% of staff development educators relied on professional journal literature to keep up with current information in the field, and only 45% regularly monitored indexing-and-abstracting services. The present study also revealed that nurses seek information from colleagues more than from any other source, supporting the findings of Corcoran-Perry and Graves. Further research is necessary to clarify why nurses use libraries on a limited basis. It appears, as Bunyan and Lutz contend, that a more aggressive approach to marketing the library to nurses is needed. Further research should include an assessment of how the library can meet the information needs of nurses for both research and patient care. Options to be considered include offering library orientation sessions for new staff nurses, providing current-awareness services by circulating photocopied table-of-contents pages, sending out reviews of new monographs, inviting nurses to submit search requests on a topic, scheduling seminars and workshops that teach CD-ROM and online search strategies, and providing information about electronic databases covering topics related to nursing. Information on databases may be particularly important in light of the present study's finding that databases available in CD-ROM format are consulted very little. Nursing education programs should

Information and research needs of acute-care clinical nurses.

PubMed

Spath, M; Buttlar, L

1996-01-01

The majority of nurses surveyed used the library on a regular but limited basis to obtain information needed in caring for or making decisions about their patients. A minority indicated that the libraries in their own institutions totally met their information needs. In fact, only 4% depended on the library to stay abreast of new information and developments in the field. Many of the nurses had their own journal subscriptions, which could account in part for the limited use of libraries and the popularity of the professional journal as the key information source. This finding correlates with the research of Binger and Huntsman, who found that 95% of staff development educators relied on professional journal literature to keep up with current information in the field, and only 45% regularly monitored indexing-and-abstracting services. The present study also revealed that nurses seek information from colleagues more than from any other source, supporting the findings of Corcoran-Perry and Graves. Further research is necessary to clarify why nurses use libraries on a limited basis. It appears, as Bunyan and Lutz contend, that a more aggressive approach to marketing the library to nurses is needed. Further research should include an assessment of how the library can meet the information needs of nurses for both research and patient care. Options to be considered include offering library orientation sessions for new staff nurses, providing current-awareness services by circulating photocopied table-of-contents pages, sending out reviews of new monographs, inviting nurses to submit search requests on a topic, scheduling seminars and workshops that teach CD-ROM and online search strategies, and providing information about electronic databases covering topics related to nursing. Information on databases may be particularly important in light of the present study's finding that databases available in CD-ROM format are consulted very little. Nursing education programs should

Muslim Students' Needs in Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Charles

1998-01-01

Explores whether public schools can accommodate the religious needs of Muslim students. Provides background information on the migration of Muslims to the United States from the Middle East and on Islamic beliefs and practices. Identifies the various needs and challenges in adapting the schools to fit Muslim students' lifestyle and religious…

A Simplified Program Needs Assessment Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Larry

A rationale, background information, and a discussion of methodology are presented for a needs assessment process intended for pilot implementation at Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC). This process was designed to assess the local need for paraprofessional programs in the Human Services area, i.e., Early Childhood Associate, Mental Health…

Relatives' information needs and the characteristics of their search for information--in the words of relatives of stroke survivors.

PubMed

Wallengren, Catarina; Segesten, Kerstin; Friberg, Febe

2010-10-01

To explore relatives' information needs and the characteristics of their information-seeking process shortly after the stroke event and six months later. Providing relatives of stroke survivors with information is important, as lack of information increases their uncertainty and risk becoming the 'second patient in the family' and early death. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of relatives' information needs and information-seeking process the first six months after stroke. This qualitative study has a descriptive design. Open-ended interviews were conducted with sixteen relatives after stroke survivor's admission to stroke unit and six months later with nine of these relatives. Data were analysed by means of content analysis. The identified information needs covered the spectrum from stroke survivor's medical condition because nurses' actions to relatives' changed health and life situation. Furthermore, relatives' information-seeking process was found to be related to their level of personal involvement, situational circumstances, different forms of knowledge and sources of information. Relatives' search for information emerges when health and lifestyle changes occur in survivors or themselves. It is important that this information affect them personally. Also, they need to develop different forms of knowledge when they cannot trust their own competences. As a result, instead of following established curricula based on their beliefs of relatives' information needs, nurses need to practice on identifying relatives' information needs. Different information needs and characteristics described in the study can serve as guidance in the development and implementation of pedagogical interventions to support relatives of stroke survivors. One pedagogical implication is to explore what a specific relative wants to know by how he/she talks or thinks about it. Thus, it must be taken into consideration that level of personal involvement, situational circumstances

Information Needs and Information Competencies: A Case Study of the Off-Site Supervision of Financial Institutions in Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miranda, Silvania V.; Tarapanoff, Kira M. A.

2008-01-01

Introduction: The paper deals with the identification of the information needs and information competencies of a professional group. Theoretical basis: A theoretical relationship between information needs and information competencies as subjects is proposed. Three dimensions are examine: cognitive, affective and situational. The recognition of an…

Water-resources programs and hydrologic-information needs, Marion County, Indiana, 1987

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duwelius, R.F.

1990-01-01

Water resources are abundant in Marion County, Indiana, and have been developed for public and industrial supply, energy generation, irrigation, and recreation. The largest water withdrawals are from surface water, and the two largest water uses are public supply and cooling water for electrical-generating plants. Water-resources programs in the county are carried out by Federal, State and local agencies to address issues of surface and groundwater availability and quality. The programs of each agency are related to the functions and goals of the agency. Although each agency has specific information needs to fulfill its functions, sometimes these needs overlap, and there are times when the same hydrologic information benefits all. Overlapping information needs and activities create opportunities for interagency coordination and cooperation. Such cooperation could lead to a savings of dollars spent on water-resources programs and could assure an improved understanding of the water resources of the county. Representatives from four agencies-- the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, and the U.S. Geological Survey--met four times in 1987 to describe their own water-resources programs, to identify hydrologic-information needs, and to contact other agencies with related programs. This report presents the interagency findings and is intended to further communication among water resource agencies by identifying current programs and common needs for hydrologic information. Hydrologic information needs identified by the agency representatives include more precise methods for determining the volume of water withdrawals and for determining the volume of industrial and municipal discharges to surface water. Maps of flood-prone areas need to be updated as more of the county is developed. Improved aquifer maps of the inter-till aquifers are needed, and additional observation

Research Needed for a Public Library's Community Information Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slanker, Barbara O.

1975-01-01

Libraries must do some research before trying to establish a community information center. Librarians should consider feasibility, identify the target population, inventory community resources, define information needs, and provide for continuing study while the service is in operation. (LS)

Survivorship Challenges and Information Needs after Radiotherapy for Oral Cancer.

PubMed

Badr, Hoda; Lipnick, Daniella; Gupta, Vishal; Miles, Brett

2017-12-01

Oral cancer (OC) treatment can lead to considerable functional impairment, psychological distress, and decrements in quality of life. Given that limited information and support services are available for cancer survivors, many are turning to the Internet. However, little is known about the specific information and service needs of OC survivors. We conducted a descriptive study to (1) characterize the associations between OC survivor functional problems and distress and (2) describe the Internet use of OC survivors, their satisfaction with existing sources of information/support, and their unmet information and service needs. Ninety-three oral cancer survivors completed cross-sectional surveys within 1-year of completing radiotherapy. Clinical levels of distress were 10 % for depression and 16 % for anxiety. Dental health, smell, and range of motion problems were significant (p < .05) determinants of both depression and anxiety symptoms. Eighty-three percent of survivors used the Internet; most used it to obtain health-related information or support. Unmet information needs included how to live a healthy lifestyle after treatment (87 %), strategies for dealing with eating and speaking problems (81 %), and information about what to expect in terms of side effects after treatment (76 %). Findings suggest that interventions that teach survivors coping and problem-solving skills to manage and cope with functional impairments may help to alleviate distress. Results of this study support the need for psychoeducational interventions for this population and showcase the potential of the Internet as a feasible mode for future dissemination.

Need for Cognition and Active Information Search in Small Student Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curseu, Petru Lucian

2011-01-01

In a sample of 213 students organized in 44 groups this study tests the impact of need for cognition on active information search by using a multilevel analysis. The results show that group members with high need for cognition seek more advice in task related issues than those with low need for cognition and this pattern of information exchange is…

Physicians' pharmacogenomics information needs and seeking behavior: a study with case vignettes.

PubMed

Heale, Bret S E; Khalifa, Aly; Stone, Bryan L; Nelson, Scott; Del Fiol, Guilherme

2017-08-01

Genetic testing, especially in pharmacogenomics, can have a major impact on patient care. However, most physicians do not feel that they have sufficient knowledge to apply pharmacogenomics to patient care. Online information resources can help address this gap. We investigated physicians' pharmacogenomics information needs and information-seeking behavior, in order to guide the design of pharmacogenomics information resources that effectively meet clinical information needs. We performed a formative, mixed-method assessment of physicians' information-seeking process in three pharmacogenomics case vignettes. Interactions of 6 physicians' with online pharmacogenomics resources were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for prominent themes. Quantitative data included information-seeking duration, page navigations, and number of searches entered. We found that participants searched an average of 8 min per case vignette, spent less than 30 s reviewing specific content, and rarely refined search terms. Participants' information needs included a need for clinically meaningful descriptions of test interpretations, a molecular basis for the clinical effect of drug variation, information on the logistics of carrying out a genetic test (including questions related to cost, availability, test turn-around time, insurance coverage, and accessibility of expert support).Also, participants sought alternative therapies that would not require genetic testing. This study of pharmacogenomics information-seeking behavior indicates that content to support their information needs is dispersed and hard to find. Our results reveal a set of themes that information resources can use to help physicians find and apply pharmacogenomics information to the care of their patients.

Conducting a user-centered information needs assessment: the Via Christi Libraries' experience*

PubMed Central

Perley, Cathy M.; Gentry, Camillia A.; Fleming, A. Sue; Sen, Kristin M.

2007-01-01

Purpose: The research sought to provide evidence to support the development of a long-term strategy for the Via Christi Regional Medical Center Libraries. Methods: An information needs assessment was conducted in a large medical center serving approximately 5,900 physicians, clinicians, and nonclinical staff in 4 sites in 1 Midwestern city. Quantitative and qualitative data from 1,295 self-reporting surveys, 75 telephone interviews, and 2 focus groups were collected and analyzed to address 2 questions: how could the libraries best serve their patrons, given realistic limitations on time, resources, and personnel, and how could the libraries best help their institution improve patient care and outcomes? Results: Clinicians emphasized the need for “just in time” information accessible at the point of care. Library nonusers emphasized the need to market library services and resources. Both clinical and nonclinical respondents emphasized the need for information services customized to their professional information needs, preferences, and patterns of use. Specific information needs in the organization were identified. Discussion/Conclusions: The results of this three-part, user-centered information needs assessment were used to develop an evidence-based strategic plan. The findings confirmed the importance of promoting library services in the organization and suggested expanded, collaborative roles for hospital librarians. PMID:17443250

Conducting a user-centered information needs assessment: the Via Christi Libraries' experience.

PubMed

Perley, Cathy M; Gentry, Camillia A; Fleming, A Sue; Sen, Kristin M

2007-04-01

The research sought to provide evidence to support the development of a long-term strategy for the Via Christi Regional Medical Center Libraries. An information needs assessment was conducted in a large medical center serving approximately 5,900 physicians, clinicians, and nonclinical staff in 4 sites in 1 Midwestern city. Quantitative and qualitative data from 1,295 self-reporting surveys, 75 telephone interviews, and 2 focus groups were collected and analyzed to address 2 questions: how could the libraries best serve their patrons, given realistic limitations on time, resources, and personnel, and how could the libraries best help their institution improve patient care and outcomes? Clinicians emphasized the need for "just in time" information accessible at the point of care. Library nonusers emphasized the need to market library services and resources. Both clinical and nonclinical respondents emphasized the need for information services customized to their professional information needs, preferences, and patterns of use. Specific information needs in the organization were identified. The results of this three-part, user-centered information needs assessment were used to develop an evidence-based strategic plan. The findings confirmed the importance of promoting library services in the organization and suggested expanded, collaborative roles for hospital librarians.

Information needs and requirements in patients with brain tumours and their relatives.

PubMed

Reinert, Christiane; Rathberger, Katharina; Klinkhammer-Schalke, Monika; Kölbl, Oliver; Proescholdt, Martin; Riemenschneider, Markus J; Schuierer, Gerhard; Hutterer, Markus; Gerken, Michael; Hau, Peter

2018-06-01

Patients with brain tumours face a number of medical and social challenges. Previous studies have shown that these patients and their relatives need a high level of patient-oriented information and counselling. However, these needs are often underestimated. In this single-centre cross-sectional study, we evaluated, for the first time, the information needs of patients with brain tumours and their relatives depending on diagnosis, age and level of education. The participants were interviewed using pre-specified questionnaires. Answers were evaluated descriptively using standard statistical methods. A total of 888 questionnaires were sent out. The return rate was 50.7%. The majority of patients (nP = 103; 59.9%) and a higher proportion of relatives (nR = 103; 72.5%; p = 0.019) wished to receive a maximum of information. The majority (79.7% of patients; 83.1% of relatives) also stated that they preferred a personal, face-to-face meeting as primary source of information. The need for information increased with education (p = 0.015), and decreased with tumour grade (p = 0.025) and age (p = 0.118). Our data indicate that patients with brain tumours and their relatives have high information needs throughout their disease and continuously require information and counselling. Optimal provision of information is based on personal preferences, which needs to be evaluated appropriately. Patient-oriented information and counselling are parts of a successful communication strategy that can improve cancer care significantly.

Information needs of health technology assessment units and agencies in Spain.

PubMed

Galnares-Cordero, Lorea; Gutiérrez-Ibarluzea, Iñaki

2010-10-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the information needs of Spanish health technology assessment (HTA) agencies and units to facilitate access to the resources they require to substantiate their reports. A questionnaire was designed and distributed among HTA bodies to ascertain the actual situation of subscriptions to information resources and what information specialists from these bodies considered would be the ideal subscription situation. Their information needs were then studied, and the resources that best met these needs were put forward. Following this definition, a subscriptions policy was adopted with suppliers and publishers. The survey showed that HTA bodies share a minimum of core subscriptions that includes open sources (MEDLINE, DARE) and sources that the government subscribes to for the health community (ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library Plus). There was no common approach to determining which databases to subscribe to (UpToDate, EMBASE, Ovid EBMR, CINAHL, or ECRI). After identifying the information needs, a list of resources was proposed that would best cover these needs and, of these, subscription to the following was proposed: Scopus, Ovid EBMR, Clinical Evidence, DynaMed, ECRI, and Hayes. There are differences in the way that HTA agencies and units access the different resources of biomedical information. Combined subscription to several resources for documentation services was suggested as a way of resolving these differences.

Nutritional Information Provision to Cancer Patients and Their Relatives Can Promote Dietary Behavior Changes Independent of Nutritional Information Needs.

PubMed

van Veen, Merel R; Winkels, Renate M; Janssen, Silvie H M; Kampman, Ellen; Beijer, Sandra

2018-04-01

We investigated whether obtaining nutritional information influences reported changes in dietary behavior in cancer survivors and their relatives and whether nutritional information needs influence this association. We included 239 cancer survivors and their relatives, recruited from an online panel of cancer survivors and relatives. This panel completed a survey about their experiences with nutritional information provision by healthcare professionals and the media in the period after diagnosis, their information needs regarding nutrition and cancer, and whether they changed their dietary behavior since diagnosis. The survey showed that 56% of respondents obtained nutritional information, mostly during treatment. Respondents who obtained nutritional information more often reported to have altered their dietary behavior after diagnosis. This association was not altered by having information needs. The reported changes in dietary behavior were coherent with the recommendations of the World Cancer Research Fund: respondents reported to choose less products that promote weight gain, increased intake of plant foods, and decreased meat and alcohol use. Respondents who obtained nutritional information more often changed their dietary behavior, regardless whether they had nutritional information needs. This might be an indication that healthcare professionals should provide nutritional information not only to those expressing a need for nutritional information.

Understanding the information needs of public health practitioners: a literature review to inform design of an interactive digital knowledge management system.

PubMed

Revere, Debra; Turner, Anne M; Madhavan, Ann; Rambo, Neil; Bugni, Paul F; Kimball, AnnMarie; Fuller, Sherrilynne S

2007-08-01

The need for rapid access to information to support critical decisions in public health cannot be disputed; however, development of such systems requires an understanding of the actual information needs of public health professionals. This paper reports the results of a literature review focused on the information needs of public health professionals. The authors reviewed the public health literature to answer the following questions: (1) What are the information needs of public health professionals? (2) In what ways are those needs being met? (3) What are the barriers to meeting those needs? (4) What is the role of the Internet in meeting information needs? The review was undertaken in order to develop system requirements to inform the design and development of an interactive digital knowledge management system. The goal of the system is to support the collection, management, and retrieval of public health documents, data, learning objects, and tools. The search method extended beyond traditional information resources, such as bibliographic databases, tables of contents (TOC), and bibliographies, to include information resources public health practitioners routinely use or have need to use--for example, grey literature, government reports, Internet-based publications, and meeting abstracts. Although few formal studies of information needs and information-seeking behaviors of public health professionals have been reported, the literature consistently indicated a critical need for comprehensive, coordinated, and accessible information to meet the needs of the public health workforce. Major barriers to information access include time, resource reliability, trustworthiness/credibility of information, and "information overload". Utilizing a novel search method that included the diversity of information resources public health practitioners use, has produced a richer and more useful picture of the information needs of the public health workforce than other literature

Expressed information needs of patients with osteoporosis and/or fragility fractures: a systematic review.

PubMed

Raybould, Grace; Babatunde, Opeyemi; Evans, Amy L; Jordan, Joanne L; Paskins, Zoe

2018-05-08

This systematic review identified patients have unmet information needs about the nature of osteoporosis, medication, self-management and follow-up. Clinician knowledge and attitudes appear to be of key importance in determining whether these needs are met. Unmet information needs appear to have psychosocial consequences and result in poor treatment adherence. Patient education is an integral component of the management of osteoporosis, yet patients are dissatisfied with the information they receive and see this as an area of research priority. This study aimed to describe and summarise the specific expressed information needs of patients in previously published qualitative research. Using terms relating to osteoporosis, fragility fracture and information needs, seven databases were searched. Articles were screened using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Full-text articles selected for inclusion underwent data extraction and quality appraisal. Findings were drawn together using narrative synthesis. The search identified 11,024 articles. Sixteen empirical studies were included in the review. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes relating to specific information needs, factors influencing whether information needs are met and the impact of unmet information needs. Specific information needs identified included the following: the nature of osteoporosis/fracture risk; medication; self-management and understanding the role of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and follow-up. Perceived physician knowledge and attitudes, and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of patients were important factors in influencing whether information needs were met, in addition to contextual factors and the format of educational resources. Failure to elicit and address information needs appears to be associated with poor treatment adherence, deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship and important psychosocial consequences. This is the first study to describe the

Perceived information needs and social support of Chinese-Australian breast cancer survivors.

PubMed

Kwok, C; White, K

2014-10-01

Both informational and social support are vital components in achieving a high quality of life as a cancer survivor. The study aims to explore the perceptions of information needs and social support among Chinese-Australian breast cancer survivors and how these resources impacted their cancer experience. Three focus groups were conducted with 23 Chinese-Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer in their native language (Mandarin and Cantonese). Each interview was translated and transcribed. Content analysis was used to uncover the major themes. Themes for information needs were identified as (1) using linguistically appropriate information, (2) the need for culturally sensitive information for the management of expected side effect and promotion of recovery and (3) the need for information on signs and symptoms of recurrence. Families were described as a primary source of multifaceted social support, although it was challenging to obtain. Support groups were also an important support source, but health care professionals were not identified as a source of support. Our study has provided practical insight into the information needs and social support of Chinese women with breast cancer. These findings can be used to inform the development of linguistically and culturally tailored support and survivorship interventions for this vulnerable population.

A neural mechanism for background information-gated learning based on axonal-dendritic overlaps.

PubMed

Mainetti, Matteo; Ascoli, Giorgio A

2015-03-01

Experiencing certain events triggers the acquisition of new memories. Although necessary, however, actual experience is not sufficient for memory formation. One-trial learning is also gated by knowledge of appropriate background information to make sense of the experienced occurrence. Strong neurobiological evidence suggests that long-term memory storage involves formation of new synapses. On the short time scale, this form of structural plasticity requires that the axon of the pre-synaptic neuron be physically proximal to the dendrite of the post-synaptic neuron. We surmise that such "axonal-dendritic overlap" (ADO) constitutes the neural correlate of background information-gated (BIG) learning. The hypothesis is based on a fundamental neuroanatomical constraint: an axon must pass close to the dendrites that are near other neurons it contacts. The topographic organization of the mammalian cortex ensures that nearby neurons encode related information. Using neural network simulations, we demonstrate that ADO is a suitable mechanism for BIG learning. We model knowledge as associations between terms, concepts or indivisible units of thought via directed graphs. The simplest instantiation encodes each concept by single neurons. Results are then generalized to cell assemblies. The proposed mechanism results in learning real associations better than spurious co-occurrences, providing definitive cognitive advantages.

A Neural Mechanism for Background Information-Gated Learning Based on Axonal-Dendritic Overlaps

PubMed Central

Mainetti, Matteo; Ascoli, Giorgio A.

2015-01-01

Experiencing certain events triggers the acquisition of new memories. Although necessary, however, actual experience is not sufficient for memory formation. One-trial learning is also gated by knowledge of appropriate background information to make sense of the experienced occurrence. Strong neurobiological evidence suggests that long-term memory storage involves formation of new synapses. On the short time scale, this form of structural plasticity requires that the axon of the pre-synaptic neuron be physically proximal to the dendrite of the post-synaptic neuron. We surmise that such “axonal-dendritic overlap” (ADO) constitutes the neural correlate of background information-gated (BIG) learning. The hypothesis is based on a fundamental neuroanatomical constraint: an axon must pass close to the dendrites that are near other neurons it contacts. The topographic organization of the mammalian cortex ensures that nearby neurons encode related information. Using neural network simulations, we demonstrate that ADO is a suitable mechanism for BIG learning. We model knowledge as associations between terms, concepts or indivisible units of thought via directed graphs. The simplest instantiation encodes each concept by single neurons. Results are then generalized to cell assemblies. The proposed mechanism results in learning real associations better than spurious co-occurrences, providing definitive cognitive advantages. PMID:25767887

Engineer's Needs for Scientific and Technical Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, A., Ed.; And Others

This study has as its main object the formulation of an approach, as global and comprehensive as possible, to the multiple aspects of the engineer's needs for scientific and technical information. The basis of the study is an analysis of the engineer's role, its characteristics, different specialties, levels of training, and categories of…

Breast cancer patients' information needs and information-seeking behavior in a developing country.

PubMed

Kimiafar, Khalil; Sarbaz, Masoumeh; Shahid Sales, Soudabeh; Esmaeili, Mojtaba; Javame Ghazvini, Zohre

2016-08-01

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women both around the world and in Iran. By studying the information needs of patients with breast cancer, the quality of the information provided for them can be improved. This study investigated the information needs of breast cancer patients and their information-seeking behavior. This cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June, 2015. The research population was 120 women diagnosed with breast cancer and informed about their disease who referred to oncology outpatient clinics at a specialized cancer hospital and a radiotherapy oncology center in Mashhad (the only specialized cancer centers in eastern and northeastern Iran). Average participant age was 46.2 years (SD = 9.9). Eighty-five percent of patients desired more information about their disease. Results showed that the attending physician (mean = 3.76), television health channel (mean = 3.30), and other patients (mean = 3.06) were the most popular sources of information for breast cancer patients. Patients stated their strongest reasons for using information sources as achieving a better understanding of the disease (mean = 3.59), less anxiety (mean = 3.92), and curiosity to learn more about the disease (mean = 3.66), sequentially. Results further indicated that disease management (mean = 4.18) and nutritional options during treatment (mean = 4.14) were the most often mentioned areas in which patients required information, while knowing the progress rate of their disease was the least (mean = 3.73). It seems necessary to have a good, organized plan to provide breast cancer patients with information and increase their information literacy, one of their undeniable rights. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"When information is not enough": A model for understanding BRCA-positive previvors' information needs regarding hereditary breast and ovarian cancer risk.

PubMed

Dean, Marleah; Scherr, Courtney L; Clements, Meredith; Koruo, Rachel; Martinez, Jennifer; Ross, Amy

2017-09-01

To investigate BRCA-positive, unaffected patients' - referred to as previvors - information needs after testing positive for a deleterious BRCA genetic mutation. 25 qualitative interviews were conducted with previvors. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method of grounded theory. Analysis revealed a theoretical model of previvors' information needs related to the stage of their health journey. Specifically, a four-stage model was developed based on the data: (1) pre-testing information needs, (2) post-testing information needs, (3) pre-management information needs, and (4) post-management information needs. Two recurring dimensions of desired knowledge also emerged within the stages-personal/social knowledge and medical knowledge. While previvors may be genetically predisposed to develop cancer, they have not been diagnosed with cancer, and therefore have different information needs than cancer patients and cancer survivors. This model can serve as a framework for assisting healthcare providers in meeting the specific information needs of cancer previvors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reappraising Abstract Paintings after Exposure to Background Information

PubMed Central

Park, Seongmin A.; Yun, Kyongsik; Jeong, Jaeseung

2015-01-01

Can knowledge help viewers when they appreciate an artwork? Experts’ judgments of the aesthetic value of a painting often differ from the estimates of naïve viewers, and this phenomenon is especially pronounced in the aesthetic judgment of abstract paintings. We compared the changes in aesthetic judgments of naïve viewers while they were progressively exposed to five pieces of background information. The participants were asked to report their aesthetic judgments of a given painting after each piece of information was presented. We found that commentaries by the artist and a critic significantly increased the subjective aesthetic ratings. Does knowledge enable experts to attend to the visual features in a painting and to link it to the evaluative conventions, thus potentially causing different aesthetic judgments? To investigate whether a specific pattern of attention is essential for the knowledge-based appreciation, we tracked the eye movements of subjects while viewing a painting with a commentary by the artist and with a commentary by a critic. We observed that critics’ commentaries directed the viewers’ attention to the visual components that were highly relevant to the presented commentary. However, attention to specific features of a painting was not necessary for increasing the subjective aesthetic judgment when the artists’ commentary was presented. Our results suggest that at least two different cognitive mechanisms may be involved in knowledge- guided aesthetic judgments while viewers reappraise a painting. PMID:25945789

Non use of health information kiosks examined in an information needs context.

PubMed

Williams, Peter; Nicholas, David; Huntington, Paul

2003-06-01

Whilst great emphasis has rightly been placed on the increased availability and use of health information, little research has been undertaken into the non use of such material, particularly with regard to electronic sources. Computer transactional log data from health information touch screen kiosks, collected as part of an ongoing Department of Health-funded study being carried out by City University, showed that females in the 55-74 age group were particularly under-represented as users. To explore reasons for this, in-depth interviews were carried out with 13 non-kiosk-using, primary-care out-patients fitting this profile, at a surgery which had a kiosk that was being monitored. Subjects were interviewed at length about their information needs and information-seeking behaviour, to determine reasons (if any) they might have had for non-kiosk use. The study utilized an interview schedule and technique loosely based on the 'Sense-Making' methodology of Brenda Dervin (Talk Presented at the International Communication Association Annual Meeting, May 1983, Dallas, Texas, USA. Available from: http://communicationsbsohio-stateedu/sense-making/art/artdervin83html.). Findings elicited many factors accounting for non use of the system. The first and major source of information remained the doctor, with written or other sources only being consulted where recommended or provided. There was evidence that patients wanted little more than the minimum information or instructions required to deal with their condition. Many appeared unaware of the presence of the kiosk and others assumed either that it was not for patient use or that it would not serve their needs. The methodology proved itself, with certain caveats, to be an appropriate vehicle for this kind of exploratory work.

Information needs research in the era of the digital medical library.

PubMed Central

Lomax, E. C.; Lowe, H. J.

1998-01-01

The rapid adoption of Internet-accessible information resources by the clinical community, has resulted in an exponential growth in the variety and type of clinical information resources along with an increasing diversity of information technologies to deliver clinical information. To date, little formal work has been done to investigate the significance of new information technologies such as Internet-based digital libraries and multimedia record systems on clinical information need or information seeking behavior. In the work described in this paper, we highlight some results from our recent multimethod research design and investigation of the information-seeking behavior of Pittsburgh area medical oncologists to argue for the use of a multimethod research design as an essential component of any investigation of clinical information need and information-seeking behavior in the era of the digital medical library. PMID:9929301

Information Needs of Family Caregivers of Persons with Cognitive versus Physical Deficits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koenig, Kelly N.; Steiner, Victoria; Pierce, Linda L.

2011-01-01

This study compared information needs of caregivers of persons with dementia with caregivers of those who received rehabilitation treatment. Caregivers were provided a 48-item survey and asked to choose their top ten information needs. Dementia caregivers' (n = 33) top needs were dealing with forgetfulness/confusion (91%) and repeating…

Informal milk sharing: what nurses need to know.

PubMed

Martino, Kimberly; Spatz, Diane

2014-01-01

Human milk is the ideal food for human infants. However, some infants will be in situations wherein there is insufficient human milk to meet their needs. This article addresses formal breast milk donation (donor milk) and informal sharing of breast milk. Healthcare providers are likely to encounter families who access milk by informal breast milk sharing or cross-nursing. Both practices rely heavily on receiving human milk from women who are potentially unscreened for disease, medication, and illicit substances. Therefore, it is important for perinatal nurses to have adequate information to be able to inform these families of the risks and benefits of breast milk sharing. Two case exemplars are provided to illustrate the nuances of informal milk sharing. Implications for practice include providing families with information on health history and laboratory screening as well as safe milk-handling practices.

Top Information Need Priorities of Older Adults Newly Diagnosed With Active Myeloma.

PubMed

Tariman, Joseph D; Doorenbos, Ardith; Schepp, Karen G; Singhal, Seema; Berry, Donna L

2015-01-01

Prioritizing patients' information needs maximizes efficiency. This study examined the information sources and priorities in a sample of older adults newly diagnosed with symptomatic myeloma requiring immediate therapy. An association analysis of whether information needs were influenced by sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, education, marital status, and income was also conducted. The Information Needs Questionnaire (INQ) and an investigator-developed interview schedule were administered to 20 older adults diagnosed with symptomatic myeloma during a 30- to 45-minute semistructured interview. We found that older adults newly diagnosed with symptomatic myeloma have different priorities of information needs when compared with younger patients diagnosed with various types of cancer. The top three priorities related to treatment, prognosis, and self-care. Sociodemographic variables did not influence the priorities of information needs among older adults with symptomatic myeloma. The Internet, physicians, family, and friends were among the top sources of information. Advanced practitioners in oncology should support and identify interventions that can enhance patients' learning process from these sources. Well poised to assist patients in searching credible and reliable Internet sources, advanced practitioners in oncology can provide patient education about different treatments and the impact of such treatments on prognosis (e.g., overall survival and likelihood of cure).

Understanding the Information Needs of Academic Scholars in Agricultural and Biological Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuruppu, Pali U.; Gruber, Anne Marie

2006-01-01

This study investigates the information needs of faculty and graduate students in agricultural and biological sciences. Qualitative research methods, interviews and focus groups, were used to examine what types of information these scholars need for their research, teaching and learning, how they seek that information, and perceptions. The…

A Study of Labour Market Information Needs through Employers' Seeking Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez-Cuadrado, Sonia; Morato, Jorge; Andreadakis, Yorgos; Moreiro, Jose Antonio

2010-01-01

Introduction: The objective of this study is understand the information needs that businesses have while seeking Library and Information Science professionals and analyse how they formulate those needs. Method: The analysis is performed by examining the professional skills and capabilities demanded in job offers published. A total of 1,020 job…

Informing Adaptation Decisions: What Do We Need to Know and What Do We Need to Do?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulwarty, R. S.; Webb, R. S.

2014-12-01

The demand for improved climate knowledge and information is well documented. As noted in the IPCC Reports (SREX, AR5) and other assessments, this demand has increased pressure for better information to support planning under changing rates of extremes event occurrence. This demand has focused on mechanisms used to respond to past variability and change, including, integrated resource management (watersheds, coasts), infrastructure design, information systems, technological optimization, financial risk management, and behavioral and institutional change. Climate inputs range from static site design statistics (return periods) to dynamic, emergent thresholds and transitions preceded by steep response curves and punctuated equilibria. Tradeoffs are evident in the use of risk-based anticipatory strategies vs. resilience measures. In such settings, annual decision calendars for operational requirements can confound adaptation expectations. Key knowledge assessment questions include: (1) How predictable are potential impacts of events in the context of other stressors, (2) how is action to anticipate such impacts informed, and (3) How often should criteria for "robustness" be reconsidered? To illustrate, we will discuss the climate information needs and uses for two areas of concern for both short and long-term risks (i) climate and disaster risk financing, and (ii) watershed management. The presentation will focus on the climate information needed for (1) improved monitoring, modeling and methods for understanding and analyzing exposure risks, (2) generating risk profiles, (3) developing information systems and scenarios for critical thresholds across climate time and space scales, (4) embedding annual decision calendars in the context of longer-term risk management, (5) gaming experiments to show the net benefits of new information. We will conclude with a discussion of the essential climate variables needed to implement services-delivery and development efforts such

Health information needs of professional nurses required at the point of care.

PubMed

Ricks, Esmeralda; ten Ham, Wilma

2015-06-11

Professional nurses work in dynamic environments and need to keep up to date with relevant information for practice in nursing to render quality patient care. Keeping up to date with current information is often challenging because of heavy workload, diverse information needs and the accessibility of the required information at the point of care. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the information needs of professional nurses at the point of care in order to make recommendations to stakeholders to develop a mobile library accessible by means of smart phones when needed. The researcher utilised a quantitative, descriptive survey design to conduct this study. The target population comprised 757 professional nurses employed at a state hospital. Simple random sampling was used to select a sample of the wards, units and departments for inclusion in the study. A convenience sample of 250 participants was selected. Two hundred and fifty structured self-administered questionnaires were distributed amongst the participants. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. A total of 136 completed questionnaires were returned. The findings highlighted the types and accessible sources of information. Information needs of professional nurses were identified such as: extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, HIV, antiretrovirals and all chronic lifestyle diseases. This study has enabled the researcher to identify the information needs required by professional nurses at the point of care to enhance the delivery of patient care. The research results were used to develop a mobile library that could be accessed by professional nurses.

Studying Information Needs as Question-Negotiations in an Educational Context: A Methodological Comment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundh, Anna

2010-01-01

Introduction: The concept of information needs is significant within the field of Information Needs Seeking and Use. "How" information needs can be studied empirically is however something that has been called into question. The main aim of this paper is to explore the methodological consequences of discursively oriented theories when…

Meeting patients' health information needs in breast cancer center hospitals - a multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Kowalski, Christoph; Lee, Shoou-Yih D; Ansmann, Lena; Wesselmann, Simone; Pfaff, Holger

2014-11-25

Breast cancer patients are confronted with a serious diagnosis that requires them to make important decisions throughout the journey of the disease. For these decisions to be made it is critical that the patients be well informed. Previous studies have been consistent in their findings that breast cancer patients have a high need for information on a wide range of topics. This paper investigates (1) how many patients feel they have unmet information needs after initial surgery, (2) whether the proportion of patients with unmet information needs varies between hospitals where they were treated and (3) whether differences between the hospitals account for some of these variation. Data from 5,024 newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients treated in 111 breast center hospitals in Germany were analyzed and combined with data on hospital characteristics. Multilevel linear regression models were calculated taking into account hospital characteristics and adjusting for patient case mix. Younger patients, those receiving mastectomy, having statutory health insurance, not living with a partner and having a foreign native language report higher unmet information needs. The data demonstrate small between-hospital variation in unmet information needs. In hospitals that provide patient-specific information material and that offer health fairs as well as those that are non-teaching or have lower patient-volume, patients are less likely to report unmet information needs. We found differences in proportions of patients with unmet information needs between hospitals and that hospitals' structure and process-related attributes of the hospitals were associated with these differences to some extent. Hospitals may contribute to reducing the patients' information needs by means that are not necessarily resource-intensive.

The information needs of women who have undergone breast reconstruction. Part II: Information giving and content of information.

PubMed

Wolf, Lisa

2004-12-01

Women diagnosed with breast cancer treated by mastectomy can choose breast reconstruction. The information needs of women undergoing this procedure have only been addressed in the research literature to a limited extent. A qualitative approach was used to explore the experiences of women who had undergone breast reconstruction with a specific focus on their views on how they considered their information needs could best be met. A purposeful sample of eight women was recruited to participate in two focus groups, each lasting 2 hours. Framework analysis was used to develop an index of key themes and sub themes which transformed the data into a structured record which facilitated systematic analysis. This paper will present the emergent key themes regarding information giving and the content of information that women perceive as important when preparing for breast reconstruction. Process, delivery and patient factors are presented in the category of information giving. Several sub themes are discussed concerning the content of information considered to be relevant. Those involved in imparting information to women about such surgery should be aware of the type of information that is considered relevant, the manner in which it should be delivered and timing factors that implicate on the process.

Graduating to Postdoc: Information-Sharing in Support of Organizational Structures and Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.; Lucas, Paul J.; Compton, Michael M.; Stewart, Helen J.; Baya, Vinod; DelAlto, Martha

1999-01-01

The deployment of information-sharing systems in large organizations can significantly impact existing policies and procedures with regard to authority and control over information. Unless information-sharing systems explicitly support organizational structures and needs, these systems will be rejected summarily. The Postdoc system is a deployed Web-based information-sharing system created specifically to address organizational needs. Postdoc contains various organizational support features including a shared, globally navigable document space, as well as specialized access control, distributed administration, and mailing list features built around the key notion of hierarchical group structures. We review successes and difficulties in supporting organizational needs with Postdoc

E-Mail Writing: Providing Background Information in the Core of Computer Assisted Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nazari, Behzad; Ninknejad, Sahar

2015-01-01

The present study highly supported the effective role of providing background information via email by the teacher to write e-mail by the students in learners' writing ability. A total number of 50 EFL advanced male students aged between 25 and 40 at different branches of Iran Language Institute in Tehran, Tehran. Through the placement test of…

78 FR 40310 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-03

... Information Collection: Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer... Collection Title of Information Collection: Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA). OMB Approval Number: 2502... provide a copy to HUD. Description of the need for the information and proposed use: Collecting this...

Defining Information Needs of Computer Users: A Human Communication Problem.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimbrough, Kenneth L.

This exploratory investigation of the process of defining the information needs of computer users and the impact of that process on information retrieval focuses on communication problems. Six sites were visited that used computers to process data or to provide information, including the California Department of Transportation, the California…

Meeting Older Adults Learning Needs When Using Information Technologies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cameron, Don

As in other countries, older adults in Australia could benefit from acquiring information technology (IT) skills in many ways, including improved access to information on health issues and development of the skills needed for employment in high-demand IT-related occupations. The research on adult learning and the problems faced by many older…

Education level, not health literacy, associated with information needs for patients with cancer.

PubMed

Matsuyama, Robin K; Wilson-Genderson, Maureen; Kuhn, Laura; Moghanaki, Drew; Vachhani, Hetal; Paasche-Orlow, Michael

2011-12-01

Cancer patients receiving adjuvant therapy encounter increasingly complex situations and decisions with each new procedure and therapy. To make informed decisions about care, they need to be able to access, process, and understand information. Individuals with limited health literacy may not be able to obtain or understand important information about their cancer and treatment. The rate of low health literacy has been shown to be higher among African Americans than among non-Hispanic Whites. This study examined the associations between race, health literacy, and self-reported needs for information about disease, diagnostic tests, treatments, physical care, and psychosocial resources. Measures assessing information needs were administered to 138 newly diagnosed cancer patients. Demographics were assessed by survey and health literacy was assessed with two commonly used measures: the Rapid Estimate Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and the Short Test of Health Literacy in Adults (STOFHLA). Study findings indicate that educational attainment, rather than health literacy, is a significant predictor of information needs. Overcoming barriers to information needs may be less dependent on literacy considerations and more dependent on issues that divide across levels of educational attainment. Oncologists and hospital staff should be attentive to the fact that many patients require additional assistance to meet their information needs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 19509 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-01

... Information Collection: Comment Request; Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) AGENCY: Office of the Assistant... information: Title of Proposal: Capital Needs Assessment (CNA). OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2502-0505. Description of the need for the information and proposed use: Collecting this information is required for...

The information needs of adult cancer survivors across the cancer continuum: A scoping review.

PubMed

Fletcher, Chloe; Flight, Ingrid; Chapman, Janine; Fennell, Kate; Wilson, Carlene

2017-03-01

To provide an updated synthesis of the literature that investigates the self-reported information needs of people diagnosed with cancer across the cancer continuum. We conducted a scoping review of the literature published from August 2003 to June 2015 and expanded an existing typology summarizing the information needs of people diagnosed with cancer. The majority of the included studies (n=104) focused on questions relevant to the diagnosis/active treatment phase of the cancer continuum (52.9%) and thus the most frequently identified information needs related to this phase (33.4%). Information needs varied across the continuum and the results highlight the importance of recognising this fact. People diagnosed with cancer experience discrete information needs at different points from diagnosis to survival. Much of the research conducted in this area has focused on their information needs during the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and literature relating to information needs following completion of treatment is sparse. Further research is needed to discern the specific nature of the treatment concerns and identify the information needs that survivors experience during recurrence of cancer, metastasis or changes in diagnosis, and the end of life phase of the cancer continuum. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

HIV information needs of parents of young men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Rose, India D; Friedman, Daniela B

2016-12-01

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have unique health concerns, including high rates of HIV infection. To prevent HIV, YMSM need credible information from trusted sources, specifically parents. Little is known about what health information resources parents of YMSM need to communicate with their child about HIV prevention. The primary objective of this study was to examine the proxy health information seeking behaviours of parents of YMSM and to identify information resources that parents need to communicate with their YMSM identified child about HIV prevention. Qualitative findings were grouped into four categories: parents' current health information sources; barriers to seeking health information; parents' health information needs; and recommendations for delivery of health information for parents. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of YMSM. Parents reported consulting physicians and the Internet for HIV/AIDS information. They reported finding limited information targeted towards parents of YMSM and provided suggestions for improving the delivery of health information including training, websites and the local news. Delivery of tailored HIV prevention information to parents may be effective in helping combat HIV among YMSM. Given that YMSM bear the greatest burden for HIV, this study highlights the need to include parents of YMSM in future interventions aimed at reducing YMSM's risk of HIV/AIDS. © 2016 Health Libraries Group.

Preparing for a New Century: Information Technology Workforce Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teeter, Thomas A.; Bailey, Janet L.; Cherepski, Don D.; Faucett, John; Hines, Robert J.; Jovanovic, Nickolas S.; Tschumi, Pete; Walker, Jeffery T.; Watson, Gretchen B.

The purpose of this project was to determine workforce needs in the new information technology/knowledge-based world in order to design a coherent minor program in information technology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for the non-technically oriented college student. The process consisted of three phases: site visits to five…

Mission informed needed information: discoverable, available sensing sources (MINI-DASS): the operators and process flows the magic rabbits must negotiate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolodny, Michael A.

2017-05-01

Today's battlefield space is extremely complex, dealing with an enemy that is neither well-defined nor well-understood. Adversaries are comprised of widely-distributed, loosely-networked groups engaging in nefarious activities. Situational understanding is needed by decision makers; understanding of adversarial capabilities and intent is essential. Information needed at any time is dependent on the mission/task at hand. Information sources potentially providing mission-relevant information are disparate and numerous; they include sensors, social networks, fusion engines, internet, etc. Management of these multi-dimensional informational sources is critical. This paper will present a new approach being undertaken to answer the challenge of enhancing battlefield understanding by optimizing the utilization of available informational sources (means) to required missions/tasks as well as determining the "goodness'" of the information acquired in meeting the capabilities needed. Requirements are usually expressed in terms of a presumed technology solution (e.g., imagery). A metaphor of the "magic rabbits" was conceived to remove presumed technology solutions from requirements by claiming the "required" technology is obsolete. Instead, intelligent "magic rabbits" are used to provide needed information. The question then becomes: "WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU NEED THE RABBITS TO PROVIDE YOU?" This paper will describe a new approach called Mission-Informed Needed Information - Discoverable, Available Sensing Sources (MINI-DASS) that designs a process that builds information acquisition missions and determines what the "magic rabbits" need to provide in a manner that is machine understandable. Also described is the Missions and Means Framework (MMF) model used, the process flow utilized, the approach to developing an ontology of information source means and the approach for determining the value of the information acquired.

Information needs of physicians, care coordinators, and families to support care coordination of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN).

PubMed

Ranade-Kharkar, Pallavi; Weir, Charlene; Norlin, Chuck; Collins, Sarah A; Scarton, Lou Ann; Baker, Gina B; Borbolla, Damian; Taliercio, Vanina; Del Fiol, Guilherme

2017-09-01

Identify and describe information needs and associated goals of physicians, care coordinators, and families related to coordinating care for medically complex children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). We conducted 19 in-depth interviews with physicians, care coordinators, and parents of CYSHCN following the Critical Decision Method technique. We analyzed the interviews for information needs posed as questions using a systematic content analysis approach and categorized the questions into information need goal types and subtypes. The Critical Decision Method interviews resulted in an average of 80 information needs per interview. We categorized them into 6 information need goal types: (1) situation understanding, (2) care networking, (3) planning, (4) tracking/monitoring, (5) navigating the health care system, and (6) learning, and 32 subtypes. Caring for CYSHCN generates a large amount of information needs that require significant effort from physicians, care coordinators, parents, and various other individuals. CYSHCN are often chronically ill and face developmental challenges that translate into intense demands on time, effort, and resources. Care coordination for CYCHSN involves multiple information systems, specialized resources, and complex decision-making. Solutions currently offered by health information technology fall short in providing support to meet the information needs to perform the complex care coordination tasks. Our findings present significant opportunities to improve coordination of care through multifaceted and fully integrated informatics solutions. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

An Exploratory Study on the Information Needs of Prostate Cancer Patients and Their Partners

PubMed Central

Kassianos, Angelos P.; Raats, Monique M.; Gage, Heather

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the information needs of men with prostate cancer and their partners retrospectively at various points in the treatment process. An online questionnaire was used to collect information from men with prostate cancer and their partners about information needs, and when these developed. Readers of a Prostate Care Cookbook and members of a Prostate Cancer Charity were invited to participate: 73 men with prostate cancer and 25 partners completed the questionnaire. Responses showed that participants develop their information needs close to diagnosis. Less educated men with prostate cancer and partners developed their needs closer to the time after diagnosis than those with higher education. Partners develop an interest on information related to treatment and interaction earlier than patients. Patients prioritised treatment and disease-specific information. Patients and partners differ in how their information needs develop. Medical information is prioritized by patients as opposed to practical information by partners. Health care provision can be tailored to meet the different needs of prostate cancer patients and their partners at different times in the treatment process. PMID:27403460

Information Seeking Research Needs Extension towards Tasks and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Järvelin, Kalervo; Ingwersen, Peter

2004-01-01

This paper discusses the research into information seeking and its directions at a general level. We approach this topic by analysis and argumentation based on past research in the domain. We begin by presenting a general model of information seeking and retrieval which is used to derive nine broad dimensions that are needed to analyze information…

Information needs before hospital discharge of myocardial infarction patients: a comparative, descriptive study.

PubMed

Smith, Jonathan; Liles, Clive

2007-04-01

To explore the information needs of patients who have received treatment for a myocardial infarction before their discharge home from an acute hospital. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC: Providing information for myocardial infarction patients is an important nursing function and is part of the role of health-care professionals delivering cardiac rehabilitation. It is essential to acknowledge and incorporate the self-perceived needs of patients into the information they receive. Hospital stays are becoming shorter, reducing the opportunities for nurses to provide predischarge information to patients. This highlights the challenge of adequately assessing and meeting patients' information needs. A comparative, descriptive survey. A Patient Learning Needs Scale questionnaire was completed by 20 myocardial infarction patients within 72 hours of their intended discharge. Quantitative descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Patients indicated how important it was to know about each of 40 information items before discharge from hospital. Items related to medications, complications and physical activities were rated highly. Responses to an open question revealed that driving, returning to work and sources of support were issues of concern. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-tests showed that retired and older patients desired more information than their employed and younger counterparts, especially concerning community support. WHAT THE STUDY ADDS TO THE TOPIC: Previous research shows little examination of age and employment status in relation to the information needs of myocardial infarction patients. This study suggests that older and retired people may want more information than younger and employed patients. Older people are under represented in postdischarge cardiac rehabilitation programmes. Since these patients may need different information when discharged from younger individuals, nurses must decide how they can

Emerging Technologies Program Integration Report. Volume 2. Background, Delphi and Workshop Data. Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-04

FTIILE COP’ AD-A196 840 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM INTEGRATION REPORT VOLUME II BACKGROUND, DELPHI AND WORKSHOP DATA, APPENDICES . -- PREPARED...Security Classification) Emerging Technologies Program Integration Report Volume II: Background, Delphi and Workshop Data; Appendices (U) 12 PERSONAL...volumes of this integration report assess and synthesize information gathered through a Delphi survey, defense needs prioritization workshops, and

Medical providers' dental information needs: a baseline survey.

PubMed

Acharya, Amit; Mahnke, Andrea; Chyou, Po-Huang; Rottscheit, Carla; Starren, Justin B

2011-01-01

Articulation of medical and dental practices has been strongly called for based on the many oral-systemic connections. With the rapid development and adoption of electronic health records, the feasibility of integrating medical and dental patient data should be strongly considered. The objective of this study was to develop an initial understanding of the medical providers' core dental information needs and opinion of integrated medical-dental electronic health record (iEHR) environment in their workflow. This was achieved by administering a 13 question survey to a group of 1,197 medical care providers employed by Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin, United States. The survey received a response rate of 35%. The responses were analyzed based on provider 'Role' and 'Specialty'. The majority of the respondents felt the need for patient's dental information to coordinate or provide effective medical care. An integrated electronic health record environment could facilitate this holistic patient care approach.

Information age organization: No new ethics need apply

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zucker, A.

1994-12-31

Customer oriented decisions will be made by those closest to the customer, not by those at a distance. Information needed for customer oriented decisions will be readily available to the decider. Levels of hierarchy will be reduced but there will still be command accountability; if only for who hired that guy? Goals will be customer oriented - not level or job oriented. That is, protecting one`s ass or furthering one`s position will not be as easy as it is now; nor, for that matter, needed.

The information needs of patients receiving procedural sedation in a hospital emergency department.

PubMed

Revell, Sue; Searle, Judy; Thompson, Shona

2017-07-01

This research investigated the information needs of patients receiving ED procedural sedation to determine the best format to consistently deliver key information in a way acceptable to all involved. Of particular interest was the question concerning patients' need for receiving written information. A descriptive exploratory study gathered qualitative data through face-to-face interviews and focus groups involving patients, nurses and medical staff. Individual interviews were conducted with eight adult patients following procedural sedation. They identified very few gaps in terms of specific information they needed pertaining to procedural sedation and rejected the need for receiving information in a written format. Their information needs related to a central concern for safety and trust. Focus groups, reflecting on the findings from patients, were conducted with five ED nurses and four emergency medicine consultants/registrars who regularly provided procedural sedation. Themes that emerged from the analysis of data from all three groups identified the issues concerning patient information needs as being: competence and efficiency of staff; explanations of procedures and progress; support person presence; and medico-legal issues. The research confirms that the quality of the patient's ED experience, specifically related to procedural sedation, is enhanced by ED staff, especially nurses, providing them with ongoing and repeated verbal information relevant to their circumstances. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) information needs: a theoretical framework

PubMed Central

Marlow, Laura A V; Wardle, Jane; Waller, Jo; Grant, Nina

2009-01-01

Background With the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and vaccination in the UK, health professionals will start to receive questions about the virus from their patients. This study aimed to identify the key questions about HPV that British women will ask when considering having an HPV test or vaccination. Methods Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 21 women to discover what they wanted to know about HPV. A thematic framework approach was used to analyse the data and identify key themes in women's HPV knowledge requirements. Results Women's questions about HPV fell into six areas: identity (e.g. What are the symptoms?), cause (e.g. How do you get HPV?), timeline (e.g. How long does it last?), consequences (e.g. Does it always cause cervical cancer?) and control-cure (e.g. Can you prevent infection?). In addition, they asked procedural questions about testing and vaccination (e.g. Where do I get an HPV test?). These mapped well onto the dimensions identified in Leventhal's description of lay models of illness, called the 'Common Sense Model' (CSM). Discussion and conclusions These results indicated that the majority of the questions women asked about HPV fitted well into the CSM, which therefore provides a structure for women's information needs. The findings could help health professionals understand what questions they may be expected to answer. Framing educational materials using the CSM themes may also help health educators achieve a good fit with what the public want to know. PMID:19126314

Information needs of Botswana health care workers and perceptions of wikipedia.

PubMed

Park, Elizabeth; Masupe, Tiny; Joseph, Joseph; Ho-Foster, Ari; Chavez, Afton; Jammalamadugu, Swetha; Marek, Andrew; Arumala, Ruth; Ketshogileng, Dineo; Littman-Quinn, Ryan; Kovarik, Carrie

2016-11-01

Since the UN Human Rights Council's recognition on the subject in 2011, the right to access the Internet and information is now considered one of the most basic human rights of global citizens [1,2]. Despite this, an information gap between developed and resource-limited countries remains, and there is scant research on actual information needs of workers themselves. The Republic of Botswana represents a fertile ground to address existing gaps in research, policy, and practice, due to its demonstrated gap in access to information and specialists among rural health care workers (HCWs), burgeoning mHealth capacity, and a timely offer from Orange Telecommunications to access Wikipedia for free on mobile platforms for Botswana subscribers. In this study, we sought to identify clinical information needs of HCWs of Botswana and their perception of Wikipedia as a clinical tool. Twenty-eight facilitated focus groups, consisting of 113 HCWs of various cadres based at district hospitals, clinics, and health posts around Botswana, were employed. Transcription and thematic analysis were performed for those groups. Access to the Internet is limited at most facilities. Most HCWs placed high importance upon using Botswana Ministry of Health (MoH) resources for obtaining credible clinical information. However, the clinical applicability of these materials was limited due to discrepancies amongst sources, potentially outdated information, and poor optimization for time-sensitive circumstances. As a result, HCWs faced challenges, such as loss of patient trust and compromises in patient care. Potential solutions posed by HCWs to address these issues included: multifaceted improvements in Internet infrastructure, access to up-to-date information, transfer of knowledge from MoH to HCW, and improving content and applicability of currently available information. Topics of clinical information needs were broad and encompassed: HIV, TB (Tuberculosis), OB/GYN (Obstetrics and Gynecology

Pilots' Information Needs and Strategies for Operating in Icing Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vigeant-Langlois, Laurence N.; Hansman, R. John

2003-01-01

Pilot current use of icing information, pilot encounters and strategies for dealing with in-flight aircraft structural icing situations, and desired attributes of new icing information systems were investigated through a survey of pilots of several operational categories. The survey identified important information elements and fiequently used information paths for obtaining icing-related information. Free- response questions solicited descriptions of significant , icing encounters, and probed key icing-related decision and information criteria. Results indicated the information needs for the horizontal and vertical location of icing conditions and the identification of icing-free zones.

Assessment of information needs in diabetes: Development and evaluation of a questionnaire.

PubMed

Chernyak, N; Stephan, A; Bächle, C; Genz, J; Jülich, F; Icks, A

2016-08-01

To develop a questionnaire suitable for assessing the information needs of individuals with diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2 in diverse healthcare settings (e.g. primary care or long-term care) and at different time points during the course of the disease. The initial questionnaire was developed on the basis of literature search and analysis, reviewed by clinical experts, and evaluated in two focus groups. The revised version was pilot-tested on 39 individuals with diabetes type 2, type 1 and gestational diabetes. The final questionnaire reveals the most important information needs in diabetes. A choice task, a rating task and open-ended questions are combined. First, participants have to choose three topics that interest them out of a list with 12 general topics and specify in their own words their particular information needs for the chosen topics. They are then asked how informed they feel with regard to all topics (4-point Likert-scale), and whether information is currently desired (yes/no). The questionnaire ends with an open-ended question asking for additional topics of interest. Careful selection of topics and inclusion of open-ended questions seem to be essential prerequisites for the unbiased assessment of information needs. The questionnaire can be applied in surveys in order to examine patterns of information needs across various groups and changes during the course of the disease. Such knowledge would contribute to more patient-guided information, counselling and support. Copyright © 2015 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pediatric acute gastroenteritis: understanding caregivers' experiences and information needs.

PubMed

Albrecht, Lauren; Hartling, Lisa; Scott, Shannon D

2017-05-01

Pediatric acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a common condition with high health care utilization, persistent practice variation, and substantial family burden. An initial approach to resolve these issues is to understand the patient/caregiver experience of this illness. The objective of this study was to describe caregivers' experiences of pediatric AGE and identify their information needs, preferences, and priorities. A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted. Caregivers of a child with AGE were recruited for this study in the pediatric emergency department (ED) at a tertiary hospital in a major urban centre. Individual interviews were conducted (n=15), and a thematic analysis of interview transcripts was completed using a hybrid inductive/deductive approach. Five major themes were identified and described: 1) caregiver management strategies; 2) reasons for going to the ED; 3) treatment and management of AGE in the ED; 4) caregivers' information needs; and 5) additional factors influencing caregivers' experiences and decision-making. A number of subthemes within each major theme were identified and described. This qualitative descriptive study has identified caregiver information needs, preferences, and priorities regarding pediatric AGE. This study also identified inconsistencies in the treatment and management of pediatric AGE at home and in the ED that influence health care utilization and patient outcomes related to pediatric AGE.

Survivorship Care Plan Information Needs: Perspectives of Safety-Net Breast Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Burke, Nancy J; Napoles, Tessa M; Banks, Priscilla J; Orenstein, Fern S; Luce, Judith A; Joseph, Galen

2016-01-01

Despite the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) 2005 recommendation, few care organizations have instituted standard survivorship care plans (SCPs). Low health literacy and low English proficiency are important factors to consider in SCP development. Our study aimed to identify information needs and survivorship care plan preferences of low literacy, multi-lingual patients to support the transition from oncology to primary care and ongoing learning in survivorship. We conducted focus groups in five languages with African American, Latina, Russian, Filipina, White, and Chinese medically underserved breast cancer patients. Topics explored included the transition to primary care, access to information, knowledge of treatment history, and perspectives on SCPs. Analysis of focus group data identified three themes: 1) the need for information and education on the transition between "active treatment" and "survivorship"; 2) information needed (and often not obtained) from providers; and 3) perspectives on SCP content and delivery. Our data point to the need to develop a process as well as written information for medically underserved breast cancer patients. An SCP document will not replace direct communication with providers about treatment, symptom management and transition, a communication that is missing in participating safety-net patients' experiences of cancer care. Women turned to peer support and community-based organizations in the absence of information from providers. "Clear and effective" communication of survivorship care for safety-net patients requires dedicated staff trained to address wide-ranging information needs and uncertainties.

A rapid review of consumer health information needs and preferences.

PubMed

Ramsey, Imogen; Corsini, Nadia; Peters, Micah D J; Eckert, Marion

2017-09-01

This rapid review summarizes best available evidence on consumers' needs and preferences for information about healthcare, with a focus on the Australian context. Three questions are addressed: 1) Where do consumers find and what platform do they use to access information about healthcare? 2) How do consumers use the healthcare information that they find? 3) About which topics or subjects do consumers need healthcare information? A hierarchical approach was adopted with evidence first sought from reviews then high quality studies using Medline (via PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, the JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, the Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews, EPPI-Centre, and Epistemonikos. Twenty-eight articles were included; four systematic reviews, three literature reviews, thirteen quantitative studies, six qualitative studies, and two mixed methods studies. Consumers seek health information at varying times along the healthcare journey and through various modes of delivery. Complacency with historical health information modes is no longer appropriate and flexibility is essential to suit growing consumer demands. Health information should be readily available in different formats and not exclusive to any single medium. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

From Cleanup to Stewardship. A companion report to Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure and background information to support the scoping process required for the 1998 PEIS Settlement Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

1999-10-01

Long-term stewardship is expected to be needed at more than 100 DOE sites after DOE's Environmental Management program completes disposal, stabilization, and restoration operations to address waste and contamination resulting from nuclear research and nuclear weapons production conducted over the past 50 years. From Cleanup to stewardship provides background information on the Department of Energy (DOE) long-term stewardship obligations and activities. This document begins to examine the transition from cleanup to long-term stewardship, and it fulfills the Secretary's commitment to the President in the 1999 Performance Agreement to provide a companion report to the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closuremore » report. It also provides background information to support the scoping process required for a study on long-term stewardship required by a 1998 Settlement Agreement.« less

Delivering information: a descriptive study of Australian women's information needs for decision-making about birth facility.

PubMed

Thompson, Rachel; Wojcieszek, Aleena M

2012-06-18

Little information is known about what information women want when choosing a birth facility. The objective of this study was to inform the development of a consumer decision support tool about birth facility by identifying the information needs of maternity care consumers in Queensland, Australia. Participants were 146 women residing in both urban and rural areas of Queensland, Australia who were pregnant and/or had recently given birth. A cross-sectional survey was administered in which participants were asked to rate the importance of 42 information items to their decision-making about birth facility. Participants could also provide up to ten additional information items of interest in an open-ended question. On average, participants rated 30 of the 42 information items as important to decision-making about birth facility. While the majority of information items were valued by most participants, those related to policies about support people, other women's recommendations about the facility, freedom to choose one's preferred position during labour and birth, the aesthetic quality of the facility, and access to on-site neonatal intensive care were particularly widely valued. Additional items of interest frequently focused on postnatal care and support, policies related to medical intervention, and access to water immersion. The women surveyed had significant and diverse information needs for decision-making about birth facility. These findings have immediate applications for the development of decision support tools about birth facility, and highlight the need for tools which provide a large volume of information in an accessible and user-friendly format. These findings may also be used to guide communication and information-sharing by care providers involved in counselling pregnant women and families about their options for birth facility or providing referrals to birth facilities.

Identifying Home Care Clinicians’ Information Needs for Managing Fall Risks

PubMed Central

Alhuwail, Dari

2016-01-01

Summary Objectives To help manage the risk of falls in home care, this study aimed to (i) identify home care clinicians’ information needs and how they manage missing or inaccurate data, (ii) identify problems that impact effectiveness and efficiency associated with retaining, exchanging, or processing information about fall risks in existing workflows and currently adopted health information technology (IT) solutions, and (iii) offer informatics-based recommendations to improve fall risk management interventions. Methods A case study was carried out in a single not-for-profit suburban Medicare-certified home health agency with three branches. Qualitative data were collected over a six month period through observations, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. The Framework method was used for analysis. Maximum variation sampling was adopted to recruit a diverse sample of clinicians. Results Overall, the information needs for fall risk management were categorized into physiological, care delivery, educational, social, environmental, and administrative domains. Examples include a brief fall-related patient history, weight-bearing status, medications that affect balance, availability of caregivers at home, and the influence of patients’ cultures on fall management interventions. The unavailability and inaccuracy of critical information related to fall risks can delay necessary therapeutic services aimed at reducing patients’ risk for falling and thereby jeopardizing their safety. Currently adopted IT solutions did not adequately accommodate data related to fall risk management. Conclusion The results highlight the essential information for fall risk management in home care. Home care workflows and health IT solutions must effectively and efficiently retain, exchange, and process information necessary for fall risk management. Interoperability and integration of the various health IT solutions to make data sharing accessible to all clinicians is critical

Discharge information needs and symptom distress after abdominal aortic surgery.

PubMed

Galloway, S; Rebeyka, D; Saxe-Braithwaite, M; Bubela, N; McKibbon, A

1997-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the discharge information needs and symptom distress of people after abdominal aortic reconstructive surgery. Interviews (N = 51) were conducted prior to, and 4 weeks after, hospital discharge. People indicated that the most important information to help them manage their care after discharge related to the recognition, prevention and management of complications. Broken sleep and incisional pain were the most distressful of symptoms prior to hospital discharge, whereas fatigue and broken sleep were most distressful once home. These results may assist nurses to understand the discharge information needs and symptom distress of people recovering from aortic reconstructive surgery and the importance of discharge education to help people to manage their care once home.

A Study of MX Environmental Management Information System (MXEMIS) Needs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MXEMIS) NEEDS by Ronald Webster Ralph Mitchell Valorie Young -J : 2 34 LA--. Approved for public release...System (SAIFS) The MX Management Information System (MX MIS) The Mobilization Early Warning System (MEWS) The Computer-Aided Environmental Baseline...26 REFERENCES DISTRIBUTION I5 S’ t A STUDY OF MX ENVIRONMENTAL 2 EXISTING SYSTEMS CLASSIFICATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MXEMIS

Commissions as information organizations: Meeting the information needs of an electronic society

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sevel, F.

1997-11-01

This paper describes how commission-sponsored web sites can effectively meet electronic information needs. Demographics of internet users are presented and analyzed. Online activities and user access data are also described. The implications of the characteristics of internet users for commission-sponsored web sites are discussed, and guidelines for determining marketing objectives are presented.

Multimodal cues provide redundant information for bumblebees when the stimulus is visually salient, but facilitate red target detection in a naturalistic background

PubMed Central

Corcobado, Guadalupe; Trillo, Alejandro

2017-01-01

Our understanding of how floral visitors integrate visual and olfactory cues when seeking food, and how background complexity affects flower detection is limited. Here, we aimed to understand the use of visual and olfactory information for bumblebees (Bombus terrestris terrestris L.) when seeking flowers in a visually complex background. To explore this issue, we first evaluated the effect of flower colour (red and blue), size (8, 16 and 32 mm), scent (presence or absence) and the amount of training on the foraging strategy of bumblebees (accuracy, search time and flight behaviour), considering the visual complexity of our background, to later explore whether experienced bumblebees, previously trained in the presence of scent, can recall and make use of odour information when foraging in the presence of novel visual stimuli carrying a familiar scent. Of all the variables analysed, flower colour had the strongest effect on the foraging strategy. Bumblebees searching for blue flowers were more accurate, flew faster, followed more direct paths between flowers and needed less time to find them, than bumblebees searching for red flowers. In turn, training and the presence of odour helped bees to find inconspicuous (red) flowers. When bees foraged on red flowers, search time increased with flower size; but search time was independent of flower size when bees foraged on blue flowers. Previous experience with floral scent enhances the capacity of detection of a novel colour carrying a familiar scent, probably by elemental association influencing attention. PMID:28898287

Information needs and information seeking in a biomedical research setting: a study of scientists and science administrators.

PubMed

Grefsheim, Suzanne F; Rankin, Jocelyn A

2007-10-01

An information needs study of clinical specialists and biomedical researchers was conducted at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to inform library services and contribute to a broader understanding of information use in academic and research settings. A random stratified sample by job category of 500 NIH scientists was surveyed by telephone by an independent consultant using a standardized information industry instrument, augmented with locally developed questions. Results were analyzed for statistical significance using t- tests and chi square. Findings were compared with published studies and an aggregated dataset of information users in business, government, and health care from Outsell. The study results highlighted similarities and differences with other studies and the industry standard, providing insights into user preferences, including new technologies. NIH scientists overwhelmingly used the NIH Library (424/500), began their searches at the library's Website rather than Google (P = or< 0.001), were likely to seek information themselves (474/500), and valued desktop resources and services. While NIH staff work in a unique setting, they share some information characteristics with other researchers. The findings underscored the need to continue assessing specialized needs and seek innovative solutions. The study led to improvements or expansion of services such as developing a Website search engine, organizing gene sequence data, and assisting with manuscript preparation.

How children aged 2;6 tailor verbal expressions to interlocutor informational needs.

PubMed

Abbot-Smith, Kirsten; Nurmsoo, Erika; Croll, Rebecca; Ferguson, Heather; Forrester, Michael

2016-11-01

Although preschoolers are pervasively underinformative in their actual usage of verbal reference, a number of studies have shown that they nonetheless demonstrate sensitivity to listener informational needs, at least when environmental cues to this are obvious. We investigated two issues. The first concerned the types of visual cues to interlocutor informational needs which children aged 2;6 can process whilst producing complex referring expressions. The second was whether performance in experimental tasks related to naturalistic conversational proficiency. We found that 2;6-year-olds used fewer complex expressions when the objects were dissimilar compared to highly similar objects, indicating that they tailor their verbal expressions to the informational needs of another person, even when the cue to the informational need is relatively opaque. We also found a correlation between conversational skills as rated by the parents and the degree to which 2;6-year-olds could learn from feedback to produce complex referring expressions.

Information Needs Assessment for a Medicine Ward-Focused Rounding Dashboard.

PubMed

Aakre, Christopher A; Chaudhry, Rajeev; Pickering, Brian W; Herasevich, Vitaly

2016-08-01

To identify the routine information needs of inpatient clinicians on the general wards for the development of an electronic dashboard. Survey of internal medicine and subspecialty clinicians from March 2014-July 2014 at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. An information needs assessment was generated from all unique data elements extracted from all handoff and rounding tools used by clinicians in our ICUs and general wards. An electronic survey was distributed to 104 inpatient medical providers. 89 unique data elements were identified from currently utilized handoff and rounding instruments. All data elements were present in our multipurpose ICU-based dashboard. 42 of 104 (40 %) surveys were returned. Data elements important (50/89, 56 %) and unimportant (24/89, 27 %) for routine use were identified. No significant differences in data element ranking were observed between supervisory and nonsupervisory roles. The routine information needs of general ward clinicians are a subset of data elements used routinely by ICU clinicians. Our findings suggest an electronic dashboard could be adapted from the critical care setting to the general wards with minimal modification.

The closed-mindedness that wasn't: need for structure and expectancy-inconsistent information.

PubMed

Kemmelmeier, Markus

2015-01-01

Social-cognitive researchers have typically assumed that individuals high in need for structure or need for closure tend to be closed-minded: they are motivated to resist or ignore information that is inconsistent with existing beliefs but instead they rely on category-based expectancies. The present paper argues that this conclusion is not necessarily warranted because previous studies did not allow individual differences in categorical processing to emerge and did not consider different distributions of category-relevant information. Using a person memory paradigm, Experiments 1 and 2 shows that, when categorical processing is optional, high need-for-structure individuals are especially likely to use this type processing to reduce uncertainty, which results in superior recall for expectancy-inconsistent information. Experiment 2 demonstrates that such information is also more likely to be used in judgment making, leading to judgmental moderation among high need-for-structure individuals. Experiments 3 and 4 used a person memory paradigm which requires categorical processing regardless of levels of need for structure. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrate that, whether expectancy-consistent or -inconsistent information is recalled better is a function of whether the majority of available information is compatible or incompatible with an initial category-based expectancy. Experiment 4 confirmed that the extent to which high need-for-structure individuals attend to different types of information varies with their distribution. The discussion highlights that task affordances have a critical influence on the consequences of categorical processing for memory and social judgment. Thus, high need for structure does not necessarily equate closed-mindedness.

The closed-mindedness that wasn’t: need for structure and expectancy-inconsistent information

PubMed Central

Kemmelmeier, Markus

2015-01-01

Social-cognitive researchers have typically assumed that individuals high in need for structure or need for closure tend to be closed-minded: they are motivated to resist or ignore information that is inconsistent with existing beliefs but instead they rely on category-based expectancies. The present paper argues that this conclusion is not necessarily warranted because previous studies did not allow individual differences in categorical processing to emerge and did not consider different distributions of category-relevant information. Using a person memory paradigm, Experiments 1 and 2 shows that, when categorical processing is optional, high need-for-structure individuals are especially likely to use this type processing to reduce uncertainty, which results in superior recall for expectancy-inconsistent information. Experiment 2 demonstrates that such information is also more likely to be used in judgment making, leading to judgmental moderation among high need-for-structure individuals. Experiments 3 and 4 used a person memory paradigm which requires categorical processing regardless of levels of need for structure. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrate that, whether expectancy-consistent or -inconsistent information is recalled better is a function of whether the majority of available information is compatible or incompatible with an initial category-based expectancy. Experiment 4 confirmed that the extent to which high need-for-structure individuals attend to different types of information varies with their distribution. The discussion highlights that task affordances have a critical influence on the consequences of categorical processing for memory and social judgment. Thus, high need for structure does not necessarily equate closed-mindedness. PMID:26191017

Linking information needs with evaluation: the role of task identification.

PubMed Central

Weir, C. R.

1998-01-01

Action Identification Theory was used to explore user's subjective constructions of information tasks in a primary care setting. The first part of the study involved collecting clinician's descriptions of their information tasks. These items were collated and then rated by another larger group of clinicians. Results clearly identified 6 major information tasks, including communication, patient assessment, work monitoring, seeking science information, compliance with policies and procedures, and data integration. Results discussed in terms of implications for evaluation and assessing information needs in a clinical setting. PMID:9929232

75 FR 6682 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-10

... Information Collection: Comment Request; Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) AGENCY: Office of the Assistant.... This Notice also lists the following information: Title of Proposal: Capital Needs Assessment (CNA...-96001 Unit Survey Comprehensive Needs Assessment; Form HUD-96002 Project Profile Comprehensive Needs...

Consumer Perspectives on Information Needs for Health Plan Choice

PubMed Central

Gibbs, Deborah A.; Sangl, Judith A.; Burrus, Barri

1996-01-01

The premise that competition will improve health care assumes that consumers will choose plans that best fit their needs and resources. However, many consumers are frustrated with currently available plan comparison information. We describe results from 22 focus groups in which Medicare beneficiaries, Medicaid enrollees, and privately insured consumers assessed the usefulness of indicators based on consumer survey data and Health Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS)-type measures of quality of care. Considerable education would be required before consumers could interpret report card data to inform plan choices. Policy implications for design and provision of plan information for Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid enrollees are discussed. PMID:10165037

An Information Needs Assessment of School Nurses in a Metropolitan County

PubMed Central

Schweikhard, April J.

2016-01-01

School nurses are an integral though often underserved population within the health care and education professions. To develop an effective outreach program for this group, an academic health sciences library conducted an information needs assessment of public school nurses in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. An online survey collected perceptions regarding information needs and behaviors, and a focus group session further explored the survey results. The assessment revealed that school nurses frequently require specific types of information to perform their responsibilities but also face challenges accessing and integrating research into their daily practice. This article presents the implications and results of this assessment. PMID:26794194

Understanding the medicines information-seeking behaviour and information needs of South African long-term patients with limited literacy skills.

PubMed

Patel, Sonal; Dowse, Ros

2015-10-01

Although much health information-seeking behaviour (HISB) research has been reported in patients with good literacy skills, little is known about HISB in patients with limited literacy skills served by under-resourced health-care systems. To investigate medicine information-seeking behaviour and information needs in patients with limited literacy. Using a question guide, four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to explore themes related to information needs, information-seeking practices and awareness of and ability to utilize information sources. Twenty-two isiXhosa-speaking long-term patients with limited formal education were recruited from a primary health-care clinic in South Africa. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. NVivo(®) was used for initial coding of transcripts. Codes were analysed, and potential themes and subthemes in the entire data set were identified and refined. The results of this study reflect a passive, disempowered patient. Poor awareness of information sources, lack of health-related knowledge and stigma contributed to a lack of information-seeking practice, thus potentially adversely influencing patient-provider interactions. Patients neither asked questions nor were encouraged to ask questions. All expressed an unmet need for information and a desire for receiving the illustrated written medicines-related information displayed in the FGDs. The main sources of information were health-care professionals, followed by family and friends. The significant level of patient disempowerment and passivity reported amongst patients underpinned their inability to actively seek information. Neither sources of information nor types of appropriate medicines information could be identified. Unmet information needs and a desire for information were reported. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Meeting future information needs for Great Lakes fisheries management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Christie, W.J.; Collins, John J.; Eck, Gary W.; Goddard, Chris I.; Hoenig, John M.; Holey, Mark; Jacobson, Lawrence D.; MacCallum, Wayne; Nepszy, Stephen J.; O'Gorman, Robert; Selgeby, James

1987-01-01

Description of information needs for management of Great Lakes fisheries is complicated by recent changes in biology and management of the Great Lakes, development of new analytical methodologies, and a transition in management from a traditional unispecies approach to a multispecies/community approach. A number of general problems with the collection and management of data and information for fisheries management need to be addressed (i.e. spatial resolution, reliability, computerization and accessibility of data, design of sampling programs, standardization and coordination among agencies, and the need for periodic review of procedures). Problems with existing data collection programs include size selectivity and temporal trends in the efficiency of fishing gear, inadequate creel survey programs, bias in age estimation, lack of detailed sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) wounding data, and data requirements for analytical techniques that are underutilized by managers of Great Lakes fisheries. The transition to multispecies and community approaches to fisheries management will require policy decisions by the management agencies, adequate funding, and a commitment to develop programs for collection of appropriate data on a long-term basis.

Information needs and experiences: an audit of UK cancer patients.

PubMed

Cox, Anna; Jenkins, Valerie; Catt, Susan; Langridge, Carolyn; Fallowfield, Lesley

2006-09-01

As part of a multi-centred UK study evaluating multidisciplinary team communication, the information needs, decision making preferences and information experiences of 394 cancer patients were audited. A majority of patients (342/394, 87%) wanted all possible information, both good and bad news. Assuming that all clinicians had equal skill, the majority of patients (350/394, 89%) expressed no preference for the sex of their doctor. The largest proportion of patients (153/394, 39%) wanted to share responsibility for decision making, preference was significantly influenced by age (chi2=17.42, df=4 P=0.002) with older patients more likely to prefer the doctor to make the decisions. A majority of patients reported receiving information regarding their initial tests (313/314, 100%), diagnosis (382/382, 100%), surgery (374/375, 100%) and prognosis (308/355, 87%), fewer recalled discussions concerning clinical trials (119/280, 43%), family history (90/320, 28%) or psychosocial issues, notably sexual well-being (116/314, 37%). Cancer patients want to be fully informed and share decision making responsibility, but do not report receiving sufficient information in all areas. Multidisciplinary cancer teams need to ensure that where appropriate, someone provides patients with information about clinical trials, familial risk and psychosocial issues. Regular audits highlight gaps and omissions in the information given to patients.

Advanced Traveler Information System Capabilities : Human Factors Research Needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) program, the Federal Highway Administration investigated the human factors research needs for integrating in-vehicle safety and driver information technologies in...

PalmCIS: A Wireless Handheld Application for Satisfying Clinician Information Needs

PubMed Central

Chen, Elizabeth S.; Mendonça, Eneida A.; McKnight, Lawrence K.; Stetson, Peter D.; Lei, Jianbo; Cimino, James J.

2004-01-01

Wireless handheld technology provides new ways to deliver and present information. As with any technology, its unique features must be taken into consideration and its applications designed accordingly. In the clinical setting, availability of needed information can be crucial during the decision-making process. Preliminary studies performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) determined that there are inadequate access to information and ineffective communication among clinicians (potential proximal causes of medical errors). In response to these findings, the authors have been developing extensions to their Web-based clinical information system including PalmCIS, an application that provides access to needed patient information via a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA). The focus was on achieving end-to-end security and developing a highly usable system. This report discusses the motivation behind PalmCIS, design and development of the system, and future directions. PMID:14527976

An Analysis of Information Needs and Satisfaction of Expectant Mothers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, M. Lee; Meredith, Vick

A study examined the types and amounts of information expectant mothers need during their pregnancy, as well as their satisfaction with their physicians. Seventy women who had given birth within the previous 4 years completed a questionnaire eliciting information they received during pregnancy, their satisfaction with their physician, and…

Italian: Area Background Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Defense Language Inst., Washington, DC.

This booklet has been assembled in order to provide students of Italian with a compact source of cultural information on their target area. Chapters include discussion of: (1) introduction to Italian; (2) origins of the Italian population; (3) geography; (4) history including the Roman Era, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the "Risorgimento," and…

Information technology skills and training needs of health information management professionals in Nigeria: a nationwide study.

PubMed

Taiwo Adeleke, Ibrahim; Hakeem Lawal, Adedeji; Adetona Adio, Razzaq; Adisa Adebisi, AbdulLateef

There is a lack of effective health information management systems in Nigeria due to the prevalence of cumbersome paper-based and disjointed health data management systems. This can make informed healthcare decision making difficult. This study examined the information technology (IT) skills, utilisation and training needs of Nigerian health information management professionals. We deployed a cross-sectional structured questionnaire to determine the IT skills and training needs of health information management professionals who have leadership roles in the nation's healthcare information systems (n=374). It was found that ownership of a computer, level of education and age were associated with knowledge and perception of IT. The vast majority of participants (98.8%) acknowledged the importance and relevance of IT in healthcare information systems and many expressed a desire for further IT training, especially in statistical analysis. Despite this, few (8.1 %) worked in settings where such systems operate and there exists an IT skill gap among these professionals which is not compatible with their roles in healthcare information systems. To rectify this anomaly they require continuing professional development education, especially in the areas of health IT. Government intervention in the provision of IT infrastructure in order to put into practice a computerised healthcare information system would therefore be a worthwhile undertaking.

Background, offence characteristics, and criminal outcomes of Aboriginal youth who sexually offend: a closer look at Aboriginal youth intervention needs.

PubMed

Rojas, Erika Y; Gretton, Heather M

2007-09-01

Canada's Aboriginal peoples face a number of social and health issues. Research shows that Aboriginal youths are over-represented in the criminal justice system and youth forensic psychiatric programmes. Within the literature on sex offending youth, there appears to be no published data available to inform clinicians working with adjudicated Aboriginal youth. Therefore, the present study examines the background, offence characteristics, and criminal outcomes of Aboriginal (n = 102) and non-Aboriginal (n = 257) youths who engaged in sexual offending behaviour and were ordered to attend a sexual offender treatment programme in British Columbia between 1985 and 2004. Overall, Aboriginal youths were more likely than non-Aboriginal youths to have background histories of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), substance abuse, childhood victimization, academic difficulties, and instability in the living environment. Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youths had a tendency to target children under 12-years-old, females, and non-strangers. Aboriginal youths were more likely than non-Aboriginal youths to use substances at the time of their sexual index offence. Outcome data revealed that Aboriginal youths were more likely than their non-Aboriginal counterparts to recidivate sexually, violently, and non-violently during the 10-year follow-up period. Furthermore, the time between discharge and commission of all types of re-offences was significantly shorter for Aboriginal youths than for non-Aboriginal youths. Implications of these findings are discussed with regards to the needs of Aboriginal youth and intervention.

The Information Needs of Women Who Have Undergone Breast Cancer Surgery in the West of Turkey.

PubMed

Findik, Ummu Yildiz

2017-09-01

This descriptive study aimed to evaluate the information needs of breast cancer patients who have undergone surgery, and the level to which those information needs are met in the west of Turkey. It was conducted in 55 women who had undergone surgical intervention between March 2013 and March 2014 in a university hospital in the west of Turkey. A personal information form and the Patient Information Needs Scale were used to gather data. Descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyze the data. It was found that the information need of the patients (3.9 +/- 0.6) was near the "very important" level, and that this need was "somewhat met" (2.4 +/- 0.9). When the information needs of the patients and the level to which those needs were fulfilled were compared, the level of fulfillment was statistically significantly lower (p < 0.001). Among the different subscales evaluated, information relating to medication was the most needed, and the information needs pertaining to this subscale were met to a greater degree (p < 0.05) than the remaining subscales. The results showed that the information needs, primarily the medication-related information needs, of the patients were high, but that the level of meeting these needs was low. It should be considered important for patients who have undergone breast cancer surgery to be kept informed and provided with information regarding their medication.

Information needs of patients with spondyloarthritis about their disease.

PubMed

Almodóvar, Raquel; Gratacós, Jordi; Zarco, Pedro

2017-06-02

1. To describe the information provided to, or inquired about, by patients with axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. 2. To analyze improvements. Analysis of the discourse of focus groups (with patients, some of them from patient associations, and rheumatologists). The discussion included the identification of elements that shape the reality being studied, describing the relationship among them and summarizing the results by: 1)thematic segmentation; 2)categorization according to situations, relationships, opinions, feelings or others; 3)coding of the various categories, and 4)interpretation of results. Representativeness was ensured by using a typological framework. Rheumatologists are the main source of information. Patient associations have a fundamental role and are well-regarded. Internet is used with caution due to its limited reliability. Patients are interested in: disease characteristics and treatments, the course and prognosis, and social, administrative and other kinds of support. More information is needed (objective and constructive, avoiding a catastrophic tone); it should be provided progressively, adjusted to patients features and needs. There are areas for improvement including: the standardization and updating of contents (based on scientific evidence), the optimization of informative materials (written, electronic), and other resources such as nursing and primary care. Rheumatologists are the main and most reliable source of information for patients with spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Patient associations have an important role and are well-regarded. Changes in the content, format and sources of information are required. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

Chapter 7: Information needs and a research strategy for conserving forest carnivores

Treesearch

Leonard F. Ruggiero; Steven W. Buskirk; Keith B. Aubry; L. Jack Lyon; William J. Zielinski

1994-01-01

This forest carnivore conservation assessment summarizes what is known about the biology and ecology of the American marten, fisher, lynx, and wolverine. It is the first step in ascertaining what information we need to develop a scientifically sound strategy for species conservation. Although this assessment implies that we know what information we need to prescribe...

Intelligent Information Retrieval: Diagnosing Information Need. Part II. Uncertainty Expansion in a Prototype of a Diagnostic IR Tool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Charles; Cantero, Pablo; Sauve, Diane

1998-01-01

Outlines a prototype of an intelligent information-retrieval tool to facilitate information access for an undergraduate seeking information for a term paper. Topics include diagnosing the information need, Kuhlthau's information-search-process model, Shannon's mathematical theory of communication, and principles of uncertainty expansion and…

Sexual information needs of Arab-Muslim patients with cardiac problems.

PubMed

Akhu-Zaheya, Laila M; Masadeh, Arwa B

2015-12-01

Cardiac diseases have direct and indirect effects on sexuality. Health care providers, especially nurses, have a major responsibility in addressing and discussing sexual concerns and providing sexual counseling needs for patients with cardiac diseases. Discussing sexual issues in Arabic Muslim countries is considered a taboo. Lack of information about sexual life can affect the quality of life for patients with cardiac diseases. In this study, concerns regarding counseling needs and sexual information pertaining to Jordanian patients with cardiac diseases are addressed. Non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive designs were employed, accompanied by a self-report questionnaire, as well as a structured interview using the Steinke Sexual Concerns and Sexual Activity questionnaires for cardiac patients. A convenient sample of Jordanian male and female patients with cardiac problems was recruited. Results revealed that only 11% of the participants with cardiac diseases reported receiving information regarding sexual life following cardiac-related events. Most patients (71%, F=81) preferred cardiologists to provide them with sexual information, and almost two-thirds of them (62%, F=75) considered nurses' gender to be a barrier, preventing them from inquiring about their sexual life. Patients with cardiac diseases had sexual concerns, but none of incredible importance. However, most patients (76%, F=94) reported changes in sexual activities following cardiac-related events. Cardiac patients had sexual concerns and sexual counseling needs that they would not discuss. Health care professionals should arrange sexual counseling plans with the patient; as every patient has individual, specific, and unique sexual counseling needs, dependent upon their lifestyle, health conditions, and their type of cardiac disease. © The European Society of Cardiology 2015.

Shared Decision Making: The Need For Patient-Clinician Conversation, Not Just Information.

PubMed

Hargraves, Ian; LeBlanc, Annie; Shah, Nilay D; Montori, Victor M

2016-04-01

The growth of shared decision making has been driven largely by the understanding that patients need information and choices regarding their health care. But while these are important elements for patients who make decisions in partnership with their clinicians, our experience suggests that they are not enough to address the larger issue: the need for the patient and clinician to jointly create a course of action that is best for the individual patient and his or her family. The larger need in evidence-informed shared decision making is for a patient-clinician interaction that offers conversation, not just information, and care, not just choice. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Emergency information management needs and practices of older adults: A descriptive study.

PubMed

Turner, Anne M; Osterhage, Katie; Loughran, Julie; Painter, Ian; Demiris, George; Hartzler, Andrea L; Phelan, Elizabeth A

2018-03-01

To better understand how older adults currently manage emergency information, the barriers and facilitators to planning and management of emergency information, as well as the potential role of information technology to facilitate emergency planning and management. Older adults face a much higher risk of sudden illness/injury and are the age group with the largest percentages of emergent and urgent healthcare visits. Emergency information (health information needed in an emergency situation such as emergency contact information, diagnoses, and advance directives) needs to be maintained and easily accessible to ensure older adults get appropriate care and treatment consistent with their wishes in emergency situations. Current health information technologies rarely take into consideration the emergency information needs of older adults, their caregivers, and emergency responders. As part of a larger study we performed in-depth interviews with 90 older adults living in a variety of residential settings (independent living, retirement communities, assisted living) regarding how they manage information about their health. Interview sessions included photos of important health information artifacts. Interviews were transcribed and coded. Analysis of in-depth interviews revealed that emergency information is a type of health information that older adults frequently manage. Participants differed in whether they practice emergency planning (e.g. the preparation and continued management of emergency information), and in whether they involve others in emergency information and emergency planning. Despite its importance, emergency information was often not up-to-date and not always kept in locations readily apparent to emergency responders. Emergency information, such as emergency contact information, diagnoses, and advance directives, is a type of health information that older adults manage. Considering emergency information in the design of health information technologies

Meeting information needs of families of critical care patients.

PubMed

Barbret, L C; Westphal, C G; Daly, G A

1997-01-01

Families of patients in critical care experience extreme anxiety and frustration while awaiting their loved ones' recovery or stabilization. To study the hypothesis that meeting families' informational needs can reduce their anxiety and help them cope with the initial crisis, a small task force at a Midwest acute care facility, using a CQI approach, studied possible solutions. Initial findings showed low satisfaction for families of critically ill patients with the present system of imparting information to them. After initiation of a storyboard to present information by the critical care team, families reported increased satisfaction and greater knowledge recall.

What information strategy responding to social needs should be?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Kunihiko

With the contemporary social phenomena that people think much of diversity of value, they are concerned with differentiation from others. Consumers' tendency to seek unique goods is common to all, giving impetus to makers' attitude that they try to produce varieties of goods but small amount for each. Consequently, life cycle of goods has become smaller than ever, and rapid and creative information gathering and utilization have become essential when makers produce goods responding to consumers' need. The author discusses how information strategy should be worked in the comprehensive business activities, and how information should be located as the powerful management resource.

An Approach to Meeting Managements Needs for Financial Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norberg, Douglas; Spilka, Leonard S.

1973-01-01

A discussion of the Automated Management Planning and Controls System (AMPACS) that is being designed for public television stations in order to provide much needed timely and complete information upon which management can base its decisions. (Author/HB)

76 FR 23971 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Competitive Enhancement Needs Assessment Survey...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-29

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Bureau of Industry and Security Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Competitive Enhancement Needs Assessment Survey Program AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security... their abilities to meet defense program needs. The information collected from voluntary surveys will be...

An Information System for Brownfield Regeneration: providing customised information according to stakeholders' characteristics and needs.

PubMed

Rizzo, Erika; Pizzol, Lisa; Zabeo, Alex; Giubilato, Elisa; Critto, Andrea; Cosmo, Luca; Marcomini, Antonio

2018-07-01

In the EU brownfield presence is still considered a widespread problem. Even though, in the last decades, many research projects and initiatives developed a wealth of methods, guidelines, tools and technologies aimed at supporting brownfield regeneration. However, this variety of products had and still has a limited practical impact on brownfield revitalisation success, because they are not used in their entire potential due to their scarce visibility. Also, another problem that stakeholders face is finding customised information. To overcome this non-visibility and not-sufficient customisation of information, the Information System for Brownfield Regeneration (ISBR) has been developed, based on Artificial Neural Networks, which allows understanding stakeholders' information needs by providing tailored information. The ISBR has been tested by stakeholders from the EU project TIMBRE case studies, located in the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Romania. Data gained during tests allowed to understand stakeholders' information needs. Overall, stakeholders showed to be concerned first on remediation aspects, then on benchmarking information, which are valuable to improve practices in the complex field of brownfield regeneration, and then on the relatively new issue of sustainability applied to brownfield regeneration and remediation. Mature markets confirmed their interest for remediation-related aspects, highlighting the central role that risk assessment plays in the process. Emerging markets showed to seek information and tools for strategic and planning issues, like brownfield inventories and georeferenced data sets. Results led to conclude that a new improved platform, combining the ISBR functionalities with geo-referenced ones, would be useful and could represent a further research application. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microcomputers: Means to Achievement. Using Information More Efficiently for Special Needs Learners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, James M.

1984-01-01

Discusses database management systems for special needs student information management. Considers data access policies, implementation, software selection criteria, and special needs related uses. (SK)

Choosing the appropriate treatment setting: which information and decision-making needs do adult inpatients with mental disorders have? A qualitative interview study

PubMed Central

Kivelitz, Laura; Härter, Martin; Mohr, Jil; Melchior, Hanne; Goetzmann, Lutz; Warnke, Max Holger; Kleinschmidt, Silke; Dirmaier, Jörg

2018-01-01

Background Decisions on medical treatment setting are perceived as important but often difficult to make for patients with mental disorders. Shared decision-making as a strategy to decrease decisional conflict has been recommended, but is not yet widely implemented. This study aimed to investigate the information needs and the decision-making preferences of patients with mental disorders prior to the decision for a certain treatment setting. The results will serve as a prerequisite for the development of a high-quality patient decision aid (PtDA) regarding the treatment setting decision. Methods We conducted retrospective individual semi-structured interviews with n=24 patients with mental disorders in three psychotherapeutic inpatient care units. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, coded, and content-analyzed. Results The majority of the patients wanted to be involved in the decision-making process. They reported high information needs regarding treatment options in order to feel empowered to participate adequately in the decision for a certain treatment setting. However, some patients did not want to participate or receive information, for example, because of their high burden of mental disorder. Whereas the majority were satisfied with the extent they were involved in the decision, few participants felt sufficiently informed about treatment options. Most patients reported that a decision aid regarding an appropriate treatment setting would have been helpful for them. Important information that should be included in a PtDA was general information about mental illness, effective treatment options, specific information about the different treatment settings, and access to treatment. Discussion The identified information and decision-making needs provide a valuable basis for the development of a PtDA aiming to support patients and caregivers regarding the decision for an adequate treatment setting. As preferences for participation vary among patients and

Linking Earth Observations and Models to Societal Information Needs: The Case of Coastal Flooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buzzanga, B. A.; Plag, H. P.

2016-12-01

Coastal flooding is expected to increase in many areas due to sea level rise (SLR). Many societal applications such as emergency planning and designing public services depend on information on how the flooding spectrum may change as a result of SLR. To identify the societal information needs a conceptual model is needed that identifies the key stakeholders, applications, and information and observation needs. In the context of the development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which is implemented by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the Socio-Economic and Environmental Information Needs Knowledge Base (SEE-IN KB) is developed as part of the GEOSS Knowledge Base. A core function of the SEE-IN KB is to facilitate the linkage of societal information needs to observations, models, information and knowledge. To achieve this, the SEE-IN KB collects information on objects such as user types, observational requirements, societal goals, models, and datasets. Comprehensive information concerning the interconnections between instances of these objects is used to capture the connectivity and to establish a conceptual model as a network of networks. The captured connectivity can be used in searches to allow users to discover products and services for their information needs, and providers to search for users and applications benefiting from their products. It also allows to answer "What if?" questions and supports knowledge creation. We have used the SEE-IN KB to develop a conceptual model capturing the stakeholders in coastal flooding and their information needs, and to link these elements to objects. We show how the knowledge base enables the transition of scientific data to useable information by connecting individuals such as city managers to flood maps. Within the knowledge base, these same users can request information that improves their ability to make specific planning decisions. These needs are linked to entities within research

How Does Student Educational Background Affect Transition into the First Year of Veterinary School? Academic Performance and Support Needs in University Education.

PubMed

Rutland, Catrin S; Dobbs, Heidi; Tötemeyer, Sabine

The first year of university is critical in shaping persistence decisions (whether students continue with and complete their degrees) and plays a formative role in influencing student attitudes and approaches to learning. Previous educational experiences, especially previous university education, shape the students' ability to adapt to the university environment and the study approaches they require to perform well in highly demanding professional programs such as medicine and veterinary medicine. The aim of this research was to explore the support mechanisms, academic achievements, and perception of students with different educational backgrounds in their first year of veterinary school. Using questionnaire data and examination grades, the effects upon perceptions, needs, and educational attainment in first-year students with and without prior university experience were analyzed to enable an in-depth understanding of their needs. Our findings show that school leavers (successfully completed secondary education, but no prior university experience) were outperformed in early exams by those who had previously graduated from university (even from unrelated degrees). Large variations in student perceptions and support needs were discovered between the two groups: graduate students perceived the difficulty and workload as less challenging and valued financial and IT support. Each student is an individual, but ensuring that universities understand their students and provide both academic and non-academic support is essential. This research explores the needs of veterinary students and offers insights into continued provision of support and improvements that can be made to help students achieve their potential and allow informed "Best Practice."

Organizational diagnosis of computer and information learning needs: the process and product.

PubMed

Nelson, R; Anton, B

1997-01-01

Organizational diagnosis views the organization as a single entity with problems and challenges that are unique to the organization as a whole. This paper describes the process of establishing organizational diagnoses related to computer and information learning needs within a clinical or academic health care institution. The assessment of a college within a state-owned university in the U.S.A. is used to demonstrate the process of organizational diagnosis. The diagnoses identified include the need to improve information seeking skills and the information presentation skills of faculty.

Gathering Opinions on Depression Information Needs and Preferences: Samples and Opinions in Clinic Versus Web-Based Surveys

PubMed Central

Bernstein, Matthew T; Sexton, Kathryn A; Katz, Alan; Beatie, Brooke E

2017-01-01

Background There has been limited research on the information needs and preferences of the public concerning treatment for depression. Very little research is available comparing samples and opinions when recruitment for surveys is done over the Web as opposed to a personal invitation to complete a paper survey. Objective This study aimed to (1) to explore information needs and preferences among members of the public and (2) compare Clinic and Web samples on sample characteristics and survey findings. Methods Web survey participants were recruited with a notice on three self-help association websites (N=280). Clinic survey participants were recruited by a research assistant in the waiting rooms of a family medicine clinic and a walk-in medical clinic (N=238) and completed a paper version of the survey. Results The Clinic and Web samples were similar in age (39.0 years, SD 13.9 vs 40.2 years, SD 12.5, respectively), education, and proportion in full time employment. The Clinic sample was more diverse in demographic characteristics and closer to the demographic characteristics of the region (Winnipeg, Canada) with a higher proportion of males (102/238 [42.9%] vs 45/280 [16.1%]) and nonwhites (Aboriginal, Asian, and black) (69/238 [29.0%] vs 39/280 [13.9%]). The Web sample reported a higher level of emotional distress and had more previous psychological (224/280 [80.0%] vs 83/238 [34.9%]) and pharmacological (202/280 [72.1%] vs 57/238 [23.9%]) treatment. In terms of opinions, most respondents in both settings saw information on a wide range of topics around depression treatment as very important including information about treatment choices, effectiveness of treatment, how long it takes treatment to work, how long treatment continues, what happens when treatment stops, advantages and disadvantages of treatments, and potential side effects. Females, respondents with a white background, and those who had received or felt they would have benefited from therapy in the

Information needs of survivors and families after childhood CNS tumor treatment: a population-based study.

PubMed

Hovén, Emma; Lannering, Birgitta; Gustafsson, Göran; Boman, Krister K

2018-05-01

This study examines information needs and satisfaction with provided information among childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumor survivors and their parents. In a population-based sample of 697 adult survivors in Sweden, 518 survivors and 551 parents provided data. Information needs and satisfaction with information were studied using a multi-dimensional standardized questionnaire addressing information-related issues. Overall, 52% of the survivors and 48% of the parents reported no, or only minor, satisfaction with the extent of provided information, and 51% of the survivors expressed a need for more information than provided. The information received was found useful (to some extent/very much) by 53%, while 47% did not find it useful, or to a minor degree only. Obtaining written material was associated with greater satisfaction and usefulness of information. Dissatisfaction with information was associated with longer time since diagnosis, poorer current health status and female sex. The survivors experienced unmet information needs vis-à-vis late effects, illness education, rehabilitation and psychological services. Overall, parents were more dissatisfied than the survivors. These findings have implications for improvements in information delivery. Information in childhood CNS tumor care and follow-up should specifically address issues where insufficiency was identified, and recognize persistent and with time changing needs at the successive stages of long-term survivorship.

'What do patients want?' Tailoring medicines information to meet patients' needs.

PubMed

Young, Amber; Tordoff, June; Smith, Alesha

2017-11-01

Medicines information leaflets can equip patients to be in control of their own healthcare and support the safe and effective use of medicines. The design and content of leaflets influences patients' willingness to read them, and poor examples can cause patient confusion and anxiety. Researchers examined the literature over the past 8 years to determine the content and design of medicine information leaflets that patients prefer in order to read, understand, and use them effectively. It was found that existing leaflets do not meet patients' needs and appear ineffective. Leaflets lack the information patients seek and may contain non-essential material, affecting patients' perception of, and willingness to read them. Additionally, the acceptable leaflet length varies between patients. Application of good design principles improves readability, comprehension, and ability to locate information. Medicine information leaflets must meet patients' needs and be well designed. Tailoring information leaflets to patient characteristics and requirements would enhance effectiveness. Passive provision of pre-printed leaflets is outdated, unvalued and ineffective. Using automated computer systems for leaflet tailoring with the ability to further adapt patients' information might be the best way forward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Market Research: Better Documentation Needed to Inform Future Procurements at Selected Agencies

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

MARKET RESEARCH Better Documentation Needed to Inform Future Procurements at Selected Agencies Report to the...currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE OCT 2014 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2014 to 00-00-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Market ...2014 MARKET RESEARCH Better Documentation Needed to Inform Future Procurements at Selected Agencies is Why GAO Did This Study The federal

Projecting social support needs of informal caregivers in Malaysia.

PubMed

Abu Bakar, Siti Hajar; Weatherley, Richard; Omar, Noralina; Abdullah, Fatimah; Mohamad Aun, Nur Saadah

2014-03-01

This article presents the findings of a self-report study of the consequences of being an informal caregiver in Malaysia. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine Malaysian efforts in assisting informal caregivers, based on an analysis of the issues and concerns raised by the caregivers themselves. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of informal caregivers in 2009. This sample comprised parents, spouses and/or adult siblings, and adult children, caring for their children, spouses or siblings and parents who were chronically ill and/or had a disability. Of 300 prospective participants, only 175 could be located (58%), but all those contacted agreed to participate. Respondents were randomly selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire to identify the emotional, financial, social and physical issues consequent upon being a caregiver. Most respondents reported that their care-giving responsibilities had impacted their emotional, financial, social and/or physical well-being. Inadequate and/or uncertain income was by far the greatest concern followed in descending order by social, physical and emotional consequences. The one-way analysis of variance showed significant differences among the three categories of caregivers with respect to physical and emotional consequences. The findings show that care-giving has detrimental effects on the lives of informal caregivers, and that they are in significant need of social support to help them deal with care-giving tasks and responsibilities. Based on the findings, an integrated social support programme is proposed, tailored to the needs of informal caregivers. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hydrologic-information needs for oil-shale development, northwestern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, O.J.

1982-01-01

Hydrologic information is not adequate for proper development of the large oil-shale reserves of Piceance basin in northwestern Colorado. Exploratory drilling and aquifer testing are needed to define the hydrologic system, to provide wells for aquifer testing, to design mine-drainage techniques, and to explore for additional water supplies. Sampling networks are needed to supply hydrologic data on the quantity and quality of surface water, ground water, and springs. A detailed sampling network is proposed for the White River basin because of expected impacts related to water supplies and waste disposal. Emissions from oil-shale retorts to the atmosphere need additional study because of possible resulting corrosion problems and the destruction of fisheries. Studies of the leachate materials and the stability of disposed retorted shale piles are needed to insure that these materials will not cause problems. Hazards related to in-situ retorts, and the wastes related to oil-shale development in general also need further investigation. (USGS)

Intelligent Information Retrieval: Diagnosing Information Need. Part I. The Theoretical Framework for Developing an Intelligent IR Tool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Charles

1998-01-01

Suggests that the principles underlying the procedure used by doctors to diagnose a patient's disease are useful in the design of intelligent information-retrieval systems because the task of the doctor is conceptually similar to the computer or human intermediary's task in information retrieval: to draw out the user's query/information need.…

Climate Information Needs for Financial Decision Making

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Higgins, Paul

Climate Information Needs for Financial Decision Making (Final Report) This Department of Energy workshop award (grant #DE-SC0008480) provided primary support for the American Meteorological Society’s study on climate information needs for financial decision making. The goal of this study was to help advance societal decision making by examining the implications of climate variability and change on near-term financial investments. We explored four key topics: 1) the conditions and criteria that influence returns on investment of major financial decisions, 2) the climate sensitivity of financial decisions, 3) climate information needs of financial decision makers, and 4) potential new mechanisms to promotemore » collaboration between scientists and financial decision makers. Better understanding of these four topics will help scientists provide the most useful information and enable financial decision makers to use scientific information most effectively. As a result, this study will enable leaders in business and government to make well-informed choices that help maximize long-term economic success and social wellbeing in the United States The outcomes of the study include a workshop, which brought together leaders from the scientific and financial decision making communities, a publication of the study report, and a public briefing of the results to the policy community. In addition, we will present the results to the scientific community at the AMS Annual Meeting in February, 2014. The study results were covered well by the media including Bloomberg News and E&E News. Upon request, we also briefed the Office of Science Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on the outcomes. We presented the results to the policy community through a public briefing in December on Capitol Hill. The full report is publicly available at www.ametsoc.org/cin. Summary of Key Findings The United States invests roughly $1.5 trillion U.S. dollars (USD

Teaching Students with Special Needs in the 21st-Century Classroom. A Scarecrow Education Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayberry, Sally Cox; Lazarus, Brenda Belson

This book offers educators both background information and practical guidance for implementing the inclusion of students with special needs in their classrooms. Part 1 provides background information with chapters on what inclusion is, an historical perspective and the laws, the rationale for inclusion, definitions of specific disabilities, and…

Caring for the person with cancer: Information and support needs and the role of technology.

PubMed

Heynsbergh, Natalie; Botti, Mari; Heckel, Leila; Livingston, Patricia M

2018-06-01

Informal carers experience a variety of information and support needs when providing care to someone with cancer. It is unclear when carers seek information and what resources they access to support themselves throughout the cancer trajectory. A sample of 45 carers and 15 oncology nurses were recruited to participate in either focus groups or phone interviews. Carers in the study were more likely to be women (60%), caring for a spouse or partner (64.4%), living with the patient (86.7%), and hold a university degree (46.7%). The majority of oncology nurses were females (66.6%). Findings showed that carers had limited access to adequate information as needs arose. Supports used to address information needs included information booklets, the Internet, and communication with healthcare professionals or with other carers. Barriers in communication between nurses and carers impacted on the adequacy of information received. Participants reported that technology, such as smartphone applications, might be appropriate for improving information and support needs. Caring for someone with cancer is multifaceted. Carers need access to timely information to help them effectively manage patients' needs. Future studies should assess the role of contemporary approaches, such as digital technology, as a solution to the delivery of information and support for carers of people with cancer. © 2018 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Patient information and emotional needs across the hip osteoarthritis continuum: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Brembo, Espen Andreas; Kapstad, Heidi; Eide, Tom; Månsson, Lukas; Van Dulmen, Sandra; Eide, Hilde

2016-03-12

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis worldwide, affecting a growing number of people in the ageing populations. Currently, it affects about 50 % of all people over 65 years of age. There are no disease-modifying treatments for OA; hence preference-sensitive treatment options include symptom reduction, self-management and surgical joint replacement for suitable individuals. People have both ethical and legal rights to be informed about treatment choices and to actively participate in decision-making. Individuals have different needs; they differ in their ability to understand and make use of the provided information and to sustain behaviour change-dependent treatments over time. As a part of a larger research project that aims to develop and test a web-based support tool for patients with hip OA, this paper is a qualitative in-depth study to investigate patients' need for information and their personal emotional needs. We invited 13 patients to participate in individual interviews, which were audiotaped. The audio-tapes were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. The thematic analysis revealed a pattern of patients' information and emotional needs, captured in several key questions relevant to the different stages of the disease experience. Based on these results and research literature, we developed a model illustrating the patients' disease experience and treatment continuum. Six phases with accompanying key questions were identified, displaying how patients information and emotional needs arise and change in line with the progression of the disease experience, the clinical encounters and the decision-making process. We also identified and included in the model an alternative route that bypasses the surgical treatment option. Patients with hip OA are in great need of information both at the time of diagnosis and further throughout the disease development and care continuum. Lack of information may

Dietary Preferences and Nutritional Information Needs Among Career Firefighters in the United States

PubMed Central

Yang, Justin; Farioli, Andrea; Korre, Maria

2015-01-01

Background: Considerable cardiovascular disease and cancer risk among firefighters are attributable to excess adiposity. Robust evidence confirms strong relationships between dietary patterns and the risk of chronic disease. Dietary modification is more likely to be effective when the strategy is appealing and addresses knowledge gaps. Objective: To assess career firefighters' diet practices and information needs, compare the relative appeal of proposed diet plans, and examine how these vary in association with body composition. Methods: Cross-sectional, online survey distributed to members of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Results: Most firefighters do not currently follow any specific dietary plan (71%) and feel that they receive insufficient nutrition information (68%), but most are interested in learning more about healthy eating (75%). When presented with written descriptions of diets without names or labels and asked to rank them in order of preference, firefighters most often rated the Mediterranean diet as their favorite and gave it a more favorable distribution of relative rankings (P<.001) compared to the Paleo, Atkins, Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, and Esselsteyn Engine 2 (low-fat, strictly plant-based) diets. Obese respondents reported more limited nutritional knowledge (P<.001) and were more likely to feel that they received insufficient nutritional information (P=.021) than participants with normal body weight. Conclusions: Most career firefighters are overweight or obese and do not practice a specific diet; however, 75% want to learn more about healthy eating. Among popular dietary choices, firefighters were most receptive to a Mediterranean diet and least receptive to a strictly plant-based diet. PMID:26331100

Coyle's Information Highway Handbook: A Practical File on the New Information Order.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyle, Karen

This book provides a selection of documentary background information on areas of the Information Highway debate that are particularly relevant to libraries. The book is designed for librarians who are online but have little time to explore the general areas of information policy, and for those not yet connected to the Internet who need to…

An Online Resource of Digital Stories About Cancer Genetics: Qualitative Study of Patient Preferences and Information Needs

PubMed Central

Mundy, Lisa; Hilgart, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Background The Cancer Genetics Service for Wales (CGSW) was established in 1998 as an all-Wales service for individuals with concerns about their family history of cancer. CGSW offers a range of services such as risk assessment, genetic counseling, and genetic testing. Individuals referred to cancer genetics services often have unmet information and support needs, and they value access to practical and experiential information from other patients and health professionals. As a result of the lifelong nature of genetic conditions, a fundamental challenge is to meet the ongoing needs of these patients by providing easily accessible and reliable information. Objectives Our aims were to explore how the long-term information and support needs of CGSW patients could be met and to assess whether an online bank of digital stories about cancer genetics would be acceptable to patients. Methods In 2009, CGSW organized patient panels across Wales. During these events, 169 patients were asked for their feedback about a potential online resource of digital stories from CGSW patients and staff. A total of 75 patients registered to take part in the project and 23 people from across Wales agreed to share their story. All participants took part in a follow-up interview. Results Patient preferences for an online collection of cancer genetics stories were collected at the patient panels. Key topics to be covered by the stories were identified, and this feedback informed the development of the website to ensure that patients’ needs would be met. The 23 patient storytellers were aged between 28 and 75 years, and 19 were female. The digital stories reflect patients’ experiences within CGSW and the implications of living with or at risk of cancer. Follow-up interviews with patient storytellers showed that they shared their experiences as a means of helping other patients and to increase understanding of the cancer genetics service. Digital stories were also collected from 12 members of

Clustering document fragments using background color and texture information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanda, Sukalpa; Franke, Katrin; Pal, Umapada

2012-01-01

Forensic analysis of questioned documents sometimes can be extensively data intensive. A forensic expert might need to analyze a heap of document fragments and in such cases to ensure reliability he/she should focus only on relevant evidences hidden in those document fragments. Relevant document retrieval needs finding of similar document fragments. One notion of obtaining such similar documents could be by using document fragment's physical characteristics like color, texture, etc. In this article we propose an automatic scheme to retrieve similar document fragments based on visual appearance of document paper and texture. Multispectral color characteristics using biologically inspired color differentiation techniques are implemented here. This is done by projecting document color characteristics to Lab color space. Gabor filter-based texture analysis is used to identify document texture. It is desired that document fragments from same source will have similar color and texture. For clustering similar document fragments of our test dataset we use a Self Organizing Map (SOM) of dimension 5×5, where the document color and texture information are used as features. We obtained an encouraging accuracy of 97.17% from 1063 test images.

Chemical Source Localization Fusing Concentration Information in the Presence of Chemical Background Noise.

PubMed

Pomareda, Víctor; Magrans, Rudys; Jiménez-Soto, Juan M; Martínez, Dani; Tresánchez, Marcel; Burgués, Javier; Palacín, Jordi; Marco, Santiago

2017-04-20

We present the estimation of a likelihood map for the location of the source of a chemical plume dispersed under atmospheric turbulence under uniform wind conditions. The main contribution of this work is to extend previous proposals based on Bayesian inference with binary detections to the use of concentration information while at the same time being robust against the presence of background chemical noise. For that, the algorithm builds a background model with robust statistics measurements to assess the posterior probability that a given chemical concentration reading comes from the background or from a source emitting at a distance with a specific release rate. In addition, our algorithm allows multiple mobile gas sensors to be used. Ten realistic simulations and ten real data experiments are used for evaluation purposes. For the simulations, we have supposed that sensors are mounted on cars which do not have among its main tasks navigating toward the source. To collect the real dataset, a special arena with induced wind is built, and an autonomous vehicle equipped with several sensors, including a photo ionization detector (PID) for sensing chemical concentration, is used. Simulation results show that our algorithm, provides a better estimation of the source location even for a low background level that benefits the performance of binary version. The improvement is clear for the synthetic data while for real data the estimation is only slightly better, probably because our exploration arena is not able to provide uniform wind conditions. Finally, an estimation of the computational cost of the algorithmic proposal is presented.

Web Search Behavior and Information Needs of People With Multiple Sclerosis: Focus Group Study and Analysis of Online Postings

PubMed Central

Colombo, Cinzia; Confalonieri, Paolo; Baroni, Isabella; Traversa, Silvia; Hill, Sophie J; Synnot, Anneliese J; Oprandi, Nadia; Filippini, Graziella

2014-01-01

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and their family members increasingly seek health information on the Internet. There has been little exploration of how MS patients integrate health information with their needs, preferences, and values for decision making. The INtegrating and Deriving Evidence, Experiences, and Preferences (IN-DEEP) project is a collaboration between Italian and Australian researchers and MS patients, aimed to make high-quality evidence accessible and meaningful to MS patients and families, developing a Web-based resource of evidence-based information starting from their information needs. Objective The objective of this study was to analyze MS patients and their family members’ experience about the Web-based health information, to evaluate how they asses this information, and how they integrate health information with personal values. Methods We organized 6 focus groups, 3 with MS patients and 3 with family members, in the Northern, Central, and Southern parts of Italy (April-June 2011). They included 40 MS patients aged between 18 and 60, diagnosed as having MS at least 3 months earlier, and 20 family members aged 18 and over, being relatives of a person with at least a 3-months MS diagnosis. The focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim (Atlas software, V 6.0). Data were analyzed from a conceptual point of view through a coding system. An online forum was hosted by the Italian MS society on its Web platform to widen the collection of information. Nine questions were posted covering searching behavior, use of Web-based information, truthfulness of Web information. At the end, posts were downloaded and transcribed. Results Information needs covered a comprehensive communication of diagnosis, prognosis, and adverse events of treatments, MS causes or risk factors, new drugs, practical, and lifestyle-related information. The Internet is considered useful by MS patients, however, at the beginning or in a later stage of the

U.S. Telecommunications and Trade Policies: The Need for an Effective Information Age Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tirman, W. Robert

This paper examines the need for telecommunications and international trade policies in the Information Age and presents a model for developing such policies. The first of seven sections discusses the need for an Information Age Model, and the technological changes that are giving rise to increasingly integrated Information Age networks are…

The need for monetary information within corporate water accounting.

PubMed

Burritt, Roger L; Christ, Katherine L

2017-10-01

A conceptual discussion is provided about the need to add monetary data to water accounting initiatives and how best to achieve this if companies are to become aware of the water crisis and to take actions to improve water management. Analysis of current water accounting initiatives reveals the monetary business case for companies to improve water management is rarely considered, there being a focus on physical information about water use. Three possibilities emerge for mainstreaming the integration of monetization into water accounting: add-on to existing water accounting frameworks and tools, develop new tools which include physical and monetary information from the start, and develop environmental management accounting (EMA) into a water-specific application and set of tools. The paper appraises these three alternatives and concludes that development of EMA would be the best way forward. Suggestions for further research include the need to examine the use of a transdisciplinary method to address the complexities of water accounting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current information technology needs of small to medium sized apparel manufacturers and contractors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wipple, C.; Vosti, E.

1997-11-01

This report documents recent efforts of the American Textile Partnership (AMTEX) Demand Activated Manufacturing Architecture (DAMA) Project to address needs that are characterized of small to medium sized apparel manufactures and contractors. Background on the AMTEX/DAMA project and objectives for this specific efforts are discussed.

Information Needs to Support an Evaluation Process for Bureau of Indian Affairs Educational Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffery, James R., Comp.

The purpose of this paper is to provide the Director of the Office of Education Programs with an instrument with which to develop an educational data base for providing information to evaluate the education programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Some specific issues and questions are presented along with background information. BIA…

Superintendents and Principals Need Quality Public Information That Informs Decisions, Empowers Action. Don't Make Decisions in the Dark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Data Quality Campaign, 2014

2014-01-01

District superintendents or school principals need to be able to access and use high-quality data to make good decisions. Often this data is collected and stored locally, but information that is publicly reported by the state can provide additional value. Although public reporting in a few states is designed to serve information needs, states'…

Identifying and predicting subgroups of information needs among cancer patients: an initial study using latent class analysis.

PubMed

Neumann, Melanie; Wirtz, Markus; Ernstmann, Nicole; Ommen, Oliver; Längler, Alfred; Edelhäuser, Friedrich; Scheffer, Christian; Tauschel, Diethard; Pfaff, Holger

2011-08-01

Understanding how the information needs of cancer patients (CaPts) vary is important because met information needs affect health outcomes and CaPts' satisfaction. The goals of the study were to identify subgroups of CaPts based on self-reported cancer- and treatment-related information needs and to determine whether subgroups could be predicted on the basis of selected sociodemographic, clinical and clinician-patient relationship variables. Three hundred twenty-three CaPts participated in a survey using the "Cancer Patients Information Needs" scale, which is a new tool for measuring cancer-related information needs. The number of information need subgroups and need profiles within each subgroup was identified using latent class analysis (LCA). Multinomial logistic regression was applied to predict class membership. LCA identified a model of five subgroups exhibiting differences in type and extent of CaPts' unmet information needs: a subgroup with "no unmet needs" (31.4% of the sample), two subgroups with "high level of psychosocial unmet information needs" (27.0% and 12.0%), a subgroup with "high level of purely medical unmet information needs" (16.0%) and a subgroup with "high level of medical and psychosocial unmet information needs" (13.6%). An assessment of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics revealed that younger CaPts and CaPts' requiring psychological support seem to belong to subgroups with a higher level of unmet information needs. However, the most significant predictor for the subgroups with unmet information needs is a good clinician-patient relationship, i.e. subjective perception of high level of trust in and caring attention from nurses together with high degree of physician empathy seems to be predictive for inclusion in the subgroup with no unmet information needs. The results of our study can be used by oncology nurses and physicians to increase their awareness of the complexity and heterogeneity of information needs among CaPts and of

US Residents' Perceptions of Dog Welfare Needs and Canine Welfare Information Sources.

PubMed

Bir, Courtney; Croney, Candace C; Widmar, Nicole J Olynk

2018-06-08

The extent to which welfare needs of breeding dogs are met in commercial dog-breeding kennels is a potential point of controversy. This analysis sought to understand US residents' perceptions and priorities related to dog welfare : by investigating (a) perceptions of breeding-dog welfare needs and (b) perceptions of various nonhuman animal welfare information sources. Using best/worst-choice experiments conducted in an online survey, respondents' choices for most and least important breeding-dog welfare needs (n = 508) and most/least trusted canine welfare information sources (n = 508) were analyzed. The survey sample was targeted to be representative of the US population in terms of gender, age, region of residence, income, and education. The largest preference shares (relatively most important) for breeding-dog welfare needs were for "availability of food and water" (39.2%) and health/veterinary care (18.1%). The largest preference shares (relatively most trusted sources) for welfare information were American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a veterinarian, and American Veterinary Medical Association, with 25.1%, 16.4%, and 14.1% shares, respectively.

An Information Needs Profile of Israeli Older Adults, regarding the Law and Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Getz, Irith; Weissman, Gabriella

2010-01-01

Based on Nicholas' framework for assessing information needs, this research aims to construct a profile of both Israeli older adults and their information needs regarding laws and social services. Data were collected by questionnaires answered by 200 older adults, born in Europe, Asia and Africa, who attended social clubs for older adults. The…

Patient Information Needs and Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis.

PubMed

Carr, Tracey L; Groot, Gary; Cochran, David; Holtslander, Lorraine

2018-04-27

Although many women benefit from breast reconstruction after mastectomy, several studies report women's dissatisfaction with the level of information they were provided with before reconstruction. The present meta-synthesis examines the qualitative literature that explores women's experiences of breast reconstruction after mastectomy and highlights women's healthcare information needs. After a comprehensive search of 6 electronic databases (CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus), we followed the methodology for synthesizing qualitative research. The search produced 423 studies, which were assessed against 5 inclusion criteria. A meta-synthesis methodology was used to analyze the data through taxonomic classification and constant targeted comparison. Some 17 studies met the inclusion criteria, and findings from 16 studies were synthesized. The role of the healthcare practitioner is noted as a major influence on women's expectations, and in some instances, women did not feel adequately informed about the outcomes of surgery and the recovery process. In general, women's desire for normality and effective emotional coping shapes their information needs. The information needs of women are better understood after considering women's actual experiences with breast reconstruction. It is important to inform women of the immediate outcomes of reconstruction surgery and the recovery process. In an attempt to better address women's information needs, healthcare practitioners should discover women's initial expectations of reconstruction as a starting point in the consultation. In addition, the research revealed the importance of the nurse navigator in terms of assisting women through the recovery process.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work

Parents' information needs, self-efficacy and influences on consulting for childhood respiratory tract infections: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Ingram, Jenny; Cabral, Christie; Hay, Alastair D; Lucas, Patricia J; Horwood, Jeremy

2013-07-28

Acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) is the most common reason why parents consult primary care in the UK. Little is known about parents' perceptions of what may help them to make an appropriate decision to consult when their child is ill and how to improve self-care.Using qualitative methods, this study aimed to explore parents' views on support and information needs prior to consulting when children have RTIs with cough, and identify the triggers and barriers to consulting primary care. 7 focus groups and 30 semi-structured interviews were held with 60 parents (with children aged 5 months - 17 years) from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. Topics discussed were informed by the Health Belief Model, and explored parents' concerns and beliefs about susceptibility and severity of RTIs, beliefs about the triggers and barriers to consulting, and information and support seeking behaviour undertaken before consulting primary care. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic methods. Parents from all socio-economic backgrounds sought information from a wide range of sources about RTIs in children in order to identify which of their child's symptoms should be of concern and trigger a visit to the doctor. The perception of threat to a child of RTI (with cough) was increased with more severe illness and by perceived susceptibility to illness of a particular child; whilst experience with other children increased parental efficacy to cope with childhood cough at home. Psychological models of health behaviour informed the understanding of cultural beliefs and attitudes that underpin health related behaviours. A wide range of perceptions influence the likelihood that parents will seek help from primary care for a child with cough; these perceptions are similar across socio-economic groups. Parents' experience, confidence and efficacy influence the likelihood of consulting primary care for their child's RTI. Parents would value consistent

Application of a Consumer Health Information Needs Taxonomy to Questions in Maternal-Fetal Care

PubMed Central

Shenson, Jared A.; Ingram, Ebone; Colon, Nadja; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell

2015-01-01

Pregnancy is a time when expectant mothers may have numerous questions about their unborn children, especially when congenital anomalies are diagnosed prenatally. We sought to characterize information needs of pregnant women seen in the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Fetal Center. Participants recorded questions from diagnosis through delivery. Questions were categorized by two researchers using a hierarchical taxonomy describing consumer health information needs. Consensus category assignments were made, and inter-rater reliability was measured with Cohen’s Kappa. Sixteen participants reported 398 questions in 39 subcategories, of which the most common topics were prognosis (53 questions; 13.3%) and indications for intervention (31 questions; 7.8%). Inter-rater reliability of assignments showed moderate (κ=0.57) to substantial (κ=0.75) agreement for subcategories and primary categories, respectively. Pregnant women with prenatal diagnoses have diverse unmet information needs; a taxonomy of consumer health information needs may improve the ability to meet such needs through content and system design. PMID:26958254

Application of a Consumer Health Information Needs Taxonomy to Questions in Maternal-Fetal Care.

PubMed

Shenson, Jared A; Ingram, Ebone; Colon, Nadja; Jackson, Gretchen Purcell

2015-01-01

Pregnancy is a time when expectant mothers may have numerous questions about their unborn children, especially when congenital anomalies are diagnosed prenatally. We sought to characterize information needs of pregnant women seen in the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Fetal Center. Participants recorded questions from diagnosis through delivery. Questions were categorized by two researchers using a hierarchical taxonomy describing consumer health information needs. Consensus category assignments were made, and inter-rater reliability was measured with Cohen's Kappa. Sixteen participants reported 398 questions in 39 subcategories, of which the most common topics were prognosis (53 questions; 13.3%) and indications for intervention (31 questions; 7.8%). Inter-rater reliability of assignments showed moderate (κ=0.57) to substantial (κ=0.75) agreement for subcategories and primary categories, respectively. Pregnant women with prenatal diagnoses have diverse unmet information needs; a taxonomy of consumer health information needs may improve the ability to meet such needs through content and system design.

Capturing information needs of care providers to support knowledge sharing and distributed decision making.

PubMed

Rogers, M; Zach, L; An, Y; Dalrymple, P

2012-01-01

This paper reports on work carried out to elicit information needs at a trans-disciplinary, nurse-managed health care clinic that serves a medically disadvantaged urban population. The trans-disciplinary model provides a "one-stop shop" for patients who can receive a wide range of services beyond traditional primary care. However, this model of health care presents knowledge sharing challenges because little is known about how data collected from the non-traditional services can be integrated into the traditional electronic medical record (EMR) and shared with other care providers. There is also little known about how health information technology (HIT) can be used to support the workflow in such a practice. The objective of this case study was to identify the information needs of care providers in order to inform the design of HIT to support knowledge sharing and distributed decision making. A participatory design approach is presented as a successful technique to specify requirements for HIT applications that can support a trans-disciplinary model of care. Using this design approach, the researchers identified the information needs of care providers working at the clinic and suggested HIT improvements to integrate non-traditional information into the EMR. These modifications allow knowledge sharing among care providers and support better health decisions. We have identified information needs of care providers as they are relevant to the design of health information systems. As new technology is designed and integrated into various workflows it is clear that understanding information needs is crucial to acceptance of that technology.

Changing Needs for Information and Support in an Online System for Parents of Children With Kidney Disease

PubMed Central

Pinsk, Maury; Nicholas, David

2017-01-01

Background: Pediatric chronic kidney disease is psychologically, financially, and physically demanding on parents providing care. Parents often feel isolated because of the rarity of the condition, and geographic isolation often compounds this perception in Canada. Many parents seek assistance online for both information and social support. Objective: This study examines an online portal, titled “Ability Online,” which was designed to provide support and information to a diverse group of parents using chat facilities, bulletin boards, and e-mail. Specifically, we sought to identify how the technologies offered in this system related to the support and information seeking needs for parents. Secondary aims of determining possible reasons for attrition over time were explored as well. Design: Mixed methodology sequential exploratory design using the qualitative methodology of descriptive interpretation. Setting: Telephone interviews. Patients: Twenty parents of pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease from four Canadian centers who engaged in an online social support system “Ability Online.” Measurements: Interview transcripts generated from 20 taped phone conversations were reviewed from parents who engaged in the online system, and the themes derived from these transcripts served to generate semistructured interview questions that focused on their use of, and perceived benefit from, this technology for social support. Follow-up telephone interviews were then conducted with a 6-person subset of the original group in an effort to further define the impact of technology on their experience. This same smaller cohort provided data on social supports, caregiver satisfaction, and caregiver stress. Results: Many parents experience a progression through which their needs for knowledge and support change over time. Specifically, parents describe a transition from pure information seeking, to seeking parental interaction, mutual support and collaboration, and

Variation in information needs and quality: implications for public health surveillance and biomedical informatics.

PubMed

Dixon, Brian E; Lai, Patrick T S; Grannis, Shaun J

2013-01-01

Understanding variation among users' information needs and the quality of information in an electronic system is important for informaticians to ensure data are fit-for-use in answering important questions in clinical and public health. To measure variation in satisfaction with currently reported data, as well as perceived importance and need with respect to completeness and timeliness, we surveyed epidemiologists and other public health professionals across multiple jurisdictions. We observed consensus for some data elements, such as county of residence, which respondents perceived as important and felt should always be reported. However information needs differed for many data elements, especially when comparing notifiable diseases such as chlamydia to seasonal (influenza) and chronic (diabetes) diseases. Given the trend towards greater volume and variety of data as inputs to surveillance systems, variation of information needs impacts system design and practice. Systems must be flexible and highly configurable to accommodate variation, and informaticians must measure and improve systems and business processes to accommodate for variation of both users and information.

What’s Important to the Patient?: Informational Needs of Patients Making Decisions about Hepatitis C Treatment

PubMed Central

Evon, Donna M.; Golin, Carol E.; Stoica, Teodora; Jones, Rachel; Willis, Sarah; Galanko, Joseph; Fried, Michael W.

2017-01-01

Background & Objectives Multiple treatment options with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are now available for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Study aims were to understand (1) The informational topics patients want to have to make informed treatment decisions; (2) The importance patients place on each topic; and (3) The topics patients prioritize as most important. Methods Mixed methods study utilizing two samples recruited from an academic liver center. Participants were not currently on treatment. Sample I (n=45) free-listed all informational topics deemed important to decision-making. Raw responses were coded into several broad and subcategories. Sample II (n=38) rated the importance of the subcategories from Sample I and ranked their highest priorities on two surveys, one containing topics for which sufficient research existed to inform patients (“static”), and the other containing topics that would require additional research. Results The topics listed by Sample I fell into 6 broad categories with 17 total subcategories. The most oft-cited informational topics were harms of treatment (100%), treatment benefits (62%) and treatment regimen details (84%). Sample II rated 16 of 17 subcategories as “pretty important’ or “extremely important.” Sample II prioritized (1) viral cure, (2) long-term survival, and (3) side effects on the survey of topics requiring additional research, and (1) liver disease, (2) lifestyle changes, and (3) medication details on the second survey of the most important static topics patients needed. Conclusions Patients weighed several informational topics to make an informed decision about HCV treatment. These findings lay the groundwork for future patient-centered outcomes research in HCV and patient-provider communication to enhance patients’ informed decision-making regarding DAA treatment options. PMID:27882509

Major Infection Events Over 5 Years: How Is Media Coverage Influencing Online Information Needs of Health Care Professionals and the Public?

PubMed Central

Fowler, David; Wiseman, Sue; Weinberg, Julius R

2013-01-01

Background The last decade witnessed turbulent events in public health. Emerging infections, increase of antimicrobial resistance, deliberately released threats and ongoing battles with common illnesses were amplified by the spread of disease through increased international travel. The Internet has dramatically changed the availability of information about outbreaks; however, little research has been done in comparing the online behavior of public and professionals around the same events and the effect of media coverage of outbreaks on information needs. Objective To investigate professional and public online information needs around major infection outbreaks and correlate these with media coverage. Questions include (1) How do health care professionals’ online needs for public health and infection control information differ from those of the public?, (2) Does dramatic media coverage of outbreaks contribute to the information needs among the public?, and (3) How do incidents of diseases and major policy events relate to the information needs of professionals? Methods We used three longitudinal time-based datasets from mid-2006 until end of 2010: (1) a unique record of professional online behavior on UK infection portals: National electronic Library of Infection and National Resource of Infection Control (NeLI/NRIC), (2) equivalent public online information needs (Google Trends), and (3) relevant media coverage (LexisNexis). Analysis of NeLI/NRIC logs identified the highest interest around six major infectious diseases: Clostridium difficile (C difficile)/Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), tuberculosis, meningitis, norovirus, and influenza. After pre-processing, the datasets were analyzed and triangulated with each other. Results Public information needs were more static, following the actual disease occurrence less than those of professionals, whose needs increase with public health events (eg, MRSA/C difficile) and the release of major national

Optical polarization: background and camouflage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Škerlind, Christina; Hallberg, Tomas; Eriksson, Johan; Kariis, Hans; Bergström, David

2017-10-01

Polarimetric imaging sensors in the electro-optical region, already military and commercially available in both the visual and infrared, show enhanced capabilities for advanced target detection and recognition. The capabilities arise due to the ability to discriminate between man-made and natural background surfaces using the polarization information of light. In the development of materials for signature management in the visible and infrared wavelength regions, different criteria need to be met to fulfil the requirements for a good camouflage against modern sensors. In conventional camouflage design, the aimed design of the surface properties of an object is to spectrally match or adapt it to a background and thereby minimizing the contrast given by a specific threat sensor. Examples will be shown from measurements of some relevant materials and how they in different ways affect the polarimetric signature. Dimensioning properties relevant in an optical camouflage from a polarimetric perspective, such as degree of polarization, the viewing or incident angle, and amount of diffuse reflection, mainly in the infrared region, will be discussed.

Cognitive coping style (monitoring and blunting) and the need for information, information satisfaction and shared decision making among patients with haematological malignancies.

PubMed

Rood, Janneke A J; Van Zuuren, Florence J; Stam, Frank; van der Ploeg, Tjeerd; Huijgens, Peter C; Verdonck-de Leeuw, Irma M

2015-05-01

A haematological malignancy is a serious, life-altering disease and may be characterised as an uncontrollable and unpredictable stress situation. In dealing with potentially threatening information, individuals generally utilise two main cognitive coping styles: monitoring (the tendency to seek threat-relevant information) and blunting (avoiding threatening information and seeking distraction). The aim of this study was to obtain insight into the association between cognitive coping style and (a) need for information, (b) satisfaction with information, (c) involvement in decision making, and (d) quality of life (QoL). In this cross-sectional study, coping style was assessed among adult patients diagnosed with a haematological malignancy, using an adapted version of the Threatening Medical Situations Inventory. Information need, information satisfaction, decision-making preference and QoL were measured with validated questionnaires. In total, 458 patients returned the questionnaire (66%). A monitoring coping style was positively related to need for both general and specific information. Blunting was positively and QoL was negatively related to need for information. Monitoring was positively related to involvement in decision-making and negatively to information satisfaction. Using multivariate analysis, this relation between monitoring and information satisfaction disappeared, and for blunting, we found a negatively significant relation. QoL was not related to coping style. Among patients with haematological malignancies, coping style is related to a need for information, information satisfaction, and involvement in treatment decision-making. Therefore, it is important for health care professionals to be aware of individual differences in cognitive coping style. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Joint Congressional Hearing on the Changing Information Needs of Rural America: The Role of Libraries and Information Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Washington, DC.

Topics of importance to rural America in three general areas--rural community and individual information needs, available answers to these needs, and policies and strategies to meet these needs--were addressed in a joint congressional hearing held at the Fourth General Assembly of the World Future Society in July 1982. This transcript presents…

Experiences with nutrition-related information during antenatal care of pregnant women of different ethnic backgrounds residing in the area of Oslo, Norway.

PubMed

Garnweidner, Lisa M; Sverre Pettersen, Kjell; Mosdøl, Annhild

2013-12-01

to explore experiences with nutrition-related information during routine antenatal care among women of different ethnical backgrounds. individual interviews with seventeen participants were conducted twice during pregnancy. Data collection and analysis were inspired by an interpretative phenomenological approach. participants were purposively recruited at eight Mother and Child Health Centres in the area of Oslo, Norway, where they received antenatal care. participants had either immigrant backgrounds from African and Asian countries (n=12) or were ethnic Norwegian (n=5). Participants were pregnant with their first child and had a pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index above 25 kg/m(2). participants experienced that they were provided with little nutrition-related information in antenatal care. The information was perceived as presented in very general terms and focused on food safety. Weight management and the long-term prevention of diet-related chronic diseases had hardly been discussed. Participants with immigrant backgrounds appeared to be confused about information given by the midwife which was incongruent with their original food culture. The participants were actively seeking for nutrition-related information and had to navigate between various sources of information. the midwife is considered a trustworthy source of nutrition-related information. Therefore, antenatal care may have considerable potential to promote a healthy diet to pregnant women. Findings suggest that nutrition communication in antenatal care should be more tailored towards women's dietary habits and cultural background, nutritional knowledge as well as level of nutrition literacy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information Needs of Women: Addressing Diverse Factors in the Indian Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dasgupta, Kalpana

This paper addresses the diverse facts that influence the information seeking behavior of women in India, including: (1) the type of information women need; (2) social factors (i.e., caste, class, urban/rural, literate/illiterate, educated/uneducated); (3) economic factors (i.e., employed, unemployed, employed in organized sector, employed in the…

How Need for Cognition Affects the Processing of Achievement-Related Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickhauser, Oliver; Reinhard, Marc-Andre; Diener, Claudia; Bertrams, Alex

2009-01-01

The present article analyzed, how need for cognition (NFC) influences the formation of performance expectancies. When processing information, individuals with lower NFC often rely on salient information and shortcuts compared to individuals higher in NFC. We assume that these preferences of processing will also make individuals low in NFC more…

Information Needs Research in Russia and Lithuania, 1965-2003

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maceviciute, Elena

2006-01-01

Introduction: The invisibility of research on information needs from the East and Central Europe in the West suggested an exploration of the published research output from Lithuania and Russia from 1965 to 2003. Method: The data were collected from the abstracting journal Informatika-59. The publications were retrieved from Lithuanian and Russian…

Information Needs 2000: Results of a Survey of Library Media Specialists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ceperley, Patricia E.

School library media specialists in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia were surveyed in April 1990 to determine their perceptions of their training needs as they are being called upon to use the latest information technologies to access, transfer, and store information. The 2,202 responses received represented a response rate of…

Education and information for practicing school nurses: which technology-supported resources meet their needs?

PubMed

Anderson, Lori S; Enge, Karmin J

2012-10-01

School nurses care for children with a variety of health-related conditions and they need information about managing these conditions, which is accessible, current, and useful. The goal of this literature review was to gather and synthesize information on technology-supported resources and to determine which met the educational needs of school nurses. Successful online educational programs were interactive and self-directed. The most common barriers were lack of time to find educational information, lack of knowledge about computers, technology, the Internet and specific programs, and lack of administrative support from school officials to use technology to access information and evidence for practice. Recommendations for successful use of technology to meet practicing school nurse's educational needs are offered.

A ride in the time machine: information management capabilities health departments will need.

PubMed

Foldy, Seth; Grannis, Shaun; Ross, David; Smith, Torney

2014-09-01

We have proposed needed information management capabilities for future US health departments predicated on trends in health care reform and health information technology. Regardless of whether health departments provide direct clinical services (and many will), they will manage unprecedented quantities of sensitive information for the public health core functions of assurance and assessment, including population-level health surveillance and metrics. Absent improved capabilities, health departments risk vestigial status, with consequences for vulnerable populations. Developments in electronic health records, interoperability and information exchange, public information sharing, decision support, and cloud technologies can support information management if health departments have appropriate capabilities. The need for national engagement in and consensus on these capabilities and their importance to health department sustainability make them appropriate for consideration in the context of accreditation.

Perspectives of patients with haematological cancer on how clinicians meet their information needs: "Managing" information versus "giving" it.

PubMed

Atherton, Kirsten; Young, Bridget; Kalakonda, Nagesh; Salmon, Peter

2018-03-23

Practitioners treating patients with haematological cancers have extensive clinical information available to give to patients, and patients need to be informed. However, many patients want to be protected from having information that is too detailed or threatening. To illuminate how practitioners can address this dilemma and help patients feel appropriately informed, we explored patients' experience of feeling informed or uninformed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 patients who had been diagnosed with haematological cancer and had recently received results from clinical investigations or from evaluations of treatment response. Inductive and interpretive analysis of the transcribed audio-recorded interviews drew on constant comparison. Patients described the need for practitioners carefully to manage the information that they provided, and many felt alarmed by information that they did not experience as having been managed for them. A few patients who had difficulty trusting practitioners were not content with the information provided. These findings can be understood using attachment theory, whereby practitioners' careful management of information demonstrates their care for patients, and patients' trust in the practitioner enables them to feel informed. It follows that, when patients do not feel informed, the solution will not necessarily be more information but might be to help patients feel more secure in a caring clinical relationship. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Toward a patient-centered ambulatory after-visit summary: Identifying primary care patients' information needs.

PubMed

Clarke, Martina A; Moore, Joi L; Steege, Linsey M; Koopman, Richelle J; Belden, Jeffery L; Canfield, Shannon M; Kim, Min S

2018-09-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the information needs of primary care patients as they review clinic visit notes to inform information that should be contained in an after-visit summary (AVS). We collected data from 15 patients with an acute illness and 14 patients with a chronic disease using semi-structured interviews. The acute patients reviewed seven major sections, and chronic patients reviewed eight major sections of a simulated, but realistic visit note to identify relevant information needs for their AVS. Patients in the acute illness group identified the Plan, Assessment and History of Present Illness the most as important note sections, while patients in the chronic care group identified Significant Lab Data, Plan, and Assessment the most as important note sections. This study was able to identify primary care patients' information needs after clinic visit. Primary care patients have information needs pertaining to diagnosis and treatment, which may be the reason why both patient groups identified Plan and Assessment as important note sections. Future research should also develop and assess an AVS based on the information gathered in this study and evaluate its usefulness among primary care patients. The results of this study can be used to inform the development of an after-visit summary that assists patients to fully understand their treatment plan, which may improve treatment adherence.

A Needs Assessment, Development, and Formative Evaluation of a Health Promotion Smartphone Application for College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Tiffany; Chandler, Laura; Mouttapa, Michele

2015-01-01

Background: Approximately half of college students who completed the National College Health Assessment 2013 indicated a greater need for health-related information. University-based smartphone applications may help students better access this information. Purpose: This study describes the needs assessment, development, and formative evaluation of…

Information and decision-making needs among people with mental disorders: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Tlach, Lisa; Wüsten, Caroline; Daubmann, Anne; Liebherz, Sarah; Härter, Martin; Dirmaier, Jörg

2015-12-01

Assessment of users' information and decision-making needs is one key step in the development of decision-support interventions. To identify patients' information and decision-making needs as a pre-requisite for the development of high-quality web-based patient decision aids (PtDAs) for common mental disorders. A systematic MEDLINE search for papers published until December 2012 was conducted, and reference lists of included articles and relevant reviews were searched. Original studies containing data on information or decision-making needs of adults with depression, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, alcohol-related disorders and schizophrenia were included. Data extraction was performed using a standardized form, and data synthesis was conducted using a theory-based deductive approach by two independent reviewers. Studies were quality assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Twelve studies were included focusing on information needs or the identification of decisions patients with depression and schizophrenia were facing. No studies were found for the other mental disorders. Overall, seven information needs categories were identified with the topics 'basic facts', 'treatment' and 'coping' being of major relevance. Six decision categories were identified of which decisions on 'medication' and 'treatment setting' were most often classified. This review reveals that patients with schizophrenia and depression show extensive information and decision-making needs. The identified needs can initially inform the design of PtDAs for schizophrenia and depression. However, there is an urgent need to investigate information and decision-making needs among patients with other mental disorders. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Information needs and internet use in patients with breast cancer in Spain].

PubMed

Abt Sacks, Analía; Pablo Hernando, Susana; Serrano Aguilar, Pedro; Fernández Vega, Enrique; Martín Fernández, Roberto

2013-01-01

To analyze information needs and search strategies among women with breast cancer in Spain. An additional aim was to explore how the internet, as a source of health information, influences the autonomy and active management of this disease among patients. The research was conducted in 2010 and 2011. This study forms part of a broader qualitative study that focuses on describing patients' experiences of breast cancer and the trajectory of the disease, with the aim of creating a platform of integrated information resources for patients, relatives and healthcare professionals (PyDEsalud: http://www.pydesalud.com). We carried out 41 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with breast cancer patients in different stage of the disease, who were aged between 32 and 69 years. The interviewees' were selected by intentional sampling, which included 15 Spanish regions. The field work was carried out from June to August, 2010. The interviews were recorded on videotape or audio. Based on patients' narratives of their disease, a thematic-inductive analysis was performed of the information gathered. The findings show the importance of the internet as a source of health information. Moreover, the internet is a resource that is able to promote the empowerment process among patients and, consequently, to aid improvement in disease management. Users need access to web sites with high quality health information, adapted to their needs and objectives. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Information needs of cancer patients: Validation of the Greek Cassileth's Information Styles Questionnaire.

PubMed

Alamanou, G Despoina; Balokas, A Sotirios; Fotos, V Nikolaos; Patiraki, Elisabeth; Brokalaki, Hero

2016-02-01

The aim of this study was to validate the translated in Greek Cassileth's Information Styles Questionnaire (ISQ). It was a cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of one hundred and nine adult patients diagnosed with cancer, attending the oncology outpatient department (outpatients) or being hospitalized (inpatients), from January 2013 to September 2013, in one general hospital in Athens. Two instruments were used: The Control Preference Scale (CPS), an assessment tool to measure decision-making preferences of cancer patients and ISQ to assess the information needs of patients. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to evaluate construct validity of the ISQ. The internal consistency of subscales was analyzed with Cronbach's alpha and the association of demographics and clinical variables with the ISQ was explored using linear regression analysis. Sixty one (56%) patients were males. The mean age was 65.5 (SD = 11.9) years. Two dimensions of the ISQ were revealed. Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 for "Disease and treatment" dimension (12 of 17 items of the questionnaire) and 0.89 for "Psychological" dimension (5 of 17 items of the questionnaire). Statistical analysis showed that the patients' preferred decision making roles were associated with the ISQ dimensions. Also, age, sex, diagnosis, educational level and the existence of metastasis were associated with the score of "Disease and treatment" dimension. All the scales of ISQ, exceeded the minimum reliability standard of 0.70. The results showed that the Greek ISQ is a reliable and valid tool for identifying the information needs of cancer patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information and decision support needs in patients with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Weymann, Nina; Härter, Martin; Dirmaier, Jörg

2016-03-01

Diabetes and its sequelae cause a growing burden of morbidity and mortality. For many patients living with diabetes, the Internet is an important source of health information and support. In the course of the development of an Interactive Health Communication Application, combining evidence-based information with behavior change and decision support, we assessed the characteristics, information, and decision support needs of patients with type 2 diabetes.The needs assessment was performed in two steps. First, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 patients and seven physicians. In the second step, we developed a self-assessment questionnaire based on the results of the interviews and administered it to a new and larger sample of diabetes patients (N = 178). The questionnaire comprised four main sections: (1) Internet use and Internet experience, (2) diabetes knowledge, (3) relevant decisions and decision preferences, and (4) online health information needs. Descriptive data analyses were performed.In the questionnaire study, the patient sample was heterogeneous in terms of age, time since diagnosis, and glycemic control. (1) Most participants (61.7%) have searched the web for health information at least once. The majority (62%) of those who have used the web use it at least once per month. (2) Diabetes knowledge was scarce: Only a small percentage (1.9%) of the respondents answered all items of the knowledge questionnaire correctly. (3) The most relevant treatment decisions concerned glycemic control, oral medication, and acute complications. The most difficult treatment decision was whether to start insulin treatment. Of the respondents, 69.4 percent thought that medical decisions should be made by them and their doctor together. (4) The most important information needs concerned sequelae of diabetes, blood glucose control, and basic diabetes information.The Internet seems to be a feasible way to reach people with type 2 diabetes. The heterogeneity of the

“What’s the Story?” Information Needs of Trauma Teams

PubMed Central

Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Burd, Randall S.

2008-01-01

This paper reports on information needs of trauma teams based on an ethnographic study in an urban teaching hospital. We focus on questions posed by trauma team members during ten trauma events. We identify major categories of questions, as well as information seekers and providers. In addition to categories known from other critical care settings, we found categories unique to trauma settings. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for information technology support for trauma teams. PMID:18999288

Local School Board Members Need Quality Public Information That Informs Decisions, Empowers Action. Don't Make Decisions in the Dark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Data Quality Campaign, 2014

2014-01-01

Local school board members need to be able to access and use high-quality data to make good decisions. Often this data is collected and stored locally, but information that is publicly reported by the state can provide additional value. Most state public reporting is designed to serve information needs, and are geared toward compliance with state…

Information-seeking Behavior and Information Needs in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Analyzing an Online Patient Community.

PubMed

Oh, Juyeon; Kim, Jung A

2017-07-01

A few studies have examined the specific informational needs of the population with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The aims of this study were to describe the information-seeking behavior and information needs of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their families in Korea by analyzing messages from an online patient community. A total of 1047 messages from the question and answer forum of the "Lou Gehrig's Disease Network" (http://cafe.daum.net/alsfree) from January 2010 to September 2015 were collected. The word frequency, main questions, and asker of the messages were analyzed and coded. Terms such as "hospital," "mother," "father," "gastrostomy," and "ALS" were most frequently identified. The most commonly mentioned main topic was about disease-specific information, while the most frequent subcategory was symptoms or management of symptoms. Other prominent categories concerned information about treatment, rehabilitation, and the medical system. The people who wrote the questions were mostly the son/daughter of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their family members commonly obtained information by posting their inquiries online and have a variety of questions regarding amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in this study. The findings of this study can be used as a base of information for developing educational programs and resources for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their families.

Women's needs and expectations during normal labor and delivery

PubMed Central

Iravani, Mina; Zarean, Elahe; Janghorbani, Mohsen; Bahrami, Masod

2015-01-01

Background: Pregnancy and birth are unique processes for women. Women and families hold different expectation during childbearing based on their knowledge, experiences, belief systems, culture, and social and family backgrounds. These differences should be understood and respected, and care is adapted and organized to meet the individualized needs of women and families. The purpose of this study was to explore Iranian parturient needs, values and preferences during normal labor and delivery. Materials and Methods: An exploratory qualitative study was used. Twenty-four parturient women from three governmental medical training centers in Isfahan, Iran were recruited using purposive sampling. Participants were recruited to low-risk women after they had given birth, but before they were discharged from hospital. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, informal observations and field notes. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by the conventional content analysis according to Graneheim and Lundman approach. Results: Women's needs and expectations fell into seven main categories: Physiological, psychological, informational, social and relational, esteem, security and medical needs. All of the key needs in these data relates to a fundamental need, named “sense of control and empowerment in childbirth.” Conclusion: Knowing a woman's needs, values, preferences and expectations during normal labor and delivery assists healthcare professionals especially midwives in providing high-quality care to parturient women. PMID:25767817

Health Information Needs and Health Seeking Behavior During the 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak: A Twitter Content Analysis.

PubMed

Odlum, Michelle; Yoon, Sunmoo

2018-03-23

For effective public communication during major disease outbreaks like the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, health information needs of the population must be adequately assessed. Through content analysis of social media data, like tweets, public health information needs can be effectively assessed and in turn provide appropriate health information to address such needs. The aim of the current study was to assess health information needs about Ebola, at distinct epidemic time points, through longitudinal tracking. Natural language processing was applied to explore public response to Ebola over time from July 2014 to March 2015. A total 155,647 tweets (unique 68,736, retweet 86,911) mentioning Ebola were analyzed and visualized with infographics. Public fear, frustration, and health information seeking regarding Ebola-related global priorities were observed across time. Our longitudinal content analysis revealed that due to ongoing health information deficiencies, resulting in fear and frustration, social media was at times an impediment and not a vehicle to support health information needs. Content analysis of tweets effectively assessed Ebola information needs. Our study also demonstrates the use of Twitter as a method for capturing real-time data to assess ongoing information needs, fear, and frustration over time.

Psychosocial needs of ethnic minority, inner-city, pediatric cancer patients.

PubMed

Moody, Karen; Mannix, Margaret M; Furnari, Nicole; Fischer, Judith; Kim, Mimi; Moadel, Alyson

2011-09-01

Limited data are available regarding the psychosocial impact of cancer on families of culturally diverse backgrounds living in medically underserved communities. The unique psychosocial needs of families of children with cancer from an ethnically diverse inner-city population is the focus of this study. The prevalence of psychosocial needs among a multi-cultural, inner-city sample of children and adolescents with cancer and their parents was assessed using a modified version of the Psychosocial Needs Assessment Survey. All patients were recruited from the Children's Hospital at Montefiore located in Bronx, NY, a designated medically underserved community. Seventy-eight percent of parents reported unmet informational needs. The three most commonly endorsed informational needs by parents and children were regarding dietary management of acute side effects, late effects of having cancer and secondary cancer prevention. Less educated parents reported greater unmet supportive, practical, and spiritual needs than those with more education. Fathers had greater informational and practical needs than mothers and younger parents had more practical needs than older parents. Endorsement of spiritual needs was lower for both children and parents compared with supportive, informational, or practical needs. Given the high prevalence of reported unmet informational needs, efforts should be made to provide patients and families with education tailored to their informational needs and level of education. This population may benefit from psychoeducational interventions, including community-based informational and peer support groups. Such interventions may augment efforts to lessen health gaps experienced in this population.

Exploring information needs for wildland fire and fuels management

Treesearch

Carol Miller; Peter Landres

2004-01-01

We report the results of a questionnaire and workshop that sought to gain a better and deeper understanding of the contemporary information needs of wildland fire and fuels managers. Results from the questionnaire indicated that the decision to suppress a wildland fire was most often influenced by factors related to safety and that the decision to allow a fire to burn...

A Systematic Review of Unmet Information and Psychosocial Support Needs of Adults Diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer.

PubMed

Hyun, Yong Gyu; Alhashemi, Ahmad; Fazelzad, Rouhi; Goldberg, Alyse S; Goldstein, David P; Sawka, Anna M

2016-09-01

Patient education and psychosocial support to patients are important elements of comprehensive cancer care, but the needs of thyroid cancer survivors are not well understood. The published English-language quantitative literature on (i) unmet medical information and (ii) psychosocial support needs of thyroid cancer survivors was systematically reviewed. A librarian information specialist searched seven electronic databases and a hand search was conducted. Two reviewers independently screened citations from the electronic search and reviewed relevant full-text papers. There was consensus between reviewers on the included papers, and duplicate independent abstraction was performed. The results were summarized descriptively. A total of 1984 unique electronic citations were screened, and 51 full-text studies were reviewed (three from the hand search). Seven cross-sectional, single-arm, survey studies were included, containing data from 6215 thyroid cancer survivor respondents. The respective study sizes ranged from 57 to 2398 subjects. All of the studies had some methodological limitations. Unmet information needs were variable relating to the disease, diagnostic tests, treatments, and co-ordination of medical care. There were relatively high unmet information needs related to aftercare (especially long-term effects of the disease or its treatment and its management) and psychosocial concerns (including practical and financial matters). Psychosocial support needs were incompletely met. Patient information on complementary and alternative medicine was very limited. In conclusion, thyroid cancer survivors perceive many unmet information needs, and these needs extend to aftercare. Psychosocial information and supportive care needs may be insufficiently met in this population. More work is needed to improve knowledge translation and psychosocial support for thyroid cancer survivors.

Information needs of parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Sciberras, Emma; Iyer, Shobha; Efron, Daryl; Green, Julie

2010-02-01

To determine the information needs of parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A cross-sectional survey of parents recruited from pediatric hospital clinics, support groups, and newspaper advertisements in Victoria, Australia, was undertaken. Parents completed a questionnaire covering information sources accessed, the quality of this information, the information content they considered important and their preferred information modes. Survey data were collected from 99 parents. Parents most frequently accessed information from pediatricians (89%), books (78%), general practitioners (65%), and schools (61%). Pediatricians were rated highest as a useful, trusted, easy-to-understand, and up-to-date information source. Parents placed most importance on causes and symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Parents preferred to receive verbal information from a professional (69%). Information provision for parents of children with ADHD is a continuous process. Although they access a range of sources and modes, parents prefer verbal information delivery.

Information Security: Governmentwide Guidance Needed to Assist Agencies in Implementing Cloud Computing

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

Cloud computing , an emerging form of computing in which users have access to scalable, on-demand capabilities that are provided through Internet... cloud computing , (2) the information security implications of using cloud computing services in the Federal Government, and (3) federal guidance and...efforts to address information security when using cloud computing . The complete report is titled Information Security: Federal Guidance Needed to

Latent variable method for automatic adaptation to background states in motor imagery BCI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dagaev, Nikolay; Volkova, Ksenia; Ossadtchi, Alexei

2018-02-01

Objective. Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems are known to be vulnerable to variabilities in background states of a user. Usually, no detailed information on these states is available even during the training stage. Thus there is a need in a method which is capable of taking background states into account in an unsupervised way. Approach. We propose a latent variable method that is based on a probabilistic model with a discrete latent variable. In order to estimate the model’s parameters, we suggest to use the expectation maximization algorithm. The proposed method is aimed at assessing characteristics of background states without any corresponding data labeling. In the context of asynchronous motor imagery paradigm, we applied this method to the real data from twelve able-bodied subjects with open/closed eyes serving as background states. Main results. We found that the latent variable method improved classification of target states compared to the baseline method (in seven of twelve subjects). In addition, we found that our method was also capable of background states recognition (in six of twelve subjects). Significance. Without any supervised information on background states, the latent variable method provides a way to improve classification in BCI by taking background states into account at the training stage and then by making decisions on target states weighted by posterior probabilities of background states at the prediction stage.

African Americans’ and Hispanics’ Information Needs About Cancer Care

PubMed Central

Muñoz-Antonia, Teresita; Ung, Danielle; Montiel-Ishino, F. Alejandro; Nelson, Alison; Canales, Jorge; Quinn, Gwendolyn P.

2015-01-01

Few studies have reported on African American and Hispanic (AA and H) populations’ informational needs when seeking cancer care at an institution that offers clinical trials. Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC) sought to identify and examine the decision making process, the perceptions, and the preferred channels of communication about cancer care services for AA and H communities in order to develop a list of marketing recommendations. Five focus groups (N=45) consisting of two AA and three H were conducted in four counties of the MCC catchment area in Tampa, FL. Participants were asked about their perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about cancer care and MCC. Focus groups were audio-recorded and verbatim transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Similarities in responses were found between AA and H participants. Participants received general health and cancer information from media sources and word of mouth and preferred to hear patient testimonials. There were concerns about costs, insurance coverage, and the actual geographic location of the cancer center. In general, H participants were not opposed to participating in cancer clinical trials/research, whereas, AA participants were more hesitant. A majority of participants highly favored an institution that offered standard care and clinical trials. AA and H participants shared similar concerns and preferences in communication channels, but each group had specific informational needs. The perceptions and preferences of AA and H must be explored in order to successfully and efficiently increase cancer clinical trial participation. PMID:25189798

African Americans' and Hispanics' information needs about cancer care.

PubMed

Muñoz-Antonia, Teresita; Ung, Danielle; Montiel-Ishino, F Alejandro; Nelson, Alison; Canales, Jorge; Quinn, Gwendolyn P

2015-06-01

Few studies have reported on African American and Hispanic (AA and H) populations' informational needs when seeking cancer care at an institution that offers clinical trials. Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC) sought to identify and examine the decision making process, the perceptions, and the preferred channels of communication about cancer care services for AA and H communities in order to develop a list of marketing recommendations. Five focus groups (N = 45) consisting of two AA and three H were conducted in four counties of the MCC catchment area in Tampa, FL. Participants were asked about their perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about cancer care and MCC. Focus groups were audio-recorded and verbatim transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Similarities in responses were found between AA and H participants. Participants received general health and cancer information from media sources and word of mouth and preferred to hear patient testimonials. There were concerns about costs, insurance coverage, and the actual geographic location of the cancer center. In general, H participants were not opposed to participating in cancer clinical trials/research, whereas, AA participants were more hesitant. A majority of participants highly favored an institution that offered standard care and clinical trials. AA and H participants shared similar concerns and preferences in communication channels, but each group had specific informational needs. The perceptions and preferences of AA and H must be explored in order to successfully and efficiently increase cancer clinical trial participation.

Health Information Needs and Health Seeking Behavior During the 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak: A Twitter Content Analysis

PubMed Central

Odlum, Michelle; Yoon, Sunmoo

2018-01-01

Introduction: For effective public communication during major disease outbreaks like the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, health information needs of the population must be adequately assessed. Through content analysis of social media data, like tweets, public health information needs can be effectively assessed and in turn provide appropriate health information to address such needs. The aim of the current study was to assess health information needs about Ebola, at distinct epidemic time points, through longitudinal tracking. Methods: Natural language processing was applied to explore public response to Ebola over time from July 2014 to March 2015. A total 155,647 tweets (unique 68,736, retweet 86,911) mentioning Ebola were analyzed and visualized with infographics. Results: Public fear, frustration, and health information seeking regarding Ebola-related global priorities were observed across time. Our longitudinal content analysis revealed that due to ongoing health information deficiencies, resulting in fear and frustration, social media was at times an impediment and not a vehicle to support health information needs.  Discussion: Content analysis of tweets effectively assessed Ebola information needs. Our study also demonstrates the use of Twitter as a method for capturing real-time data to assess ongoing information needs, fear, and frustration over time.  PMID:29707416

Automatic Classification of Users’ Health Information Need Context: Logistic Regression Analysis of Mouse-Click and Eye-Tracker Data

PubMed Central

Pian, Wenjing; Khoo, Christopher SG

2017-01-01

Background Users searching for health information on the Internet may be searching for their own health issue, searching for someone else’s health issue, or browsing with no particular health issue in mind. Previous research has found that these three categories of users focus on different types of health information. However, most health information websites provide static content for all users. If the three types of user health information need contexts can be identified by the Web application, the search results or information offered to the user can be customized to increase its relevance or usefulness to the user. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of identifying the three user health information contexts (searching for self, searching for others, or browsing with no particular health issue in mind) using just hyperlink clicking behavior; using eye-tracking information; and using a combination of eye-tracking, demographic, and urgency information. Predictive models are developed using multinomial logistic regression. Methods A total of 74 participants (39 females and 35 males) who were mainly staff and students of a university were asked to browse a health discussion forum, Healthboards.com. An eye tracker recorded their examining (eye fixation) and skimming (quick eye movement) behaviors on 2 types of screens: summary result screen displaying a list of post headers, and detailed post screen. The following three types of predictive models were developed using logistic regression analysis: model 1 used only the time spent in scanning the summary result screen and reading the detailed post screen, which can be determined from the user’s mouse clicks; model 2 used the examining and skimming durations on each screen, recorded by an eye tracker; and model 3 added user demographic and urgency information to model 2. Results An analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis found that users’ browsing durations were significantly different

“It’s alright to ask for help”: findings from a qualitative study exploring the information and support needs of family carers at the end of life

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Family carers play an essential role in providing end-of-life care to their relatives but have been found to experience uncertainty and a lack of confidence in fulfilling their caregiving roles, prompting recent calls for educational or information based resources to be developed for carers. Methods We carried out four focus groups with Clinical Nurse Specialists, healthcare assistants, former and current carers at a hospice in the UK, to explore the information and support needs of family carers. Results Our findings support previous research by highlighting a number of care situations where carers experience uncertainty and could seemingly benefit from greater information or instruction. Three main themes were identified which reflected carer experiences and needs in relation to potential information giving or educational interventions. These have been described as the knowledge and competence of carers; the preparedness of carers and low levels of carer identification with, and confidence in their roles as ‘carers’, which influences help seeking behaviours; and in turn how potential supportive interventions might be received by carers. Conclusions Family carers experience multiple needs for information and education, but meeting these needs remains a challenge. Our results suggest three domains which could underpin this type of intervention: developing knowledge and competence; facilitating preparedness; supporting role recognition and confidence building. We recommend an integrated information giving approach which addresses these domains by combining a resource pack for carers with a more explicit acknowledging role for health professionals. Together these could provide key information and also build confidence amongst family carers to ask for further support and advice as needed. PMID:24742046

Improving behaviour in self-testing (IBIS): Study on frequency of use, consequences, information needs and use, and quality of currently available consumer information (protocol)

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Self-tests are available to consumers for more than 25 conditions, ranging from infectious diseases to cardiovascular risk factors. Self-tests are defined as in-vitro tests on body materials such as blood, urine, faeces, or saliva that are initiated by consumers to diagnose a particular disorder or risk factor without involving a medical professional. In 2006, 16% of a sample of Dutch Internet users had ever used at least one self-test and 17% intended to use a self-test in the future. The objectives of this study are to determine (1) the frequency of self-test use, (2) the consumers' reasons for using or not using a self-test, (3) the information that is used by self-testers in the different self-test stages and the consumers' interpretation of the quality of this information, (4) the consumers' response to self-test results in terms of their confidence in the result, reassurance by the test result, and follow-up behaviour, (5) the information consumers report to need in the decision making process of using or not using a self-test, and in further management on the basis of the self-test result, and (6) the quality of the currently available consumer information on a selected set of self-tests. Methods Mixed methods study with (1) a cross-sectional study consisting of a two-phase Internet-questionnaire, (2) semi-structured interviews with self-testers and consumers who intend to use a self-test, and (3) the assessment of the quality of consumer information of self-tests. The Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour will serve as the theoretical basis for the questionnaires and the interview topic guides. Conclusions The self-testing area is still in a state of flux and therefore it is expected that self-test use will increase in the future. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which combines quantitative and qualitative research to identify consumers' information needs and use concerning self-testing, and the consumers

Training for public information officers in communication to reduce health disparities: a needs assessment.

PubMed

Golding, Lenette; Rubin, Donald

2011-05-01

Government public information officers and risk communicators bear the burden for reaching all Americans with public health and emergency messages. To assess needs specifically regarding communication to reduce health disparities, an Internet survey is made available to members of the National Public Health Information Coalition. Respondents are asked to rate their own needs at their level of organizational responsibility as well as the needs of staff whom they may be supervising on 25 communication and cultural competencies. Multicultural understanding, culturally appropriate message development, and ways to better collaborate with diverse populations are identified as communication competencies in which more training is especially needed.

Information for Forest Managers: A Case Study of Adequacy and Needs in Minnesota

Treesearch

Bernard J. Lewis; Edwin Kallio

1983-01-01

Public and private forest managers in Minnesota feel they need better information in such areas as supply and demand, timber growth projections, and reforestation. Needs varied by agency and level of management.

Breast cancer: patient information needs reflected in English and German web sites.

PubMed

Weissenberger, C; Jonassen, S; Beranek-Chiu, J; Neumann, M; Müller, D; Bartelt, S; Schulz, S; Mönting, J S; Henne, K; Gitsch, G; Witucki, G

2004-10-18

Individual belief and knowledge about cancer were shown to influence coping and compliance of patients. Supposing that the Internet information both has impact on patients and reflects patients' information needs, breast cancer web sites in English and German language were evaluated to assess the information quality and were compared with each other to identify intercultural differences. Search engines returned 10 616 hits related to breast cancer. Of these, 4590 relevant hits were analysed. In all, 1888 web pages belonged to 132 English-language web sites and 2702 to 65 German-language web sites. Results showed that palliative therapy (4.5 vs 16.7%; P=0.004), alternative medicine (18.2 vs 46.2%; P<0.001), and disease-related information (prognosis, cancer aftercare, self-help groups, and epidemiology) were significantly more often found on German-language web sites. Therapy-related information (including the side effects of therapy and new studies) was significantly more often given by English-language web sites: for example, details about surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, immune therapy, and stem cell transplantation. In conclusion, our results have implications for patient education by physicians and may help to improve patient support by tailoring information, considering the weak points in information provision by web sites and intercultural differences in patient needs.

20 CFR 416.1816 - Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Information we need concerning marriage when....1816 Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI. When you apply for SSI benefits... are living in the same household with anyone of the opposite sex who is not related to you. If you are...

20 CFR 416.1816 - Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Information we need concerning marriage when....1816 Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI. When you apply for SSI benefits... are living in the same household with anyone of the opposite sex who is not related to you. If you are...

20 CFR 416.1816 - Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Information we need concerning marriage when....1816 Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI. When you apply for SSI benefits... are living in the same household with anyone of the opposite sex who is not related to you. If you are...

20 CFR 416.1816 - Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Information we need concerning marriage when....1816 Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI. When you apply for SSI benefits... are living in the same household with anyone of the opposite sex who is not related to you. If you are...

20 CFR 416.1816 - Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Information we need concerning marriage when....1816 Information we need concerning marriage when you apply for SSI. When you apply for SSI benefits... are living in the same household with anyone of the opposite sex who is not related to you. If you are...

An assessment of the information-seeking abilities and needs of practicing speech-language pathologists

PubMed Central

Nail-Chiwetalu, Barbara; Bernstein Ratner, Nan

2007-01-01

Objectives: This study assessed the information-seeking practices and needs of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Improved understanding of these needs can inform librarians and educators to better prepare students in principles and methods of evidence-based practice (EBP) and, through continuing education (CE), promote the integration of EBP into clinical practice of SLPs. Methods: A 16-question survey was mailed to 1,000 certified speech-language pathologists in the United States. Results: Two hundred and eight usable surveys were returned for a response rate of 21%. For clinical questions, SLPs most often consulted with a colleague, participated in CE activities, and searched the open Internet. Few respondents relied on scholarly journal articles for assistance with clinical cases. The most prominent barriers to finding appropriate information were time and knowledge of where and how to find relevant information. Few reported having information literacy instruction by a librarian. Discussion: If EBP is to become a viable practice in clinical decision making, there appears to be a tremendous need for information literacy instruction in the university curriculum, as well as through CE activities for currently practicing SLPs. Given respondents' reported lack of time and limited access to full-text journals containing evidence relevant to clinical practice, the field of speech-language pathology will need to generate readily accessible clinical summaries of research evidence through meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and clinical practice guidelines. PMID:17443251

Information Needs of Rural Malaysians: An Exploratory Study of a Cluster of Three Villages with No Library Service.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anwar, Mumtaz Ali; Supaat, Hana Imam

1998-01-01

Presents an analysis of 33 studies on rural information needs of a cluster of three Malaysian villages with no library service. Study found information needs relate to: religious information, family bonding, current affairs, health information, and education. The purposes for seeking information include: fulfillment of need to know, problem…

Determining Data Information Literacy Needs: A Study of Students and Research Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Jacob; Fosmire, Michael; Miller, C. C.; Nelson, Megan Sapp

2011-01-01

Researchers increasingly need to integrate the disposition, management, and curation of their data into their current workflows. However, it is not yet clear to what extent faculty and students are sufficiently prepared to take on these responsibilities. This paper articulates the need for a data information literacy program (DIL) to prepare…

Effect of display update interval, update type, and background on perception of aircraft separation on a cockpit display on traffic information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jago, S.; Baty, D.; Oconnor, S.; Palmer, E.

1981-01-01

The concept of a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) includes the integration of air traffic, navigation, and other pertinent information in a single electronic display in the cockpit. Concise display symbology was developed for use in later full-mission simulator evaluations of the CDTI concept. Experimental variables used included the update interval motion of the aircraft, the update type, (that is, whether the two aircraft were updated at the same update interval or not), the background (grid pattern or no background), and encounter type (straight or curved). Only the type of encounter affected performance.

A longitudinal study on the information needs and preferences of patients after an acute coronary syndrome.

PubMed

Greco, Andrea; Cappelletti, Erika Rosa; Monzani, Dario; Pancani, Luca; D'Addario, Marco; Magrin, Maria Elena; Miglioretti, Massimo; Sarini, Marcello; Scrignaro, Marta; Vecchio, Luca; Fattirolli, Francesco; Steca, Patrizia

2016-09-20

Research has shown that the provision of pertinent health information to patients with cardiovascular disease is associated with better adherence to medical prescriptions, behavioral changes, and enhanced perception of control over the disease. Yet there is no clear knowledge on how to improve information pertinence. Identifying and meeting the information needs of patients and their preferences for sources of information is pivotal to developing patient-led services. This prospective, observational study was aimed at exploring the information needs and perceived relevance of different information sources for patients during the twenty-four months following an acute coronary syndrome. Two hundred and seventeen newly diagnosed patients with acute coronary syndrome were enrolled in the study. The patients were primarily men (83.41 %) with a mean age of 57.28 years (range 35-75; SD = 7.98). Patients' needs for information and the perceived relevance of information sources were evaluated between 2 and 8 weeks after hospitalization (baseline) and during three follow-ups at 6, 12 and 24 months after baseline. Repeated measures ANOVA, Bonferroni post hoc tests and Cochran's Q Test were performed to test differences in variables of interest over time. Results showed a reduction in information needs, but this decrease was significant only for topics related to daily activities, behavioral habits, risk and complication. At baseline, the primary sources of information were specialists and general practitioners, followed by family members and information leaflets given by physicians. Relevance of other sources changed differently over time. The present longitudinal study is an original contribution to the investigation of changes in information needs and preferences for sources of information among patients who are diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. One of the main results of this study is that information on self-disease management is perceived as a minor theme for

Survey of Library and Information Manpower Needs in the Caribbean. (Preliminary Version).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Nick

In order to provide a base for national information planning and the restructuring of existing training institutions, a detailed study was conducted of manpower needs--at professional, paraprofessional, and technician levels--for information systems and services in the Caribbean region. A paper setting out the basic principles underlying manpower…

A Survey of Patients' Preoperative Need for Information About Postoperative Pain-Effect of Previous Surgery Experience.

PubMed

Mavridou, Paraskevi; Manataki, Adamantia; Arnaoutoglou, Elena; Damigos, Dimitrios

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to determine the kind of information patients need preoperatively about postoperative pain (POP) and whether this is affected by previous surgery experience. A descriptive study design using preoperative questionnaires. Questionnaires with fixed questions related to POP and its management were distributed preoperatively to consenting, consecutive surgical patients. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with previous surgery experience (group A) and patients without previous surgery experience (group B). Of the patients who participated in the study, 94.2% wanted information about POP and 77.8% of them believe that they will feel calmer if they get the information they need. The patients' biggest concern relates to pain management issues after discharge. Next, in order of preference is information about the analgesics that they need to take. The patients want to be informed primarily with a personal interview (59.4%). Previous surgery experience has no effect on patients' needs for information. Most of the patients want to be informed about the management of the POP after being discharged. It is remarkable that patients who had previous surgery experience need the same information with those who had no previous surgery. Copyright © 2016 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Web-based surveillance of public information needs for informing preconception interventions.

PubMed

D'Ambrosio, Angelo; Agricola, Eleonora; Russo, Luisa; Gesualdo, Francesco; Pandolfi, Elisabetta; Bortolus, Renata; Castellani, Carlo; Lalatta, Faustina; Mastroiacovo, Pierpaolo; Tozzi, Alberto Eugenio

2015-01-01

The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes can be minimized through the adoption of healthy lifestyles before pregnancy by women of childbearing age. Initiatives for promotion of preconception health may be difficult to implement. Internet can be used to build tailored health interventions through identification of the public's information needs. To this aim, we developed a semi-automatic web-based system for monitoring Google searches, web pages and activity on social networks, regarding preconception health. Based on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines and on the actual search behaviors of Italian Internet users, we defined a set of keywords targeting preconception care topics. Using these keywords, we analyzed the usage of Google search engine and identified web pages containing preconception care recommendations. We also monitored how the selected web pages were shared on social networks. We analyzed discrepancies between searched and published information and the sharing pattern of the topics. We identified 1,807 Google search queries which generated a total of 1,995,030 searches during the study period. Less than 10% of the reviewed pages contained preconception care information and in 42.8% information was consistent with ACOG guidelines. Facebook was the most used social network for sharing. Nutrition, Chronic Diseases and Infectious Diseases were the most published and searched topics. Regarding Genetic Risk and Folic Acid, a high search volume was not associated to a high web page production, while Medication pages were more frequently published than searched. Vaccinations elicited high sharing although web page production was low; this effect was quite variable in time. Our study represent a resource to prioritize communication on specific topics on the web, to address misconceptions, and to tailor interventions to specific populations.

Understanding Climate Change Perceptions, Attitudes, and Needs of Forest Service Resource Managers

Treesearch

Carlos Rodriguez-Franco; Tara J. Haan

2015-01-01

Surveys were collected to assess Forest Service (FS) resource managers' perceptions, attitudes, and informational needs related to climate change and its potential impacts on forests and grasslands. Resource managers with three background types were surveyed. All participants generally considered themselves to be well-informed on climate change issues, although...

Basic Collision Warning and Driver Information Systems: Human Factors Research Needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) program, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) investigated the human factors research needs for integrating in-vehicle safety and driver information technolo...

41 CFR 102-34.340 - Do we need a fleet management information system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... management information system? 102-34.340 Section 102-34.340 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal... VEHICLE MANAGEMENT Federal Fleet Report § 102-34.340 Do we need a fleet management information system? Yes, you must have a fleet management information system at the department or agency level that — (a...

41 CFR 102-34.340 - Do we need a fleet management information system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... management information system? 102-34.340 Section 102-34.340 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal... VEHICLE MANAGEMENT Federal Fleet Report § 102-34.340 Do we need a fleet management information system? Yes, you must have a fleet management information system at the department or agency level that — (a...

41 CFR 102-34.340 - Do we need a fleet management information system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... management information system? 102-34.340 Section 102-34.340 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal... VEHICLE MANAGEMENT Federal Fleet Report § 102-34.340 Do we need a fleet management information system? Yes, you must have a fleet management information system at the department or agency level that — (a...

41 CFR 102-34.340 - Do we need a fleet management information system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... management information system? 102-34.340 Section 102-34.340 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal... VEHICLE MANAGEMENT Federal Fleet Report § 102-34.340 Do we need a fleet management information system? Yes, you must have a fleet management information system at the department or agency level that — (a...

41 CFR 102-34.340 - Do we need a fleet management information system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... management information system? 102-34.340 Section 102-34.340 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal... VEHICLE MANAGEMENT Federal Fleet Report § 102-34.340 Do we need a fleet management information system? Yes, you must have a fleet management information system at the department or agency level that — (a...

Taiwan: Background Notes Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reams, Joanne Reppert

Concise background information on Taiwan is provided. The publication begins with a profile of Taiwan, discussing the people, geography, political establishment, and economy. A map of the country is provided. The bulk of the publication then provides more detailed information on Taiwan's people, geography, history, administration, political…

OXYFUELS INFORMATION NEEDS

EPA Science Inventory

Questions have been raised about the benefits and risks of oxygenated gasoline and reformulated gasoline ("oxyfuels"). This document highlights areas of information that would improve scientific understanding of the impacts of these fuels on the
environment and public health. ...

Talking Points: Women's Information Needs for Informed Decision-Making About Noninvasive Prenatal Testing for Down Syndrome.

PubMed

Dane, Aimée C; Peterson, Madelyn; Miller, Yvette D

2018-03-17

Adequate knowledge is a vital component of informed decision-making; however, we do not know what information women value when making decisions about noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT). The current study aimed to identify women's information needs for decision-making about NIPT as a first-tier, non-contingent test with out-of-pocket expense and, in turn, inform best practice by specifying the information that should be prioritized when providing pre-test counseling to women in a time-limited scenario or space-limited decision support tool. We asked women (N = 242) in Australia to indicate the importance of knowing 24 information items when making a decision about NIPT and to choose two information items they would most value. Our findings suggest that women value having complete information when making decisions about NIPT. Information about the accuracy of NIPT and the pros and cons of NIPT compared to other screening and invasive tests were perceived to be most important. The findings of this study can be used to maximize the usefulness of time-limited discussions or space-limited decision support tools, but should not be routinely relied upon as a replacement for provision of full and tailored information when feasible.

Responses to Information Systems Graduate Preparation and Job Needs: Implications for Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, DeShea; Jackson, Kanata

2015-01-01

This study examined the perspectives on academic preparation and job skill needs of Information Systems program graduates from an Eastern state in the US. A historical review of the literature surrounding information systems skill requirements was conducted for this study, to provide an understanding of the changes in information systems over the…

Information Needs, Infobutton Manager Use, and Satisfaction by Clinician Type: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Collins, Sarah A.; Currie, Leanne M.; Bakken, Suzanne; Cimino, James J.

2009-01-01

To effectively meet clinician information needs at the point of care, we must understand how their needs are dependent on both context and clinician type. The Infobutton Manager (IM), accessed through a clinical information system, anticipates the clinician's questions and provides links to pertinent electronic resources. We conducted an observational usefulness case study of medical residents (MDs), nurse practitioners (NPs), registered nurses (RNs), and a physician assistant (PA), using the IM in a laboratory setting. Generic question types and success rates for each clinician's information needs were characterized. Question type frequency differed by clinician type. All clinician types asked for institution-specific protocols. The MDs asked about unfamiliar domains, RNs asked about physician order rationales, and NPs asked questions similar to both MDs and RNs. Observational data suggest that IM success rates may be improved by tailoring anticipated questions to clinician type. Clinicians reported that a more visible Infobutton may increase use. PMID:18952943

47 CFR 215.1 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Background. 215.1 Section 215.1 Telecommunication OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOCAL POINT FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) INFORMATION § 215.1 Background. (a) The nuclear electromagnetic...

47 CFR 215.1 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Background. 215.1 Section 215.1 Telecommunication OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOCAL POINT FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) INFORMATION § 215.1 Background. (a) The nuclear electromagnetic...

47 CFR 215.1 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Background. 215.1 Section 215.1 Telecommunication OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOCAL POINT FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) INFORMATION § 215.1 Background. (a) The nuclear electromagnetic...

47 CFR 215.1 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Background. 215.1 Section 215.1 Telecommunication OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOCAL POINT FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) INFORMATION § 215.1 Background. (a) The nuclear electromagnetic...

47 CFR 215.1 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Background. 215.1 Section 215.1 Telecommunication OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOCAL POINT FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) INFORMATION § 215.1 Background. (a) The nuclear electromagnetic...

76 FR 56809 - Proposed Assessment of Annual Needs for the List I Chemicals Ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-14

.... SUMMARY: This notice proposes the initial year 2012 assessment of annual needs for certain List I... INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph. Background The proposed 2012 assessment of annual needs represents those... assessment of annual needs for ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, DEA has taken into...

Cockpit weather information needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scanlon, Charles H.

1992-01-01

The primary objective is to develop an advanced pilot weather interface for the flight deck and to measure its utilization and effectiveness in pilot reroute decision processes, weather situation awareness, and weather monitoring. Identical graphical weather displays for the dispatcher, air traffic control (ATC), and pilot crew should also enhance the dialogue capabilities for reroute decisions. By utilizing a broadcast data link for surface observations, forecasts, radar summaries, lightning strikes, and weather alerts, onboard weather computing facilities construct graphical displays, historical weather displays, color textual displays, and other tools to assist the pilot crew. Since the weather data is continually being received and stored by the airborne system, the pilot crew has instantaneous access to the latest information. This information is color coded to distinguish degrees of category for surface observations, ceiling and visibilities, and ground radar summaries. Automatic weather monitoring and pilot crew alerting is accomplished by the airborne computing facilities. When a new weather information is received, the displays are instantaneously changed to reflect the new information. Also, when a new surface or special observation for the intended destination is received, the pilot crew is informed so that information can be studied at the pilot's discretion. The pilot crew is also immediately alerted when a severe weather notice, AIRMET or SIGMET, is received. The cockpit weather display shares a multicolor eight inch cathode ray tube and overlaid touch panel with a pilot crew data link interface. Touch sensitive buttons and areas are used for pilot selection of graphical and data link displays. Time critical ATC messages are presented in a small window that overlays other displays so that immediate pilot alerting and action can be taken. Predeparture and reroute clearances are displayed on the graphical weather system so pilot review of weather along

An interactive ontology-driven information system for simulating background radiation and generating scenarios for testing special nuclear materials detection algorithms

DOE PAGES

Sorokine, Alexandre; Schlicher, Bob G.; Ward, Richard C.; ...

2015-05-22

This paper describes an original approach to generating scenarios for the purpose of testing the algorithms used to detect special nuclear materials (SNM) that incorporates the use of ontologies. Separating the signal of SNM from the background requires sophisticated algorithms. To assist in developing such algorithms, there is a need for scenarios that capture a very wide range of variables affecting the detection process, depending on the type of detector being used. To provide such a cpability, we developed an ontology-driven information system (ODIS) for generating scenarios that can be used in creating scenarios for testing of algorithms for SNMmore » detection. The ontology-driven scenario generator (ODSG) is an ODIS based on information supplied by subject matter experts and other documentation. The details of the creation of the ontology, the development of the ontology-driven information system, and the design of the web user interface (UI) are presented along with specific examples of scenarios generated using the ODSG. We demonstrate that the paradigm behind the ODSG is capable of addressing the problem of semantic complexity at both the user and developer levels. Compared to traditional approaches, an ODIS provides benefits such as faithful representation of the users' domain conceptualization, simplified management of very large and semantically diverse datasets, and the ability to handle frequent changes to the application and the UI. Furthermore, the approach makes possible the generation of a much larger number of specific scenarios based on limited user-supplied information« less

Meeting Nontraditional Medical Information Needs for the Unique Populations and Geographically Remote Locations of Alaska.

PubMed

Lema, Dana V

2016-01-01

The types of information required by hospital and clinical staff can be greatly influenced by the geography and culture of the area in which they operate. In some situations, information must be acquired from sources that fall outside the traditional provisions of a medical or reference library. This article provides examples of the unique information needs of clinical staff serving a primarily Native Alaskan and Native American clientele in Alaska. It also presents sources and personnel utilized to meet those information needs outside of traditional reference sources.

Managing Nicaraguan Water Resources Definition and Relative Importance of Information Needs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Engi, D.; Guillen, S.M.; Vammen, K.

1999-01-01

This report provides an overview of the results of the Vital the Nicaraguan Water Resources Management Initiative, Issues process as implemented for a collaborative effort between the Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and Sandia National Laboratories. This initiative is being developed to assist in the development of an efficient and sustainable water resources management system for Nicamgua. The Vital Issues process was used to provide information for developing a project that will develop and implement an advanced information system for managing Nicaragua's water resources. Three Vital Issues panel meetings were convened to 1) develop a mission statement andmore » evaluation criteria for identifying and ranking the issues vital to water resources management in Nicaragua 2) define and rank the vital issues; and 3) identify a preliminary list of information needed to address the vital issues. The selection of panelists from the four basic institutional perspectives- government, industiy, academe, and citizens' groups (through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs))-ensured a high level of stakeholder representation on the panels. The already existing need for a water resource management information system has been magnified in the aftemnath of Hurricane Mitch. This information system would be beneficial for an early warning system in emergencies, and the modeling and simulation capabilities of the system would allow for advanced planning. Additionally, the outreach program will provide education to help Nicaraguan improve their water hygiene practices.« less

The role of the ADOT library in meeting staff information needs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-01

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) operates a transportation library. The mission of the ADOT Library is to provide ADOT employees with the published information they need to carry out their job responsibilities contributing to a safe, e...

Understanding the Information Needs of College and University Decision Makers: Challenges to Systems Developers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gubasta, Joseph L.

This paper outlines several considerations relating to the preparation of information systems for educational managers. College and university managers must have clearly stated needs for planning and management information and the potential uses to which such information could be put. Information systems should be created to satisfy operational…

Developing Written Information for Cancer Survivors from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds: Lessons Learnt.

PubMed

Wiley, Georgina; Piper, Amanda; Phyllis Butow, A M; Schofield, Penny; Douglas, Fiona; Roy, Jane; Nolte, Linda; Jefford, Michael

2018-01-01

Australia is a multicultural nation with a large migrant population. Migrants with cancer report inferior quality of life and the need for more information in their own language. This paper describes lessons learnt from developing culturally appropriate written information resources with and for Arabic, Italian, and Vietnamese cancer survivors and carers. The information needs of survivors from these language groups as well as guidelines for the development of written resources for culturally diverse populations were identified through literature review. Community consultation was undertaken with focus groups. The content was developed and tested with health professionals who spoke the appropriate language and focus group participants, ensuring relevance and appropriateness. Resource design and dissemination were informed through community consultation. A number of key tasks for developing resources were identified as follows: (1) community engagement and consultation; (2) culturally sensitive data collection; (3) focus group facilitators (recruitment and training); (4) content development; (5) translation and review process; (6) design; and (7) sustainability. This project reinforced literature review findings on the importance of cultural sensitivity in the development of resources. Engaging with community groups and incorporating culturally appropriate recruitment strategies optimises recruitment to focus groups and facilitates content development. Stakeholders and lay persons from the intended ethnic-minority communities should be involved in the development and formative evaluation of resources to ensure appropriateness and relevance and in the dissemination strategy to optimize penetration. We believe the lessons we have learnt will be relevant to any group intending to develop health information for culturally and linguistic diverse groups.

Developing Written Information for Cancer Survivors from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds: Lessons Learnt

PubMed Central

Wiley, Georgina; Piper, Amanda; Phyllis Butow, AM; Schofield, Penny; Douglas, Fiona; Roy, Jane; Nolte, Linda; Jefford, Michael

2018-01-01

Australia is a multicultural nation with a large migrant population. Migrants with cancer report inferior quality of life and the need for more information in their own language. This paper describes lessons learnt from developing culturally appropriate written information resources with and for Arabic, Italian, and Vietnamese cancer survivors and carers. The information needs of survivors from these language groups as well as guidelines for the development of written resources for culturally diverse populations were identified through literature review. Community consultation was undertaken with focus groups. The content was developed and tested with health professionals who spoke the appropriate language and focus group participants, ensuring relevance and appropriateness. Resource design and dissemination were informed through community consultation. A number of key tasks for developing resources were identified as follows: (1) community engagement and consultation; (2) culturally sensitive data collection; (3) focus group facilitators (recruitment and training); (4) content development; (5) translation and review process; (6) design; and (7) sustainability. This project reinforced literature review findings on the importance of cultural sensitivity in the development of resources. Engaging with community groups and incorporating culturally appropriate recruitment strategies optimises recruitment to focus groups and facilitates content development. Stakeholders and lay persons from the intended ethnic-minority communities should be involved in the development and formative evaluation of resources to ensure appropriateness and relevance and in the dissemination strategy to optimize penetration. We believe the lessons we have learnt will be relevant to any group intending to develop health information for culturally and linguistic diverse groups. PMID:29379844

Health information needs and health-related quality of life in a diverse population of long-term cancer survivors✩

PubMed Central

Kent, Erin E.; Arora, Neeraj K.; Rowland, Julia H.; Bellizzi, Keith M.; Forsythe, Laura P.; Hamilton, Ann S.; Oakley-Girvan, Ingrid; Beckjord, Ellen B.; Aziz, Noreen M.

2015-01-01

Objective To investigate health information needs and their association with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a diverse, population-based sample of long-term cancer survivors. Methods We analyzed health information needs from 1197 cancer survivors 4–14 years post-diagnosis drawn from two cancer registries in California. Multivariable regression models were used to identify factors associated with endorsement of total number and different categories of needs. The relationship between number of needs and HRQOL and effect modification by confidence for obtaining information was examined. Results Survivors reported a high prevalence of unmet information needs in the following categories: side effects & symptoms: 75.8%; tests & treatment: 71.5%; health promotion: 64.5%; interpersonal & emotional: 60.2%; insurance: 39.0%; and sexual functioning & fertility: 34.6%. Survivors who were younger, non-White, and did not receive but wanted a written treatment summary reported a higher number of needs. Number of information needs was inversely related to mental well-being, particularly for those with low confidence for obtaining information (P < 0.05). Conclusion These patterns suggest disparities in access to important health information in long-term survivors and that affect HRQOL. Practice Implications Findings suggest a need for tailored interventions to equip survivors with comprehensive health information and to bolster skills for obtaining information. PMID:23021856

Benchmarking information needs and use in the Tennessee public health community*

PubMed Central

Lee, Patricia; Giuse, Nunzia B.; Sathe, Nila A.

2003-01-01

Objective: The objective is to provide insight to understanding public health officials' needs and promote access to data repositories and communication tools. Methods: Survey questions were identified by a focus group with members drawn from the fields of librarianship, public health, and informatics. The resulting comprehensive information needs survey, organized in five distinct broad categories, was distributed to 775 Tennessee public health workers from ninety-five counties in 1999 as part of the National Library of Medicine–funded Partners in Information Access contract. Results: The assessment pooled responses from 571 public health workers (73% return rate) representing seventy-two of ninety-five counties (53.4% urban and 46.6% rural) about their information-seeking behaviors, frequency of resources used, computer skills, and level of Internet access. Sixty-four percent of urban and 43% of rural respondents had email access at work and more than 50% of both urban and rural respondents had email at home (N = 289). Approximately 70% of urban and 78% of rural public health officials never or seldom used or needed the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Website. Frequency data pooled from eleven job categories representing a subgroup of 232 health care professionals showed 72% never or seldom used or needed MEDLINE. Electronic resources used daily or weekly were email, Internet search engines, internal databases and mailing lists, and the Tennessee Department of Health Website. Conclusions: While, due to the small sample size, data cannot be generalized to the larger population, a clear trend of significant barriers to computer and Internet access can be identified across the public health community. This contributes to an overall limited use of existing electronic resources that inhibits evidence-based practice. PMID:12883562

Information 2000. Library and Information Services for the 21st Century. Summary Report of the White House Conference on Library and Information Services (2nd, Washington, D.C., July 9-13, 1991).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White House Conference on Library and Information Services.

This summary report addresses the information needs of American citizens, institutions, schools, industry, and government within the context of three themes: literacy, democracy, and productivity. The report includes a preamble, which provides background information on the conference; discussions of the challenges posed by the Information Age in…

Information management and informatics: need for a modern pathology service.

PubMed

Jones, Rick; O'Connor, John

2004-05-01

Requirements for information technology in pathology now extend well beyond the provision of purely analytical data. With the aim of achieving seamless integration of laboratory data into the total clinical pathway, "informatics"--the art and science of turning data into useful information--is becoming increasingly important in laboratory medicine. Informatics is a powerful tool in pathology--whether in implementing processes for pathology modernization, introducing new diagnostic modalities (e.g. proteomics, genomics), providing timely and evidence-based disease management, or enabling best use of limited and often costly resources. Providing appropriate information to empowered and interested patients--which requires critical assessment of the ever-increasing volume of information available--can also benefit greatly from appropriate use of informatics. General trends in medical informatics are reflected in current priorities for laboratory medicine, including the need for unified electronic records, computerized order entry, data security and recovery, and audit. The increasing demands placed on pathology information systems in the context of wider developmental change in healthcare delivery are explored in this paper.

[Italian physician's needs for medical information. Retrospective analysis of the medical information service provided by Novartis Pharma to clinicians].

PubMed

Speroni, Elisabetta; Poggi, Susanna; Vinaccia, Vincenza

2013-10-01

The physician's need for medical information updates has been studied extensively in recent years but the point of view of the pharmaceutical industry on this need has rarely been considered. This paper reports the results of a retrospective analysis of the medical information service provided to Italian physicians by an important pharmaceutical company, Novartis Pharma, from 2004 to 2012. The results confirm clinicians' appreciation of a service that gives them access to tailored scientific documentation and the number of requests made to the network of medical representatives has been rising steadily, peaking whenever new drugs become available to physicians. The analysis confirms what -other international studies have ascertained, that most queries are about how to use the drugs and what their properties are. The results highlight some differences between different medical specialties: for example, proportionally, neurologists seem to be the most curious. This, as well as other interesting snippets, is worth further exploration. Despite its limits in terms of representativeness, what comes out of the study is the existence of an real unmet need for information by healthcare institutions and that the support offered by the pharmaceutical industry could be invaluable; its role could go well beyond that of a mere supplier to National Healthcare Systems, to that of being recognised as an active partner the process of ensuring balanced and evidence-based information. At the same time, closer appraisal of clinicians' needs could help the pharma industries to improve their communication and educational strategies in presenting their latest clinical research and their own products.

Need for closure and heuristic information processing: the moderating role of the ability to achieve the need for closure.

PubMed

Kossowska, Małgorzata; Bar-Tal, Yoram

2013-11-01

In contrast to the ample research that shows a positive relationship between the need for closure (NFC) and heuristic information processing, this research examines the hypothesis that this relationship is moderated by the ability to achieve closure (AAC), that is, the ability to use information-processing strategies consistent with the level of NFC. Three different operationalizations of heuristic information processing were used: recall of information consistent with the impression (Study 1); pre-decisional information search (Study 2); and stereotypic impression formation (Study 3). The results of the studies showed that there were positive relationships between NFC and heuristic information processing when participants assessed themselves as being able to use cognitive strategies consistent with their level of NFC (high AAC). For individuals with low AAC, the relationships were negative. Our data show that motivation-cognition interactions influence the information-processing style. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

Unmet adolescent and young adult cancer survivors information and service needs: a population-based cancer registry study.

PubMed

Keegan, Theresa H M; Lichtensztajn, Daphne Y; Kato, Ikuko; Kent, Erin E; Wu, Xiao-Cheng; West, Michelle M; Hamilton, Ann S; Zebrack, Brad; Bellizzi, Keith M; Smith, Ashley W

2012-09-01

We described unmet information and service needs of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors (15-39 years of age) and identified sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with these unmet needs. We studied 523 AYAs recruited from seven population-based cancer registries, diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, germ cell cancer, or sarcoma in 2007-2008. Participants completed surveys a median of 11 months from diagnosis. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate associations between unmet (information and service) needs and sociodemographic and health-related factors. More than half of AYAs had unmet information needs relating to their cancer returning and cancer treatments. AYAs needing services, but not receiving them, ranged from 29 % for in-home nursing to 75 % for a support group. The majority of AYAs who needed a pain management expert, physical/occupational therapist, mental health worker, or financial advice on paying for health care did not receive services. In multivariable analyses, older participants, men, participants of non-white race/ethnicity, and participants who reported less than excellent general health or fair/poor quality of care were more likely to report unmet information needs. Factors associated with both unmet service and information needs included physical health or emotional problems interfering with social activities or having ≥3 physical treatment-related symptoms. Recently diagnosed AYA cancer survivors have substantial unmet information needs varying by demographic and health-related factors. We identified subgroups of AYA cancer survivors with high unmet needs that can be targeted for interventions and referrals.

Northern goshawk ecology: An assessment of current knowledge and information needs for conservation and management