The ethical dimensions of wildlife disease management in an evolutionary context

PubMed Central

Crozier, GKD; Schulte-Hostedde, Albrecht I

2014-01-01

Best practices in wildlife disease management require robust evolutionary ecological research (EER). This means not only basing management decisions on evolutionarily sound reasoning, but also conducting management in a way that actively contributes to the on-going development of that research. Because good management requires good science, and good science is ‘good’ science (i.e., effective science is often science conducted ethically), good management therefore also requires practices that accord with sound ethical reasoning. To that end, we propose a two-part framework to assist decision makers to identify ethical pitfalls of wildlife disease management. The first part consists of six values – freedom, fairness, well-being, replacement, reduction, and refinement; these values, developed for the ethical evaluation of EER practices, are also well suited for evaluating the ethics of wildlife disease management. The second part consists of a decision tree to help identify the ethically salient dimensions of wildlife disease management and to guide managers toward ethically responsible practices in complex situations. While ethical reasoning cannot be used to deduce from first principles what practices should be undertaken in every given set of circumstances, it can establish parameters that bound what sorts of practices will be acceptable or unacceptable in certain types of scenarios. PMID:25469160

Developing a Framework for Evaluating Ethical Outcomes of Good Participatory Practices in TB Clinical Drug Trials.

PubMed

MacQueen, Kathleen M; Eley, Natalie T; Frick, Mike; Mingote, Laia Ruiz; Chou, Alicia; Seidel, Stephanie S; Hannah, Stacey; Hamilton, Carol

2016-07-01

Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for TB Drug Trials (GPP-TB) were issued in 2012, based on similar guidelines for HIV prevention and reflecting growing acceptance of the importance of community engagement and participatory strategies in clinical research. Though the need for such strategies is clear, evaluation of the benefits and burdens are needed. Working with a diverse group of global TB stakeholders including advocates, scientists, and ethicists, we used a Theory of Change approach to develop an evaluation framework for GPP-TB that includes a clearly defined ethical goal, a set of powerful strategies derived from GPP-TB practices for achieving the goal, and outcomes connecting strategies to goal. The framework is a first step in systematically evaluating participatory research in clinical trials. © The Author(s) 2016.

Evaluating Students' Perspectives about Virtual Classrooms with Regard to Seven Principles of Good Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çakýroðlu, Ünal

2014-01-01

This study assesses the quality of distance learning (DL) in higher education assessed by considering the Seven Principles of Good Practice (SPGP). The participants were 77 second-year students from the Computer and Instructional Technologies Program (CEIT) of a Faculty of Education in Turkey. A questionnaire was developed in line with the SPGP…

Learners' Epistemic Criteria for Good Scientific Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pluta, William J.; Chinn, Clark A.; Duncan, Ravit Golan

2011-01-01

Epistemic criteria are the standards used to evaluate scientific products (e.g., models, evidence, arguments). In this study, we analyzed epistemic criteria for good models generated by 324 middle-school students. After evaluating a range of scientific models, but before extensive instruction or experience with model-based reasoning practices,…

The principles and best practice of question writing for postgraduate examinations.

PubMed

Hayes, Kevin; McCrorie, Peter

2010-12-01

Postgraduate medical education has changed enormously in the last 10 years presenting huge logistical challenges for local, regional and national organisations. Assessment is under change in line with major revisions of postgraduate curricula. Old methods of assessment are changing to newer evidence-based methods supported by ongoing research into good practice. This review examines the purpose and practical considerations of written assessment, the pros and cons of different assessment methods and how good practice can be evaluated and quality assured. Good quality assessment comes at a cost in terms of time and money, and organisations need to invest in their assessment strategies to ensure the highest possible standards. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving Accreditor's Evaluation of Experiential Learning Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeton, Morris T.

1980-01-01

Principles of good practice in assessing experiential learning include better self-evaluation of the learning outcomes of experiential components, systematic program auditing, and training of external evaluators. (SK)

Using the Nine Common Themes of Good Practice checklist as a tool for evaluating the research priority setting process of a provincial research and program evaluation program.

PubMed

Mador, Rebecca L; Kornas, Kathy; Simard, Anne; Haroun, Vinita

2016-03-23

Given the context-specific nature of health research prioritization and the obligation to effectively allocate resources to initiatives that will achieve the greatest impact, evaluation of priority setting processes can refine and strengthen such exercises and their outcomes. However, guidance is needed on evaluation tools that can be applied to research priority setting. This paper describes the adaption and application of a conceptual framework to evaluate a research priority setting exercise operating within the public health sector in Ontario, Canada. The Nine Common Themes of Good Practice checklist, described by Viergever et al. (Health Res Policy Syst 8:36, 2010) was used as the conceptual framework to evaluate the research priority setting process developed for the Locally Driven Collaborative Projects (LDCP) program in Ontario, Canada. Multiple data sources were used to inform the evaluation, including a review of selected priority setting approaches, surveys with priority setting participants, document review, and consultation with the program advisory committee. The evaluation assisted in identifying improvements to six elements of the LDCP priority setting process. The modifications were aimed at improving inclusiveness, information gathering practices, planning for project implementation, and evaluation. In addition, the findings identified that the timing of priority setting activities and level of control over the process were key factors that influenced the ability to effectively implement changes. The findings demonstrate the novel adaptation and application of the 'Nine Common Themes of Good Practice checklist' as a tool for evaluating a research priority setting exercise. The tool can guide the development of evaluation questions and enables the assessment of key constructs related to the design and delivery of a research priority setting process.

Articulating current service development practices: a qualitative analysis of eleven mental health projects

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The utilisation of good design practices in the development of complex health services is essential to improving quality. Healthcare organisations, however, are often seriously out of step with modern design thinking and practice. As a starting point to encourage the uptake of good design practices, it is important to understand the context of their intended use. This study aims to do that by articulating current health service development practices. Methods Eleven service development projects carried out in a large mental health service were investigated through in-depth interviews with six operation managers. The critical decision method in conjunction with diagrammatic elicitation was used to capture descriptions of these projects. Stage-gate design models were then formed to visually articulate, classify and characterise different service development practices. Results Projects were grouped into three categories according to design process patterns: new service introduction and service integration; service improvement; service closure. Three common design stages: problem exploration, idea generation and solution evaluation - were then compared across the design process patterns. Consistent across projects were a top-down, policy-driven approach to exploration, underexploited idea generation and implementation-based evaluation. Conclusions This study provides insight into where and how good design practices can contribute to the improvement of current service development practices. Specifically, the following suggestions for future service development practices are made: genuine user needs analysis for exploration; divergent thinking and innovative culture for idea generation; and fail-safe evaluation prior to implementation. Better training for managers through partnership working with design experts and researchers could be beneficial. PMID:24438471

Articulating current service development practices: a qualitative analysis of eleven mental health projects.

PubMed

Jun, Gyuchan Thomas; Morrison, Cecily; Clarkson, P John

2014-01-17

The utilisation of good design practices in the development of complex health services is essential to improving quality. Healthcare organisations, however, are often seriously out of step with modern design thinking and practice. As a starting point to encourage the uptake of good design practices, it is important to understand the context of their intended use. This study aims to do that by articulating current health service development practices. Eleven service development projects carried out in a large mental health service were investigated through in-depth interviews with six operation managers. The critical decision method in conjunction with diagrammatic elicitation was used to capture descriptions of these projects. Stage-gate design models were then formed to visually articulate, classify and characterise different service development practices. Projects were grouped into three categories according to design process patterns: new service introduction and service integration; service improvement; service closure. Three common design stages: problem exploration, idea generation and solution evaluation - were then compared across the design process patterns. Consistent across projects were a top-down, policy-driven approach to exploration, underexploited idea generation and implementation-based evaluation. This study provides insight into where and how good design practices can contribute to the improvement of current service development practices. Specifically, the following suggestions for future service development practices are made: genuine user needs analysis for exploration; divergent thinking and innovative culture for idea generation; and fail-safe evaluation prior to implementation. Better training for managers through partnership working with design experts and researchers could be beneficial.

The "general recognition and acceptance" standard of objectivity for good faith in prescribing: legal and medical implications.

PubMed

Brushwood, David B

2007-01-01

The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has ruled that a jury considering charges of drug trafficking against a pain management physician should be instructed that the defendant's good faith is a defense to the charges. The court rejected a subjective standard of good faith, and instead ruled that the good faith of the defendant must be evaluated from an objective perspective. This objective standard requires that the jury determine whether the defendant was practicing in accordance with the standard generally recognized and accepted in the United States. General recognition and acceptance are determined on a case-by-case basis, within the context of a defendant's practice. Simply because a physician's practice is out of the norm for many physicians does not mean it can't be generally recognized and accepted within the standard of medical practice. Expert witness testimony of pain management physicians will assist juries in the application of this standard for good faith in prescribing.

Tools to share good chairside teaching practice: a clinical scenario and appreciative questionnaire.

PubMed

Sweet, J; Wilson, J; Pugsley, L; Schofield, M

2008-12-13

This article provides a scenario for analysis of good chairside teaching practice to serve as a starting point for continued discussion in this complex field. Documented issues of good chairside teaching practice are cross-referenced to a clinical scenario with explanations in the form of a commentary. This provided the context for generating a set of questions that are provided as tools to support good chairside practice. These tools are designed to be used with 'Appreciative Inquiry', which claims that there is much to be gained by discovering where excellence is possible and elaborating upon this. Although this process can be carried out in single units or departments, it is proposed that collaboration between institutions would allow sharing of valuable innovations and greater understanding of educational training, production of good practice guidance and professional development of staff. This article is the third in a series of three and provides a scaffold for a scenario and questions to encourage collaboration in evolving and sharing good chairside teaching practice. The first article investigated the perceptions of stakeholders in chairside teaching at a single dental school and the second evaluated chairside teaching on a UK wide scale. A further accompanying article reviews some of the educational methodology and innovations in teaching and learning that may be applied to dentistry.

Practical Guidelines for Evaluating Sampling Designs in Survey Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fan, Xitao; Wang, Lin

The popularity of sample surveys in evaluation and research makes it necessary for consumers to tell a good survey from a poor one. Several sources were identified that gave advice on how to evaluate a sample design used in a survey study. The sources are either too limited or too extensive to be useful practically. The purpose of this paper is to…

Simulation of changes on the psychosocial risk in the nursing personnel after implementing the policy of good practices on the risk treatment.

PubMed

Bolívar Murcia, María Paula; Cruz González, Joan Paola; Rodríguez Bello, Luz Angélica

2018-02-01

Evaluate the change over time of psychosocial risk management for the nursing personnel of an intermediate complexity clinic of Bogota (Colombia). Descriptive and correlational research performed under the approach of risk management (identification, analysis, assessment and treatment). The psychosocial risk of the nursing personnel was studied through 10-year system dynamics models (with and without the implementation of the policy of good practices on the risk treatment) in two scenarios: when the nursing personnel works shifts of 6 hours (morning or afternoon) and when they work over 12 hours (double shift or night shift). When implementing a policy of good practices on the risk treatment, the double shift scenario shows an improvement among 25% to 88% in the variables of: health, labor motivation, burnout, service level and productivity; as well as in the variables of the organization associated to number of patients, nursing personnel and profit. Likewise, the single shift scenario with good practices improves in all the above-mentioned variables and generates stability on the variables of absenteeism and resignations. The best scenario is the single shift scenario with the application of good practices of risk treatment in comparison with the double shift scenario with good practices, which allows concluding that the good practices have a positive effect on the variables of nursing personnel and on those associated to the organization. Copyright© by the Universidad de Antioquia.

Software Architecture Evaluation in Global Software Development Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salger, Frank

Due to ever increasing system complexity, comprehensive methods for software architecture evaluation become more and more important. This is further stressed in global software development (GSD), where the software architecture acts as a central knowledge and coordination mechanism. However, existing methods for architecture evaluation do not take characteristics of GSD into account. In this paper we discuss what aspects are specific for architecture evaluations in GSD. Our experiences from GSD projects at Capgemini sd&m indicate, that architecture evaluations differ in how rigorously one has to assess modularization, architecturally relevant processes, knowledge transfer and process alignment. From our project experiences, we derive nine good practices, the compliance to which should be checked in architecture evaluations in GSD. As an example, we discuss how far the standard architecture evaluation method used at Capgemini sd&m already considers the GSD-specific good practices, and outline what extensions are necessary to achieve a comprehensive architecture evaluation framework for GSD.

Toward a Definition of Evaluative Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vo, Anne Dao Thanh

2013-01-01

The field of evaluation is at a critical juncture as it faces new scrutiny and questions about what constitutes good research and good practice. I argue in this study that if the discipline is to be rooted in a sound empirical foundation, we need a clear understanding of key terms employed by scholars and practitioners alike. In particular,…

How good are the internal controls in your group practice? Ten questions to contemplate.

PubMed

Grant, Barbara J; Foley, Lori A

2002-01-01

Internal controls are the methods and procedures used by any business to prevent or detect errors, safeguard assets (especially cash) from being misappropriated, and encourage staff adherence to prescribed managerial policies. Internal controls in a medical practice differ depending on the size and complexity of the practice. The key, however, is that they prevent or detect errors and efforts to circumvent the established policies and procedures of the organization. How good are the internal controls in your group practice? This article identifies ten questions you should use to evaluate your risk of asset misappropriation.

Practical Hints for Observational Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington, Wanda; And Others

The Austin Independent School District's Research and Evaluation Office presents practical information concerning observational research. This paper focuses on five topics: (1) what makes a good observer (setting the ground rules, training observers in details, and practice, i.e., involving the observers in planning and providing rigorous…

21 CFR 26.44 - Transmission of product evaluation reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

Canadian Guidelines for Controlled Pediatric Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death-Summary Report.

PubMed

Weiss, Matthew J; Hornby, Laura; Rochwerg, Bram; van Manen, Michael; Dhanani, Sonny; Sivarajan, V Ben; Appleby, Amber; Bennett, Mary; Buchman, Daniel; Farrell, Catherine; Goldberg, Aviva; Greenberg, Rebecca; Singh, Ram; Nakagawa, Thomas A; Witteman, William; Barter, Jill; Beck, Allon; Coughlin, Kevin; Conradi, Alf; Cupido, Cynthia; Dawson, Rosanne; Dipchand, Anne; Freed, Darren; Hornby, Karen; Langlois, Valerie; Mack, Cheryl; Mahoney, Meagan; Manhas, Deepak; Tomlinson, Christopher; Zavalkoff, Samara; Shemie, Sam D

2017-11-01

Create trustworthy, rigorous, national clinical practice guidelines for the practice of pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death in Canada. We followed a process of clinical practice guideline development based on World Health Organization and Canadian Medical Association methods. This included application of Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology. Questions requiring recommendations were generated based on 1) 2006 Canadian donation after circulatory determination of death guidelines (not pediatric specific), 2) a multidisciplinary symposium of national and international pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death leaders, and 3) a scoping review of the pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death literature. Input from these sources drove drafting of actionable questions and Good Practice Statements, as defined by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation group. We performed additional literature reviews for all actionable questions. Evidence was assessed for quality using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation and then formulated into evidence profiles that informed recommendations through the evidence-to-decision framework. Recommendations were revised through consensus among members of seven topic-specific working groups and finalized during meetings of working group leads and the planning committee. External review was provided by pediatric, critical care, and critical care nursing professional societies and patient partners. We generated 63 Good Practice Statements and seven Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation recommendations covering 1) ethics, consent, and withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy, 2) eligibility, 3) withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy practices, 4) ante and postmortem interventions, 5) death determination, 6) neonatal pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death, 7) cardiac and innovative pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death, and 8) implementation. For brevity, 48 Good Practice Statement and truncated justification are included in this summary report. The remaining recommendations, detailed methodology, full Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tables, and expanded justifications are available in the full text report. This process showed that rigorous, transparent clinical practice guideline development is possible in the domain of pediatric deceased donation. Application of these recommendations will increase access to pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death across Canada and may serve as a model for future clinical practice guideline development in deceased donation.

Behavioral Patterns in Special Education. Good Teaching Practices

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Dorta, Manuela; Borges, África

2017-01-01

Providing quality education means to respond to the diversity in the classroom. The teacher is a key figure in responding to the various educational needs presented by students. Specifically, special education professionals are of great importance as they are the ones who lend their support to regular classroom teachers and offer specialized educational assistance to students who require it. Therefore, special education is different from what takes place in the regular classroom, demanding greater commitment by the teacher. There are certain behaviors, considered good teaching practices, which teachers have always been connected with to achieve good teaching and good learning. To ensure that these teachers are carrying out their educational work properly it is necessary to evaluate. This means having appropriate instruments. The Observational Protocol for Teaching Functions in Primary School and Special Education (PROFUNDO-EPE, v.3., in Spanish) allows to capture behaviors from these professionals and behavioral patterns that correspond to good teaching practices. This study evaluates the behavior of two special education teachers who work with students from different educational stages and educational needs. It reveals that the analyzed teachers adapt their behavior according the needs and characteristics of their students to the students responding more adequately to the needs presented by the students and showing good teaching practices. The patterns obtained indicate that they offer support, help and clear guidelines to perform the tasks. They motivate them toward learning by providing positive feedback and they check that students have properly assimilated the contents through questions or non-verbal supervision. Also, they provide a safe and reliable climate for learning. PMID:28512437

Behavioral Patterns in Special Education. Good Teaching Practices.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Dorta, Manuela; Borges, África

2017-01-01

Providing quality education means to respond to the diversity in the classroom. The teacher is a key figure in responding to the various educational needs presented by students. Specifically, special education professionals are of great importance as they are the ones who lend their support to regular classroom teachers and offer specialized educational assistance to students who require it. Therefore, special education is different from what takes place in the regular classroom, demanding greater commitment by the teacher. There are certain behaviors, considered good teaching practices, which teachers have always been connected with to achieve good teaching and good learning. To ensure that these teachers are carrying out their educational work properly it is necessary to evaluate. This means having appropriate instruments. The Observational Protocol for Teaching Functions in Primary School and Special Education (PROFUNDO-EPE, v.3., in Spanish) allows to capture behaviors from these professionals and behavioral patterns that correspond to good teaching practices. This study evaluates the behavior of two special education teachers who work with students from different educational stages and educational needs. It reveals that the analyzed teachers adapt their behavior according the needs and characteristics of their students to the students responding more adequately to the needs presented by the students and showing good teaching practices. The patterns obtained indicate that they offer support, help and clear guidelines to perform the tasks. They motivate them toward learning by providing positive feedback and they check that students have properly assimilated the contents through questions or non-verbal supervision. Also, they provide a safe and reliable climate for learning.

Global perspectives on ensuring the safety of pharmaceutical products in the distribution process
.

PubMed

Jeong, Sohyun; Ji, Eunhee

2018-01-01

The distribution of counterfeit or falsified drugs is increasing worldwide. This can contribute to the high burden of disease and cost to society and is of global concern with the worldwide circulation of pharmaceuticals. The preparation and implementation of good distribution practice should be one of the most important aspects of ensuring safe drug circulation and administration. This research aimed to compare and analyze good distribution practice guidelines from advanced countries and international organizations, and to evaluate the status of the current good distribution practice guidelines in the world. Advanced pharmaceutical countries and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, European Union, Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme, United States of America, Canada, and Australia, which have stable good distribution practice guidelines and public confidence, were included in the analysis. The World Health Organization and European Union guidelines are models for standardized good distribution practice for nations worldwide. The United States of America has a combination of four different series of distribution practices which have a unique structure and detailed content compared to those of other countries. The Canadian guidelines focus on temperature control during storage and transportation. The Australian guidelines apply to both classes of medicinal products and medical devices and need separate standardization. Transparent information about the Internet chain, international cooperation regarding counterfeiting, a high-standard qualification of sellers and customers, and technology to track and trace the whole life cycle of drugs should be the main focus of future good distribution practice guidelines worldwide.
.

Health information technology and health care activists: Where is the place of Iranians?

PubMed

Ghoochani, Mobina; Kahouei, Mehdi; Hemmat, Morteza; Majdabadi, Hesamedin Askari; Valinejadi, Ali

2017-10-01

The level of knowledge and using health information technology by clinicians, students and staff has always been one of the essential issues in the field of health. The objective of the present study was to evaluate HIT knowledge, attitude, and practice habits among health care professionals and students in educational hospitals in Iran. This case study was carried out in 2016 on 539 personnel of 65 educational hospitals in Iran entailing three subgroups of physicians (n=128), medical students (n=97), and health record staff (n=314). A pretested self-administered questionnaire was designed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of health information technology. It was comprised of three parts of "baseline general characteristics", "knowledge categories", and "attitude and practice". In total, 28.8% of participants had a good level of knowledge about computer science, whereas 37.7% had a poor level of knowledge. A total of 40% showed good attitude and practice, while 25.6% had poor attitude and practice. Furthermore, 16.4% of physicians, 32% of students and 33.1% of health record staff had good knowledge, while poor knowledge was reported in 45.3% of physicians, 25.8% of students, and 37.6% of staff (p=0.304). The trend of good attitude and practice habits were respectively 28.9%, 50.5%, and 40.8% in physicians, students, and staff, whereas these trends were respectively 30.5%, 4.1%, and 29.9% for poor attitude and practice (p=0.163). Generally, the knowledge level of participants was positively related to the rate of attitude and practice (r=0.847, p<0.001), so the higher knowledge level brought about the higher score in attitude and practice. The level of knowledge and practice of HIT was low among the physicians, students, and staff. Our university can provide a plenary program to promote the level of knowledge and information on practice of HIT.

Evidence-Based Practice in Kinesiology: The Theory to Practice Gap Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knudson, Duane

2005-01-01

As evidence-based practice sweeps the applied health professions, it is a good time to evaluate the generation of knowledge in Kinesiology and its transmission to professionals and the public. Knowledge transmission has been debated in the past from the perspectives of the theory-to-practice gap and the discipline versus profession emphasis.…

Exploring the scope of expanding advanced nursing practice in nurse-led clinics: a multiple-case study.

PubMed

Shiu, Ann T Y; Lee, Diana T F; Chau, Janita P C

2012-08-01

This article is a report on a study to explore the development of expanding advanced nursing practice in nurse-led clinics in Hong Kong. Nurse-led clinics serviced by advanced practice nurses, a common international practice, have been adopted in Hong Kong since 1990s. Evaluations consistently show that this practice has good clinical outcomes and contributes to containing healthcare cost. However, similar to the international literature, it remains unclear as to what the elements of good advanced nursing practice are, and which directions Hong Kong should adopt for further development of such practice. A multiple-case study design was adopted with six nurse-led clinics representing three specialties as six case studies, and including two clinics each from continence, diabetes and wound care. Each case had four embedded units of analysis. They included non-participant observation of nursing activities (9 days), nurse interviews (N = 6), doctor interviews (N = 6) and client interviews (N = 12). The data were collected in 2009. Within- and cross-case analyses were conducted. The cross-case analysis demonstrated six elements of good advanced nursing practice in nurse-led clinics, and showed a great potential to expand the practice by reshaping four categories of current boundaries, including community-hospital, wellness-illness, public-private and professional-practice boundaries. From these findings, we suggest a model to advance the scope of advanced nursing practice in nurse-led clinics. The six elements may be applied as audit criteria for evaluation of advanced nursing practice in nurse-led clinics, and the proposed model provides directions for expanding such practice in Hong Kong and beyond. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

WA40 The good neighbour partnership: why do we need it? who is going to do it? how on earth are we going to evaluate it?

PubMed

McLoughlin, Kathleen; Rhatigan, Jim; McGilloway, Sinead; Callinan, Joanne; Wright, Marie; Kellehear, Allan; Lucey, Michael; Conroy, Marian; Twomey, Feargal; Kumar, Suresh; Herrera-Mollina, Emillio; Furlong, Mairead; Watson, Max; Currow, David; Bailey, Christopher

2015-04-01

: This one-hour symposium considers Milford Care Centre's Compassionate Communities Good Neighbour Partnership and it's evaluation by an international team, led by Maynooth University and funded by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care, The Irish Cancer Society, The Irish Hospice Foundation and Milford Care Centre. The symposium will be divided into three sections: 1. The Good Neighbour Partnership: Why do we need it? In this section we will describe the findings from a recent scoping study to determine the social and practical needs of community dwelling adults (and their families) living with advanced life limiting illness at home. We will consider the rationale for specialist palliative care services, working with community groups, to lead the development of a volunteer-based social model of care to address unmet need. 2. The Good Neighbour Partnership: How do we recruit and train volunteers? We will share our process and experience of recruiting and training 15 Compassionate Communities Volunteers to assess unmet social and practical need, and to mobile the person's circle of community to meet those needs. An understanding of the motivating factors of volunteers will be shared. 3. The Good Neighbour Partnership: How on earth are we going to evaluate it? Here we describe the INSPIRE study - Investigating Social and Practical Supports at the End of life. An exploratory delayed intervention randomised controlled trial (framed by the MRC Framework for Complex Interventions) to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of the Good Neighbour Partnership. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

21 CFR 26.40 - Start of the operational period.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN... to quality system evaluation reports and product evaluation reports generated by CAB's listed in...

Do we need animal hands-on courses for transplantation surgery?

PubMed

Golriz, Mohammad; Hafezi, Mohammadreza; Garoussi, Camelia; Fard, Nassim; Arvin, Jalal; Fonouni, Hamidreza; Nickkholgh, Arash; Kulu, Yakob; Frongia, Giovani; Schemmer, Peter; Mehrabi, Arianeb

2013-01-01

Transplantation surgery requires many years of training. This study evaluates and presents the results of our recent four-yr animal hands-on courses of transplantation surgery on participants' training. Since 2008, five two-d hands-on courses of transplantation surgery were performed on swine models at our department. Sixty-one participants were asked to answer three questionnaires (pre-course, immediate post-course, subsequent post-course). The questions pertained to their past education, expectations, and evaluation of our courses, as well as our course's effectiveness in advancing their surgical abilities. The results were analyzed, compared and are presented herein. On average, 1.8 multiorgan procurements, 2.3 kidney, 1.5 liver, and 0.7 pancreas transplantations were performed by each participant. 41.7% of participants considered their previous practical training only satisfactory; 85% hoped for more opportunities to practice surgery; 73.3% evaluated our courses as very good; and 95.8% believed that our courses had fulfilled their expectations. 66% found the effectiveness of our course in advancing their surgical abilities very good; 30% good, and 4% satisfactory. Animal hands-on courses of transplantation surgery are one of the best options to learn and practice different operations and techniques in a near to clinical simulated model. Regular participation in such courses with a focus on practical issues can provide optimal opportunities for trainees with the advantage of direct mentoring and feedback. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Good practices in normal childbirth: reliability analysis of an instrument by Cronbach's Alpha.

PubMed

Gottems, Leila Bernarda Donato; Carvalho, Elisabete Mesquita Peres De; Guilhem, Dirce; Pires, Maria Raquel Gomes Maia

2018-01-01

to analyze the internal consistency of the evaluation instrument of the adherence to the good practices of childbirth and birth care in the professionals, through Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient for each of the dimensions and for the total instrument. this is a descriptive and cross-sectional study performed in obstetric centers of eleven public hospitals in the Federal District, with a questionnaire applied to 261 professionals who worked in the delivery care. The study was attended by 261 professionals, 42.5% (111) nurses and 57.5% (150) physicians. The reliability evaluation of the instrument by the Cronbach Alfa resulted in 0.53, 0.78 and 0.76 for dimensions 1, 2 and 3, after debugging that resulted in the exclusion of 11 items. the instrument obtained Cronbach's alpha of 0.80. There is a need for improvement in the items of dimension 1 that refer to attitudes, knowledge, and practices of the organization of the network of care to gestation, childbirth, and birth. However, it can be applied in the way it is used to evaluate practices based on scientific evidence of childbirth care.

Evaluation of the DCA Vantage analyzer for HbA 1c assay.

PubMed

Szymezak, Jean; Leroy, Nathalie; Lavalard, Emmanuelle; Gillery, Philippe

2008-01-01

Measurement of HbA 1c is key in monitoring diabetic patients in both laboratories and clinical units, where HbA 1c results are used as part of patient education. We have evaluated the DCA Vantage, a new device for immunological assay of HbA 1c. HbA 1c results obtained were evaluated in terms of precision, linearity, specificity and practicability, and were compared with results obtained by a Variant II HPLC method. The method exhibited intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation lower than 2.6% and 4.0%, respectively, and good correlation with the comparison HPLC method (r2=0.9776). No interference was noted in the presence of labile HbA 1c or carbamylated hemoglobin. The new device exhibited improved practicability characteristics and allowed better sample identification, better management of quality control routines and greater connectivity possibilities compared to the previous DCA 2000 analyzer. This new analyzer exhibited analytical and practical characteristics very suitable for HbA 1c assay for laboratory or point-of-care use according to good laboratory practice.

Peer Observation of Teaching: The Interaction between Peer Review and Developmental Models of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yiend, Jenny; Weller, Saranne; Kinchin, Ian

2014-01-01

Teaching observation is widely promoted as a mechanism for developing teaching practice in higher education. Specifically, formative peer observation is considered by many to be a powerful tool for providing feedback to individual teachers, disseminating disciplinary good practice and fostering a local evaluative enhancement culture. Despite its…

[ISMP-Spain questionnaire and strategy for improving good medication practices in the Andalusian health system].

PubMed

Padilla-Marín, V; Corral-Baena, S; Domínguez-Guerrero, F; Santos-Rubio, M D; Santana-López, V; Moreno-Campoy, E

2012-01-01

To describe the strategy employed by Andalusian public health service hospitals to foster safe medication use. The self-evaluation questionnaire on drug system safety in hospitals, adapted by the Spanish Institute for Safe Medication Practices was used as a fundamental tool to that end. The strategy is developed in several phases. We analyse the report evaluating drug system safety in Andalusian public hospitals published by the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption in 2008 and establish a grading system to assess safe medication practices in Andalusian hospitals and prioritise areas needing improvement. We developed a catalogue of best practices available in the web environment belonging to the Andalusian health care quality agency's patient safety observatory. We publicised the strategy through training seminars and implemented a system allowing hospitals to evaluate the degree of compliance for each of the best practices, and based on that system, we were able to draw up a map of centres of reference. We found areas for improvement among several of the questionnaire's fundamental criteria. These areas for improvement were related to normal medication procedures in daily clinical practice. We therefore wrote 7 best practice guides that provide a cross-section of the assessment components of the questionnaire related to the clinical process needing improvement. The self-evaluation questionnaire adapted by ISMP-Spain is a good tool for designing a systematic, rational intervention to promote safe medication practices and intended for a group of hospitals that share the same values. Copyright © 2011 SEFH. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Developing a tool to support diagnostic delivery of dementia.

PubMed

Bennett, Claire E; De Boos, Danielle; Moghaddam, Nima G

2018-01-01

It is increasingly recognised that there are challenges affecting the current delivery of dementia diagnoses. Steps are required to address this. Current good practice guidelines provide insufficient direction and interventions from other healthcare settings do not appear to fully translate to dementia care settings. This project has taken a sequential two-phase design to developing a tool specific to dementia diagnostic delivery. Interviews with 14 participants explored good diagnostic delivery. Thematic analysis produced key themes (overcoming barriers, navigation of multiple journeys and completing overt and covert tasks) that were used to inform the design of a tool for use by clinicians, patients and companions. The tool was evaluated for acceptability in focused group discussions with 13 participants, which indicated a desire to use the tool and that it could encourage good practice. Adaptations were highlighted and incorporated to improve acceptability. Future research is now required to further evaluate the tool.

Canadian Guidelines for Controlled Pediatric Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death—Summary Report*

PubMed Central

Hornby, Laura; Rochwerg, Bram; van Manen, Michael; Dhanani, ; Sonny; Sivarajan, V. Ben; Appleby, Amber; Bennett, Mary; Buchman, Daniel; Farrell, Catherine; Goldberg, Aviva; Greenberg, Rebecca; Singh, Ram; Nakagawa, Thomas A.; Witteman, William; Barter, Jill; Beck, Allon; Coughlin, Kevin; Conradi, Alf; Cupido, Cynthia; Dawson, Rosanne; Dipchand, Anne; Freed, Darren; Hornby, Karen; Langlois, Valerie; Mack, Cheryl; Mahoney, Meagan; Manhas, Deepak; Tomlinson, Christopher; Zavalkoff, Samara; Shemie, Sam D.

2017-01-01

Objectives: Create trustworthy, rigorous, national clinical practice guidelines for the practice of pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death in Canada. Methods: We followed a process of clinical practice guideline development based on World Health Organization and Canadian Medical Association methods. This included application of Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology. Questions requiring recommendations were generated based on 1) 2006 Canadian donation after circulatory determination of death guidelines (not pediatric specific), 2) a multidisciplinary symposium of national and international pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death leaders, and 3) a scoping review of the pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death literature. Input from these sources drove drafting of actionable questions and Good Practice Statements, as defined by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation group. We performed additional literature reviews for all actionable questions. Evidence was assessed for quality using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation and then formulated into evidence profiles that informed recommendations through the evidence-to-decision framework. Recommendations were revised through consensus among members of seven topic-specific working groups and finalized during meetings of working group leads and the planning committee. External review was provided by pediatric, critical care, and critical care nursing professional societies and patient partners. Results: We generated 63 Good Practice Statements and seven Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation recommendations covering 1) ethics, consent, and withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy, 2) eligibility, 3) withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy practices, 4) ante and postmortem interventions, 5) death determination, 6) neonatal pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death, 7) cardiac and innovative pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death, and 8) implementation. For brevity, 48 Good Practice Statement and truncated justification are included in this summary report. The remaining recommendations, detailed methodology, full Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tables, and expanded justifications are available in the full text report. Conclusions: This process showed that rigorous, transparent clinical practice guideline development is possible in the domain of pediatric deceased donation. Application of these recommendations will increase access to pediatric donation after circulatory determination of death across Canada and may serve as a model for future clinical practice guideline development in deceased donation. PMID:28925929

Self-assessed competency at working with a medical interpreter is not associated with knowledge of good practice.

PubMed

Hudelson, Patricia; Perneger, Thomas; Kolly, Véronique; Perron, Noëlle Junod

2012-01-01

Specific knowledge and skills are needed to work effectively with an interpreter, but most doctors have received limited training. Self-assessed competency may not accurately identify training needs. The purpose of this study is to explore the association between self-assessed competency at working with an interpreter and the ability to identify elements of good practice, using a written vignette. A mailed questionnaire was sent to 619 doctors and medical students in Geneva, Switzerland. 58.6% of respondents considered themselves to be highly competent at working with a professional interpreter, but 22% failed to mention even one element of good practice in response to the vignette, and only 39% could name more than one. There was no association between self-rated competency and number of elements mentioned. Training efforts should challenge the assumption that working with an interpreter is intuitive. Evaluation of clinicians' ability to work with an interpreter should not be limited to self-ratings. In the context of large-scale surveys, written vignettes may provide a simple method for identifying knowledge of good practice and topics requiring further training.

[Qualitative evaluation of employer requirements associated with occupational health and safety as good practice in small-scale enterprises].

PubMed

Kuroki, Naomi; Miyashita, Nana; Hino, Yoshiyuki; Kayashima, Kotaro; Fujino, Yoshihisa; Takada, Mikio; Nagata, Tomohisa; Yamataki, Hajime; Sakuragi, Sonoko; Kan, Hirohiko; Morita, Tetsuya; Ito, Akiyoshi; Mori, Koji

2009-09-01

The purpose of this study was to identify what motivates employers to promote good occupational health and safety practices in small-scale enterprises. Previous studies have shown that small-scale enterprises generally pay insufficient attention to issues of occupational health and safety. These findings were mainly derived from questionnaire based surveys. Nevertheless, some small-scale enterprises in which employers exercise good leadership do take a progressive approach to occupational health and safety. Although good practices can be identified in small-scale enterprises, it remains unclear what motivates employers in small-scale enterprises to actively implement occupational health and safety practices. We speculated that identifying employer motivations in promoting occupational health would help to spread good practices among small-scale enterprises. Using a qualitative approach based on the KJ methods, we interviewed ten employers who actively promote occupational health and safety in the workplace. The employers were asked to discuss their views of occupational health and safety in their own words. A semi-structured interview format was used, and transcripts were made of the interviews. Each transcript was independently coded by two or more researchers. These transcripts and codes were integrated and then the research group members discussed the heading titles and structural relationships between them according to the KJ method. Qualitative analysis revealed that all the employers expressed a strong interest in a "good company" and "good management". They emphasized four elements of "good management", namely "securing human resources", "trust of business partners", "social responsibility" and "employer's health condition itself", and considered that addressing occupational health and safety was essential to the achievement of these four elements. Consistent with previous findings, the results showed that implementation of occupational health and safety activities depended on "cost", "human resources", "time to perform", and "advisory organization". These results suggest that employer awareness of the relationship between good management and occupational health is essential to the implementation of occupational health and safety practices in small-scale enterprises.

Observing Classroom Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danielson, Charlotte

2012-01-01

Classroom observation is a crucial aspect of any system of teacher evaluation. No matter how skilled a teacher is in other aspects of teaching--such as careful planning, working well with colleagues, and communicating with parents--if classroom practice is deficient, that individual cannot be considered a good teacher. Classroom observations can…

Performance-based risk-sharing arrangements-good practices for design, implementation, and evaluation: report of the ISPOR good practices for performance-based risk-sharing arrangements task force.

PubMed

Garrison, Louis P; Towse, Adrian; Briggs, Andrew; de Pouvourville, Gerard; Grueger, Jens; Mohr, Penny E; Severens, J L Hans; Siviero, Paolo; Sleeper, Miguel

2013-01-01

There is a significant and growing interest among both payers and producers of medical products for agreements that involve a "pay-for-performance" or "risk-sharing" element. These payment schemes-called "performance-based risk-sharing arrangements" (PBRSAs)-involve a plan by which the performance of the product is tracked in a defined patient population over a specified period of time and the amount or level of reimbursement is based on the health and cost outcomes achieved. There has always been considerable uncertainty at product launch about the ultimate real-world clinical and economic performance of new products, but this appears to have increased in recent years. PBRSAs represent one mechanism for reducing this uncertainty through greater investment in evidence collection while a technology is used within a health care system. The objective of this Task Force report was to set out the standards that should be applied to "good practices"-both research and operational-in the use of a PBRSA, encompassing questions around the desirability, design, implementation, and evaluation of such an arrangement. This report provides practical recommendations for the development and application of state-of-the-art methods to be used when considering, using, or reviewing PBRSAs. Key findings and recommendations include the following. Additional evidence collection is costly, and there are numerous barriers to establishing viable and cost-effective PBRSAs: negotiation, monitoring, and evaluation costs can be substantial. For good research practice in PBRSAs, it is critical to match the appropriate study and research design to the uncertainties being addressed. Good governance processes are also essential. The information generated as part of PBRSAs has public good aspects, bringing ethical and professional obligations, which need to be considered from a policy perspective. The societal desirability of a particular PBRSA is fundamentally an issue as to whether the cost of additional data collection is justified by the benefits of improved resource allocation decisions afforded by the additional evidence generated and the accompanying reduction in uncertainty. The ex post evaluation of a PBRSA should, however, be a multidimensional exercise that assesses many aspects, including not only the impact on long-term cost-effectiveness and whether appropriate evidence was generated but also process indicators, such as whether and how the evidence was used in coverage or reimbursement decisions, whether budget and time were appropriate, and whether the governance arrangements worked well. There is an important gap in the literature of structured ex post evaluation of PBRSAs. As an innovation in and of themselves, PBRSAs should also be evaluated from a long-run societal perspective in terms of their impact on dynamic efficiency (eliciting the optimal amount of innovation). Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Good practices in normal childbirth: reliability analysis of an instrument by Cronbach’s Alpha 1

PubMed Central

Gottems, Leila Bernarda Donato; Carvalho, Elisabete Mesquita Peres De; Guilhem, Dirce; Pires, Maria Raquel Gomes Maia

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze the internal consistency of the evaluation instrument of the adherence to the good practices of childbirth and birth care in the professionals, through Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient for each of the dimensions and for the total instrument. Method: this is a descriptive and cross-sectional study performed in obstetric centers of eleven public hospitals in the Federal District, with a questionnaire applied to 261 professionals who worked in the delivery care. Results: The study was attended by 261 professionals, 42.5% (111) nurses and 57.5% (150) physicians. The reliability evaluation of the instrument by the Cronbach Alfa resulted in 0.53, 0.78 and 0.76 for dimensions 1, 2 and 3, after debugging that resulted in the exclusion of 11 items. Conclusions: the instrument obtained Cronbach’s alpha of 0.80. There is a need for improvement in the items of dimension 1 that refer to attitudes, knowledge, and practices of the organization of the network of care to gestation, childbirth, and birth. However, it can be applied in the way it is used to evaluate practices based on scientific evidence of childbirth care. PMID:29791667

21 CFR 26.38 - Other transition period activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN... present in quality system and product evaluation reports. (b) The parties will jointly develop a...

21 CFR 26.37 - Confidence building activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN... assessment bodies (CAB's) to perform quality system or product evaluations to the specifications of the...

21 CFR 26.38 - Other transition period activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN... present in quality system and product evaluation reports. (b) The parties will jointly develop a...

21 CFR 26.45 - Monitoring continued equivalence.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

Promoting good health research practice in low- and middle-income countries

PubMed Central

Mahendradhata, Yodi; Nabieva, Jamila; Ahmad, Riris Andono; Henley, Patricia; Launois, Pascal; Merle, Corinne; Maure, Christine; Horstick, Olaf; Elango, Varalakshmi

2016-01-01

Background Good clinical practice (GCP) guidelines have been the source of improvement in the quality of clinical trials; however, there are limitations to the application of GCP in the conduct of health research beyond industry-sponsored clinical trials. The UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Disease is promoting good practice in all health research involving human through the Good Health Research Practice (GHRP) training program initiative. Objective To report the results of piloting the GHRP training program and formulate further steps to harness GHRP for promoting good practices in all health research involving human, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Design The objective of this training is to impart knowledge and skills for the application of ethical and quality principles to the design, conduct, recording, and reporting of health research involving human participants based on the level of risk, to ensure a fit-for-purpose quality system. This has been formulated into five sequential modules to be delivered in a 4-day course. Four courses have been organized in the pilot phase (2014–2015). The courses have been evaluated and assessed based on course feedback (quantitative and qualitative data) collected during course implementation and qualitative email-based pre- and post-course evaluation. Results Participants were highly satisfied with the course content and its organization. The relevance and applicability of the course content resulted in positive feedback and an articulated willingness to adapt and disseminate the course. Action points to strengthen the training program have been identified, and showed the imminent need to develop a consensus with a broader range of key stakeholders on the final set of GHRP standards and means for implementation. Conclusions There is an urgent need to harness the momentum to promote high-quality and ethical health research in LMICs through scaling up GHRP training and further development of GHRP principles into international standards. PMID:27498965

Golden Is the Sand: Memory and Hope in Evaluation Policy and Evaluation Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Datta, Lois-ellin

2009-01-01

Going from thought to action in influencing evaluation policy is an overdue, untried, and perhaps anxious-making role for the American Evaluation Association. We will need good courage, sustained conversation, and the widest views. The courage is needed in remembering that although this isn't going to be fast or easy, evaluation policies make a…

Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Where available and appropriate, EPA will use peer-reviewed information, standardized test methods, consistent data evaluation procedures, and good laboratory practices to ensure transparent, understandable, and reproducible scientific assessments.

21 CFR 26.74 - Preservation of regulatory authority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

21 CFR 26.75 - Suspension of recognition obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

21 CFR 26.31 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN... under which a party will accept the results of quality system-related evaluations and inspections and...

21 CFR 26.78 - Agreements with other countries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

21 CFR 26.66 - Designation and listing procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

Community-based oral health promotion practices targeted at children and adolescents in Finland--developing an assessment tool.

PubMed

Blomqvist, Pia; Ojala, Ellinoora; Kettunen, Tarja; Poskiparta, Marita; Kasila, Kirsti

2014-06-01

To develop an assessment tool for evaluating oral health promotion practices and to evaluate community-based oral health promotion practices targeted at children and adolescents with this tool. A theoretical framework about health promotion planning, implementation and evaluation was made on the basis of a literature review. Then, information about Finnish community-based oral health promotion practices (n=12) targeted at children and adolescents was collected using semi-structured interviews. Also, related documents, for example action plans and reports, were collected when available. Next, an assessment tool based on the theoretical framework was developed, and the recorded and transcribed interview data and other documents were evaluated with this tool. The assessment tool proved to be practical: it pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of the practices. The tool revealed strengths in the implementation and deficiencies in the planning and evaluation of oral health promotion practices. One-quarter of the 12 practices assessed could be considered 'good practices'. There is a need to improve the planning and evaluation of oral health promotion practices. The assessment tool developed in this study might be useful for practitioners both in the field of oral health promotion and general health promotion. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An evaluation of the experiences of guide dog owners visiting Scottish veterinary practices.

PubMed

Fraser, M; Girling, S J

2016-09-10

Guide dogs and their owners will visit a veterinary practice at least twice a year. The aim of this study was to evaluate what guide dog owners thought about these visits, in order to identify areas of good practice which could be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum. Nine guide dog owners volunteered to take part in the study and were interviewed by the primary researcher. Thematic analysis was carried out and several themes were identified: good experiences were highlighted where staff had an understanding of visual impairment and the work of a guide dog; the importance of good communication skills involving the owner in the consultation; the need for veterinary professionals to understand the bond between an owner and guide dog; how medication and information could be provided in a user-friendly format for someone affected by a visual impairment and concerns about costs and decision making for veterinary treatment. This work highlights the importance for veterinary staff to talk to, empathise with and understand the individual circumstances of their clients and identifies areas that should be included in veterinary education to better prepare students for the workplace. British Veterinary Association.

Good pharmacovigilance practices: technology enabled.

PubMed

Nelson, Robert C; Palsulich, Bruce; Gogolak, Victor

2002-01-01

The assessment of spontaneous reports is most effective it is conducted within a defined and rigorous process. The framework for good pharmacovigilance process (GPVP) is proposed as a subset of good postmarketing surveillance process (GPMSP), a functional structure for both a public health and corporate risk management strategy. GPVP has good practices that implement each step within a defined process. These practices are designed to efficiently and effectively detect and alert the drug safety professional to new and potentially important information on drug-associated adverse reactions. These practices are enabled by applied technology designed specifically for the review and assessment of spontaneous reports. Specific practices include rules-based triage, active query prompts for severe organ insults, contextual single case evaluation, statistical proportionality and correlational checks, case-series analyses, and templates for signal work-up and interpretation. These practices and the overall GPVP are supported by state-of-the-art web-based systems with powerful analytical engines, workflow and audit trials to allow validated systems support for valid drug safety signalling efforts. It is also important to understand that a process has a defined set of steps and any one cannot stand independently. Specifically, advanced use of technical alerting methods in isolation can mislead and allow one to misunderstand priorities and relative value. In the end, pharmacovigilance is a clinical art and a component process to the science of pharmacoepidemiology and risk management.

The Effect of Student Evaluations on Faculty Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartford, Kenneth M.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the behavior of professors as a consequence of receiving student evaluations. To address this purpose, a single research question directed this study: In what ways and to what extent might faculty compromise good pedagogical practices for positive student evaluations of teaching? A qualitative research…

Student evaluation of a primary care clerkship: quality assurance and identification of potential for improvement.

PubMed

Chenot, Jean-François; Kochen, Michael M; Himmel, Wolfgang

2009-04-15

In Germany, like many other countries, general practice clerkships have only recently become mandatory during medical education. The biggest challenges for the organisation of such clerkships are achieving a minimum level of standardisation, and developing and maintaining a system of quality assurance. The aim of this study is to assess the instructional quality in teaching practices using a benchmark system. Before commencing, students anonymously assessed the importance of core aspects of the mandatory primary care clerkship. After the clerkship, they evaluated learning opportunities and teaching performance. Based on this data, a benchmark system was developed to identify areas of strength and weakness for all practices as well as individual teaching practices. A total of 695 students evaluated 97 general practices belonging to a teaching network. Prior to the clerkship, most students considered recognition of frequent diseases (85%) and communication skills (65%) the most important learning goals. After the clerkship, nearly 90% of students confirmed that the general practitioner (GP) was good or excellent at teaching these two goals but only two-thirds thought the GP's teaching performance good or excellent in preventive medicine and screening. In an exemplary analysis, we identified the 2 best and the 2 worst practices that consistently received scores far above or below average, respectively. We were able to identify areas of weakness in teaching and identified specific GPs who did not meet the students' needs and expectations. This evaluation seems to be a useful quality assurance tool to identify the potential for improvement and faculty development.

21 CFR Appendices C-F to Subpart B... - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

21 CFR 26.19 - Information relating to quality aspects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

21 CFR 26.33 - Product coverage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS... this subpart each covering a discrete range of products: (1) Quality System Evaluations. U.S.-type... system evaluation reports will be exchanged with regard to all products regulated under both U.S. and EC...

Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure of the Current Assessment Practice Evaluation-Revised (CAPER) in a National Sample.

PubMed

Lyon, Aaron R; Pullmann, Michael D; Dorsey, Shannon; Martin, Prerna; Grigore, Alexandra A; Becker, Emily M; Jensen-Doss, Amanda

2018-05-11

Measurement-based care (MBC) is an increasingly popular, evidence-based practice, but there are no tools with established psychometrics to evaluate clinician use of MBC practices in mental health service delivery. The current study evaluated the reliability, validity, and factor structure of scores generated from a brief, standardized tool to measure MBC practices, the Current Assessment Practice Evaluation-Revised (CAPER). Survey data from a national sample of 479 mental health clinicians were used to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as reliability and validity analyses (e.g., relationships between CAPER subscales and clinician MBC attitudes). Analyses revealed competing two- and three-factor models. Regardless of the model used, scores from CAPER subscales demonstrated good reliability and convergent and divergent validity with MBC attitudes in the expected directions. The CAPER appears to be a psychometrically sound tool for assessing clinician MBC practices. Future directions for development and application of the tool are discussed.

Analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of six point-of-care testing urine analysers for urinary tract infection in general practice

PubMed Central

Schot, Marjolein J C; van Delft, Sanne; Kooijman-Buiting, Antoinette M J; de Wit, Niek J; Hopstaken, Rogier M

2015-01-01

Objective Various point-of-care testing (POCT) urine analysers are commercially available for routine urine analysis in general practice. The present study compares analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of six different POCT urine analysers for diagnosing urinary tract infection in general practice. Setting All testing procedures were performed at a diagnostic centre for primary care in the Netherlands. Urine samples were collected at four general practices. Primary and secondary outcome measures Analytical performance and agreement of the POCT analysers regarding nitrite, leucocytes and erythrocytes, with the laboratory reference standard, was the primary outcome measure, and analysed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and Cohen's κ coefficient for agreement. Secondary outcome measures were the user-friendliness of the POCT analysers, in addition to other characteristics of the analysers. Results The following six POCT analysers were evaluated: Uryxxon Relax (Macherey Nagel), Urisys 1100 (Roche), Clinitek Status (Siemens), Aution 11 (Menarini), Aution Micro (Menarini) and Urilyzer (Analyticon). Analytical performance was good for all analysers. Compared with laboratory reference standards, overall agreement was good, but differed per parameter and per analyser. Concerning the nitrite test, the most important test for clinical practice, all but one showed perfect agreement with the laboratory standard. For leucocytes and erythrocytes specificity was high, but sensitivity was considerably lower. Agreement for leucocytes varied between good to very good, and for the erythrocyte test between fair and good. First-time users indicated that the analysers were easy to use. They expected higher productivity and accuracy when using these analysers in daily practice. Conclusions The overall performance and user-friendliness of all six commercially available POCT urine analysers was sufficient to justify routine use in suspected urinary tract infections in general practice. PMID:25986635

21 CFR 26.12 - Nature of recognition of inspection reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

Patients' evaluations of European general practice--revisited after 11 years.

PubMed

Petek, Davorina; Künzi, Beat; Kersnik, Janko; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Wensing, Michel

2011-12-01

In the last decade many things have changed in healthcare systems, primary care practices and populations. To describe evaluations of general practice care by patients with a chronic illness in 2009 and compare these with a previous study done in 1998. A descriptive analysis of patients' evaluations, using data from the European practice assessment Cardio study on cardiovascular patients in eight European countries in 2009. We compared these evaluations with a subgroup of patients with self-defined chronic illness from the study in 1998, using a linear regression model. Patients' evaluation of general practice using the EUROPEP questionnaire. The EUROPEP is a 23-item validated measure of patient evaluations of general practice care. In 2009, 7472 patients from 251 practices participated in the study with an overall response rate of 49.6%. The percentage of patients with positive evaluations (good/excellent) was 80% or higher for all items, except for the waiting time. More positive evaluations were found in older patients, patients with a longer attachment to the practice, patients with a higher self-evaluation of their health, patients with fewer mental health problems and less pain/discomfort. The comparison between 1998 and 2009 showed no overall trends for all countries combined. Whereas English patients became fairly more positive about general practice in 2009, German patients became slightly less positive, although still more positive than English patients. Overall, the patients' evaluations of general practice were very positive in family practice care in the years 1998 and 2009. The trends over the years need to be carefully interpreted over time.

21 CFR 26.39 - Equivalence assessment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS... perform any type of quality system or product evaluation covered by this subpart and with regard to any... any type of quality system or product evaluation. (b) The parties shall allow CAB's not listed for...

21 CFR 26.67 - Suspension of listed conformity assessment bodies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... SERVICES GENERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE...

21 CFR 26.68 - Withdrawal of listed conformity assessment bodies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... SERVICES GENERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE...

21 CFR Appendix B to Subpart A of... - List of Authorities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

Heterogeneous Roles and Heterogeneous Practices: Understanding the Adoption and Uses of Nonprofit Performance Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckerd, Adam; Moulton, Stephanie

2011-01-01

Evaluating the performance of nonprofit organizations has been of growing importance for the last several decades. Although there is much good that can come out of self-improvement, there is substantial heterogeneity within the sector that calls into question the usefulness of "across the board" evaluation tools. In this article, the authors…

21 CFR 26.10 - Regulatory authorities not listed as currently equivalent.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... SERVICES GENERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE...

21 CFR 886.1400 - Maddox lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... intended to be handheld or placed in a trial frame to evaluate eye muscle dysfunction. (b) Classification... the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the quality system regulation in part 820 of...

21 CFR 886.1400 - Maddox lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... intended to be handheld or placed in a trial frame to evaluate eye muscle dysfunction. (b) Classification... the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the quality system regulation in part 820 of...

21 CFR 886.1400 - Maddox lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... intended to be handheld or placed in a trial frame to evaluate eye muscle dysfunction. (b) Classification... the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the quality system regulation in part 820 of...

21 CFR 886.1400 - Maddox lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... intended to be handheld or placed in a trial frame to evaluate eye muscle dysfunction. (b) Classification... the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the quality system regulation in part 820 of...

21 CFR 886.1400 - Maddox lens.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... intended to be handheld or placed in a trial frame to evaluate eye muscle dysfunction. (b) Classification... the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the quality system regulation in part 820 of...

Good life good death according to Christiaan Barnard.

PubMed

Toledo-Pereyra, Luis H

2010-06-01

Christiaan Barnard (1922-2002), pioneering heart transplant surgeon, introduced his ideas on euthanasia in a well-written and researched book, Good Life Good Death. A Doctor's Case for Euthanasia and Suicide, published in 1980. His courage in analyzing this topic in a forthright and clear manner is worth reviewing today. In essence, Barnard supported and practiced passive euthanasia (the ending of life by indirect methods, such as stopping of life support) and discussed, but never practiced, active euthanasia (the ending of life by direct means). Barnard believed that "the primary goal of medicine was to alleviate suffering-not merely to prolong life-he argued that advances in modern medical technology demanded that we evaluate our view of death and the handling of terminal illness." Some in the surgical community took issue with Barnard when he publicized his personal views on euthanasia. We discuss Barnard's beliefs and attempt to clarify some misunderstandings regarding this particular controversial area of medicine.

77 FR 76400 - Disclosure or Use of Information by Preparers of Returns

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-28

... in any evaluative reports or recommendations that may be accessible to any person other than the... evaluative reports or recommendations that may be accessible to any person other than those responsible for... consistent with good business practices and designed to maintain the confidentiality of the disclosed tax...

The Challenges in Developing VET Competencies in E-Commerce.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, John

A formative evaluation was begun of an innovative project funded by the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) to develop competencies and qualifications in e-commerce. The formative evaluation was designed to focus on inputs, processes, and interim outputs, identifying both good practice and areas for improvement. Findings to date…

21 CFR 26.47 - Role and composition of the Joint Sectoral Committee.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... SERVICES GENERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE...

The Impact of Peer Mentoring on Levels of Student Wellbeing, Integration and Retention: A Controlled Comparative Evaluation of Residential Students in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collings, R.; Swanson, V.; Watkins, R.

2014-01-01

Peer mentoring is becoming increasingly popular in UK higher education, however, there remains little good quality, theoretically driven and evaluative research. The current study aims to bridge the gap between theory, practice and evaluation by providing a controlled evaluation of a peer mentoring scheme within UK universities. 109 first year…

Informatics methodologies for evaluation research in the practice setting.

PubMed

Grant, A; Buteau, M; Richards, Y; Delisle, E; Laplante, P; Niyonsenga, T; Xhignesse, M

1998-06-01

A continuing challenge in health informatics and health evaluation is to enable access to the practice of health care so that the determinants of successful care and good health outcomes can be measured, evaluated and analysed. Furthermore the results of the analysis should be available to the health care practitioner or to the patient as might be appropriate, so that he or she can use this information for continual improvement of practice and optimisation of outcomes. In this paper we review two experiences, one in primary care, the FAMUS project, and the other in hospital care, the Autocontrol project. Each project demonstrates an informatics approach for evaluation research in the clinical setting and indicates ways in which useful information can be obtained which with appropriate feed-back and education can be used towards the achievement of better health. Emphasis is given to data collection methods compatible with practice and to high quality information feedback, particularly in the team context, to enable the formulation of strategies for practice improvement.

Minor corral changes and adoption of good handling practices can improve the behavior and reduce cortisol release in Nellore cows.

PubMed

Lima, Maria Lúcia Pereira; Negrão, João Alberto; de Paz, Claudia Cristina Paro; Grandin, Temple

2018-03-01

Inadequate corral facilities and improper handling are major causes of stress in beef cattle. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of minor changes in the corral and adoption of good handling practices on the behavior, cortisol release, and time spent taking blood samples in Nellore cows. Minor corral changes included obstructing the cow's vision when the handler walked deep into the animal's flight zone and the elimination of bright objects, color contrasts, puddles, shadows, and darkness in the corral. Handling was improved by eliminating dogs, electric goads (prods), and yelling, as well as adopting a calm behavior. A total of 141 Nellore cows from two typical extensive livestock farms were studied. The cows were evaluated individually before and after the corral changes. Blood samples were collected in the restraint device for cortisol measurement. The minor corral changes and the adoption of good handling practices result in better results for all variables studied. The results showed differences in the interactions between treatment and ranch for chute score (P = 0.0091) and exit score (P < 0.0001). The cortisol release was lower (P < 0.001) and better for the improved methods, resulting in calmer cows compared to cortisol released before the minor changes (41.03 ± 2.9 vs 60.40 ± 3.8 ng/mL). Minor changes made in the corrals and the adoption of good handling practices were effective in improving cow behavior in the chute and in reducing exit velocity, cortisol released, and the time spent taking blood samples.

The Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Authority: An Evaluation of the Registration Process and Good Review Practices in Saudi Arabia in Comparison with Australia, Canada and Singapore.

PubMed

Hashan, Hajed; Aljuffali, Ibrahim; Patel, Prisha; Walker, Stuart

This study compares the current regulatory review process and good review practices at the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) with those of regulatory agencies in Australia, Canada, and Singapore and identifies opportunities for developing the SFDA as a Regional Centre of Excellence. A questionnaire completed by the SFDA included data regarding the organisation, key milestones, review timelines, and good review practices of the agency. Similar information was obtained within the same timeframe (2014/2015) through the same standard questionnaire regarding the processes and practices for Health Canada, Singapore's Health Sciences Authority, and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration. All four regulatory agencies have established target times for scientific assessment and regulatory review, examine dossier sections in parallel, and separate company response time from overall timing. Additionally, all four agencies have instituted good review practices including standard operating procedures, templates, dossier monitoring, and continuous improvement processes, and assign a high priority to transparency in their relationships with the public, healthcare professionals and industry. Of the four agencies, however, only the SFDA requires a Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CPP) at the time of the submission and pricing negotiations before final product approval. To assist the SFDA in its efforts to become a Regional Centre of Excellence, it is suggested that the agency explore a risk stratification approach to select dossiers for verification, abridged, or full reviews; use forms of certification other than the CPP; make pricing negotiations independent to the review process; and introduce a feedback process for the quality of the dossier.

Test informel de lecture en Francais: Manuel de L'evaluateur [et] Histories. (Informal French Reading Test: Evaluator's Manual [and] Stories.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronin, Mary C.; And Others

This document (two manuals combined) offers a practical, straightforward means of evaluating the reading level of students in French immersion classes at the elementary level. The evaluator's manual features a good review of the relevant publications in the field and provides clear, detailed descriptions of each of three reading levels, the…

Schistosomiasis knowledge, attitude, practices, and associated factors among primary school children in the Siphofaneni area in the Lowveld of Swaziland.

PubMed

Maseko, Thokozani S B; Mkhonta, Nkosazana R; Masuku, Sakhile K S; Dlamini, Sabelo V; Fan, Chia-Kwung

2018-02-01

Schistosomiasis, a worldwide concern, has received attention in Swaziland through control programs such as deworming programs, education programs, and school health programs; however, these programs neglect the importance of monitoring and evaluation strategies such as assessing children's knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) and the prevalence of the disease. Children are a high-risk group because of their water contact practices, and need to be informed about schistosomiasis to influence their attitudes and practices. Social and cultural factors are involved in schistosomiasis control because they instill myths and misconceptions about the disease. As a result, children in the community may be comfortable with bad practices. This study aimed to assess the KAPs of schoolchildren on schistosomiasis, and to identify practices that support or hinder the progress of schistosomiasis control. In 2014, a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted through questionnaires among Siphofaneni primary schools, an area hit by schistosomiasis in the Lowveld of Swaziland. A logistic regression model was applied to analyze the data. Moderate knowledge, good attitudes, and fairly good practices were observed in the children. However, practices of certain children were risky and they still had some misconceptions. Knowledge was correlated with practice and with predictors of good and bad practices such as male sex, always urinating in water, and always using river water for domestic practices. This study suggests that empowering children with knowledge and attempting to modify their water contact, and improved human waste disposal practices are necessary for schistosomiasis control. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Let My Country Awake. The Human Role in Development: Thoughts on the Next Ten Years.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adiseshiah, Malcolm S.

This book is divided into four parts: (1) Development and the minds of men, (2) Development: alpha and omega, (3) The cross-roads, and (4) Unesco at work: three places, three functions and a state of mind. Development theory and practice involves evaluation and judgment on the good society, on the good life for men and nations. In its broadest…

Development and implementation of clinical algorithms in occupational health practice.

PubMed

Ghafur, Imran; Lalloo, Drushca; Macdonald, Ewan B; Menon, Manju

2013-12-01

Occupational health (OH) practice is framed by legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements. Integrating this information into daily practice can be a difficult task. We devised evidence-based framework standards of good practice that would aid clinical management, and assessed their impact. The clinical algorithm was the method deemed most appropriate to our needs. Using "the first OH consultation" as an example, the development, implementation, and evaluation of an algorithm is described. The first OH consultation algorithm was developed. Evaluation demonstrated an overall improvement in recording of information, specifically consent, recreational drug history, function, and review arrangements. Clinical algorithms can be a method for assimilating and succinctly presenting the various facets of OH practice, for use by all OH clinicians as a practical guide and as a way of improving quality in clinical record-keeping.

Survey of utilization of medetomidine and atipamezole in private veterinary practice in Quebec in 2002

PubMed Central

Kaartinen, M. Johanna; Cuvelliez, Sophie; Brouillard, Line; Rondenay, Yves; Kona-Boun, Jean Jacques; Troncy, Eric

2007-01-01

This survey evaluates early perceptions about the use of medetomidine and atipamezole among veterinary practitioners in Quebec in 2002. Response rate was 23.5%; 71.1% of the practitioners did not use these products because of lack of information (69.3%), unavailability of the drugs in the practice (23.3%), or other reasons (7.3%), including concerns about the safety of alpha-2 agonists. Most veterinarians who used these products (70.4%) used them only rarely. Sedation by medetomidine was qualified as good (44.2%) or excellent (36%), and analgesia as good (46.5%) or average (32.7%). Waking up after atipamezole was qualified as good (47.5%) or excellent (40.9%). These perceptions indicate an opportunity for wider use of the products in veterinary practice. With more education and experience, practitioners could find medetomidine hydrochloride alone or in combination with an opioid useful for sedation, analgesia, and premedication for healthy animals. Reversal with atipamezole hydrochloride is considered effective, when residual sedation is undesirable. PMID:17824157

Prevention of occupational injuries: Evidence for effective good practices in foundries.

PubMed

Porru, Stefano; Calza, Stefano; Arici, Cecilia

2017-02-01

Occupational injuries are a relevant research and practical issue. However, intervention studies evaluating the effectiveness of workplace injury prevention programs are seldom performed. The effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention aimed at reducing occupational injury rates (incidence/employment-based=IR, frequency/hours-based=FR, severity=SR) was evaluated between 2008 and 2013 in 29 Italian foundries (22 ferrous; 7 non-ferrous; 3,460 male blue collar workers/year) of varying sizes. Each foundry established an internal multidisciplinary prevention team for risk assessment, monitoring and prevention of occupational injuries, involving employers, occupational physicians, safety personnel, workers' representatives, supervisors. Targets of intervention were workers, equipment, organization, workplace, job tasks. An interrupted time series (ITS) design was applied. 4,604 occupational injuries and 83,156 lost workdays were registered between 2003 and 2013. Statistical analysis showed, after intervention, a reduction of all injury rates (-26% IR, -15% FR, -18% SR) in ferrous foundries and of SR (-4%) in non-ferrous foundries. A significant (p=0.021) 'step-effect' was shown for IR in ferrous foundries, independent of secular trends (p<0.001). Sector-specific benchmarks for all injury rates were developed separately for ferrous and non-ferrous foundries. Strengths of the study were: ITS design, according to standardized quality criteria (i.e., at least three data points before and three data points after intervention; clearly defined intervention point); pragmatic approach, with good external validity; promotion of effective good practices. Main limitations were the non-randomized nature and a medium length post-intervention period. In conclusion, a multifaceted, pragmatic and accountable intervention is effective in reducing the burden of occupational injuries in small-, medium- and large-sized foundries. Practical Applications: The study poses the basis for feasible good practice guidelines to be implemented to prevent occupational injuries, by means of sector-specific numerical benchmarks, with potentially relevant impacts on workers, companies, occupational health professionals and society at large. Copyright © 2016 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of On-Farm Food Safety Programming in Pennsylvania: Implications for Extension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nayak, Roshan; Tobin, Daniel; Thomson, Joan; Radhakrishna, Rama; LaBorde, Luke

2015-01-01

Penn State Extension conducted on-farm food safety workshops statewide to train fruit and vegetable growers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). These workshops were evaluated using pre- and post-tests to assess the impact of the training on participating growers. Results indicate overall increases in produce growers' knowledge, attitudes,…

High-Quality Traineeships: Identifying What Works. A National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation Program Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Erica; Comyn, Paul; Kemmis, Roslin Brennan; Smith, Andy

2009-01-01

This study explores the common features of high-quality traineeships using case studies from the cleaning, child care, construction, retail, finance and insurance, and meat processing areas. The research identifies a range of policy measures that could improve both the practice and image of traineeships. A good practice guide has also been…

Critical Issues in the Evaluation of an International Project Dedicated to Technology-Mediated TBLT (PETALL)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopes, António

2015-01-01

The CEFR encourages teachers to resort to task-based activities in the language classroom. However, some resistance has been offered to this approach, due to lack of appropriate training and difficulty in meeting some basic practical conditions, as well as in finding resources and examples of good practices, as shown in a survey conducted within…

Good practice in reviewing and publishing studies on herbal medicine, with special emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese materia medica.

PubMed

Chan, Kelvin; Shaw, Debbie; Simmonds, Monique S J; Leon, Christine J; Xu, Qihe; Lu, Aiping; Sutherland, Ian; Ignatova, Svetlana; Zhu, You-Ping; Verpoorte, Rob; Williamson, Elizabeth M; Duez, Pierre

2012-04-10

Studies on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), like those of other systems of traditional medicine (TM), are very variable in their quality, content and focus, resulting in issues around their acceptability to the global scientific community. In an attempt to address these issues, an European Union funded FP7 consortium, composed of both Chinese and European scientists and named "Good practice in traditional Chinese medicine" (GP-TCM), has devised a series of guidelines and technical notes to facilitate good practice in collecting, assessing and publishing TCM literature as well as highlighting the scope of information that should be in future publications on TMs. This paper summarises these guidelines, together with what has been learned through GP-TCM collaborations, focusing on some common problems and proposing solutions. The recommendations also provide a template for the evaluation of other types of traditional medicine such as Ayurveda, Kampo and Unani. GP-TCM provided a means by which experts in different areas relating to TCM were able to collaborate in forming a literature review good practice panel which operated through e-mail exchanges, teleconferences and focused discussions at annual meetings. The panel involved coordinators and representatives of each GP-TCM work package (WP) with the latter managing the testing and refining of such guidelines within the context of their respective WPs and providing feedback. A Good Practice Handbook for Scientific Publications on TCM was drafted during the three years of the consortium, showing the value of such networks. A "deliverable - central questions - labour division" model had been established to guide the literature evaluation studies of each WP. The model investigated various scoring systems and their ability to provide consistent and reliable semi-quantitative assessments of the literature, notably in respect of the botanical ingredients involved and the scientific quality of the work described. This resulted in the compilation of (i) a robust scoring system and (ii) a set of minimum standards for publishing in the herbal medicines field, based on an analysis of the main problems identified in published TCM literature. Good quality, peer-reviewed literature is crucial in maintaining the integrity and the reputation of the herbal scientific community and promoting good research in TCM. These guidelines provide a clear starting point for this important endeavour. They also provide a platform for adaptation, as appropriate, to other systems of traditional medicine. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of six point-of-care testing urine analysers for urinary tract infection in general practice.

PubMed

Schot, Marjolein J C; van Delft, Sanne; Kooijman-Buiting, Antoinette M J; de Wit, Niek J; Hopstaken, Rogier M

2015-05-18

Various point-of-care testing (POCT) urine analysers are commercially available for routine urine analysis in general practice. The present study compares analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of six different POCT urine analysers for diagnosing urinary tract infection in general practice. All testing procedures were performed at a diagnostic centre for primary care in the Netherlands. Urine samples were collected at four general practices. Analytical performance and agreement of the POCT analysers regarding nitrite, leucocytes and erythrocytes, with the laboratory reference standard, was the primary outcome measure, and analysed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and Cohen's κ coefficient for agreement. Secondary outcome measures were the user-friendliness of the POCT analysers, in addition to other characteristics of the analysers. The following six POCT analysers were evaluated: Uryxxon Relax (Macherey Nagel), Urisys 1100 (Roche), Clinitek Status (Siemens), Aution 11 (Menarini), Aution Micro (Menarini) and Urilyzer (Analyticon). Analytical performance was good for all analysers. Compared with laboratory reference standards, overall agreement was good, but differed per parameter and per analyser. Concerning the nitrite test, the most important test for clinical practice, all but one showed perfect agreement with the laboratory standard. For leucocytes and erythrocytes specificity was high, but sensitivity was considerably lower. Agreement for leucocytes varied between good to very good, and for the erythrocyte test between fair and good. First-time users indicated that the analysers were easy to use. They expected higher productivity and accuracy when using these analysers in daily practice. The overall performance and user-friendliness of all six commercially available POCT urine analysers was sufficient to justify routine use in suspected urinary tract infections in general practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Expert opinions on good practice in evaluation of health promotion and primary prevention measures related to children and adolescents in Germany.

PubMed

Korber, Katharina; Becker, Christian

2017-10-02

Determining what constitutes "good practice" in the measurement of the costs and effects of health promotion and disease prevention measures is of particular importance. The aim of this paper was to gather expert knowledge on (economic) evaluations of health promotion and prevention measures for children and adolescents, especially on the practical importance, the determinants of project success, meaningful parameters for evaluations, and supporting factors, but also on problems in their implementation. This information is targeted at people responsible for the development of primary prevention or health promotion programs. Partially structured open interviews were conducted by two interviewers and transcribed, paraphrased, and summarized for further use. Eight experts took part in the interviews. The interviewed experts saw evaluation as a useful tool to establish the effects of prevention programs, to inform program improvement and further development, and to provide arguments to decision making. The respondents' thought that determinants of a program's success were effectiveness with evidence of causality, cost benefit relation, target-group reach and sustainability. It was considered important that hard and soft factors were included in an evaluation; costs were mentioned only by one expert. According to the experts, obstacles to evaluation were lacking resources, additional labor requirements, and the evaluators' unfamiliarity with a program's contents. It was recommended to consider evaluation design before a program is launched, to co-operate with people involved in a program and to make use of existing structures. While in in this study only a partial view of expert knowledge is represented, it could show important points to consider when developing evaluations of prevention programs. By considering these points, researchers could further advance towards a more comprehensive approach of evaluation targeting measures in children and adolescents.

Oral health knowledge and practices of dentists practicing in a teaching hospital in Nigeria.

PubMed

Jegede, Akinlolu Tolulope; Oyedele, Titus Ayodeji; Sodipo, Babasola Olufemi; Folayan, Morenike Oluwatoyin

2016-01-01

To assess the oral health practices and knowledge of practicing dentists at a tertiary health institution in Nigeria, and the possible association of age and sex with caries prevention practices. A cross-sectional study was conducted. All practicing dentists in the institution were eligible to participate in the study. A questionnaire that assessed oral health practices and knowledge was administered. Respondents were expected to select the most appropriate responses that reflected their knowledge of oral health practices and caries prevention practices. Questions included assessment of knowledge and practice of tooth brushing, flossing, refined carbohydrate intake, and dental service utilization. Participants' responses were scored and dichotomized to poor and good knowledge, and poor and good practices, using the median scores. Bivariate analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with good and poor oral health practices, and good and poor knowledge. Fifty-two eligible study participants were accessible at the time of questionnaire administration. Only 46 respondents returned the filled questionnaire giving a response rate of 88.5%. The age of respondents ranged between 25 and 48 years. The majority of respondents had good oral health practices (65.2%) and good oral health knowledge (85%). However, few respondents had good caries prevention practices: 39.2% brushed at least twice daily, 45.7% took refined carbohydrate less than once daily, 36.9% used dental floss at least once daily, and 60.9% undertook preventive dental care. The correlation between the dentists' oral health knowledge score and oral health practices score was insignificant (0.90; P = 0.55). A large number of dentists practicing in the tertiary hospital had good oral health practices and good oral health knowledge. However, the proportion of dentists with good caries prevention practices was low.

Development and preliminary validation of the Parenting around SNAcking Questionnaire (P-SNAQ).

PubMed

Davison, K K; Blake, C E; Kachurak, A; Lumeng, J C; Coffman, D L; Miller, A L; Hughes, S O; Power, T G; Vaughn, A F; Blaine, R E; Younginer, N; Fisher, J O

2018-06-01

Snacking makes significant contributions to children's dietary intake but is poorly understood from a parenting perspective. This research was designed to develop and evaluate the psychometrics of a theoretically grounded, empirically-informed measure of snack parenting. The Parenting around SNAcking Questionnaire (P-SNAQ) was developed using a conceptual model derived from current theory and mixed-methods research to include 20 hypothesized snack parenting practices along 4 parenting dimensions (autonomy support, structure, coercive control and permissiveness). Expert panel evaluation and cognitive interviews were used to refine items and construct definitions. The initial instrument of 105 items was administered to an ethnically diverse, low-income sample of 305 parents (92% mothers) of children aged 1-6 y participating in three existing cohort studies. The sample was randomly split into two equal samples. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the first sample to identify snack parenting practices within each parenting dimension, followed by confirmatory factor analysis with the second sample to test the hypothesized factor structure. Internal consistency of sub-scales and associations with existing measures of food parenting practices and styles and child weight status were evaluated. The final P-SNAQ scale included 51 items reflecting 14 snack parenting practices across four parenting dimensions. The factor structure of the P-SNAQ was consistent with prior theoretical frameworks. Internal consistency coefficients were good to very good for 12 out of 14 scales and subscale scores were moderately correlated with previously validated measures. In conclusion, initial evidence suggests that P-SNAQ is a psychometrically sound measure for evaluating a wide range of snack parenting practices in young children. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating an online pharmaceutical education system for pharmacy interns in critical care settings.

PubMed

Yeh, Yu-Ting; Chen, Hsiang-Yin; Cheng, Kuei-Ju; Hou, Ssu-An; Yen, Yu-Hsuan; Liu, Chien-Tsai

2014-02-01

Incorporating electronic learning (eLearning) system into professional experimental programs such as pharmacy internships is a challenge. However, none of the current systems can fully support the unique needs of clinical pharmacy internship. In this study we enhanced a commercial eLearning system for clinical pharmacy internship (The Clinical Pharmacy Internship eLearning System, CPIES). The KAP questionnaire was used to evaluate the performance of group A with the traditional teaching model and group B with the CPIES teaching model. The CPIES teaching model showed significant improvement in interns' knowledge and practice (p = 0.002 and 0.031, respectively). The traditional teaching model only demonstrated significant improvement in practice (p = 0.011). Moreover, professionalism, such as attitudes on cooperating with other health professionals, is developed by learning from a good mentor. The on-line teaching and traditional teaching methods should undoubtedly be blended in a complete teaching model in order to improve learners' professional knowledge, facilitate correct attitude, and influence good practice. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meta-analysis of food safety training on hand hygiene knowledge and attitudes among food handlers.

PubMed

Soon, Jan Mei; Baines, Richard; Seaman, Phillip

2012-04-01

Research has shown that traditional food safety training programs and strategies to promote hand hygiene increases knowledge of the subject. However, very few studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact of food safety training on food handlers' attitudes about good hand hygiene practices. The objective of this meta-analytical study was to assess the extent to which food safety training or intervention strategies increased knowledge of and attitudes about hand hygiene. A systematic review of food safety training articles was conducted. Additional studies were identified from abstracts from food safety conferences and food science education conferences. Search terms included combinations of "food safety," "food hygiene," "training," "education," "hand washing," "hand hygiene," "knowledge," "attitudes," "practices," "behavior," and "food handlers." Only before- and after-training approaches and cohort studies with training (intervention group) and without training (control group) in hand hygiene knowledge and including attitudes in food handlers were evaluated. All pooled analyses were based on a random effects model. Meta-analysis values for nine food safety training and intervention studies on hand hygiene knowledge among food handlers were significantly higher than those of the control (without training), with an effect size (Hedges' g) of 1.284 (95% confidence interval [CI] ∼ 0.830 to 1.738). Meta-analysis of five food safety training and intervention studies in which hand hygiene attitudes and self-reported practices were monitored produced a summary effect size of 0.683 (95% CI ∼ 0.523 to 0.843). Food safety training increased knowledge and improved attitudes about hand hygiene practices. Refresher training and long-term reinforcement of good food handling behaviors may also be beneficial for sustaining good hand washing practices.

Long-term effects of good handling practices during the pre-weaning period of crossbred dairy heifer calves.

PubMed

Silva, Luciana Pontes; Sant'Anna, Aline Cristina; Silva, Lívia Carolina Magalhães; Paranhos da Costa, Mateus José Rodrigues

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether applying good practices of handling during the pre-weaning period have long-term effects on behavioral and physiological indicators, health status, and average daily gain (ADG) of crossbred Bos taurus × Bos indicus heifer calves. During the pre-weaning period, 98 crossbred of Holstein × Gir heifer calves were allotted into three treatments: (1) good practices of handling + brushing (GPB; n = 25), (2) good practices of handling (GP; n = 25), and (3) control (n = 48). Every 2 months, four evaluation periods (EV 1 to EV 4 ) were conducted to record data. Behavioral indicators comprised time to drive (TD), flight speed (FS), flight distance (FD), and composite reactivity score (CRS). Physiological indicators of acute stress during handling comprised respiratory and heart rates. Health status comprised data regarding occurrence of most common diseases (i.e., pneumonia and anaplasmosis). Collected data were analyzed by using a linear mixed model for repeated measures, Tukey's test, and chi-squared procedures. Treatment influenced (P < 0.05) TD, FS, and FD but not CRS (P = 0.78). From EV 1 to EV 3 , the control calves had the lowest TD. The GPB group had lower FS than the control but did not differ from GP. The GPB group had lower FD means than the other two groups in EV 2 , EV 3 , and EV 4 . No differences (P > 0.05) due to treatment were observed on heart and respiratory rates, ADG, or occurrence of pneumonia and anaplasmosis. It was concluded that adoption of good practices of handling during pre-weaning period may lead to long-term positive effects.

Good practices according to WHO's recommendation for normal labor and birth and women's assessment of the care received: the "birth in Brazil" national research study, 2011/2012.

PubMed

Baldisserotto, Marcia Leonardi; Theme Filha, Mariza Miranda; da Gama, Silvana Granado Nogueira

2016-10-17

The World Health Organization recommends good practices for the conduct of uncomplicated labor and birth, with the aim of improving the quality of and assessment by women of childbirth care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between adoption of good practices according to WHO's recommendation for normal labor and birth and assessment by women of the care received. Birth in Brazil is a national hospital-based study with countrywide representation consisting of 23,894 mothers and their newborns, conducted between February 2011 and October 2012. The present study analysed a subsample of this national survey. Postpartum women classified as low risk during pregnancy who had experienced either spontaneous or induced labor were included in this study, totalling 4102 mothers. To estimate the association between assessment by women of the childbirth care received (dependent variable) and good practices according to WHO's recommendation during normal labor and birth (independent variables), a multinomial logistic regression analysis was used and crude and adjusted odds ratios calculated with their 95 % confidence intervals. The good practices associated with positive assessment of the care received by women during labor and birth included the partner's presence, privacy in the birthing place, time available to ask questions, clarity of information received, and empathic support from caregivers during labor and birth. Freedom of movement, free nutrition offered, choice of companions, nonpharmacological analgesia, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the childbirth room were not associated with the assessment by women of the care received. Our findings reveal the importance to mothers of their relationship with the team of caregivers during labor and birth. Therefore, caregiver teams must be qualified within a more humanistic vision of childbirth health care.

75 FR 48 - Amendments to the Section 7216 Regulations-Disclosure or Use of Information by Preparers of Returns

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-04

... place that are consistent with good business practices and designed to maintain the confidentiality of... of a review. No tax return information identifying a taxpayer may be disclosed in any evaluative... review. No tax return information identifying a taxpayer may be disclosed in any evaluative reports or...

Monkeying around: Use of Survey Monkey as a Tool for School Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Massat, Carol Rippey; McKay, Cassandra; Moses, Helene

2009-01-01

This article describes the use of an online survey tool called Survey Monkey, which can be used by school social workers and school social work educators for evaluation of practice, needs assessment, and program evaluation. Examples of questions are given. Principles of writing good survey questions are described. (Contains 2 tables and 1…

Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know

MedlinePlus

... This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." Manufacturers must follow certain good manufacturing practices to ensure the identity, purity, strength, and ...

The Instrument for Measuring the Implementation Situation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Guideline: Evaluation and Application

PubMed Central

Wang, Yangyang; Chen, Yaolong; Wang, Xiaoyun; Deng, Jingwen

2017-01-01

Clinical practice guidelines play an important role in reducing the variations in clinical practices and improving the quality of care. To assess the real effect, measuring its implementation situation is needed. The implementation situation can be reflected by testing the consistency between the actual clinical practice and the guideline. We constructed an instrument to measure the implementation situation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) guideline through consistency testing. The main objectives of our study were to validate the instrument and evaluate the implementation situation of menopause syndrome guideline of TCM, using the data from the consistency test of comparing the medical records with the guideline. A total of 621 cases were included for data analysis. Cronbach's Alpha coefficient is 0.73. The model fit of 7 items in four dimensions was good (SRMR = 0.04; GFI = 0.97; NFI = 0.97; TLI = 0.96; CFI = 0.98; AGFI = 0.90). This instrument is of good reliability and validity. It can help the guideline developers to measure the implementation situation, find the reasons affecting the implementation, and revise the guideline. The method of using consistency test to measure the implementation situation may provide a sample for evaluating the guideline implementation in other fields. PMID:29234379

Good manufacturing practices production of a purification-free oral cholera vaccine expressed in transgenic rice plants.

PubMed

Kashima, Koji; Yuki, Yoshikazu; Mejima, Mio; Kurokawa, Shiho; Suzuki, Yuji; Minakawa, Satomi; Takeyama, Natsumi; Fukuyama, Yoshiko; Azegami, Tatsuhiko; Tanimoto, Takeshi; Kuroda, Masaharu; Tamura, Minoru; Gomi, Yasuyuki; Kiyono, Hiroshi

2016-03-01

The first Good Manufacturing Practices production of a purification-free rice-based oral cholera vaccine (MucoRice-CTB) from transgenic plants in a closed cultivation system yielded a product meeting regulatory requirements. Despite our knowledge of their advantages, plant-based vaccines remain unavailable for human use in both developing and industrialized countries. A leading, practical obstacle to their widespread use is producing plant-based vaccines that meet governmental regulatory requirements. Here, we report the first production according to current Good Manufacturing Practices of a rice-based vaccine, the cholera vaccine MucoRice-CTB, at an academic institution. To this end, we established specifications and methods for the master seed bank (MSB) of MucoRice-CTB, which was previously generated as a selection-marker-free line, evaluated its propagation, and given that the stored seeds must be renewed periodically. The production of MucoRice-CTB incorporated a closed hydroponic system for cultivating the transgenic plants, to minimize variations in expression and quality during vaccine manufacture. This type of molecular farming factory can be operated year-round, generating three harvests annually, and is cost- and production-effective. Rice was polished to a ratio of 95 % and then powdered to produce the MucoRice-CTB drug substance, and the identity, potency, and safety of the MucoRice-CTB product met pre-established release requirements. The formulation of MucoRice-CTB made by fine-powdering of drug substance and packaged in an aluminum pouch is being evaluated in a physician-initiated phase I study.

Good practice in social care for disabled adults and older people with severe and complex needs: evidence from a scoping review.

PubMed

Gridley, Kate; Brooks, Jenni; Glendinning, Caroline

2014-05-01

This article reports findings from a scoping review of the literature on good practice in social care for disabled adults and older people with severe and complex needs. Scoping reviews differ from systematic reviews, in that they aim to rapidly map relevant literature across an area of interest. This review formed part of a larger study to identify social care service models with characteristics desired by people with severe and complex needs and scope the evidence of effectiveness. Systematic database searches were conducted for literature published between January 1997 and February 2011 on good practice in UK social care services for three exemplar groups: young adults with life-limiting conditions; adults who had suffered a brain injury or spinal injury and had severe or complex needs; and older people with dementia and complex needs. Five thousand and ninety-eight potentially relevant records were identified through electronic searching and 51 by hand. Eighty-six papers were selected for inclusion, from which 29 studies of specific services were identified. However, only four of these evaluated a service model against a comparison group and only six reported any evidence of costs. Thirty-five papers advocated person-centred support for people with complex needs, but no well-supported evaluation evidence was found in favour of any particular approach to delivering this. The strongest evaluation evidence indicated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary specialist team for young adults; intensive case management for older people with advanced dementia; a specialist social worker with a budget for domiciliary care working with psycho-geriatric inpatients; and interprofessional training for community mental health professionals. The dearth of robust evaluation evidence identified through this review points to an urgent need for more rigorous evaluation of models of social care for disabled adults and older people with severe and complex needs. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of the activity of rheumatoid arthritis in clinical practice. Agreement between self-rated clinimetric evaluation and clinical evaluation with activity indexes: DAS28, CDAI and SDAI.

PubMed

Horta-Baas, Gabriel; Pérez Bolde-Hernández, Arturo; Hernández-Cabrera, María Fernanda; Vergara-Sánchez, Imelda; Romero-Figueroa, María Del Socorro

2017-10-11

To achieve control of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) it is necessary to be able to evaluate its activity. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) recommends for this purpose indexes of activity that can be performed by the patient (PAS-II and RAPID-3) and IA including medical evaluation with laboratory studies (DAS28 and SDAI) or without them (CDAI). The objective was to analyze the concordance between self-rated clinimetric evaluation and clinimetric evaluation performed by the physician. Analytical cross-sectional study in 126 patients with RA. The agreement was evaluated through the weighted κ coefficient and the Krippendorff's α coefficient. The PAS-II and RAPID-3 significantly correlated with all variables included in the core set of measures recommended by the ACR/EULAR. The agreement between PAS-II and CDAI-SDAI was good (κ: 0.6, α: 0.61-0.62), and moderate with DAS28-ESR (κ: 0.53, α: 0.56). The concordance between RAPID-3 and CDAI-SDAI was moderate (κ: 0.55-0.57, α: 0.50-0.51), and moderate with DAS28-ESR (κ: 0.55, α: 0.53). When categorizing the activity in remission/low activity vs. moderate/severe activity, the agreement was greater with the PAS-II (0.59 vs. 0.34; P=.012). The good concordance between PAS-II and SDAI supports their use in clinical practice, especially if biomarkers of inflammation or the possibility of joint count are not available. However, in order to recommend its routine application in clinical practice, it is necessary to perform longitudinal studies that assess its responsiveness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 110.5 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 110.5 Section...) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN MANUFACTURING, PACKING, OR HOLDING HUMAN FOOD General Provisions § 110.5 Current good manufacturing practice. (a) The criteria and...

A mixed methods approach to adapting health-related quality of life measures for use in routine oncology clinical practice.

PubMed

Harley, Clare; Takeuchi, Elena; Taylor, Sally; Keding, Ada; Absolom, Kate; Brown, Julia; Velikova, Galina

2012-04-01

The current study reviewed and adapted existing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments for use in routine clinical practice delivering outpatient chemotherapy for colorectal, breast and gynaecological cancers. 564 (288 gynaecological, 208 breast and 68 colorectal) outpatient consultations of 141 patients were audio-recorded and analysed to identify discussed issues. Issues were ranked from most to least commonly discussed within each disease group. Existing HRQoL instruments were evaluated against these lists and best fitting items entered into cancer-specific item banks. Item banks were evaluated during semi-structured interviews by twenty-one oncologists (13 consultants and 8 specialist registrars), four clinical nurse specialists and thirty patients, from breast, gynaecological and colorectal cancer practices. Pilot questionnaires were completed by 448 (145 breast, 148 gynaecological and 155 colorectal) patients attending outpatient clinics. Item selection and scale reliability was explored using descriptive data and psychometric methods alongside qualitative patient and clinician ratings. Each questionnaire includes five physical and three psychosocial function scales each with good internal consistency reliability (α > 0.70) plus disease-specific individual-symptom items identified as useful in clinical practice. Three cancer-specific health-related quality of life measures were developed for use in routine clinical practice. Initial analyses suggest good clinical utility and acceptable psychometric properties for the new instruments.

40 CFR 79.60 - Good laboratory practices (GLP) standards for inhalation exposure health effects testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... accordance with the provisions of this section, EPA may consider such data insufficient to evaluate the... to the following information: (A) A descriptive title and statement of the purpose of the study. (B...

40 CFR 79.60 - Good laboratory practices (GLP) standards for inhalation exposure health effects testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... accordance with the provisions of this section, EPA may consider such data insufficient to evaluate the... to the following information: (A) A descriptive title and statement of the purpose of the study. (B...

40 CFR 79.60 - Good laboratory practices (GLP) standards for inhalation exposure health effects testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... accordance with the provisions of this section, EPA may consider such data insufficient to evaluate the... to the following information: (A) A descriptive title and statement of the purpose of the study. (B...

40 CFR 79.60 - Good laboratory practices (GLP) standards for inhalation exposure health effects testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... accordance with the provisions of this section, EPA may consider such data insufficient to evaluate the... to the following information: (A) A descriptive title and statement of the purpose of the study. (B...

40 CFR 79.60 - Good laboratory practices (GLP) standards for inhalation exposure health effects testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... accordance with the provisions of this section, EPA may consider such data insufficient to evaluate the... to the following information: (A) A descriptive title and statement of the purpose of the study. (B...

76 FR 47593 - Guidance for Small Business Entities on Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Positron Emission...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-05

...] Guidance for Small Business Entities on Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Positron Emission... entitled ``PET Drugs--Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP); Small Entity Compliance Guide.'' FDA has... consistent with FDA's good guidance practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The guidance represents the Agency...

21 CFR 225.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 225.1 Section...) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR MEDICATED FEEDS General Provisions § 225.1 Current good manufacturing practice. (a) Section 501(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act...

21 CFR 210.1 - Status of current good manufacturing practice regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Status of current good manufacturing practice... SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN MANUFACTURING, PROCESSING, PACKING, OR HOLDING OF DRUGS; GENERAL § 210.1 Status of current good manufacturing practice regulations...

21 CFR 226.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 226.1 Section...) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR TYPE A MEDICATED ARTICLES General Provisions § 226.1 Current good manufacturing practice. (a) The criteria in §§ 226.10 through 226.115, inclusive...

Prepharmacy predictors of success in pharmacy school: grade point averages, pharmacy college admissions test, communication abilities, and critical thinking skills.

PubMed

Allen, D D; Bond, C A

2001-07-01

Good admissions decisions are essential for identifying successful students and good practitioners. Various parameters have been shown to have predictive power for academic success. Previous academic performance, the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT), and specific prepharmacy courses have been suggested as academic performance indicators. However, critical thinking abilities have not been evaluated. We evaluated the connection between academic success and each of the following predictive parameters: the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) score, PCAT score, interview score, overall academic performance prior to admission at a pharmacy school, and performance in specific prepharmacy courses. We confirmed previous reports but demonstrated intriguing results in predicting practice-based skills. Critical thinking skills predict practice-based course success. Also, the CCTST and PCAT scores (Pearson correlation [pc] = 0.448, p < 0.001) were closely related in our students. The strongest predictors of practice-related courses and clerkship success were PCAT (pc=0.237, p<0.001) and CCTST (pc = 0.201, p < 0.001). These findings and other analyses suggest that PCAT may predict critical thinking skills in pharmacy practice courses and clerkships. Further study is needed to confirm this finding and determine which PCAT components predict critical thinking abilities.

Validity and reliability of a novel measure of activity performance and participation.

PubMed

Murgatroyd, Phil; Karimi, Leila

2016-01-01

To develop and evaluate an innovative clinician-rated measure, which produces global numerical ratings of activity performance and participation. Repeated measures study with 48 community-dwelling participants investigating clinical sensibility, comprehensiveness, practicality, inter-rater reliability, responsiveness, sensitivity and concurrent validity with Barthel Index. Important clinimetric characteristics including comprehensiveness and ease of use were rated >8/10 by clinicians. Inter-rater reliability was excellent on the summary scores (intraclass correlation of 0.95-0.98). There was good evidence that the new outcome measure distinguished between known high and low functional scoring groups, including both responsiveness to change and sensitivity at the same time point in numerous tests. Concurrent validity with the Barthel Index was fair to high (Spearman Rank Order Correlation 0.32-0.85, p > 0.05). The new measure's summary scores were nearly twice as responsive to change compared with the Barthel Index. Other more detailed data could also be generated by the new measure. The Activity Performance Measure is an innovative outcome instrument that showed good clinimetric qualities in this initial study. Some of the results were strong, given the sample size, and further trial and evaluation is appropriate. Implications for Rehabilitation The Activity Performance Measure is an innovative outcome measure covering activity performance and participation. In an initial evaluation, it showed good clinimetric qualities including responsiveness to change, sensitivity, practicality, clinical sensibility, item coverage, inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity with the Barthel Index. Further trial and evaluation is appropriate.

Six Criteria for Survey Sample Design Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lin; Fan, Xitao

The popularity of the sample survey in educational research makes it necessary for consumers to tell a good study from a poor one. Several sources were identified that gave advice on how to evaluate a sample design. The sources are either limited or too extensive to use in a practical sense. The purpose of this paper is to recommend six important…

Evaluating the Skills Strategy through a Graduate Certificate in Management: An Experiential Learning Theory Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Michael J. R.; Gheorghiu, Lidia

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how a UK business school is addressing the Government's skills strategy through its Graduate Certificate in Management, and to identify good practice and development needs and to clarify how the Graduate Certificate is adapting to the needs of Generation X and Millennial students. The paper also…

How Useful Are Our Models? Pre-Service and Practicing Teacher Evaluations of Technology Integration Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimmons, Royce; Hall, Cassidy

2018-01-01

We report on a survey of K-12 teachers and teacher candidates wherein participants evaluated known models (e.g., TPACK, SAMR, RAT, TIP) and provided insight on what makes a model valuable for them in the classroom. Results indicated that: (1) technology integration should be coupled with good theory to be effective, (2) classroom experience did…

Good practice statements on safe laboratory testing: A mixed methods study by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care.

PubMed

Bowie, Paul; Forrest, Eleanor; Price, Julie; Verstappen, Wim; Cunningham, David; Halley, Lyn; Grant, Suzanne; Kelly, Moya; Mckay, John

2015-09-01

The systems-based management of laboratory test ordering and results handling is a known source of error in primary care settings worldwide. The consequences are wide-ranging for patients (e.g. avoidable harm or poor care experience), general practitioners (e.g. delayed clinical decision making and potential medico-legal implications) and the primary care organization (e.g. increased allocation of resources to problem-solve and dealing with complaints). Guidance is required to assist care teams to minimize associated risks and improve patient safety. To identify, develop and build expert consensus on 'good practice' guidance statements to inform the implementation of safe systems for ordering laboratory tests and managing results in European primary care settings. Mixed methods studies were undertaken in the UK and Ireland, and the findings were triangulated to develop 'good practice' statements. Expert consensus was then sought on the findings at the wider European level via a Delphi group meeting during 2013. We based consensus on 10 safety domains and developed 77 related 'good practice' statements (≥ 80% agreement levels) judged to be essential to creating safety and minimizing risks in laboratory test ordering and subsequent results handling systems in international primary care. Guidance was developed for improving patient safety in this important area of primary care practice. We need to consider how this guidance can be made accessible to frontline care teams, utilized by clinical educators and improvement advisers, implemented by decision makers and evaluated to determine acceptability, feasibility and impacts on patient safety.

21 CFR 212.2 - What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What is current good manufacturing practice for... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY DRUGS (Eff. 12-12-2011) General Provisions § 212.2 What is current good manufacturing practice for...

21 CFR 1271.150 - Current good tissue practice requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good tissue practice requirements. 1271... HUMAN CELLS, TISSUES, AND CELLULAR AND TISSUE-BASED PRODUCTS Current Good Tissue Practice § 1271.150 Current good tissue practice requirements. (a) General. This subpart D and subpart C of this part set...

HIV/AIDS knowledge and its implications on dentists

PubMed Central

Prabhu, Anand; Rao, Arun Prasad; Reddy, Venugopal; Krishnakumar, Ramalingam; Thayumanavan, Shanmugam; Swathi, Silla Swarna

2014-01-01

Aims and Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge of dentists regarding human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Materials and Methods: A structured questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge, fears, and attitudes was self administered to 102 dentists. The data was then evaluated using Chi-square test and a P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results and Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that dentists in private practice and affiliated with teaching institutions, had better knowledge than their counterparts who were into private practice alone. It was concluded that despite good knowledge many of the dentists expressed some hesitation in treating patients with HIV/AIDS. PMID:25097403

[Evaluation of social medicine expert assessment].

PubMed

Piechowiak, H

1989-10-01

There are only few scientific publications in literature on medical expertising in social medicine. Although this deficit may be explained by several facts, it cannot be justified. Evaluation is a systematic set of data collection and analysis activities undertaken to place social practice on a more rational basis, i.e. greater efficiency and justice. These aims also hold good for social medicine. Evaluation, however, is only the first step within a broader research programme for quality control and quality improvement efforts, which can be successfully performed only in cooperation with the social insurance institutions. Within their medical services these institutions should provide the organisational prerequisites to enable qualified scientific research in practical social medicine.

Promoting Good Clinical Laboratory Practices and Laboratory Accreditation to Support Clinical Trials in Sub-Saharan Africa

PubMed Central

Shott, Joseph P.; Saye, Renion; Diakité, Moussa L.; Sanogo, Sintry; Dembele, Moussa B.; Keita, Sekouba; Nagel, Mary C.; Ellis, Ruth D.; Aebig, Joan A.; Diallo, Dapa A.; Doumbo, Ogobara K.

2012-01-01

Laboratory capacity in the developing world frequently lacks quality management systems (QMS) such as good clinical laboratory practices, proper safety precautions, and adequate facilities; impacting the ability to conduct biomedical research where it is needed most. As the regulatory climate changes globally, higher quality laboratory support is needed to protect study volunteers and to accurately assess biological parameters. The University of Bamako and its partners have undertaken a comprehensive QMS plan to improve quality and productivity using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute standards and guidelines. The clinical laboratory passed the College of American Pathologists inspection in April 2010, and received full accreditation in June 2010. Our efforts to implement high-quality standards have been valuable for evaluating safety and immunogenicity of malaria vaccine candidates in Mali. Other disease-specific research groups in resource-limited settings may benefit by incorporating similar training initiatives, QMS methods, and continual improvement practices to ensure best practices. PMID:22492138

[The influence of professional degree on the knowledge of HIV, HBV and HCV infections in dentistry practice].

PubMed

Vitale, F; Di Benedetto, M A; Casuccio, A; Firenze, A; Calandra, G; Ballarò, F; Romano, N

2005-01-01

The knowledge and preventive practices toward the risk of infection with HIV, HBV and HCV were evaluated in a sample of 254 dentists and odontostomatologies in Palermo, by answering to an anonymous questionnaire sent by mail. Overall, most of the participants showed a good knowledge of the transmission pattern of blood-borne viruses as well as good practice for personal hygiene (washing of hands, routine use of gloves, etc.). However 80.8% answered to recap needles after use and more than 40% have had at least one needle injury during the last year in their occupational setting. Moreover, nearly 24% of the interviewed declared to have not made vaccination against Hepatitis B virus infection. Statistical analysis showed a significant correlation between better knowledge, safer practice and different teaching training suggesting that odontostomatology degree might be more appropriate for a better training in preventive medicine for blood borne pathogens. Data also suggest the need of continuous worker education to reduce occupational blood exposures in dentistry.

21 CFR 26.32 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN... bodies (CAB's) assessed to be equivalent: (1) Under the U.S. system, surveillance/postmarket and initial/preapproval inspection reports; (2) Under the U.S. system, premarket (510(k)) product evaluation reports; (3...

21 CFR 26.69 - Monitoring of conformity assessment bodies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN... cause to maintain, ongoing surveillance over their CAB's by means of regular audit or assessment; (b...

Continuing Education in Postmodernity: Four Semantic Tensions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagnall, Richard G.

1994-01-01

Describes four tensions in postmodern continuing education practice: aggregation versus fragmentation, consistency versus flexibility, description versus evaluation, and associationality versus immediacy. Explains the two opposing inclinations in these concepts: there are good reasons following each one, but doing so limits the possibility of…

From evidence to action

PubMed Central

Verheyen, Cees CPM; Kerkhoffs, Gino M; Bhandari, Mohit; Schünemann, Holger J

2009-01-01

ABSTRACT Good guidelines will help us to take evidence into practice. In a survey among Dutch orthopedic surgeons, development and use of evidence-based guidelines was perceived as one of the best ways of moving from opinion-based to evidence-based orthopedic practice. The increasing number of guidelines means that knowing how to make a critical appraisal of guidelines is now a key part of every surgeon’s life. This is particularly true because guidelines use varying systems to judge the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations. In this manuscript we discuss what a guideline is, where we can find guidelines, how to evaluate the quality of guidelines, and finally provide an example on the different steps of guideline development. Thus, we show that good guidelines are a summary of the best available evidence and that they provide a graded recommendation to help surgeons in evidence-based practice. PMID:19234892

Emergency management training program: Guide to good practice

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

Not Available

1991-07-01

The Emergency Management Training Program Guide to Good Practice is a project of the Training Resources and Data Exchange (TRADE) Emergency Management Issues Special Interest Group (EMI SIG). EMI SIG members expressed interest in a resource to assist in development of a comprehensive emergency management training program. This publication provides guidelines, methods, and materials for EMI SIG members to use, assisting in complete and effective emergency management programs. The purposes of the Emergency Management Training Program Guide to Good Practice are: Provide guidance in the development and management of Emergency Management (EM) training programs; Assist EM trainers to incorporate componentsmore » of the DOE Emergency Management System philosophy of planning, preparedness, readiness assurance, and response into EM training programs; Help EM training managers meet EM training requirements and conditions established by current regulations and policies; Supplement other TRADE EMI SIG documents and complement individual facility training documents. This program is designed for emergency management personnel who are responsible for providing or overseeing EM training but who do not necessarily possess expertise in developing training. It provides good practices from the manager's point of view on how to produce, administer, and document facility EM training programs in the spirit of the DOE EM system philosophy. Basic guidance is also included for personnel who design, develop, deliver, and/or evaluate EM training programs or parts. This guidance includes key points of EM training programs and identifies other documents that contain useful and/or more detailed training information.« less

Emergency management training program: Guide to good practice

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

Not Available

1991-07-01

The Emergency Management Training Program Guide to Good Practice is a project of the Training Resources and Data Exchange (TRADE) Emergency Management Issues Special Interest Group (EMI SIG). EMI SIG members expressed interest in a resource to assist in development of a comprehensive emergency management training program. This publication provides guidelines, methods, and materials for EMI SIG members to use, assisting in complete and effective emergency management programs. The purposes of the Emergency Management Training Program Guide to Good Practice are: Provide guidance in the development and management of Emergency Management (EM) training programs; Assist EM trainers to incorporate componentsmore » of the DOE Emergency Management System philosophy of planning, preparedness, readiness assurance, and response into EM training programs; Help EM training managers meet EM training requirements and conditions established by current regulations and policies; Supplement other TRADE EMI SIG documents and complement individual facility training documents. This program is designed for emergency management personnel who are responsible for providing or overseeing EM training but who do not necessarily possess expertise in developing training. It provides good practices from the manager`s point of view on how to produce, administer, and document facility EM training programs in the spirit of the DOE EM system philosophy. Basic guidance is also included for personnel who design, develop, deliver, and/or evaluate EM training programs or parts. This guidance includes key points of EM training programs and identifies other documents that contain useful and/or more detailed training information.« less

Development of a cost-effectiveness analysis of leafy green marketing agreement irrigation water provisions.

PubMed

Jensen, Helen H; Pouliot, Sébastien; Wang, Tong; Jay-Russell, Michele T

2014-06-01

An analysis of the effectiveness of meeting the irrigation water provisions of the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) relative to its costs provides an approach to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of good agricultural practices that uses available data. A case example for lettuce is used to evaluate data requirements and provide a methodological example to determine the cost-effectiveness of the LGMA water quality provision. Both cost and field data on pathogen or indicator bacterial levels are difficult and expensive to obtain prospectively. Therefore, methods to use existing field and experimental data are required. Based on data from current literature and experimental studies, we calculate a cost-efficiency ratio that expresses the reduction in E. coli concentration per dollar expenditure on testing of irrigation water. With appropriate data, the same type of analysis can be extended to soil amendments and other practices and to evaluation of public benefits of practices used in production. Careful use of existing and experimental data can lead to evaluation of an expanded set of practices.

Emerging Good Practices for Transforming Value Assessment: Patients' Voices, Patients' Values.

PubMed

Perfetto, Eleanor M; Harris, Jason; Mullins, C Daniel; dosReis, Susan

2018-04-01

Patient engagement is a transformative strategy for improving value assessment. US value framework developers have increased engagement activities, but more needs to be learned about how to best achieve meaningful patient engagement in value assessment. The objective was to glean good practices in patient engagement emerging from patient community experiences, to be used in value assessment. The National Health Council Value Workgroup conducted a survey and held a focus group with its member advocacy organizations to gather experiences with value framework developers and views on emerging good practices. Ten of 13 organizations completed the survey; reporting 13 interactions with four framework developers. Most rated experiences as "good" to "very good." Emerging good practices included (1) engage early; (2) engage a range of patients; (3) leverage patient-provided information, data resources, and outreach mechanisms; (4) be transparent; and (5) appreciate and accommodate resource constraints. Twelve of 13 organizations participated in the focus group, and this produced 30 emerging good practices in four areas: (1) timing; (2) methodology and data; (3) partnering; and (4) characterizing engagement. Patient engagement was limited in early development of value frameworks but has increased in the past few years. Patient groups report positive experiences that can serve as emerging good practices. These groups also reported experienced challenges in their interactions and recommended good practices to mitigate those challenges. The growing pool of patient engagement experiences can be translated into good practices to advance a patient-centered, value-driven health care ecosystem. Lessons learned from these early experiences can help establish recommend emerging good practices that can eventually result in best practices and standards in the field. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Analysis of the model OPM3® application and results for health area].

PubMed

Augusto Dos Santos, Luis; de Fátima Marin, Heimar

2011-01-01

This research sought to analyze if a questionnaire model created by an international community of project management is applicable to health organizations. The model OPM3 ® (Organizational Project Management Maturity Model) was created in order that organizations of any area or size can identify the presence or absence of good management practices. The aim of applying this model is to always evaluate the organization and not the interviewee. In this paper, one presents the results of employing this model in an organization that has information technology products and services applied to health area. This study verified that the model is rapidly applicable and that the analyzed organization has an expressive number of good practices.

Basic echocardiography for undergraduate students: a comparison of different peer-teaching approaches.

PubMed

Gradl-Dietsch, G; Menon, A K; Gürsel, A; Götzenich, A; Hatam, N; Aljalloud, A; Schrading, S; Hölzl, F; Knobe, M

2018-02-01

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of different teaching interventions in a peer-teaching environment on basic echocardiography skills and to examine the influence of gender on learning outcomes. We randomly assigned 79 s year medical students (55 women, 24 men) to one of four groups: peer teaching (PT), peer teaching using Peyton's four-step approach (PPT), team based learning (TBL) and video-based learning (VBL). All groups received theoretical and practical hands-on training according to the different approaches. Using a pre-post-design we assessed differences in theoretical knowledge [multiple choice (MC) exam], practical skills (Objective Structured Practical Examination, OSPE) and evaluation results with respect to gender. There was a significant gain in theoretical knowledge for all students. There were no relevant differences between the four groups regarding the MC exam and OSPE results. The majority of students achieved good or very good results. Acceptance of the peer-teaching concept was moderate and all students preferred medical experts to peer tutors even though the overall rating of the instructors was fairly good. Students in the Video group would have preferred a different training method. There was no significant effect of gender on evaluation results. Using different peer-teaching concepts proved to be effective in teaching basic echocardiography. Gender does not seem to have an impact on effectiveness of the instructional approach. Qualitative analysis revealed limited acceptance of peer teaching and especially of video-based instruction.

Towards an evaluation framework for information quality management (IQM) practices for health information systems--evaluation criteria for effective IQM practices.

PubMed

Mohammed, Siti Asma; Yusof, Maryati Mohd

2013-04-01

Poor information quality (IQ) must be understood as a business problem rather than systems problem. In health care organization, what is required is an effective quality management that continuously manages and reviews the factors influencing IQ in health information systems (HIS) so as to achieve the desired outcomes. Hence, in order to understand the issues of information quality management (IQM) practices in health care organizations, a more holistic evaluation study should be undertaken to investigate the IQM practices in health care organizations. It is the aim of this paper to identify the significant evaluation criteria that influence the production of good IQ in HIS. Six selected frameworks and best practices both from health informatics and information systems literature have been reviewed to identify the evaluation criteria from the perspective of human, organizational and technological factors. From the review, it was found that human and organization factors are of greater significance in influencing HIS IQ. Our review depicts that there is still shortage in finding a comprehensive IQM evaluation framework. Thus, the criteria from the frameworks reviewed can be used in combination for more comprehensive evaluation criteria. Integrated IQM evaluation criteria for HIS are then proposed in this study. Poor IQ is the result of complex interdependency within sociotechnical factors in health care organization and lack of formal and structured IQM practices. Thus, a feedback mechanism such as evaluation is needed to understand the issues in depth in the future. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Long-term prospective teaching effectivity of practical skills training and a first OSCE in cranio maxillofacial surgery for dental students.

PubMed

Landes, Constantin A; Hoefer, Sebastian; Schuebel, Florian; Ballon, Alexander; Teiler, Anna; Tran, Andreas; Weber, Roxane; Walcher, Felix; Sader, Robert

2014-07-01

Basic skills in oral/CMF surgery should be taught effectively to dental students as surgical skills training is traditionally under-represented in the dental curriculum compared to its later need in daily clinical practice. Rigid curricular time frames and prospectively condensed professional education foster new effective teaching and examination formats. Transmitting and assessing clinical competence objectively (independent of subjective bias), reliably (repeatable, inter-rater consistency) and valid (representative, structured task selection) was intended and evaluated in oral/CMF surgery skills acquisition starting in summer 2009. A small-group practical skills training (PST) day initiated a one-week practical training course, covering previously formulated learning objectives. An objective structured clinical evaluation (OSCE) was held at the end of each semester. Theoretical background knowledge and clinical skills should have to be memorized within a representative number of practical tasks (test stations). A first semester (26 students) used classical practical training alone as controls, the following semesters (171 students) had PST, considered as a study group. All 197 students were assessed with OSCE's over a 3-year period. An instructor held PST based on presentations, videos and practical training, including mannequins, with pairs of students. This included history taking, communication and interpretation of laboratory/image diagnostics, structured clinical facial examination, fracture diagnosis, venipuncture, suturing, biopsy and wire loops on pig jaws for manual and clinical skills, which were later incorporated in OSCE stations. OSCE average results increased from 63.3 ± 9.7% before and to 75.5 ± 10% after the inclusion of PST (p < 0.05). Knowledge diffusion between sittings on the same test date and between consecutive semesters was insignificant. Students and faculty rated their learning/teaching experience "very good" to "good". PST was effective in optimizing clinical skills as evaluated by OSCE. Copyright © 2013 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 26.13 - Transmission of postapproval inspection reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... SERVICES GENERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Transmission of postapproval inspection reports...

21 CFR 26.14 - Transmission of preapproval inspection reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... GENERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Transmission of preapproval inspection reports. 26...

21 CFR 26.35 - Length and purpose of transition period.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN... bodies (CAB's) of the other party with respect to the ability to perform quality system and product...

DOE handbook: Guide to good practices for training and qualification of maintenance personnel

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

NONE

1996-03-01

The purpose of this Handbook is to provide contractor training organizations with information that can be used to verify the adequacy of and/or modify existing maintenance training programs, or to develop new training programs. This guide, used in conjunction with facility-specific job analyses, provides a framework for training and qualification programs for maintenance personnel at DOE reactor and nonreactor nuclear facilities. Recommendations for qualification are made in four areas: education, experience, physical attributes, and training. The functional positions of maintenance mechanic, electrician, and instrumentation and control technician are covered by this guide. Sufficient common knowledge and skills were found tomore » include the three disciplines in one guide to good practices. Contents include: qualifications; on-the-job training; trainee evaluation; continuing training; training effectiveness evaluation; and program records. Appendices are included which relate to: administrative training; industrial safety training; fundamentals training; tools and equipment training; facility systems and component knowledge training; facility systems and component skills training; and specialized skills training.« less

Evaluation of Iron Loss in Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with Consideration of Rotational Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Lei; Sanada, Masayuki; Morimoto, Shigeo; Takeda, Yoji; Kaido, Chikara; Wakisaka, Takeaki

Loss evaluation is an important issue in the design of electrical machines. Due to the complicate structure and flux distribution, it is difficult to predict the iron loss in the machines exactly. This paper studies the iron loss in interior permanent magnet synchronous motors based on the finite element method. The iron loss test data of core material are used in the fitting of the hysteresis and eddy current loss constants. For motors in practical operation, additional iron losses due to the appearance of rotation of flux density vector and harmonic flux density distribution makes the calculation data deviates from the measured ones. Revision is made to account for these excess iron losses which exist in the practical operating condition. Calculation results show good consistence with the experimental ones. The proposed method provides a possible way to predict the iron loss of the electrical machine with good precision, and may be helpful in the selection of the core material which is best suitable for a certain machine.

The Practice of Health Program Evaluation.

PubMed

Lewis, Sarah R

2017-11-01

The Practice of Health Program Evaluation provides an overview of the evaluation process for public health programs while diving deeper to address select advanced concepts and techniques. The book unfolds evaluation as a three-phased process consisting of identification of evaluation questions, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of results and recommendations. The text covers research design, sampling methods, as well as quantitative and qualitative approaches. Types of evaluation are also discussed, including economic assessment and systems research as relative newcomers. Aspects critical to conducting a successful evaluation regardless of type or research design are emphasized, such as stakeholder engagement, validity and reliability, and adoption of sound recommendations. The book encourages evaluators to document their approach by developing an evaluation plan, a data analysis plan, and a dissemination plan, in order to help build consensus throughout the process. The evaluative text offers a good bird's-eye view of the evaluation process, while offering guidance for evaluation experts on how to navigate political waters and advocate for their findings to help affect change.

Applying TOGAF for e-government implementation based on service oriented architecture methodology towards good government governance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodijah, A.; Sundari, S.; Nugraha, A. C.

2018-05-01

As a Local Government Agencies who perform public services, General Government Office already has utilized Reporting Information System of Local Government Implementation (E-LPPD). However, E-LPPD has upgrade limitation for the integration processes that cannot accommodate General Government Offices’ needs in order to achieve Good Government Governance (GGG), while success stories of the ultimate goal of e-government implementation requires good governance practices. Currently, citizen demand public services as private sector do, which needs service innovation by utilizing the legacy system as a service based e-government implementation, while Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to redefine a business processes as a set of IT enabled services and Enterprise Architecture from the Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) as a comprehensive approach in redefining business processes as service innovation towards GGG. This paper takes a case study on Performance Evaluation of Local Government Implementation (EKPPD) system on General Government Office. The results show that TOGAF will guide the development of integrated business processes of EKPPD system that fits good governance practices to attain GGG with SOA methodology as technical approach.

Hand hygiene technique quality evaluation in nursing and medicine students of two academic courses 1

PubMed Central

Škodová, Manuela; Gimeno-Benítez, Alfredo; Martínez-Redondo, Elena; Morán-Cortés, Juan Francisco; Jiménez-Romano, Ramona; Gimeno-Ortiz, Alfredo

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective: because they are health professionals, nursing and medical students' hands during internships can function as a transmission vehicle for hospital-acquired infections. Method: a descriptive study with nursing and medical degree students on the quality of the hand hygiene technique, which was assessed via a visual test using a hydroalcoholic solution marked with fluorescence and an ultraviolet lamp. Results: 546 students were assessed, 73.8% from medicine and 26.2% from nursing. The area of the hand with a proper antiseptic distribution was the palm (92.9%); areas not properly scrubbed were the thumbs (55.1%). 24.7% was very good in both hands, 29.8% was good, 25.1% was fair, and 20.3% was poor. The worst assessed were the male, nursing and first year students. There were no significant differences in the age groups. Conclusions: hand hygiene technique is not applied efficiently. Education plays a key role in setting a good practice base in hand hygiene, theoretical knowledge, and in skill development, as well as good practice reinforcement. PMID:26444174

Good practices in Local Government - A first overview of Portuguese reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carvalhosa, P.; Portela, F.; Machado, J.; Santos, M. F.; Abelha, A.

2017-03-01

Good practices in eGov are being increasingly used by Local Governments being that it is considered by them as an advantage. The main goal is providing to the town hall a differentiation point and approximate their services to the citizens. For this, it is necessary to define and apply innovative strategies in order to increase the use of services by the citizens. This paper is framed in a research work and it presents a first overview of the existing good practices in eGov, taking in consideration the Portuguese’s reality. The good practices identified were distinguished with many awards and with a positive response from the target audience. The use of digital marketing strategies aims to increase their membership and coming closer the municipalities of its citizens through the dissemination of the good practices. At this moment the data collected are almost exclusively of good practice in Portugal, however some international practices were also identified. As a result of this study the community has a list of good practices that can be applied in their municipalities.

Why Good Teaching Evaluations May Reward Bad Teaching: On Grade Inflation and Other Unintended Consequences of Student Evaluations.

PubMed

Stroebe, Wolfgang

2016-11-01

In this article, I address the paradox that university grade point averages have increased for decades, whereas the time students invest in their studies has decreased. I argue that one major contributor to this paradox is grading leniency, encouraged by the practice of university administrators to base important personnel decisions on student evaluations of teaching. Grading leniency creates strong incentives for instructors to teach in ways that would result in good student evaluations. Because many instructors believe that the average student prefers courses that are entertaining, require little work, and result in high grades, they feel under pressure to conform to those expectations. Evidence is presented that the positive association between student grades and their evaluation of teaching reflects a bias rather than teaching effectiveness. If good teaching evaluations reflected improved student learning due to effective teaching, they should be positively related to the grades received in subsequent courses that build on knowledge gained in the previous course. Findings that teaching evaluations of concurrent courses, though positively correlated with concurrent grades, are negatively related to student performance in subsequent courses are more consistent with the assumption that concurrent evaluations are the result of lenient grading rather than effective teaching. Policy implications are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

Proposal and Evaluation of Management Method for College Mechatronics Education Applying the Project Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ando, Yoshinobu; Eguchi, Yuya; Mizukawa, Makoto

In this research, we proposed and evaluated a management method of college mechatronics education. We applied the project management to college mechatronics education. We practiced our management method to the seminar “Microcomputer Seminar” for 3rd grade students who belong to Department of Electrical Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology. We succeeded in management of Microcomputer Seminar in 2006. We obtained the good evaluation for our management method by means of questionnaire.

Good coercion: patients' moral evaluation of coercion in mental health care.

PubMed

Lorem, Geir F; Hem, Marit H; Molewijk, Bert

2015-06-01

The use of coercion in mental health care is not self-evident and requires moral justification. A joint understanding is difficult to achieve, because patients and health professionals often evaluate coercion differently. The present study aims to discuss patients' 'moral' evaluation of coercion. We believe that such a focus can form the basis for a better and more differentiated understanding of how we evaluate coercion. This is a qualitative study based on participant observation and interviews with patients. In order to focus specifically on the moral evaluation of coercion, we looked within patients' narratives to examine whether we could differentiate between how they experienced coercion and how they morally evaluated its use, and how they envision/describe good coercion. We found that patients differentiated implicitly between experiences and moral evaluation. The findings have been ordered into three types of reactions: agreeing and accepting, fighting or resisting, and resignation. Further reflection upon patients' positive and negative moral evaluations of coercion resulted in the formulation of different concrete elements at three levels: threshold elements, process elements, and empathic elements. These elements helped us to understand what these patients considered 'good coercion'. The implications are that good clinical practice cannot be separated from the formal, moral evaluation of coercion. A differentiated moral understanding of coercion can form the basis for better and more sensitive communication about coercion among all those involved. A more respectful dialogue on the moral evaluation of coercion might also raise awareness during both the decision-making process and the actual practising of coercion. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Content validity--establishing and reporting the evidence in newly developed patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments for medical product evaluation: ISPOR PRO good research practices task force report: part 1--eliciting concepts for a new PRO instrument.

PubMed

Patrick, Donald L; Burke, Laurie B; Gwaltney, Chad J; Leidy, Nancy Kline; Martin, Mona L; Molsen, Elizabeth; Ring, Lena

2011-12-01

The importance of content validity in developing patient reported outcomes (PRO) instruments is stressed by both the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Content validity is the extent to which an instrument measures the important aspects of concepts that developers or users purport it to assess. A PRO instrument measures the concepts most significant and relevant to a patient's condition and its treatment. For PRO instruments, items and domains as reflected in the scores of an instrument should be important to the target population and comprehensive with respect to patient concerns. Documentation of target population input in item generation, as well as evaluation of patient understanding through cognitive interviewing, can provide the evidence for content validity. Developing content for, and assessing respondent understanding of, newly developed PRO instruments for medical product evaluation will be discussed in this two-part ISPOR PRO Good Research Practices Task Force Report. Topics include the methods for generating items, documenting item development, coding of qualitative data from item generation, cognitive interviewing, and tracking item development through the various stages of research and preparing this tracking for submission to regulatory agencies. Part 1 covers elicitation of key concepts using qualitative focus groups and/or interviews to inform content and structure of a new PRO instrument. Part 2 covers the instrument development process, the assessment of patient understanding of the draft instrument using cognitive interviews and steps for instrument revision. The two parts are meant to be read together. They are intended to offer suggestions for good practices in planning, executing, and documenting qualitative studies that are used to support the content validity of PRO instruments to be used in medical product evaluation. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Effect of doctor-patient communication education on oral clinical practice].

PubMed

Wang, Yi; Tang, Yu; He, Yan; Zhu, Ya-qin

2012-08-01

To evaluate the effect of doctor-patient communication education on dental clinical practice. The process of 61 dental interns' clinical practice was divided into two stages. The dental interns were taught with traditional teaching method in the first stage. Doctor-patient communication and communication skill training were added to the second stage. Scale of medical student's doctor-patient communication behavior was used to evaluate the dental interns' behavior by themselves after two stages. The SEGUE frame work was used to evaluate the dental interns' behavior by teachers after two stages. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 13.0 software package. The result of scale of medical student's doctor-patient communication behavior was analyzed using Fisher exact test or Chi-square test. The score of the SEGUE frame work was analyzed using Student's t test. The result of Scale of medical student's doctor-patient communication behavior showed only 37.71% of dental interns could establish good doctor-patient relationship in the first stage. After doctor-patient communication and communication skill training, the percentage became 75.4%. The result of the SEGUE frame work showed the score was raised from 16.066±3.308 to 21.867±2.456, and a significant difference was found between the two stages. Doctor-Patient communication education can improve dental interns' communication skills and help to establish a good doctor-patient relationship.

Estimating the harms and benefits of prostate cancer screening as used in common practice versus recommended good practice: A microsimulation screening analysis.

PubMed

Carlsson, Sigrid V; de Carvalho, Tiago M; Roobol, Monique J; Hugosson, Jonas; Auvinen, Anssi; Kwiatkowski, Maciej; Villers, Arnauld; Zappa, Marco; Nelen, Vera; Páez, Alvaro; Eastham, James A; Lilja, Hans; de Koning, Harry J; Vickers, Andrew J; Heijnsdijk, Eveline A M

2016-11-15

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and concomitant treatment can be implemented in several ways. The authors investigated how the net benefit of PSA screening varies between common practice versus "good practice." Microsimulation screening analysis (MISCAN) was used to evaluate the effect on quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) if 4 recommendations were followed: limited screening in older men, selective biopsy in men with elevated PSA, active surveillance for low-risk tumors, and treatment preferentially delivered at high-volume centers. Outcomes were compared with a base model in which annual screening started at ages 55 to 69 years and were simulated using data from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. In terms of QALYs gained compared with no screening, for 1000 screened men who were followed over their lifetime, recommended good practice led to 73 life-years (LYs) and 74 QALYs gained compared with 73 LYs and 56 QALYs for the base model. In contrast, common practice led to 78 LYs gained but only 19 QALYs gained, for a greater than 75% relative reduction in QALYs gained from unadjusted LYs gained. The poor outcomes for common practice were influenced predominantly by the use of aggressive treatment for men with low-risk disease, and PSA testing in older men also strongly reduced potential QALY gains. Commonly used PSA screening and treatment practices are associated with little net benefit. Following a few straightforward clinical recommendations, particularly greater use of active surveillance for low-risk disease and reducing screening in older men, would lead to an almost 4-fold increase in the net benefit of prostate cancer screening. Cancer 2016;122:3386-3393. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Securing the Adoption of Good Practice in Scotland's Colleges. A Report by HM Inspectors of Education for the Scottish Funding Council

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, 2006

2006-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe the main mechanisms currently in use in Scotland's colleges to ensure that the adoption of good practice actually happens. It investigates how colleges identify and promote good practice in their own institutions; how they develop strategies and processes to ensure good practice is shared, adopted and…

From actors to authors: a first account about the involvement of patients in the informed consent governance of a major Italian translational research hospital.

PubMed

Casati, Sara; Monti, Paolo; Bonino, Ferruccio

2010-01-01

From 2007 to 2009 Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, one of the major public research hospitals in Italy, has invested on a participatory action to promote a good practice of informed consent. The project focused on the improvement and innovation of informed consent considered as a participated act through the involvement of all the actors at stake. The main purpose was to improve the informative practices through the participatory innovation of institutional and organizational elements as conditions of possibility. Therefore the project has pursued the involvement of managers, healthcare professionals, patients and their associations in the institutional governance of informed consent. The involvement of citizens and patients within the whole process meant to put them in charge not just as actors or final evaluators of a good practice, but as co-authors in defining standards, tools and conditions for a good practice. Several actions were taken, including a phase of analysis which involved 20 patients from 8 Associations, a phase of innovation and education where 113 patients and citizens worked together with clinicians from 53 Units in deliberative laboratories, the institution of a multidisciplinary committee inclusive of representatives from 6 associations of patients.The project has produced different outcomes: new institutional guidelines adopted by the hospital; the renewal of consent forms and procedures as part of an explicit shared informative process; an increased implementation of institutional standards of good informative practice; the measure and communication of the outcomes of care and their bench-marking; bottom-up building of paths of validation; the creation of participatory electronic tools; an innovative education on the field for patients and clinicians.

[Identifying indicators of good practice in clinical and healthcare management].

PubMed

Bermúdez Tamayo, C; Olry de Labry Lima, A; García Mochón, L

To identify good practices in order to develop and implement indicators of health outcomes for clinical and healthcare management, as well as the characteristics for an indicator to be considered adequate. A scoping review was performed, with the following phases: 1) Search and identification of bibliography. 2) Selection of relevant documents. Including those studies that discussed issues related to good practices for the use of health indicators in the management field. Those published in a language other than English or Spanish or before 2006 were excluded. 3) Analysis and extraction of information. 4) Consultation with stakeholders, using a qualitative methodology through Concept Mapping, with the participation of 40 experts (decision-makers, scientific societies, and health professionals). The data collection process included an inductive and structured procedure, with prioritisation of ideas grouped into clusters, according to feasibility and importance criteria (0-10 scale). Good practices identified 2 levels: 1) macro-management: Define a framework for the evaluation of indicators and establish a benchmark of indicators. 2) meso-management: Establish indicators according to evidence and expert consensus, taking into account priority areas and topics, testing before final use, and communicate results adequately. The characteristics of a suitable indicator are: 1) Approach of an important issue, 2) Scientific validity, 3) Possibility of measurement with reliable data, 4) Meaning of useful and applicable measurement, and 5) Wide scope. The best practices for the use of indicators in clinical and healthcare management can make it easier to monitor performance and accountability, as well as to support the decision-making addressed at the development of initiatives for quality improvement. Copyright © 2018 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Surveying the Need for Technology Management for Global Health Training Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balakrishnan, Usha R.; Troyer, Lisa; Brands, Edwin

2007-01-01

Technology licensing office managers often need to evaluate profitability and commercial potential in their decision making. However, increased consideration of important global public health goals requires forging new collaborative relationships, incorporating creative licensing practices and embracing global public good within the academic and…

21 CFR 26.78 - Agreements with other countries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Agreements with other countries. 26.78 Section 26... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN MEDICAL DEVICE PRODUCT EVALUATION REPORTS: UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN...

The Development and Implementation of an Integrating Pharmacy Practice Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Gail D.; And Others

1990-01-01

The intent of an integrating laboratory was to help pharmacy students learn to solve problems, make decisions, and develop good communication skills. Educational units included exercises in guided design, patient profile review, patient inquiries, extemporaneous prescription compounding, clinical literature evaluation, and videotapes of simulated…

Nursing professional practice environments: setting the stage for constructive conflict resolution and work effectiveness.

PubMed

Siu, Heidi; Spence Laschinger, Heather K; Finegan, Joan

2008-05-01

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of nurses' perceived professional practice environment on their quality of nursing conflict management approaches and ultimately their perceptions of unit effectiveness from the perspective of Deutsch's theory of constructive conflict management. Rising reports of hostility and conflict among Canadian nurses are a concern to nurses' health and the viability of effective patient care delivery. However, research on the situational factors that influence nurses' ability to apply effective conflict resolution skills that lead to positive results in practice is limited. A nonexperimental, predictive design was used in a sample of 678 registered nurses working in community hospitals within a large metropolitan area in Ontario. The results supported a modified version of the hypothesized model [chi2(1) = 16.25, Goodness of Fit = 0.99, Comparative Fit Index = 0.98, Root-Mean-Square Error of Approximation = 0.15] linking professional practice environment and core self-evaluation to nurses' conflict management and, ultimately, unit effectiveness. Professional practice environment, conflict management, and core-self evaluation explained approximately 46.6% of the variance in unit effectiveness. Positive professional practice environments and high core self-evaluations predicted nurses' constructive conflict management and, in turn, greater unit effectiveness.

Development of the private practice management standards for psychology.

PubMed

Mathews, Rebecca; Stokes, David; Littlefield, Lyn; Collins, Leah

2011-01-01

This paper describes the process of developing a set of private practice management standards to support Australian psychologists and promote high quality services to the public. A review of the literature was conducted to identify management standards relevant to psychology, which were further developed in consultation with a panel of experts in psychology or in the development of standards. Forty-three psychologists in independent private practice took part in either a survey (n=22) to provide feedback on the relevance of, and their compliance with, the identified standards, or a 6-month pilot study (n=21) in which a web-based self-assessment instrument evaluating the final set of standards and performance indicators was implemented in their practice to investigate self-reported change in management procedures. The pilot study demonstrated good outcomes for practitioners when evaluation of compliance to the standards was operationalized in a self-assessment format. Study results are based on a small sample size. Nevertheless, relevance and utility of the standards was found providing an initial version of management standards that have relevance to the practice of psychology in Australia, along with a system for evaluating psychological service provision to ensure best practice in service delivery. © 2010 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

21 CFR 184.1452 - Manganese gluconate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this... following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The ingredient is used as a nutrient... levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked goods as defined in § 170.3(n)(1) of this...

The virtuous pathologist. An ethical basis for laboratory medicine.

PubMed

Stempsey, W E

1989-06-01

The profession of pathology is a practice in the technical sense used by many philosophers. Such practices have internal goods, which, it is hoped, lead to the attainment of a certain end. The ultimate end of the practice of pathology must be the good of the patient in terms of restoring health. Key internal goods in pathology are technical competence, the proper pathologist-patient relationship, and the proper pathologist-clinician relationship. Virtues are predispositions to act so as to attain the end of the practice and further the internal goods. Technical growth in the practice of pathology must be accompanied by continued attempts to articulate the goals and internal goods of the practice. Only if pathologists are predisposed to act in accordance with proper goals will an ethical practice be assured.

[Good drug distribution practice and its implementation in drug distribution companies].

PubMed

Draksiene, Gailute

2002-01-01

Good Distribution Practice is based on the Directive of the Board of the European Community 92/25/EEC regarding the wholesale distribution of drugs for human consumption. It is stated in the Directive that the whole drug distribution channel is to be controlled from the point of drug production or import down to the supplies to the end user. In order to reach the goal, the drug distribution company must create the quality assurance system and facilitate its correct functioning. This aim requires development of the rules of the Good Distribution Practice. Those rules set the general requirements of the Good Distribution Practice for distribution companies that they must conduct. The article explains main requirements postulated in the rules of the Good Distribution Practice and implementation of the Good Distribution Practice requirements in drug distribution companies.

The Standard of Care: Legal History and Definitions: the Bad and Good News

PubMed Central

Moffett, Peter; Moore, Gregory

2011-01-01

The true meaning of the term “the standard of care” is a frequent topic of discussion among emergency physicians as they evaluate and perform care on patients. This article, using legal cases and dictums, reviews the legal history and definitions of the standard of care. The goal is to provide the working physician with a practical and useful model of the standard of care to help guide daily practice. PMID:21691483

21 CFR 129.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 129.1 Section... Current good manufacturing practice. The applicable criteria in part 110 of this chapter, as well as the..., methods, practices, and controls used in the processing, bottling, holding, and shipping of bottled...

Teleworking: Guidelines for Good Practice. IES Report 329.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huws, Ursula; And Others

Because teleworking presents major new challenges to human resource managers, trade unions, and others involved in the development of good employment practices, this book provides practical guidelines for good practice in regard to teleworkers that recognize that teleworking is not a single category, but covers at least five distinct groups with…

21 CFR 184.1101 - Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this... following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The ingredient is used in food as an... levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked goods and baking mixes as defined in...

21 CFR 184.1101 - Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this... following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The ingredient is used in food as an... levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked goods and baking mixes as defined in...

Protection of people and environment from radiation risk through good regulatory practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jais, Azlina Mohammad; Hassan, Najwa

2017-01-01

The term "good regulatory practice" has seen growing frequency of usage worldwide, especially since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear incident. However, the term appears quite ambiguous as it may mean differently to different people. This leads us to the first important question: what does "good regulatory practice" actually mean? When used in conjunction with the Fukushima incident, do we imply that there is an absence of "good regulatory practice" in the Japanese' Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA)? This is quite troubling. It is clear that the term should be defined formally so that our understanding of "good regulatory practice" can be standardized. There is still another important question beyond agreeing on what "good regulatory practice" is: is "good regulatory practice" specific to a region, or is it global? And is it applicable only to nuclear regulators, or to all types of regulators per se? This paper aims to deliberate on the above mentioned questions. Specifically, we hope to discuss the "good regulatory practice" for atomic energy activities in order to protect the people and the environment from radiation risk of such activities. By understanding what "good regulatory practice" truly means, a newcomer country such as Malaysia can quickly learn and adopt these practices so as to assure a competent national nuclear regulatory authority who will be responsible in ensuring the safety, security and safeguards of peaceful atomic energy activities in the country including nuclear liability. In understanding this concept, a holistic approach will be taken by looking into example of advanced and newcomer countries of various nuclear regulatory authorities all around the world. Then the paper will focus on the challenges that the current nuclear regulatory authority in Malaysia which is Atomic Energy Licensing Board has, its challenges to follow the concept of "good regulatory practice" and its ways to overcome it. This study explore the initiatives could be considered by nuclear regulatory authority and the necessary criteria of an "ideal" how nuclear regulatory authority should implement the "good regulatory practice" approach.

Good Practices for Learning to Recognize Actions Using FV and VLAD.

PubMed

Wu, Jianxin; Zhang, Yu; Lin, Weiyao

2016-12-01

High dimensional representations such as Fisher vectors (FV) and vectors of locally aggregated descriptors (VLAD) have shown state-of-the-art accuracy for action recognition in videos. The high dimensionality, on the other hand, also causes computational difficulties when scaling up to large-scale video data. This paper makes three lines of contributions to learning to recognize actions using high dimensional representations. First, we reviewed several existing techniques that improve upon FV or VLAD in image classification, and performed extensive empirical evaluations to assess their applicability for action recognition. Our analyses of these empirical results show that normality and bimodality are essential to achieve high accuracy. Second, we proposed a new pooling strategy for VLAD and three simple, efficient, and effective transformations for both FV and VLAD. Both proposed methods have shown higher accuracy than the original FV/VLAD method in extensive evaluations. Third, we proposed and evaluated new feature selection and compression methods for the FV and VLAD representations. This strategy uses only 4% of the storage of the original representation, but achieves comparable or even higher accuracy. Based on these contributions, we recommend a set of good practices for action recognition in videos for practitioners in this field.

An Experimental Health Education Program: Effects on Urban Primary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Richard L.; Hearne, Jill T.

1986-01-01

Presents findings of an evaluation of a health education program for primary school students of low SES. Related findings to two dependent measures--attitudes toward smoking and knowledge about smoking and health. Reports that program participants displayed more positive attitudes toward good health practices than did non-participating control…

Extending the Domain of Instructional Effectiveness Assessment in Student Evaluations of Communication Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Ronald E.; Stewart, Lea P.; Hujber, Michele

2000-01-01

Presents results from a teaching effectiveness survey of alumni. Indicates alumni believe that good instructors should demonstrate effective preparation, interest in course material and students, availability to students outside of class, effective pedagogy, practical application, classroom interaction with students, sociability, and a high level…

21 CFR 886.1350 - Keratoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...-powered or battery-powered device intended to measure and evaluate the corneal curvature of the eye. Lines and circles within the keratoscope are used to observe the corneal reflex. This generic type of device... subject to § 886.9. The battery-powered device is exempt from the current good manufacturing practice...

21 CFR 886.1350 - Keratoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

...-powered or battery-powered device intended to measure and evaluate the corneal curvature of the eye. Lines and circles within the keratoscope are used to observe the corneal reflex. This generic type of device... subject to § 886.9. The battery-powered device is exempt from the current good manufacturing practice...

21 CFR 886.1350 - Keratoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

...-powered or battery-powered device intended to measure and evaluate the corneal curvature of the eye. Lines and circles within the keratoscope are used to observe the corneal reflex. This generic type of device... subject to § 886.9. The battery-powered device is exempt from the current good manufacturing practice...

21 CFR 886.1350 - Keratoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...-powered or battery-powered device intended to measure and evaluate the corneal curvature of the eye. Lines and circles within the keratoscope are used to observe the corneal reflex. This generic type of device... subject to § 886.9. The battery-powered device is exempt from the current good manufacturing practice...

21 CFR 886.1350 - Keratoscope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...-powered or battery-powered device intended to measure and evaluate the corneal curvature of the eye. Lines and circles within the keratoscope are used to observe the corneal reflex. This generic type of device... subject to § 886.9. The battery-powered device is exempt from the current good manufacturing practice...

Policy Issues in the Administration of Higher Education in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogbogu, Christiana O.

2013-01-01

This paper evaluates policy initiatives in the Nigerian higher educational system with a view to bringing it in line with good practices. Issues of gender, management/governance, teaching, research and funding were discussed. The study revealed that government's funding is insufficient to maintain institutional performance because of the policy…

21 CFR 113.5 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 113.5 Section... CONTAINERS General Provisions § 113.5 Current good manufacturing practice. The criteria in §§ 113.10, 113.40..., methods, practices, and controls used by the commercial processor in the manufacture, processing, or...

Teaching critical appraisal skills for nursing research.

PubMed

Jones, Sandra C; Crookes, Patrick A; Johnson, Keryn M

2011-09-01

Evidence-based practice is a major focus in nursing, yet the literature continues to document a research-practice gap. Reasons for this gap stem partly from a lack of skills to critique and synthesize the literature, a lack of search skills and difficulty in understanding research articles, and limited knowledge of research by nursing professionals. An innovative and quality driven subject to improve critical appraisal and critical thinking skills was developed for the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at the University of Wollongong, based on formative research with postgraduate students and supervisors. Through face-to-face and online teaching modules students worked through a structured process of analysing the key aspects of published papers using structured analysis tools for each study design. Pre and post surveys of students found improvements in perceived knowledge of all key skills of critical appraisal. External independent evaluation determined that it was a high quality subject showing many hallmarks of good assessment practice and good practice in use of information and communication technology (ICT) in support of the learning outcomes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Top 10 metrics for life science software good practices.

PubMed

Artaza, Haydee; Chue Hong, Neil; Corpas, Manuel; Corpuz, Angel; Hooft, Rob; Jimenez, Rafael C; Leskošek, Brane; Olivier, Brett G; Stourac, Jan; Svobodová Vařeková, Radka; Van Parys, Thomas; Vaughan, Daniel

2016-01-01

Metrics for assessing adoption of good development practices are a useful way to ensure that software is sustainable, reusable and functional. Sustainability means that the software used today will be available - and continue to be improved and supported - in the future. We report here an initial set of metrics that measure good practices in software development. This initiative differs from previously developed efforts in being a community-driven grassroots approach where experts from different organisations propose good software practices that have reasonable potential to be adopted by the communities they represent. We not only focus our efforts on understanding and prioritising good practices, we assess their feasibility for implementation and publish them here.

Top 10 metrics for life science software good practices

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Metrics for assessing adoption of good development practices are a useful way to ensure that software is sustainable, reusable and functional. Sustainability means that the software used today will be available - and continue to be improved and supported - in the future. We report here an initial set of metrics that measure good practices in software development. This initiative differs from previously developed efforts in being a community-driven grassroots approach where experts from different organisations propose good software practices that have reasonable potential to be adopted by the communities they represent. We not only focus our efforts on understanding and prioritising good practices, we assess their feasibility for implementation and publish them here. PMID:27635232

Evaluating and Optimizing Online Advertising: Forget the Click, but There Are Good Proxies.

PubMed

Dalessandro, Brian; Hook, Rod; Perlich, Claudia; Provost, Foster

2015-06-01

Online systems promise to improve advertisement targeting via the massive and detailed data available. However, there often is too few data on exactly the outcome of interest, such as purchases, for accurate campaign evaluation and optimization (due to low conversion rates, cold start periods, lack of instrumentation of offline purchases, and long purchase cycles). This paper presents a detailed treatment of proxy modeling, which is based on the identification of a suitable alternative (proxy) target variable when data on the true objective is in short supply (or even completely nonexistent). The paper has a two-fold contribution. First, the potential of proxy modeling is demonstrated clearly, based on a massive-scale experiment across 58 real online advertising campaigns. Second, we assess the value of different specific proxies for evaluating and optimizing online display advertising, showing striking results. The results include bad news and good news. The most commonly cited and used proxy is a click on an ad. The bad news is that across a large number of campaigns, clicks are not good proxies for evaluation or for optimization: clickers do not resemble buyers. The good news is that an alternative sort of proxy performs remarkably well: observed visits to the brand's website. Specifically, predictive models built based on brand site visits-which are much more common than purchases-do a remarkably good job of predicting which browsers will make a purchase. The practical bottom line: evaluating and optimizing campaigns using clicks seems wrongheaded; however, there is an easy and attractive alternative-use a well-chosen site-visit proxy instead.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards avian influenza A (H5N1) among Cambodian women: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Khun, Mav; Heng, Chantha; Md, Harun-Or-Rashid; Kasuya, Hideki; Sakamoto, Junichi

2012-09-01

To measure highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) among Cambodian women. This cross-sectional study selected 246 married women aged between 18-55 years who had backyard poultry and lived at least one year in the areas of the survey through multi-stage cluster sampling. An average score of correct answers was generated to evaluate respondents' knowledge (Good/Poor), attitudes (Positive/Negative), and practices (Good/Bad). We reported that about half of the respondents had good knowledge and good practices and four-fifth of them had positive attitudes towards HPAI. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through a logistic regression model to explore contributing factors that raise their KAP levels. Most of the sources were significant in increasing knowledge of the respondent, like television (OR=1.6, 95%CI=1.0-2.7), radio (OR=2.5, 95%CI=1.3-4.9), leaflets/booklets (OR=2.1, 95%CI=1.2-3.9), school students (OR=18.4, 95%CI=2.4-142.9), village health volunteers (OR=4.5, 95%CI=2.2-10.9) etc. Factors such as television (OR=3.7, 95%CI=2.1-6.4), leaflets/booklets (OR=2.6, 95%CI=1.4-5.1), and public health staff (OR=2.2, 95%CI=1.2-4.1) had similar influence on practices. Although, we found similar effect on raising the attitudes of the responded, it was not significant. We report a satisfactory level of positive attitudes, and moderate level of knowledge and practices related to HPAI among Cambodian women. Raising KAPs through television, radio and other medias may be more efficient than using usual information, education and communication materials to prevent HPAI. Copyright © 2012 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physical Activity Among Organ Recipients: Data Collected From the Latin American Transplant Games.

PubMed

Atamañuk, A N; Ortiz Fragola, J P; Casonu, M; Lirio, C; Graziano, V; Cicora, F

2017-03-01

Cardiovascular complications after transplantation are an important cause of non-transplant-related deaths. Depression and anxiety are not unusual among organ recipients. Physical activity reduces cardiovascular risk and promotes a sensation of well-being. The aims of the study were to examine how exercise affects psychological well-being sensation in organ recipients and to describe the physician's role in promoting and controlling safe sport training in transplanted patients. A descriptive study was conducted. A questionnaire was answered by participants of the "2012 Latin American Transplant Games." One hundred sixty-six organ recipients completed the questionnaire. Eleven percent heard about the transplant games from a physician. Seventy percent had not received a proper medical pre-competitive evaluation. Only 39% trained in a supervised manner and 53% had experienced some kind of sport-related injury. Self-perception of global health was reported as excellent by 19.75%, very good by 43.95%, good by 30.67%, and regular or poor by 5.73%. An excellent or very good health perception was reported by 47.8% of those who practiced only one kind of sport versus 71.5% of those who practiced more than one sport and by 89.6% of those who performed isometric activity versus 59.3% of those who did not perform isometric activity. Diversity of practiced sports and isometric activity are associated with a better self-reported health condition. Most participants had not received a proper medical pre-competitive evaluation; they trained in an unsupervised manner, and injuries were common. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS)--explanation and elaboration: a report of the ISPOR Health Economic Evaluation Publication Guidelines Good Reporting Practices Task Force.

PubMed

Husereau, Don; Drummond, Michael; Petrou, Stavros; Carswell, Chris; Moher, David; Greenberg, Dan; Augustovski, Federico; Briggs, Andrew H; Mauskopf, Josephine; Loder, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting because substantial information must be conveyed to allow scrutiny of study findings. Despite a growth in published reports, existing reporting guidelines are not widely adopted. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user-friendly manner. A checklist is one way to help authors, editors, and peer reviewers use guidelines to improve reporting. The task force's overall goal was to provide recommendations to optimize the reporting of health economic evaluations. The Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement is an attempt to consolidate and update previous health economic evaluation guidelines into one current, useful reporting guidance. The CHEERS Elaboration and Explanation Report of the ISPOR Health Economic Evaluation Publication Guidelines Good Reporting Practices Task Force facilitates the use of the CHEERS statement by providing examples and explanations for each recommendation. The primary audiences for the CHEERS statement are researchers reporting economic evaluations and the editors and peer reviewers assessing them for publication. The need for new reporting guidance was identified by a survey of medical editors. Previously published checklists or guidance documents related to reporting economic evaluations were identified from a systematic review and subsequent survey of task force members. A list of possible items from these efforts was created. A two-round, modified Delphi Panel with representatives from academia, clinical practice, industry, and government, as well as the editorial community, was used to identify a minimum set of items important for reporting from the larger list. Out of 44 candidate items, 24 items and accompanying recommendations were developed, with some specific recommendations for single study-based and model-based economic evaluations. The final recommendations are subdivided into six main categories: 1) title and abstract, 2) introduction, 3) methods, 4) results, 5) discussion, and 6) other. The recommendations are contained in the CHEERS statement, a user-friendly 24-item checklist. The task force report provides explanation and elaboration, as well as an example for each recommendation. The ISPOR CHEERS statement is available online via Value in Health or the ISPOR Health Economic Evaluation Publication Guidelines Good Reporting Practices - CHEERS Task Force webpage (http://www.ispor.org/TaskForces/EconomicPubGuidelines.asp). We hope that the ISPOR CHEERS statement and the accompanying task force report guidance will lead to more consistent and transparent reporting, and ultimately, better health decisions. To facilitate wider dissemination and uptake of this guidance, we are copublishing the CHEERS statement across 10 health economics and medical journals. We encourage other journals and groups to consider endorsing the CHEERS statement. The author team plans to review the checklist for an update in 5 years. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Management of intrathecal baclofen therapy for severe acquired brain injury: consensus and recommendations for good clinical practice.

PubMed

De Tanti, Antonio; Scarponi, Federico; Bertoni, Michele; Gasperini, Giulio; Lanzillo, Bernardo; Molteni, Franco; Posteraro, Federico; Vitale, Dino Francesco; Zanpolini, Mauro

2017-08-01

Although widespread in the treatment of generalised spasticity due to severe acquired brain injury, clinical use of intrathecal baclofen administered through an implanted catheter is not yet supported by full scientific evidence. The aim of the study is to provide recommendations for good clinical practice regarding intrathecal baclofen therapy. We used a modified RAND Delphi method to develop consensus-based medical guidelines, involving clinicians who use intrathecal baclofen therapy throughout Italy. The clinicians were asked 38 questions grouped in six areas (patient selection, contraindications for implant, tests prior to implant, method of implant and management of therapy, efficacy evaluation and goal setting, and management of complications). To establish consensus, 75% agreement was required in answers to every question. Consensus was reached on the second round of the Delphi process on 27/38 questions (71%), specifically those regarding identification of objectives, efficacy evaluation, and method of implant and management of therapy, whereas management of complications and contraindications for implant remained critical areas. Despite the limits of our method, a set of recommendations was drawn up for clinical practice in this sector. The study also revealed residual critical areas and indicated future lines of research necessary to reach evidence-based consensus.

Good practices in transportation evacuation preparedness and response : results of the FHWA workshop series.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

This document provides an overview of the good practices identified during a series of multi-state workshops on Transportation Evacuation Preparedness and Response in four regions across the United States. Good practices are not presented in priority...

Good practices in transportation evacuation preparedness and response : results of the FHWA Workshop Series

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

This document provides an overview of the good practices identified during a series of multi-state workshops on Transportation Evacuation Preparedness and Response in four regions across the United States. Good practices are not presented in priority...

WHO Expert Committee on specifications for pharmaceutical preparations.

PubMed

2010-01-01

The Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations works towards clear, independent and practical standards and guidelines for the quality assurance of medicines. Standards are developed by the Committee through worldwide consultation and an international consensus-building process. The following new guidelines were adopted and recommended for use: good practices for pharmaceutical quality control laboratories; supplementary guidelines for active pharmaceutical ingredients; good manufacturing practices for pharmaceutical products containing hazardous substances; good manufacturing practices for sterile pharmaceutical products; good distribution practices for pharmaceutical products; guidelines on the requalification of prequalified dossiers: and guidelines for the preparation of a contract research organization master file.

Narrative Practice and the Signs of Safety Approach: Engaging Adolescents in Building Rigorous Safety Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Matthew

2014-01-01

The Signs of Safety approach to child protection has been gaining prominence around the world and this approach has developed through learning from good practice. Generally, examples of good practice are derived from adults who pose a risk to children, while this paper outlines an example of good practice that engages an adolescent in building a…

Promoting good practice in health promotion in Spain: the potential role of a new agency.

PubMed

Paredes-Carbonell, Joan J; Peiró-Pérez, Rosana; Morgana, Antony

2016-11-01

Health promotion (HP) activities should be evaluated both in terms of process and results. However there remains a lack of information regarding the types of HP community interventions that are performed in our country, which of these are based on the best available evidence, and how the evidence available can be translated into HP recommendations for action? Spain does not have a dedicated body to answer such questions. If one existed, its role should be to identify the full range of interventions available to promote health, evaluate them and, in cases where there are positive results, facilitate their transfer and implementation. The aim of this article is to reflect on the need and usefulness of an institution with these functions. It also aims to identify the possible strengths and weaknesses of such an institution and what external experiences could be used in developing it. The discussion draws on the experience of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) highlighting possibilities for collaborative strategies. One might argue that the largely published English language evidence base needs simply to be translated to improve knowledge. However, good practice in HP is based and nurtured within the context where it is to be implemented. Therefore, a strategy to improve practice cannot rely solely on direct translations. Successful evidence-based HP must rely not only on robust scientific evidence but also on a process that ensures appropriate contextualization, that tests methodologies and develops guidance for action appropriate to the country, and that systematizes the process and evaluates the impact once the guidance have been put into practice. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Taking It on Board: Quality Audit Findings for Higher Education Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, Jeanette

2007-01-01

An examination of the reports of quality audits of Australian universities is used to identify quality assurance issues which emerge as more or less important for governing bodies and academic boards respectively. For governing bodies, many issues identified in audit reports reflect established good practice, such as a need to evaluate the…

Community Education and Youth Mentoring: How to Build Good Practice?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broadbent, Robyn; Papadopoulos, Theo

2009-01-01

In 2008, the Helen Macpherson Smith (HMS) Trust commissioned Victoria University to conduct an evaluation of the Mentoring and Capacity Building Initiative's Regional Coordination Projects (RCPs). The RCPs are founded on a model of community education and collaboration that aims to enhance cross-sectoral and whole-of-community approaches to…

Collaboration in Language Testing and Assessment. Language Testing and Evaluation. Volume 26

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsagari, Dina, Ed.; Csepes, Ildiko, Ed.

2012-01-01

The Guidelines for Good Practice of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) stress the importance of collaboration between all parties involved in the process of developing instruments, activities and programmes for testing and assessment. Collaboration is considered to be as important as validity and reliability,…

The Use of Collaboration Tools when Teaching with Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mncube-Barnes, Fatima Maria

2010-01-01

This study was designed to determine whether faculty members utilized collaboration tools within Desire2Learn Inc., in accordance with Chickering and Gamson's (1987) "Seven Principles of Good Practice: A Framework for Evaluating Effective Teaching in Undergraduate Education." The population for this study was faculty members at…

A Functional Neuroimaging Study of the Clinical Reasoning of Medical Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Hyung-Joo; Kang, June; Ham, Byung-Joo; Lee, Young-Mee

2016-01-01

As clinical reasoning is a fundamental competence of physicians for good clinical practices, medical academics have endeavored to teach reasoning skills to undergraduate students. However, our current understanding of student-level clinical reasoning is limited, mainly because of the lack of evaluation tools for this internal cognitive process.…

A Guide to Pathways through the Pre-Five Quality Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strathclyde Regional Council, Glasgow (Scotland).

This guide describes a quality process for external and internal evaluation of the elementary school education department. The term "pathway" is used to define routes through the quality process that describe any school administrative activity in terms of the indicators and examples of good practice. There are five pathways: process…

A Multifaceted Partner Presentation Assignment for Improving Educational Outcomes among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Claire A.; Perlman, Daniel

2017-01-01

This article reports a multifaceted course assignment involving the development of information literacy skills, speed partnering, a brief team VoiceThread presentation, and peer evaluations of the presentations. The assignment was rooted in Chickering and Gamson's (1989) highly regarded principles of good educational practice, as well as the…

Developing a Mobile Extension Course for Youth Livestock Producers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weitzenkamp, Deborah; Dam, Karna; Chichester, Lindsay

2015-01-01

The 4-H Livestock Quality Assurance course is a mobile Extension course for youth and youth leaders. In 3 years of implementation, over 6,600 participants from 16 states have learned about good production practices for animal agriculture through the innovative online Nebraska Livestock Quality Assurance course. By evaluating the needs of our youth…

Evaluating the Acceptability and Effectiveness of Family Assessment Portfolios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meadan, Hedda; Thompson, James R.; Hagiwara, Mayumi; Herold, Julie; Hoekstra, Sarah; Manser, Samantha

2009-01-01

The Family Assessment Portfolio (FAP) is a new tool that includes scrapbooks, web-based profiles, and movies that families create to introduce their children to educators. FAP was developed to promote good home/school communication and collaboration. Although FAPs appear to be a promising practice for the field of special education, there is…

Perceptions of Science Teachers on Implementation of Seven Principles for Good Practice in Education by Chickering and Gamson in Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ugras, Mustafa; Asiltürk, Erol

2018-01-01

The present study aimed to determine the perceptions of science teachers on the implementation of the seven principles for good practice in education by Chickering and Gamson in their courses. Seven principles for good science education were used as a data collection tool in the survey. "The seven principles for good practice in science…

Factors associated with good TB infection control practices among primary healthcare workers in the Free State Province, South Africa.

PubMed

Engelbrecht, Michelle; Janse van Rensburg, André; Kigozi, Gladys; van Rensburg, Hcj Dingie

2016-11-04

Despite the availability of TB infection control guidelines, and good levels of healthcare worker knowledge about infection control, often these measures are not well implemented. This study sought to determine the factors associated with healthcare workers' good TB infection control practices in primary health care facilities in the Free State Province, South Africa. A cross-sectional self-administered survey among nurses (n = 202) and facility-based community healthcare workers (n = 34) as well as facility observations were undertaken at all 41 primary health care facilities in a selected district of the Free State Province. The majority of respondents were female (n = 200; 87.7 %) and the average age was 44.19 years (standard deviation ±10.82). Good levels of knowledge were recorded, with 42.8 % (n = 101) having an average score (i.e. 65-79 %) and 31.8 % (n = 75) a good score (i.e. ≥ 80 %). Most respondents (n = 189; 80.4 %) had positive attitudes towards TB infection control practices (i.e. ≥ 80 %). While good TB infection control practices were reported by 72.9 % (n = 161) of the respondents (i.e. ≥75 %), observations revealed this to not necessarily be the case. For every unit increase in attitudes, good practices increased 1.090 times (CI:1.016-1.169). Respondents with high levels of knowledge (≥80 %) were 4.029 (CI: 1.550-10.469) times more likely to have good practices when compared to respondents with poor levels of knowledge (<65 %). The study did not find TB/HIV-related training to be a predictor of good practices. Positive attitudes and good levels of knowledge regarding TB infection control were the main factors associated with good infection control practices. Although many respondents reported good infection control practices - which was somewhat countered by the observations - there are areas that require attention, particularly those related to administrative controls and the use of personal protective equipment.

78 FR 12068 - Device Good Manufacturing Practice Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-21

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0001] Device Good Manufacturing Practice Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... Committee: Device Good Manufacturing Practice Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To...

Integrating standard operating procedures and industry notebook standards to evaluate students in laboratory courses.

PubMed

Wallert, Mark A; Provost, Joseph J

2014-01-01

To enhance the preparedness of graduates from the Biochemistry and Biotechnology (BCBT) Major at Minnesota State University Moorhead for employment in the bioscience industry we have developed a new Industry certificate program. The BCBT Industry Certificate was developed to address specific skill sets that local, regional, and national industry experts identified as lacking in new B.S. and B.A. biochemistry graduates. The industry certificate addresses concerns related to working in a regulated industry such as Good Laboratory Practices, Good Manufacturing Practices, and working in a Quality System. In this article we specifically describe how we developed a validation course that uses Standard Operating Procedures to describe grading policy and laboratory notebook requirements in an effort to better prepare students to transition into industry careers. © 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[The institutional promotion of good practices in the operational management of health and safety: the experience of Italy Crown Aerosols on the monitoring of behavior].

PubMed

de Merich, D; Pellicci, M; Serignoli, R

2010-01-01

Within the intelligence support and training to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and promoting a culture of health and safety at work, ISPESL is engaged on two fundamental pillars of activity: Consolidation of the national surveillance system of injuries through the promotion of methods and tools for the reconstruction of the dynamics incidental identification of causal determinants, with the aim of improving the capabilities of risk assessment of systems to prevent corporate. The promotion of good working practices, as Focal Point of the European Health and Safety at Work in Bilbao, the goal is to support prevention activities by providing business application examples of measures for improvement (technical, organizational, procedural) made in the proposing firms and validated by a technical appraisal conducted by ISPESL. Among the methodologies and tools that can be made available to companies in the operational management of health and safety in work activities, the approach to analyze and evaluate the behavior implemented by all persons within the company (managers, employees, workers) is a the most innovative preventive strategies that can be implemented to correct any improper practices behavioral wrongly tolerated in everyday work practice. The experience of Crown Aerosol Italy, the program "STOP TO ACCIDENTS, 2009 Best Practices award in the competition on the theme" Risk Assessment ", aims to demonstrate how the application of a method for monitoring behavior at work, shared in its planning with all those business, has not only reached but would assist the organization has developed at an individual level greater awareness and sense of responsibility also to their colleagues, by promoting good working practices.

21 CFR 123.5 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 123.5 Section...) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS General Provisions § 123.5 Current good manufacturing practice. (a) Part 110 of this chapter applies in determining whether the facilities, methods...

21 CFR 210.2 - Applicability of current good manufacturing practice regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Applicability of current good manufacturing practice regulations. 210.2 Section 210.2 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN MANUFACTURING...

Understanding Graduate School Aspirations: The Effect of Good Teaching Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Jana M.; Paulsen, Michael B.; Pascarella, Ernest T.

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects of good teaching practices on post-baccalaureate degree aspirations using logistic regression techniques on a multi-institutional, longitudinal sample of students at 4-year colleges and universities in the USA. We examined whether eight good teaching practices (non-classroom interactions with faculty, prompt…

77 FR 71804 - Request for Notification From Industry Organizations Interested in Participating in the Selection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-04

... Representatives on the Device Good Manufacturing Practice Advisory Committee AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration... Device Good Manufacturing Practice Advisory Committee (DGMPAC) in the Center for Devices and Radiological... regarding good manufacturing practices governing the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used...

Integrating Education: Parekhian Multiculturalism and Good Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGlynn, Claire

2009-01-01

This paper explores the concept of good practice in integrating education in divided societies. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, the paper draws on data from eight schools (both integrated Catholic and Protestant, and separate) that are identified as exemplifying good practice in response to cultural diversity. Analysis is provided through…

78 FR 16824 - Tobacco Product Manufacturing Practice; Establishment of a Public Docket

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-19

... recommendations for regulations on good manufacturing practice for tobacco products that were submitted to FDA by... performance of a tobacco product), packing, and storage of a tobacco product conform to current good... group of 13 tobacco companies submitted to FDA: (1) Recommendations for good manufacturing practice...

Questionnaire for measuring organisational attributes in dental-care practices: psychometric properties and test-retest reliability.

PubMed

Goetz, Katja; Hasse, Philipp; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Campbell, Stephen M

2016-04-01

The consideration of organisational aspects, such as shared goals and clear communication, within the health care team is important to ensure good quality care. In primary health care, the instrument Survey of Organizational Attributes for Primary Care (SOAPC) is available to measure organisational attributes of care. However, there is no instrument available for dental care. The aim of the present study was to investigate psychometric properties and test-retest reliability of the version of SOAPC adapted for dental care, namely the Survey of Organizational Attributes in Dental Care (SOADC). The SOADC consists of 21 items in the following four subscales: communication; decision making; stress/chaos; and history of change. Convergent construct validity was measured using the job satisfaction scale. A total of 287 dental-care practices were asked to participate in the validation study. Psychometric properties and test-retest reliability were observed. A total of 43 dental-care practices responded to the survey. At baseline, 178 dental-care staff completed the questionnaire, and 4 weeks later 138 did so. Internal consistency, measured by Cronbach's alpha, was 0.718 or higher in the subscales. The test-retest reliability for each subscale and the overall SOADC score demonstrated good correlations over the 4-week test-retest interval, except for 'history of change'. A strong correlation with the aggregated job-satisfaction scale showed high convergent construct validity of SOADC. The consideration of organisational aspects from the perspective of dental-care teams is important for providing good quality of care. The SOADC is a reliable instrument with good psychometric properties and is suitable for the evaluation of organisational attributes in dental-care practices. © 2015 FDI World Dental Federation.

Exploration and practice of the cultivation of optoelectronic innovative talents based on the Students Innovation Training Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Bing; Liu, Wei; Shi, Jianhua; Yao, Tianfu; Wang, Wei; Hu, Haojun

2017-08-01

The Students Innovation Training Program (SITP) has become an effective method to impel the teaching reform and improve undergraduate's innovative practical ability in Chinese colleges and universities, which is quite helpful for students to understand the social requirement, to grasp the basic means of scientific research and to improve their innovative practical ability and team work spirit. In this paper, three problems have been analyzed and discussed based on our organizing and instructing experience of SITP in recent years. Firstly, the SITP is a synthetically training project, and it is quite suitable to cultivate the students' innovative practical ability. Because SITP is similar to the real scientific research activity, and both of them include the steps of project application, solution design, research implementation and project summary etc. By making great efforts to these basic training steps, the undergraduates' innovative practical ability has been improved systemically. Secondly, a new talents cultivation system has been constructed based on SITP by integrating the subject competitions, graduation design and other conventional training activities, which is quite good to improve the training quality and decrease the total training class hours. Thirdly, a series of long-term effective operation and management guidelines have been established to ensure the SITP work normally, including doing a good job of project evaluation, setting up a reward and punishment system and creating a good atmosphere for innovation. In conclusion, great efforts have been made to enhance undergraduates' innovative ability, and the research results will provide useful reference for improving the training effects and reforming talents cultivating mode further.

Referral criteria and clinical decision support: radiological protection aspects for justification.

PubMed

Pérez, M del Rosario

2015-06-01

Advanced imaging technology has opened new horizons for medical diagnostics and improved patient care. However, many procedures are unjustified and do not provide a net benefit. An area of particular concern is the unnecessary use of radiation when clinical evaluation or other imaging modalities could provide an accurate diagnosis. Referral criteria for medical imaging are consensus statements based on the best-available evidence to assist the decision-making process when choosing the best imaging procedure for a given patient. Although they are advisory rather than compulsory, physicians should have good reasons for deviation from these criteria. Voluntary use of referral criteria has shown limited success compared with integration into clinical decision support systems. These systems support good medical practice, can improve health service delivery, and foster safer, more efficient, fair, cost-effective care, thus contributing to the strengthening of health systems. Justification of procedures and optimisation of protection, the two pillars of radiological protection in health care, are implicit in the notion of good medical practice. However, some health professionals are not familiar with these principles, and have low awareness of radiological protection aspects of justification. A stronger collaboration between radiation protection and healthcare communities could contribute to improve the radiation protection culture in medical practice. © The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2014.

Contact lenses fitting teaching: learning improvement with monitor visualization of webcam video recordings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gargallo, Ana; Arines, Justo

2014-08-01

We have adapted low cost webcams to the slit lamps objectives with the aim of improving contact lens fitting practice. With this solution we obtain good quality pictures and videos, we also recorded videos of eye examination, evaluation routines of contact lens fitting, and the final practice exam of our students. In addition, the video system increases the interactions between students because they could see what their colleagues are doing and take conscious of their mistakes, helping and correcting each others. We think that the proposed system is a low cost solution for supporting the training in contact lens fitting practice.

Auditing radiation sterilization facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, Jeffrey A.

The diversity of radiation sterilization systems available today places renewed emphasis on the need for thorough Quality Assurance audits of these facilities. Evaluating compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices is an obvious requirement, but an effective audit must also evaluate installation and performance qualification programs (validation_, and process control and monitoring procedures in detail. The present paper describes general standards that radiation sterilization operations should meet in each of these key areas, and provides basic guidance for conducting QA audits of these facilities.

Perceptions of good medical practice in the NHS: a survey of senior health professionals.

PubMed

Hutchinson, A; Williams, M; Meadows, K; Barbour, R S; Jones, R

1999-12-01

To categorize senior health professionals' experience with poor medical practice in hospitals and in general practice, to describe perceptions which senior NHS staff have of good medical practice, and to describe how problems of poor medical practice are currently managed. A postal questionnaire survey. The questionnaire sought perceptions of good medical practice, asked participants to characterise deviations from good practice, and to describe experience with managing poor performance at the time of the introduction of the General Medical Council (GMC) performance procedures. A range of NHS settings in the UK: hospital trusts, health authorities/boards, local medical committees, community health councils. Senior health professionals involved in the management of medical professional performance. Perceptions of what constitutes good medical practice. Most respondents considered that persistent problems related to clinical practice (diagnosis, management, and outcome and prescribing) would require local management and, possibly, referral to the GMC performance procedures. Informal mechanisms, including informal discussion, education, training, and work shifting, were the most usual means of handling a doctor whose performance was poor. Many took a less serious view of deficiencies in performance on manner and attitude and communication, although consultation skills rather than technical skills comprised the greatest number of complaints about doctors. Senior NHS professionals seem reluctant to consider persistently poor consultation skills in the same critical light as they do persistently poor technical practice. These attitudes may need to change with the implementation of clinical governance and updated guidance from the GMC on what constitutes good medical practice.

Investigating School-Wide Antecedents of Good Practice Dissemination from Individual Subject Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christophersen, Knut-Andreas; Elstad, Eyvind; Turmo, Are

2012-01-01

Good practice dissemination is an unsolved problem in education. This article describes how clear and "soft" leadership and perceptions of social and economic exchange operate in the bottom-up processes of school reforms and examines the relative impact of these factors on school-wide good practice dissemination and discusses how…

The Conditional Nature of High Impact/Good Practices on Student Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seifert, Tricia A.; Gillig, Benjamin; Hanson, Jana M.; Pascarella, Ernest T.; Blaich, Charles F.

2014-01-01

Using a multi-institutional sample of undergraduate students, this study found that the relationships between engaging in high impact/good practices and liberal arts outcomes differ based on students' precollege and background characteristics. Findings suggest that high impact/good practices are not a panacea and require a greater degree of…

Good Practices for Transforming Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benavente, Ana; Panchaud, Christine

2008-01-01

This text is a guide to the reading and interpretation of the "good practices" that are developing in the countries participating in this project and elsewhere. A systematic approach to the factors making up a "good practice" has enabled us to share our analyses in a more structured manner and to reflect on their potential for…

21 CFR 212.2 - What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs? 212.2 Section 212.2 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR POSITRON EMISSION...

40 CFR 86.098-23 - Required data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... accordance with good engineering practice to assure that the engines covered by a certificate issued under... and conducted in accordance with good engineering practice to assure that the vehicles covered by a... systems are designed, using good engineering practice, to meet the standards of § 86.096-10 or § 86.098-11...

Good Laboratory Practice. Part 3. Implementing Good Laboratory Practice in the Analytical Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedlich, Richard C.; Pires, Amanda; Fazzino, Lisa; Fransen, Joseph M.

2013-01-01

Laboratories submitting experimental results to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) nonclinical laboratory studies must conduct such work in compliance with the GLP regulations. To consistently meet these requirements, lab managers employ a "divide…

Validation of the German revised version of the program in palliative care education and practice questionnaire (PCEP-GR).

PubMed

Fetz, Katharina; Wenzel-Meyburg, Ursula; Schulz-Quach, Christian

2017-12-28

The evaluation of the effectiveness of undergraduate palliative care education (UPCE) programs is an essential foundation to providing high-quality UPCE programs. Therefore, the implementation of valid evaluation tools is indispensable. Until today, there has been no general consensus regarding concrete outcome parameters and their accurate measurement. The Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice Questionnaire (German Revised Version; PCEP-GR) is a promising assessment tool for UPCE. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of PCEP-GR and to demonstrate its feasibility for the evaluation of UPCE programs. The practical feasibility of the PCEP-GR and its acceptance in medical students were investigated in a pilot study with 24 undergraduate medical students at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Germany. Subsequently, the PCEP-GR was surveyed in a representative sample (N = 680) of medical students in order to investigate its psychometric properties. Factorial validity was investigated by means of principal component analysis (PCA). Reliability was examined by means of split-half-reliability analysis and analysis of internal consistency. After taking into consideration the PCA and distribution analysis results, an evaluation instruction for the PCEP-GR was developed. The PCEP-GR proved to be feasible and well-accepted in medical students. PCA revealed a four-factorial solution indicating four PCEP-GR subscales: preparation to provide palliative care, attitudes towards palliative care, self-estimation of competence in communication with dying patients and their relatives and self-estimation of knowledge and skills in palliative care. The PCEP-GR showed good split-half-reliability and acceptable to good internal consistency of subscales. Attitudes towards palliative care slightly missed the criterion of acceptable internal consistency. The evaluation instruction suggests a global PCEP-GR index and four subscales. The PCEP-GR has proven to be a feasible, economic, valid and reliable tool for the assessment of UPCE that comprises self-efficacy expectation and relevant attitudes towards palliative care.

The contribution of evaluations to the discourse quality of newspaper content.

PubMed

Schlaufer, Caroline

2018-08-01

This research shows how the use of evaluations in newspaper articles contributes to the quality of public media discourse prior to direct-democratic votes. Data from Swiss direct-democratic campaigns on school policy between 2000 and 2012 are used to compare newspaper articles that contain evaluations with those that do not refer to evaluations. Results show that those newspaper articles containing evaluations exhibit higher levels of justification, reciprocity and respect, tend to argue in terms of the common good, and contain less storytelling than newspaper articles that do not refer to evaluations. Implications for public deliberation and evaluation practice are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 184.1449 - Manganese citrate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this ingredient as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a direct human food ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing... good manufacturing practice: baked goods as defined in § 170.3(n)(1) of this chapter; nonalcoholic...

21 CFR 184.1449 - Manganese citrate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this ingredient as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a direct human food ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing... good manufacturing practice: baked goods as defined in § 170.3(n)(1) of this chapter; nonalcoholic...

21 CFR 184.1449 - Manganese citrate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this ingredient as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a direct human food ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing... good manufacturing practice: baked goods as defined in § 170.3(n)(1) of this chapter; nonalcoholic...

21 CFR 184.1449 - Manganese citrate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... than current good manufacturing practice. The affirmation of this ingredient as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a direct human food ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing... good manufacturing practice: baked goods as defined in § 170.3(n)(1) of this chapter; nonalcoholic...

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Pregnancy

MedlinePlus

... way to prevent infection is to practice good hygiene, particularly proper hand washing. An interventional study in ... a CMV infection found that teaching about good hygiene (and practicing good hygiene) reduced the risk of ...

Reducing risk for mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis C virus: a systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

PubMed

Cottrell, Erika Barth; Chou, Roger; Wasson, Ngoc; Rahman, Basmah; Guise, Jeanne-Marie

2013-01-15

Mother-to-infant transmission is the leading cause of childhood hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, with up to 4000 new cases each year in the United States. To evaluate effects of mode of delivery, labor management strategies, and breastfeeding practices on risk for mother-to-infant transmission of HCV. MEDLINE (1947 to May 2012), the Cochrane Library Database, clinical trial registries, and reference lists. Randomized trials and observational studies on mode of delivery, labor management strategies, and breastfeeding practices and risk for mother-to-infant transmission of HCV. Investigators abstracted and reviewed study details and quality using predefined criteria. Eighteen observational studies evaluated the association between mode of delivery, labor management strategies, or breastfeeding practices and risk for mother-to-infant HCV transmission. Fourteen studies (2 good-quality, 4 fair-quality, and 8 poor-quality studies) found no clear association between mode of delivery (vaginal versus cesarean delivery) and risk for transmission. Two studies (1 good-quality and 1 poor-quality study) reported an association between prolonged duration of ruptured membranes and increased risk for transmission. Fourteen studies (2 good-quality, 2 fair-quality, and 10 poor-quality studies) found no association between breastfeeding and risk for transmission. Only English-language articles were included. Studies were observational, and most had important methodological shortcomings, including failure to adjust for potential confounders and small sample sizes. No intervention has been clearly demonstrated to reduce the risk for mother-to-infant HCV transmission. Avoidance of breastfeeding does not seem to be indicated for reducing transmission risk. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Test-Retest Reliability and Practice Effects of the Stability Evaluation Test.

PubMed

Williams, Richelle M; Corvo, Matthew A; Lam, Kenneth C; Williams, Travis A; Gilmer, Lesley K; McLeod, Tamara C Valovich

2017-01-17

Postural control plays an essential role in concussion evaluation. The Stability Evaluation Test (SET) aims to objectively analyze postural control by measuring sway velocity on the NeuroCom's VSR portable force platform (Natus, San Carlos, CA). To assess the test-retest reliability and practice effects of the SET protocol. Cohort. Research Laboratory. Fifty healthy adults (males=20, females=30, age=25.30±3.60 years, height=166.60±12.80 cm, mass=68.80±13.90 kg). All participants completed four trials of the SET. Each trial consisted of six 20-second balance tests with eyes closed, under the following conditions: double-leg firm (DFi), single-leg firm (SFi), tandem firm (TFi), double-leg foam (DFo), single-leg foam (SFo), and tandem foam (TFo). Each trial was separated by a 5-minute seated rest period. The dependent variable was sway velocity (deg/sec), with lower values indicating better balance. Sway velocity was recorded for each of the six conditions as well as a composite score for each trial. Test-retest reliability was analyzed across four trials with Intraclass Correlation Coefficients. Practice effects analyzed with repeated measures analysis of variance, followed by Tukey post-hoc comparisons for any significant main effects (p<.05). Sway velocity reliability values were good to excellent: DFi (ICC=0.88;95%CI:0.81,0.92), SFi (ICC=0.75;95%CI:0.61,0.85), TFi (ICC=0.84;95%CI:0.75,0.90), DFo (ICC=0.83;95%CI:0.74,0.90), SFo (ICC=0.82;95%CI:0.72,0.89), TFo (ICC=0.81;95%CI:0.69,0.88), and composite score (ICC=0.93;95%CI:0.88,0.95). Significant practice effects (p<.05) were noted on the SFi, DFo, SFo, TFo conditions, and composite scores. Our results suggest the SET has good to excellent reliability for the assessment of postural control in healthy adults. Due to the practice effects noted, a familiarization session is recommended (i.e., all 6 conditions) prior to recording the data. Future studies should evaluate injured patients to determine meaningful change scores during various injuries.

Sleep Variability, Health-Related Practices and Inflammatory Markers in a Community Dwelling Sample of Older Adults

PubMed Central

Okun, Michele L.; Reynolds, Charles F.; Buysse, Daniel J.; Monk, Timothy H; Mazumdar, Sati; Begley, Amy; Hall, Martica

2011-01-01

Background Low-grade chronic inflammation is an important risk factor for age-related morbidity. Health behaviors, including average aggregate measures of sleep, have been linked to increased inflammation in older adults. Variability in sleep timing may also be associated with increased inflammation. This study evaluated relationships among several health behaviors and circulating proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α). Method Participants were community dwelling older adults >60 years (N = 222: 39 bereaved, 55 caregivers, 52 with insomnia, and 76 good sleepers). Mean values and intra-individual variability in sleep, as well as caffeine and alcohol use, exercise, and daytime napping were assessed by sleep diaries. Blood draws were obtained in the morning. Results Several interactions were noted between sleep behaviors, inflammatory markers, and participant group. Greater variability in wake time and time in bed was associated with higher IL-6 among good sleepers relative to caregivers and older adults with insomnia. Good sleepers who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol had the lowest concentrations of IL-6 compared to the other three groups who consumed alcohol. Insomnia subjects, but not good sleepers, showed increased concentrations of IL-6 associated with caffeine use. Caregivers showed increased concentrations of TNF-α with alcohol use relative to good sleepers. Greater variability in bedtime, later wake times and longer time in bed was associated with higher TNF-α regardless of group. Conclusions Moderation and regularity in the practice of certain health behaviors, including sleep practices, were associated with lower plasma levels of inflammatory markers in older adults. Life circumstances and specific sleep disorders may modify these associations. PMID:21097658

Involving Roma Parents: Analysing the Good Practice of a Primary School in Ghent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wauters, Joris; Van Mol, Christof; Clycq, Noel; Michielsen, Joris; Timmerman, Christiane

2017-01-01

Recently, societal and academic attention toward the topic of Roma integration has been increasing. With this article we aim to make a contribution to the domain of educational research. We explore strategies that schools can adopt to improve the involvement of Roma parents. Using a theory-based stakeholder evaluation, we more specifically analyse…

Engaging Sustainability Good Practice within the Curriculum Design and Property Portfolio in the Australian Higher Education Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poon, Joanna

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which universities' strategic plans affect the level of incorporation of sustainability within the curriculum design and property portfolio. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research adopted a case study approach. The case study institution was Deakin University in Australia. This…

Finding Students Who Are Wise, Practical, and Creative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sternberg, Robert J.

2007-01-01

One purpose of a college education is to create active and engaged citizens and future leaders. If everyone wants students who have the potential to become such people, it is necessary to keep in mind the skills involved in good citizenship and positive leadership when evaluating applicants. Many of the leaders who have gotten the world into its…

The HMI Report on Advanced Level Work in Business Education and Economics 1991.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, John

1992-01-01

Evaluates 1991 report of Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) on advanced level work in business education and economics for levels 16-19 in United Kingdom. Discusses areas of improvement and specific examples of good practice identified by HMI. Reports HMI's desire for better, more formalized departmental organization and the need for more in-service…

Teaching Ethics and Social Responsibility: An Evaluation of Undergraduate Business Education at the Discipline Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholson, Carolyn Y.; DeMoss, Michelle

2009-01-01

Organizations and society at large recognize that ethically and socially responsible behavior plays a crucial role in good business practices. This realization has led employers to expect and demand that business schools facilitate the training of students in ethics and social responsibility. However, research is mixed on how well business schools…

Surgical audit in the developing countries.

PubMed

Bankole, J O; Lawal, O O; Adejuyigbe, O

2003-01-01

Audit assures provision of good quality health service at affordable cost. To be complete therefore, surgical practice in the young developing countries, as elsewhere, must incorporate auditing. Peculiarities of the developing countries and insufficient understanding of auditing may be, however, responsible for its been little practised. This article, therefore, reviews the objectives, the commonly evaluated aspects, and the method of audit, and includes a simple model of audit cycle. It is hoped that it will kindle the idea of regular practice of quality assurance by surgeons working in the young developing nations and engender a sustainable interest.

A checklist for health research priority setting: nine common themes of good practice.

PubMed

Viergever, Roderik F; Olifson, Sylvie; Ghaffar, Abdul; Terry, Robert F

2010-12-15

Health research priority setting processes assist researchers and policymakers in effectively targeting research that has the greatest potential public health benefit. Many different approaches to health research prioritization exist, but there is no agreement on what might constitute best practice. Moreover, because of the many different contexts for which priorities can be set, attempting to produce one best practice is in fact not appropriate, as the optimal approach varies per exercise. Therefore, following a literature review and an analysis of health research priority setting exercises that were organized or coordinated by the World Health Organization since 2005, we propose a checklist for health research priority setting that allows for informed choices on different approaches and outlines nine common themes of good practice. It is intended to provide generic assistance for planning health research prioritization processes. The checklist explains what needs to be clarified in order to establish the context for which priorities are set; it reviews available approaches to health research priority setting; it offers discussions on stakeholder participation and information gathering; it sets out options for use of criteria and different methods for deciding upon priorities; and it emphasizes the importance of well-planned implementation, evaluation and transparency.

21 CFR 210.2 - Applicability of current good manufacturing practice regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Applicability of current good manufacturing... AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN MANUFACTURING, PROCESSING, PACKING, OR HOLDING OF DRUGS; GENERAL § 210.2 Applicability of current good manufacturing...

75 FR 16345 - Administrative Practices and Procedures; Good Guidance Practices; Technical Amendment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-01

.... FDA-1999-N-3539] (formerly Docket No. 1999N-4783) Administrative Practices and Procedures; Good Guidance Practices; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Final rule... Subjects in 21 CFR Part 10 Administrative practice and procedure, News media. 0 Therefore, under the...

Monitoring clinical standards in a chronic peritoneal dialysis program.

PubMed

Leung, Dora K C

2009-02-01

Multiple factors may influence the effectiveness of a chronic peritoneal dialysis program. Continuous monitoring of various aspects of clinical standards with reviews enhances opportunities for bridging the gap between existing practice and good practice, and good practice to best practice.

[Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Schizophrenia: Evaluation Using AGREE II].

PubMed

de la Hoz Bradford, Ana María; Ávila, Mauricio J; Bohórquez Peñaranda, Adriana Patricia; García Valencia, Jenny; Arenas Borrero, Álvaro Enrique; Vélez Traslaviña, Ángela; Jaramillo González, Luis Eduardo; Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos

2014-01-01

Colombia is developing multiple national practice guidelines from a range of diseases. Clinical practice guidelines represent a very useful tool to be able to take decision over a patient care that is widely available for the clinician. In psychiatry there are a good number of international clinical guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia nevertheless there is no article that evaluate them scientifically In the settings of developing a Colombian schizophrenia practice guideline, a systematic search was performed in multiple databases and the results were then evaluated by two trained persons. We present the results globally and by domains. We found 164 matches for possible guidelines. After screening 7 guidelines were evaluated with the AGREE II instrument. Globally and by the different domains, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was the guideline that got the best score. From the guidelines that were reviewed, 4 were from Europe and only 2 were from Latin America. None of the guidelines used GRADE methodology for the recommendations. The diversity of the schizophrenia treatment guidelines does not allow an easy adoption of the recommendation by a psychiatrist in Colombia. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

16 CFR 453.4 - Required purchase of funeral goods or funeral services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Required purchase of funeral goods or funeral services. 453.4 Section 453.4 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION TRADE REGULATION RULES FUNERAL INDUSTRY PRACTICES § 453.4 Required purchase of funeral goods or funeral services. (a) Casket for cremation provisions—(1) Unfair or...

21 CFR 114.5 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Current good manufacturing practice. 114.5 Section...) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION ACIDIFIED FOODS General Provisions § 114.5 Current good manufacturing practice. The criteria in §§ 114.10, 114.80, 114.83, 114.89, and 114.100, as well as the criteria in part...

The Future of HPT Depends on Whether Practitioners Focus on Foundations or Fads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brethower, Dale M.

2012-01-01

The future of human performance technology (HPT) will be bright or dismal depending on how well HPT practitioners focus on careful and practical answers to three pivotal questions: What is good practice in human performance technology? What are the differences between good practice and bad? What are the connections between good research and…

21 CFR 212.2 - What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... PET drugs? 212.2 Section 212.2 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... TOMOGRAPHY DRUGS General Provisions § 212.2 What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs? Current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs is the minimum requirements for the methods to be used...

21 CFR 212.2 - What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... PET drugs? 212.2 Section 212.2 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... TOMOGRAPHY DRUGS General Provisions § 212.2 What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs? Current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs is the minimum requirements for the methods to be used...

21 CFR 212.2 - What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... PET drugs? 212.2 Section 212.2 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... TOMOGRAPHY DRUGS General Provisions § 212.2 What is current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs? Current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs is the minimum requirements for the methods to be used...

Implementing Good Practices Programs to Encourage Production of High-Quality, Safer Produce in Mississippi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahmoud, Barakat S. M.; Stafne, Eric T.; Coker, Christine H.; Bachman, Gary R.; Bell, Nicole

2016-01-01

Fifty-four growers/producers attended four 1-day good agricultural practices (GAP) and good handling practices (GHP) workshops at four locations in Mississippi. Pre- and post workshop survey data indicated that the participants' food safety knowledge increased by 15%. Furthermore, the workshops helped producers develop their own food safety plans.…

Less iodine injected for the same diagnostic performances: comparison of two low-osmolar contrast agents (iobitridol 350 and iopamidol 370) in coronary angiography and ventriculography: a randomized double-blind clinical study.

PubMed

Velázquez, Maríia Teresa; Albarrán, Agustín; Hernández, Felipe; García Tejada, Julio; Zueco, Javier; Andreu, Javier; De la Torre, Jose-María; Figueroa, Alvaro; Sainz, Fermin; Tascón, Juan

2010-08-01

Mild reductions in iodine concentration could reduce acute side effects after intraarterial contrast media administration without affecting the quality of coronary artery images. This study was designed to show the equivalence in terms of image quality of two nonionic low-osmolar monomers, iobitridol 350 and iopamidol 370, and to compare their clinical safety in coronary angiography and ventriculography. In this multicentre, double-blind clinical trial, 98 adult patients were randomized to receive either iobitridol 350 or iopamidol 370. The image quality (primary evaluation criterion) of the whole examination was assessed using a 5-point scale (poor, fair, moderate, good, excellent). Secondary endpoints were the image quality per territory, diagnostic efficacy, practical comfort (5-point scale: impossible to evaluate, not practical, moderately practical, practical, very practical to use) and clinical safety (adverse events and vital signs). The proportions of examinations presenting with good or excellent global image quality was similar with both contrast media: 87.8% with iobitridol 350 vs. 89.8% with iopamidol 370. Similar results were observed when considering the image quality specifically for each major coronary artery and left ventricle. No difference between groups was found with respect to other secondary criteria. Adverse events occurred in 7 patients with iobitridol 350 (14.3%) and in 10 patients with iopamidol 370 (20.4%). This study showed that, with regard to image quality and diagnostic efficacy and using a lower iodine concentration, iobitridol 350 was comparable to iopamidol 370 in adult patients requiring coronary angiography and ventriculography for diagnostic indications.

Integrated low-intensity biofeedback therapy in fecal incontinence: evidence that "good" in-home anal sphincter exercise practice makes perfect.

PubMed

Vasant, D H; Solanki, K; Balakrishnan, S; Radhakrishnan, N V

2017-01-01

Biofeedback therapy (BFT) is an established treatment for fecal incontinence (FI), with access often being restricted to tertiary centers due to resources and the perceived requirement for high-intensity regimes. However, the optimal regime remains unknown. We evaluated outcomes from our low-intensity integrated BFT program in a secondary care center. Outcomes of our BFT service for FI were evaluated retrospectively. Response was defined by ≥50% improvement in FI frequency from baseline or complete continence. Responders were compared to non-responders for factors including symptoms, manometry data, sphincter exercise technique and duration of practice, and the number and frequency of sessions. Where patients dropped out, outcomes and the reason for dropout were obtained retrospectively. Fecal incontinence patients (n=205, median 62 years, 72% female) attended a median (IQR) 3 (2) BFT sessions with 55 (36) days between visits. Overall, 146/205 (71%) responded with 97/205 (47%) achieving continence. Fecal incontinence frequency improved dramatically in completed cases (P=0.000). While non-response was associated with males (P=0.03) and dropout (P=0.000), "good" anal sphincter exercise technique (P=0.008) and longer in-home practice (P=0.007) and more sessions (P=0.04) were associated with response. Dropout rate was 80/205 (39%), with the reason for dropout being obtained in 80%. Despite low-intensity BFT, comparable outcomes to data from tertiary centers were achieved. Our data emphasize the importance of technique and in-home practice of anal sphincter exercises. Customizing BFT intensity based on predictive factors and encouraging in-home practice may optimize outcomes, reduce dropout rates, and rationalize resources. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations. Fiftieth report.

PubMed

2016-01-01

The Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations works towards clear, independent and practical standards and guidelines for the quality assurance of medicines. Standards are developed by the Committee through worldwide consultation and an international consensus-building process. The following new guidelines were adopted and recommended for use. Good pharmacopoeial practices; FIP-WHO technical guidelines: points to consider in the provision by health-care professionals of children-specific preparations that are not available as authorized products; Guidance on good manufacturing practices for biological products; Guidance on good manufacturing practices: inspection report, including Appendix 1: Model inspection report; Guidance on good data and record management practices; Good trade and distribution practices for starting materials; Guidelines on the conduct of surveys of the quality of medicines; Collaborative procedure between the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification team and national regulatory authorities in the assessment and accelerated national registration of WHO-prequalified pharmaceutical products and vaccines; Guidance for organizations performing in vivo bioequivalence studies; and World Health Organization (WHO) general guidance on variations to multisource pharmaceutical products.

Food and Drug Administration regulation and evaluation of vaccines.

PubMed

Marshall, Valerie; Baylor, Norman W

2011-05-01

The vaccine-approval process in the United States is regulated by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research of the US Food and Drug Administration. Throughout the life cycle of development, from preclinical studies to after licensure, vaccines are subject to rigorous testing and oversight. Manufacturers must adhere to good manufacturing practices and control procedures to ensure the quality of vaccines. As mandated by Title 21 of the Code of Regulations, licensed vaccines must meet stringent criteria for safety, efficacy, and potency.

Deliberation before determination: the definition and evaluation of good decision making.

PubMed

Elwyn, Glyn; Miron-Shatz, Talya

2010-06-01

In this article, we examine definitions of suggested approaches to measure the concept of good decisions, highlight the ways in which they converge, and explain why we have concerns about their emphasis on post-hoc estimations and post-decisional outcomes, their prescriptive concept of knowledge, and their lack of distinction between the process of deliberation, and the act of decision determination. There has been a steady trend to involve patients in decision making tasks in clinical practice, part of a shift away from paternalism towards the concept of informed choice. An increased understanding of the uncertainties that exist in medicine, arising from a weak evidence base and, in addition, the stochastic nature of outcomes at the individual level, have contributed to shifting the responsibility for decision making from physicians to patients. This led to increasing use of decision support and communication methods, with the ultimate aim of improving decision making by patients. Interest has therefore developed in attempting to define good decision making and in the development of measurement approaches. We pose and reflect whether decisions can be judged good or not, and, if so, how this goodness might be evaluated. We hypothesize that decisions cannot be measured by reference to their outcomes and offer an alternative means of assessment, which emphasizes the deliberation process rather than the decision's end results. We propose decision making comprises a pre-decisional process and an act of decision determination and consider how this model of decision making serves to develop a new approach to evaluating what constitutes a good decision making process. We proceed to offer an alternative, which parses decisions into the pre-decisional deliberation process, the act of determination and post-decisional outcomes. Evaluating the deliberation process, we propose, should comprise of a subjective sufficiency of knowledge, as well as emotional processing and affective forecasting of the alternatives. This should form the basis for a good act of determination.

Good governance in national solid waste management policy (NSWMP) implementation: A case study of Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Seow Ta; Abas, Muhamad Azahar; Mohamed, Sulzakimin; Chen, Goh Kai; Zainal, Rozlin

2017-10-01

The National Solid Waste Management Policy (NSWMP) was introduced in 2007 under the Act 672. The execution of NSWMP involves stakeholders from various government agencies and a collaboration with the private sectors. Despite the initiatives taken by the stakeholders, the objectives of NSWMP failed to materialise. One of the major constraints is weak governance among stakeholders with regards to the NSWMP implementation. This paper will explore the good governance practices implemented by the stakeholders. Identifying the current good governance practices implemented by the stakeholders is crucial as it will serve as a guideline to improve good governance practice in the future. An exploratory research approach is applied in this study through in-depth interviews with several government agencies and concessionaires involved in the NSWMP implementation. A total of six respondents took part in this study. The findings of this study show that there are several good governance practices implemented in policy promotion, participation of stakeholders, and capacity enhancement programme for the staff. This study also proposed some points on good governance practices in the context of policy promotion and staff development. A paradigm shift by the stakeholders is imperative so as to enhance the good governance practice in NSWMP implementation towards an efficient solid waste management in Malaysia.

How do you deliver a good obstetrician? Outcome-based evaluation of medical education.

PubMed

Asch, David A; Nicholson, Sean; Srinivas, Sindhu K; Herrin, Jeph; Epstein, Andrew J

2014-01-01

The goal of medical education is the production of a workforce capable of improving the health and health care of patients and populations, but it is hard to use a goal that lofty, that broad, and that distant as a standard against which to judge the success of schools or training programs or particular elements within them. For that reason, the evaluation of medical education often focuses on elements of its structure and process, or on the assessment of competencies that could be considered intermediate outcomes. These measures are more practical because they are easier to collect, and they are valuable when they reflect activities in important positions along the pathway to clinical outcomes. But they are all substitutes for measuring whether educational efforts produce doctors who take good care of patients.The authors argue that the evaluation of medical education can become more closely tethered to the clinical outcomes medical education aims to achieve. They focus on a specific clinical outcome-maternal complications of obstetrical delivery-and show how examining various observable elements of physicians' training and experience helps reveal which of those elements lead to better outcomes. Does it matter where obstetricians trained? Does it matter how much experience they have? Does it matter how good they were to start? Each of these questions reflects a component of the production of a good obstetrician and, most important, defines a good obstetrician as one whose patients in the end do well.

Meeting the measurement uncertainty and traceability requirements of ISO/AEC standard 17025 in chemical analysis.

PubMed

King, B

2001-11-01

The new laboratory accreditation standard, ISO/IEC 17025, reflects current thinking on good measurement practice by requiring more explicit and more demanding attention to a number of activities. These include client interactions, method validation, traceability, and measurement uncertainty. Since the publication of the standard in 1999 there has been extensive debate about its interpretation. It is the author's view that if good quality practices are already in place and if the new requirements are introduced in a manner that is fit for purpose, the additional work required to comply with the new requirements can be expected to be modest. The paper argues that the rigour required in addressing the issues should be driven by customer requirements and the factors that need to be considered in this regard are discussed. The issues addressed include the benefits, interim arrangements, specifying the analytical requirement, establishing traceability, evaluating the uncertainty and reporting the information.

Knowledge and Preventive Practices related to Avian Influenza among Poultry Workers of Kamalamai Municipality, Sindhuli, Nepal.

PubMed

Shrestha, R; Shrestha, K B; Ghimire, S; Shrestha, N

2016-01-01

Avian influenza (AI) is currently a threat to global health. Prevention and control of AI depends on the knowledge and preventive practices of the poultry workers as well as of general population. This study aims to assess knowledge and preventive practices related to AI among poultry workers. Cross-sectional study was carried out among poultry workers of Kamalamai Municipality, Sindhuli. Data was collected from randomly selected 122 respondents through face-to-face interview. The collected data was entered in Epi-data version 3.1 and analyzed in terms of descriptive statistics (proportion, 95% CI, mean and standard deviation) by using SPSS, version 20. A scoring system was used to assess knowledge and preventive practices. Out of total, 93.4% (95% CI, 87.6- 96.6%) of the respondents had heard about AI. More than half (54.9%) of the respondents had poor knowledge on AI. Only 5.3% of respondents had good preventive practice against AI. 30.3% respondents had good knowledge and good practice and 24.6% had poor knowledge as well as poor practice. 20.5% of the respondents had good practice but poor knowledge, whereas, 24.6% had good knowledge but poor practice towards prevention. The knowledge and practice of AI among poultry workers were low. The groups should be targeted for appropriate intervention based on whether they lack knowledge or practice or both.

Meat Safety: An Evaluation of Portuguese Butcher Shops.

PubMed

Santos, Ana; Cardoso, Margarida Fonseca; Costa, José M Correia da; Gomes-Neves, Eduarda

2017-07-01

Butcher shops are end points in the meat chain, and they can have a determinant role in cross-contamination control. This study aims to determine whether Portuguese butcher shops comply with European and Portuguese law regarding the sale of fresh meat and meat products. Butcher shops (n = 73) were assessed for meat handler and facility hygiene and for maintenance of the premises. Handlers (n = 88) were given a questionnaire composed of questions about knowledge and practice, including hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) and good practice in food industry, to assess their knowledge of and compliance with food safety practices. A checklist of 27 items was used to evaluate facility and meat handler hygiene and butcher shop maintenance. Our results revealed some lack of compliance in all the areas evaluated. The mean knowledge and practice score among the operators was 68.0%, and the mean "visual inspection" score for the butcher shops was 64.0%. Severe deficiencies were observed in the mandatory implementation of HACCP principles in this type of small food business. These findings indicate a need to modify training to enhance compliance with European food safety regulations at this step of the meat chain.

Evidence-based practice guidelines in OHS: are they agree-able?

PubMed

Hulshof, Carel; Hoenen, John

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acceptance, validity, reliability and feasibility of the AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines and REsearch and Evaluation) instrument to assess the quality of evidence-based practice guidelines for occupational physicians. In total, 6 practice guidelines of the Netherlands Society of Occupational Medicine (NVAB) were appraised by 20 occupational health professionals and experts in guideline development or implementation. Although appraisers often disagreed on individual item scores, the internal consistency and interrater reliability for most domains was sufficient. The AGREE criteria were in general considered relevant and no major suggestions for additional items for use in the context of occupational health were brought up. The domain scores for the individual guidelines show a wide variety: 'applicability' had on average the lowest mean score (53%) while 'scope and purpose' had the highest one (87%). Low scores indicate where improvements are possible and necessary, e.g. by providing more information about the development. Key experts in occupational health report that AGREE is a relevant and easy to use instrument to evaluate quality aspects and the included criteria provide a good framework to develop or update evidence-based practice guidelines in the field of occupational health.

Supporting students with disabilities--promoting understanding amongst mentors in practice.

PubMed

Tee, Stephen; Cowen, Michelle

2012-01-01

Good practice demands a clinical practice culture positively disposed to students with disabilities. Equality legislation seeks to protect those with a disability from either direct or indirect discrimination. The balance between providing "reasonable adjustments" for the student, whilst ensuring "Fitness to Practice", and ultimate employability, requires a close partnership between higher education and practice mentors. This paper reports on the development and evaluation of a range of interactive resources, used in the preparation of mentors to help them address the specific learning needs of disabled students. The evaluation revealed the benefit of student 'stories' in helping mentors to understand the support needs of disabled students and ensure reasonable adjustments are implemented in compliance with disability legislation. The interactive resources have been helpful in promoting positive action towards disabled students' learning, empathic understanding of mental health issues and knowledge and skills acquisition in support of dyslexic students. Implementing reasonable adjustments in practice requires a close working partnership between HEI's and mentors who appreciate support in understanding the development and application of coping strategies to overcome disabilities. Effective preparation of mentors is essential to ensure that opportunities for disabled students to succeed are maximised. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Good Practice and Recommendations for Research Team Leadership

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

ARL-SR-0372 ● MAY 2017 US Army Research Laboratory Good Practice and Recommendations for Research Team Leadership by Mark L...Do not return it to the originator. ARL-SR-0372 ● MAY 2017 US Army Research Laboratory Good Practice and Recommendations for...information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services , Directorate for Information

Impacts of Good Practices on Cognitive Development, Learning Orientations, and Graduate Degree Plans during the First Year of College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cruce, Ty M.; Wolniak, Gregory C.; Seifert, Tricia A.; Pascarella, Ernest T.

2006-01-01

This study estimated separately the unique effects of three dimensions of good practice and the global effects of a composite measure of good practices on the cognitive development, orientations to learning, and educational aspirations of students during their first year of college. Analyses of longitudinal data from a representative sample of…

Knowledge for the good of the individual and society: linking philosophy, disciplinary goals, theory, and practice.

PubMed

McCurry, Mary K; Revell, Susan M Hunter; Roy, Sr Callista

2010-01-01

Nursing as a profession has a social mandate to contribute to the good of society through knowledge-based practice. Knowledge is built upon theories, and theories, together with their philosophical bases and disciplinary goals, are the guiding frameworks for practice. This article explores a philosophical perspective of nursing's social mandate, the disciplinary goals for the good of the individual and society, and one approach for translating knowledge into practice through the use of a middle-range theory. It is anticipated that the integration of the philosophical perspective and model into nursing practice will strengthen the philosophy, disciplinary goal, theory, and practice links and expand knowledge within the discipline. With the focus on humanization, we propose that nursing knowledge for social good will embrace a synthesis of the individual and the common good. This approach converges vital and agency needs described by Hamilton and the primacy of maintaining the heritage of the good within the human species as outlined by Maritain. Further, by embedding knowledge development in a changing social and health care context, nursing focuses on the goals of clinical reasoning and action. McCubbin and Patterson's Double ABCX Model of Family Adaptation was used as an example of a theory that can guide practice at the community and global level. Using the theory-practice link as a foundation, the Double ABCX model provides practising nurses with one approach to meet the needs of individuals and society. The integration of theory into nursing practice provides a guide to achieve nursing's disciplinary goals of promoting health and preventing illness across the globe. When nursing goals are directed at the synthesis of the good of the individual and society, nursing's social and moral mandate may be achieved.

Establishing an endovascular carotid stent program.

PubMed

Raabe, Rod; Chong, Brian

2004-12-01

FDA approval of carotid stent and distal protection devices has transformed carotid artery stenting (CAS) from an investigational procedure to a practical application. Recent approval by the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) has ensured that CAS will be a part of everyday practice throughout the country. To establish a competitive endovascular carotid stent program, one needs to develop an effective strategy. The key to success is substance and service. A high-quality clinical program with excellent communication between the patient and referring physician is essential. You must first get access to the patient by establishing a clinical practice. As a radiologist, you have the advantage of gaining access by identifying appropriate patients through noninvasive vascular labs, CTA, and MRA. An algorithm-driven evaluation and treatment protocol with good pre- and postoperative care, along with a quality assurance program, will ensure that your carotid stent program has substance and delivers optimal service. With good planning, you will have a firm clinical foundation for treatment of carotid artery stenosis in your community. Putting all of the ingredients together will ensure a successful carotid endovascular program.

[Practice marketing. Data analysis of a urological group practice].

PubMed

Schneider, T; Schneider, B; Eisenhardt, A; Sperling, H

2009-07-01

The urological practice setting in Germany has changed tremendously over the last years. Group practices with two or more urologists working together are becoming more and more popular. At the same time, marketing has become essential even for urologists. To evaluate the patient flow to our group practice, we asked all new patients to fill out a questionnaire (n=2112). We also evaluated the efficacy of our recall system. The analysis showed that patients were 18-93 years old (mean 57 years), 68% being male and 32% female. The largest age group consisted of 41-50-year-olds. The most important reasons for choosing our practice were recommendations by general practitioners in 38%, recommendations by specialists in 11%, and recommendations by friends and relatives in 27%. Five percent of the patients chose the practice because of the Internet home page and 10% because of entries in various phone books. Three percent of the patients came because of newspaper articles about the practice owners, and <1% had attended patient presentations. The Internet was used mainly by 31-40-year-old patients. Our recall system showed an efficacy of 59%. In summary, a good reputation in the medical society as well as in the neighbourhood is still the best advertising for a urological practice. Phone books are increasingly becoming less important, and the Internet is increasingly attractive to the younger population. Recall systems can also be useful for urological practices.

[Evaluation of an internet site on evidence-based medicine].

PubMed

Mathys, J; Steurer, J

2000-10-19

The present study evaluated a Swiss internet provider of Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) with regard to its utilization and function for medical practitioners. The internet provider under study (www.evimed.ch) primarily provides abstracts of original articles relevant to medical practice that are presented according to the criteria of EBM and includes information about EBM itself. In March 1999 a survey was conducted to better appraise the benefits gained from the information provided from the website visitors' point of view. Around 400 persons who had entered their names in the homepage guest book were informed about the survey by e-mail. A total of 167 questionnaires were filled in online, which is equivalent to the reply rate of close to 42%. The majority of the replies (63.5%) were from private-practice physicians, 22.2% from hospital-based physicians. The average age ranged between 40 and 49 years. 67.7% of the 167 respondents had internet access at their workplace, 72.5% had private internet access. For their own practical work, 61.1% of the respondents rated the information provided by www.evimed.ch as generally useful. The clinical relevance of the studies presented in the Journal Club was rated as good by 55.7% and as very good by 26.9%. The reliability of the information provided was rated as good by 56.3% and as very good by 35.3%. The majority regarded the following homepage sites as personally important: Journal Club (55.7%), articles about EBM (46.1%), MEDLINE access (37.7%) and article citations/links (41.3%). The homepage was visited at an average frequency of 1-3 times a month. 50.3% preferred electronic media (40.1% using various internet providers, 10.2% www.evimed.ch) and 44.3% preferred print media to search for specialist information on a specific medical subject. With regard to new medical findings, 44.9% of the respondents stated that they used print media, 17.4% the www.evimed.ch homepage and 28.7% other internet sources as their primary information medium. Based on this survey, the majority of the respondents gave a positive rating of the www.evimed.ch homepage. Information about EBM and critically appraised studies were evaluated as particularly useful.

12 CFR 308.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Good faith certification. 308.7 Section 308.7... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 308.7 Good faith certification. (a... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 1780.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Good faith certification. 1780.7 Section 1780.7... DEVELOPMENT RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE General Rules § 1780.7 Good faith... record is well-grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith, nonfrivolous argument...

12 CFR 263.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Good faith certification. 263.7 Section 263.7... (CONTINUED) RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 263.7 Good faith... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 263.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Good faith certification. 263.7 Section 263.7... RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 263.7 Good faith certification... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 263.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Good faith certification. 263.7 Section 263.7... (CONTINUED) RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 263.7 Good faith... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 308.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Good faith certification. 308.7 Section 308.7... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 308.7 Good faith certification. (a... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 263.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Good faith certification. 263.7 Section 263.7... (CONTINUED) RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 263.7 Good faith... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 308.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Good faith certification. 308.7 Section 308.7... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 308.7 Good faith certification. (a... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 308.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Good faith certification. 308.7 Section 308.7... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 308.7 Good faith certification. (a... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 308.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Good faith certification. 308.7 Section 308.7... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 308.7 Good faith certification. (a... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

12 CFR 1780.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Good faith certification. 1780.7 Section 1780.7... DEVELOPMENT RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE General Rules § 1780.7 Good faith... record is well-grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith, nonfrivolous argument...

12 CFR 263.7 - Good faith certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Good faith certification. 263.7 Section 263.7... RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS Uniform Rules of Practice and Procedure § 263.7 Good faith certification... in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or...

Non-medical prescribing of chemotherapy: engaging stakeholders to maximise success?

PubMed

Lennan, Elaine

2014-01-01

This study report examines the views and experiences of professional stakeholders about non-medical prescribing (NMP) of chemotherapy. The introduction of open formulary NMP has created opportunities to radically change health-care delivery. For chemotherapy services, the most recent advice from the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group [Department of Health (2009) Chemotherapy Services in England, ensuring quality and safety: a report from the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group, London Her Majesty's Stationary Office] clearly endorses the development of nurse- or pharmacist-led chemotherapy clinics. This is very much welcomed but is based on very limited evidence as to their effectiveness. A fourth-generation evaluation study. A purposeful sample of 23 stakeholders connected with the chemotherapy service was used. A serial data collection technique with individual interviews followed by uni-professional focus groups was adopted. Finally, a multi-professional focus group was held to determine the strategic way forward. Data were collected in 2009-2010. The study illuminated the key features necessary to maximise success of NMP in chemotherapy clinics and captures the importance of good working relationships. Whilst different practice models will emerge, fundamental and core to services is the need for good team working, established and effective communication strategies, and most importantly avoiding isolation in practice. This study additionally reinforced any evaluation takes place within preexisting political contexts and in particular medical dominance. Not all medical colleagues agreed with or wanted NMP for their patients, highlighting difficulties of developing new models of working within a resisting culture. No objections to NMP of chemotherapy were found, but, clearly, the context of practice needs to be agreed and supportedby all professional stakeholders. What is already known about this topicOpen formulary non-medical prescribing has been rapidly introduced over the past decade.Little research has been conducted in acute care and none in the chemotherapy setting.Cancer policy recommends the introduction of nurse-led chemotherapy clinics.What this paper addsNon-medical prescribing (NMP) in chemotherapy is appropriate with the right model of practice.Well-established professional relationships are a key to success.NMP is not appropriate in isolation of the multidisciplinary team (MDT).Implications for practice and/or policyNurses need to demonstrate the value of non-medical prescribing in chemotherapy using available metrics.Models of practice need to ensure good communication channels, MDT working, and transparency of prescribing.

European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society guideline on management of multifocal motor neuropathy.

PubMed

van Schaik, I N; Bouche, P; Illa, I; Léger, J-M; Van den Bergh, P; Cornblath, D R; Evers, E M A; Hadden, R D M; Hughes, R A C; Koski, C L; Nobile-Orazio, E; Pollard, J; Sommer, C; van Doorn, P A

2006-08-01

Several diagnostic criteria for multifocal motor neuropathy have been proposed in recent years and a beneficial effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and various other immunomodulatory drugs has been suggested in several trials and uncontrolled studies. The objectives were to prepare consensus guidelines on the definition, investigation and treatment of multifocal motor neuropathy. Disease experts and a patient representative considered references retrieved from MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library in July 2004 and prepared statements which were agreed in an iterative fashion. The Task Force agreed good practice points to define clinical and electrophysiological diagnostic criteria for multifocal motor neuropathy and investigations to be considered. The principal recommendations and good practice points were: (i) IVIg (2 g/kg given over 2-5 days) should be considered as the first line treatment (level A recommendation) when disability is sufficiently severe to warrant treatment. (ii) Corticosteroids are not recommended (good practice point). (iii) If initial treatment with IVIg is effective, repeated IVIg treatment should be considered (level C recommendation). The frequency of IVIg maintenance therapy should be guided by the individual response (good practice point). Typical treatment regimens are 1 g/kg every 2-4 weeks or 2 g/kg every 4-8 weeks (good practice point). (iv) If IVIg is not or not sufficiently effective then immunosuppressive treatment may be considered. Cyclophosphamide, ciclosporin, azathioprine, interferon beta1a, or rituximab are possible agents (good practice point). (v) Toxicity makes cyclophosphamide a less desirable option (good practice point).

7 CFR 1437.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (including ornamental fish), and floriculture, an environment in which everything that can practicably be..., as determined by CCC. Good farming practices means the cultural practices generally used for the crop... good farming practices. T-Yield means the yield which is based on the county expected yield of the crop...

SOAP Methodology in General Practice/Family Medicine Teaching in Practical Context.

PubMed

Santiago, Luiz Miguel; Neto, Isabel

2016-12-30

Medical records in General Practice/Family Medicine are an essential information support on the health status of the patient and a communication document between health professionals. The development of competencies in General Practice/Family Medicine during pre-graduation must include the ability to make adequate medical records in practical context. As of 2012, medicine students at the University of Beira Interior have been performing visits using the Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan - SOAP methodology, with a performance evaluation of the visit, with the aim to check on which Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan - SOAP aspects students reveal the most difficulties in order to define improvement techniques and to correlate patient grade with tutor evaluation. Analysing the evaluation data for the 2015 - 2016 school year at the General Practice/Family Medicine visit carried out by fourth year students in medicine, comparing the averages of each item in the Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan - SOAP checklist and the patient evaluation. In the Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan - SOAP, 29.7% of students are on the best grade quartile, 37.1% are on the best competencies quartile and 27.2% on the best patient grade quartile. 'Evolution was verified/noted' received the worst grades in Subjective, 'Record of physical examination focused on the problem of the visit' received the worst grades in Objective, 'Notes of Diagnostic reasoning / differential diagnostic' received de worst grades in Assessment and 'Negotiation of aims to achieve' received the worst grades in Plan. The best tutor evaluation is found in 'communication'. Only one single study evaluated student´s performance under examination during a visit, with similar results to the present one and none addressed the patient's evaluation. Students revealed a good performance in using the Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan - SOAP. The findings represent the beginning of the introduction of the Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan - SOAP to the students. This evaluation breaks ground towards better ways to teach the most difficult aspects.

Feeding, evaluating, and controlling rumen function.

PubMed

Lean, Ian J; Golder, Helen M; Hall, Mary Beth

2014-11-01

Achieving optimal rumen function requires an understanding of feeds and systems of nutritional evaluation. Key influences on optimal function include achieving good dry matter intake. The function of feeds in the rumen depends on other factors including chemical composition, rate of passage, degradation rate of the feed, availability of other substrates and cofactors, and individual animal variation. This article discusses carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism in the rumen, and provides practical means of evaluation of rations in the field. Conditions under which rumen function is suboptimal (ie, acidosis and bloat) are discussed, and methods for control examined. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of an online alternative to face-to-face consultation in general practice: a mixed-methods study of webGP in six Devon practices

PubMed Central

Carter, Mary; Fletcher, Emily; Sansom, Anna; Warren, Fiona C; Campbell, John L

2018-01-01

Objectives To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of webGP as piloted by six general practices. Methods Mixed-methods evaluation, including data extraction from practice databases, general practitioner (GP) completion of case reports, patient questionnaires and staff interviews. Setting General practices in NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group’s area approximately 6 months after implementing webGP (February–July 2016). Participants Six practices provided consultations data; 20 GPs completed case reports (regarding 61 e-consults); 81 patients completed questionnaires; 5 GPs and 5 administrators were interviewed. Outcome measures Attitudes and experiences of practice staff and patients regarding webGP. Results WebGP uptake during the evaluation was small, showing no discernible impact on practice workload. The completeness of cross-sectional data on consultation workload varied between practices. GPs judged 41/61 (72%) of webGP requests to require a face-to-face or telephone consultation. Introducing webGP appeared to be associated with shifts in responsibility and workload between practice staff and between practices and patients. 81/231 patients completed a postal survey (35.1% response rate). E-Consulters were somewhat younger and more likely to be employed than face-to-face respondents. WebGP appeared broadly acceptable to patients regarding timeliness and quality/experience of care provided. Similar problems were presented by all respondents. Both groups appeared equally familiar with other practice online services; e-consulters were somewhat more likely to have used them. From semistructured staff interviews, it appeared that, while largely acceptable within practice, introducing e-consults had potential for adverse interactions with pre-existing practice systems. Conclusions There is potential to assess the impact of new systems on consultation patterns by extracting routine data from practice databases. Staff and patients noticed subtle changes to responsibilities associated with online options. Greater uptake requires good communication between practice and patients, and organisation of systems to avoid conflicts and misuse. Further research is required to evaluate the full potential of webGP in managing practice workload. PMID:29449293

Implementing Primary Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) Small Group Interventions: Recommendations for Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lendrum, Ann; Humphrey, Neil; Kalambouka, Afroditi; Wigelsworth, Michael

2009-01-01

This article presents an extended vignette describing a good practice model for implementing SEAL small group work at "Mellington Primary", a fictional school. The vignette/model was developed from in-depth case studies at five primary schools in the north-west of England during a national evaluation of primary SEAL by the authors. The…

Influence of Burke and Lessing on the Semiotic Theory of Document Design: Ideologies and Good Visual Images of Documents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ding, Daniel D.

2000-01-01

Presents historical roots of page design principles, arguing that current theories and practices of document design have their roots in gender-related theories of images. Claims visual design should be evaluated regarding the rhetorical situation in which the design is used. Focuses on visual images of documents in professional communication,…

A Junior High School Industrial Technology Curriculum Project: A Final Evaluation of the Industrial Arts Curriculum Project (IACP), 1965-1971.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buffer, James J.; And Others

The objective of the Industrial Arts Curriculum Project (IACP) was to develop, refine, and institutionalize a new and relevant 2-year junior high industrial arts program. The study focused on "industrial technology," the knowledge of management, production, and personnel practices used by men to produce goods to satisfy their needs…

Developing the Effective Teacher: Hiring, Evaluation, and Retention Practices for the School Administrator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whaley, Jamie, Ed.; Cox, Cheryl, Ed.

Educators love to say it takes a village to raise a child. This task is accomplished through the skills, talents, and support of good teachers. This manual is designed to help school administrators help their teachers and students reach their maximum potential. It contains tools, tips, and guidelines that school leaders around the nation use to…

Good Practices for Student Learning: Mixed-Method Evidence from the Wabash National Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Kathleen M.; Magolda, Marcia Baxter; Seifert, Tricia A.; King, Patricia M.

2011-01-01

Since 2006, 19 institutions across the United States have been trying to figure out how to work smarter through their participation in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. Drawing on data from the first year of the study, the robust, mixed-methods study the authors report in this article evaluated growth in the first year of…

The economic impact of timber harvesting practices on NIPF properties in West Virginia

Treesearch

Stuart A. Moss; Eric Heitzman

2013-01-01

Post-harvest inventories were performed on 90 timber harvests conducted on nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) properties in West Virginia. Each harvest was evaluated based on a combination of residual stocking level, proportion of the residual stand in acceptable growing stock, and damage to the residual trees. Four post-harvest stands representative of good or poor...

An Application of the Seven Principles of Good Practice to Online Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hathaway, Karen L.

2014-01-01

Online learning has become a more common way to earn a college degree during the past ten years. Therefore, curriculum designers must evaluate the best ways in which to deliver information and assess student knowledge in an online forum. One way in which online courses can be designed is by using transition into the associate dean position (1996).…

[Clinical application evaluation of Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Diseases of Pediatrics in Traditional Chinese Medicine].

PubMed

Liu, Meng-Yu; Yang, Wei; Wang, Li-Ying; Zhao, Xue-Yao; Wang, Yue-Xi; Liu, Yu-Qi; Han, Xue-Jie; Lv, Ai-Ping

2017-09-01

Clinical application evaluation research of Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Diseases of Pediatrics in Traditional Chinese Medicine intends to evaluate the quality level and clinical application of the guideline. A questionnaire and prospective case survey methods were used to evaluate the applicability evaluation based on the clinician questionnaire and the application evaluation based on clinical case observation. The applicability evaluation, familiarity and utilization rate of doctors' guidelines were 85.06%, 62.76%; Sort by technical grade, intermediate grade doctors have a higher familiarity rate and utilization rate, while the junior grade doctor's is lower; Guide quality level of applicability evaluation, other items' rational percentage are better than 96% except the items of health preserving and prevention and other treatment is relatively low; Items' applicable percentage of applicability evaluation are more than 91% except the item of guide simplicity. Comprehensive applicability evaluation, The percentage of the guideline applicable to clinical practice accounted for 94.94%. The consistency rate of syndrome differentiation and clinical application is more than 96% in addition to prescription medication, other treatments and health preserving and prevention of the guidelines apply consistency of application evaluation. The percentage of good treatment effect accounted for 92.96% of application effect evaluation. The safety percentage is 99.89% and economy is 97.45%. The research shows that of Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Diseases of Pediatrics in Traditional Chinese Medicine quality level is good and is basically applicable to pediatric clinical practice which can be used as a standardized recommendation of pediatric common diseases' treatment specification. A small part of the guidelines are not applicable and need to be further consummated. Health preserving and prevention and other treatment of the guideline need to be revised. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Postauthorization safety surveillance of ADVATE [antihaemophilic factor (recombinant), plasma/albumin-free method] demonstrates efficacy, safety and low-risk for immunogenicity in routine clinical practice.

PubMed

Oldenburg, J; Goudemand, J; Valentino, L; Richards, M; Luu, H; Kriukov, A; Gajek, H; Spotts, G; Ewenstein, B

2010-11-01

  Postauthorization safety surveillance of factor VIII (FVIII) concentrates is essential for assessing rare adverse event incidence. We determined safety and efficacy of ADVATE [antihaemophilic factor (recombinant), plasma/albumin-free method, (rAHF-PFM)] during routine clinical practice. Subjects with differing haemophilia A severities and medical histories were monitored during 12 months of prophylactic and/or on-demand therapy. Among 408 evaluable subjects, 386 (95%) received excellent/good efficacy ratings for all on-demand assessments; the corresponding number for subjects with previous FVIII inhibitors was 36/41 (88%). Among 276 evaluable subjects receiving prophylaxis continuously in the study, 255 (92%) had excellent/good ratings for all prophylactic assessments; the corresponding number for subjects with previous FVIII inhibitors was 41/46 (89%). Efficacy of surgical prophylaxis was excellent/good in 16/16 evaluable procedures. Among previously treated patients (PTPs) with >50 exposure days (EDs) and FVIII≤2%, three (0.75%) developed low-titre inhibitors. Two of these subjects had a positive inhibitor history; thus, the incidence of de novo inhibitor formation in PTPs with FVIII≤2% and no inhibitor history was 1/348 (0.29%; 95% CI, 0.01-1.59%). A PTP with moderate haemophilia developed a low-titre inhibitor. High-titre inhibitors were reported in a PTP with mild disease (following surgery), a previously untreated patient (PUP) with moderate disease (following surgery) and a PUP with severe disease. The favourable benefit/risk profile of rAHF-PFM previously documented in prospective clinical trials has been extended to include a broader range of haemophilia patients, many of whom would have been ineligible for registration studies. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Patient safety and infection control: bases for curricular integration.

PubMed

Silva, Andréa Mara Bernardes da; Bim, Lucas Lazarini; Bim, Felipe Lazarini; Sousa, Alvaro Francisco Lopes; Domingues, Pedro Castania Amadio; Nicolussi, Adriana Cristina; Andrade, Denise de

2018-05-01

To analyze curricular integration between teaching of patient safety and good infection prevention and control practices. Integrative review, designed to answer the question: "How does curricular integration of content about 'patient safety teaching' and content about 'infection prevention and control practices' occur in undergraduate courses in the health field?". The following databases were searched for primary studies: CINAHL, LILACS, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, Europe PMC and MEDLINE. The final sample consisted of 13 studies. After content analysis, primary studies were grouped into two subject categories: "Innovative teaching practices" and "Curricular evaluation. Patient safety related to infection prevention and control practices is present in the curriculum of health undergraduate courses, but is not coordinated with other themes, is taught sporadically, and focuses mainly on hand hygiene.

Influence of good manufacturing practices on the shelf life of refrigerated fillets of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) packed in modified atmosphere and gamma-irradiated

PubMed Central

Monteiro, Maria Lúcia Guerra; Mársico, Eliane Teixeira; Mano, Sérgio Borges; Teixeira, Claudia Emília; da Cruz Silva Canto, Anna Carolina Vilhena; de Carvalho Vital, Helio; Conte-Júnior, Carlos Adam

2013-01-01

This study evaluated the influence of good manufacturing practices (GMP) on the shelf life of refrigerated fillets of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) packed in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and irradiated. In a first series of experiments, 120 tilapia fillets kept under controlled sanitary conditions were purchased from a fish market managed by a cooperative. A second lot totaling 200 tilapia fillets was obtained under controlled storage conditions from a pilot plant. The combined effects of MAP (40% CO2 and 60% N2) and irradiation (1.5 kGy) were investigated by monitoring physical and chemical (total volatile bases and pH), bacteriological (aerobic heterotrophic mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria) and sensory (acceptance test) changes in the samples. The quality of samples decreased with storage time regardless of the treatment, remaining higher in fillets produced in the pilot plant in comparison with the commercially produced fillets. The observed shelf life of nonirradiated commercially produced fillets was only 3 days, compared to 8 days for those produced in the pilot plant, probably due to GMP in the latter. It was concluded that, even with a combination of proven conservation methods for meats, the adoption of good manufacturing practices still remains essential before, during, and after the filleting process in order to ensure the effectiveness of the entire treatment. PMID:24804034

Laboratory considerations of United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <71> sterility tests and its application to pharmaceutical compounding.

PubMed

Hyde, Tiffany D

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <71> Sterility Tests from the perspective of Current Good Manufacturing Practices in order to aid compounding pharmacists in understanding the details and complexities that are required. Compounding pharmacists face a unique challenge in the industry today, with their compounding practice and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration trying to impose Current Good Manufacturing Practices guidelines. Naturally, this becomes a challenge to contract testing laboratories as well, as they are caught between the testing for non-Current Good Manufacturing Practices compounding standards and Current Good Manufacturing Practices manufacturing. It is important that the compounding pharmacist and their partner testing laboratory work closely together to ensure appropriate requirements are being met.

Identifying characteristics and practices of multidisciplinary team reviews for patients with severe mental illness: a systematic review.

PubMed

Woody, Charlotte A; Baxter, Amanda J; Harris, Meredith G; Siskind, Dan J; Whiteford, Harvey A

2018-06-01

Multidisciplinary teams in mental health receive limited guidance, leading to inconsistent practices. We undertook a systematic review of the characteristics and practices of multidisciplinary team reviews for patients with severe mental illness or in relevant mental health service settings. Sources published since 2000 were located via academic database and web searches. Results were synthesised narratively. A total of 14 sources were analysed. Important characteristics and practices identified included routine monitoring and evaluation, good communication, equality between team members, and clear documentation practices. Success factors included defined leadership and clear team goals. Four sources described considerations for patients with complex clinical needs, including allocating sufficient time for discussion, maintaining connections with community providers, and ensuring culturally sensitive practices. No single best practice model was found, due to variations in team caseload, casemix, and resourcing levels. However, key ingredients for success were proposed. Sources were mostly descriptive; there remains a lack of evidence-based guidance regarding multidisciplinary team review characteristics and practices.

Information Quality in Regulatory Decision Making: Peer Review versus Good Laboratory Practice.

PubMed

McCarty, Lynn S; Borgert, Christopher J; Mihaich, Ellen M

2012-07-01

There is an ongoing discussion on the provenance of toxicity testing data regarding how best to ensure its validity and credibility. A central argument is whether journal peer-review procedures are superior to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards employed for compliance with regulatory mandates. We sought to evaluate the rationale for regulatory decision making based on peer-review procedures versus GLP standards. We examined pertinent published literature regarding how scientific data quality and validity are evaluated for peer review, GLP compliance, and development of regulations. Some contend that peer review is a coherent, consistent evaluative procedure providing quality control for experimental data generation, analysis, and reporting sufficient to reliably establish relative merit, whereas GLP is seen as merely a tracking process designed to thwart investigator corruption. This view is not supported by published analyses pointing to subjectivity and variability in peer-review processes. Although GLP is not designed to establish relative merit, it is an internationally accepted quality assurance, quality control method for documenting experimental conduct and data. Neither process is completely sufficient for establishing relative scientific soundness. However, changes occurring both in peer-review processes and in regulatory guidance resulting in clearer, more transparent communication of scientific information point to an emerging convergence in ensuring information quality. The solution to determining relative merit lies in developing a well-documented, generally accepted weight-of-evidence scheme to evaluate both peer-reviewed and GLP information used in regulatory decision making where both merit and specific relevance inform the process.

[What everybody should know about good clinical practices].

PubMed

Osorio, Lyda

2015-01-01

An increasing number of countries are adopting good clinical practices guidelines as part of the regulation of clinical studies to register pharmaceutical products and other health-related products. Consequently, all parties involved in the research and development of these products should know them, implement them and ensure their compliance. However, good clinical practices guidelines are just one of the initiatives seeking to achieve the highest ethical and scientific standards in health research and in other areas where humans are research subjects. This review defines such practices and their objectives presenting in a practical manner their legal framework in Colombia, and clarifying their application in studies where interventions use no medications or those that are not clinical trials. Finally, the work discusses the challenges to ensure that good clinical practices contribute to the protection of research participants, the education of trustworthy health professionals, and a culture of respect for human beings.

Prioritizing guideline topics: development and evaluation of a practical tool.

PubMed

Ketola, Eeva; Toropainen, Erja; Kaila, Minna; Luoto, Riitta; Mäkelä, Marjukka

2007-08-01

A clear process for selecting and adopting clinical practice guidelines in the new topic areas is needed. The aim of this study is to design and develop a practical tool to assess guideline topics that have been suggested to the organization responsible for producing guidelines. We carried out an iterative development, feasibility and validation study of a guideline topic prioritization tool. The setting included the guideline producer organization and the tax-funded health care system. In the first stage of the tool development, participants were researchers, members of the Current Care Board and experts from health care organizations. In the second stage, the evaluation was done internally within the project by three independent reviewers. The main outcome measures were responses to an evaluation questionnaire, qualitative process feedback and analysis of the performance of the instrument on a random set of guidelines. Evaluations by three independent reviewers revealed good agreement and face validity with respect to its feasibility as a planning tool at the guideline board level. Feedback from board members suggested that the instrument is useful in prioritizing guideline topics. This instrument was accepted for use by the Board. Further developments are needed to ensure feedback and acceptability of the instrument by those proposing topics.

Developmental procedures for the clinical practice guidelines for conscious sedation in dentistry for the Korean Academy of Dental Sciences.

PubMed

An, So-Youn; Seo, Kwang-Suk; Kim, Seungoh; Kim, Jongbin; Lee, Deok-Won; Hwang, Kyung-Gyun; Kim, Hyun Jeong

2016-12-01

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are defined as "statements that are scientifically reviewed about evidence and systematically developed to assist in the doctors' and patients' decision making in certain clinical situations." This recommendation aims to promote good clinical practice for the provision of safe and effective practices of conscious sedation in dentistry. The development of this clinical practice guideline was conducted by performing a systematic search of the literature for evidence-based CPGs. Existing guidelines, relevant systematic reviews, policy documents, legislation, or other recommendations were reviewed and appraised. To supplement this information, key questions were formulated by the Guideline Development Group and used as the basis for designing systematic literature search strategies to identify literature that may address these questions. Guideline documents were evaluated through a review of domestic and international databases for the development of a renewing of existing conscious sedation guidelines for dentistry. Clinical practice guidelines were critically appraised for their methodologies using Appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation (AGREE) II. A total of 12 existing CPGs were included and 13 recommendations were made in a range of general, adult, and pediatric areas. The clinical practice guidelines for conscious sedation will be reviewed in 5 years' time for further updates to reflect significant changes in the field.

Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiologic Research. The Chemical Manufacturers Association's Epidemiology Task Group.

PubMed

1991-12-01

The Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices (GEPs) for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiologic Research address the conduct of studies generally undertaken to answer questions about human health in relationship to the work place or the environment. The GEPs propose minimum practices and procedures that should be considered to help ensure the quality and integrity of data used in epidemiologic research and to provide adequate documentation of the research methods. The GEPs address the process of conducting individual epidemiologic studies and do not prescribe specific research methods. The Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices propose minimum practices and procedures in the following areas: I. Organization and Personnel II. Facilities, Resource Commitment, and Contractors III. Protocol IV. Review and Approval V. Study Conduct VI. Communication VII. Archiving VIII. Quality Assurance Although the Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices will not guarantee good epidemiology, they do provide a useful framework for ensuring that all research issues are adequately addressed. This framework is proposed as a first step in improving epidemiologic research practices through adherence to sound scientific research principles. Appendices provide an overview of standard operating procedures, a glossary of terms used in the Guidelines, and suggested references on occupational epidemiology methods.

16 CFR 301.48a - Guaranties not received in good faith.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Guaranties not received in good faith. 301.48a Section 301.48a Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REGULATIONS UNDER SPECIFIC ACTS OF... received in good faith. A guaranty shall not be deemed to have been received in good faith within the...

16 CFR 301.48a - Guaranties not received in good faith.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Guaranties not received in good faith. 301.48a Section 301.48a Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REGULATIONS UNDER SPECIFIC ACTS OF... received in good faith. A guaranty shall not be deemed to have been received in good faith within the...

16 CFR 301.48a - Guaranties not received in good faith.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Guaranties not received in good faith. 301.48a Section 301.48a Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REGULATIONS UNDER SPECIFIC ACTS OF... received in good faith. A guaranty shall not be deemed to have been received in good faith within the...

16 CFR 301.48a - Guaranties not received in good faith.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Guaranties not received in good faith. 301.48a Section 301.48a Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REGULATIONS UNDER SPECIFIC ACTS OF... received in good faith. A guaranty shall not be deemed to have been received in good faith within the...

Good laboratory practices for biochemical genetic testing and newborn screening for inherited metabolic disorders.

PubMed

2012-04-06

Biochemical genetic testing and newborn screening are essential laboratory services for the screening, detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of inborn errors of metabolism or inherited metabolic disorders. Under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations, laboratory testing is categorized on the basis of the level of testing complexity as either waived (i.e., from routine regulatory oversight) or nonwaived testing (which includes tests of moderate and high complexity). Laboratories that perform biochemical genetic testing are required by CLIA regulations to meet the general quality systems requirements for nonwaived testing and the personnel requirements for high-complexity testing. Laboratories that perform public health newborn screening are subject to the same CLIA regulations and applicable state requirements. As the number of inherited metabolic diseases that are included in state-based newborn screening programs continues to increase, ensuring the quality of performance and delivery of testing services remains a continuous challenge not only for public health laboratories and other newborn screening facilities but also for biochemical genetic testing laboratories. To help ensure the quality of laboratory testing, CDC collaborated with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to develop guidelines for laboratories to meet CLIA requirements and apply additional quality assurance measures for these areas of genetic testing. This report provides recommendations for good laboratory practices that were developed based on recommendations from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee, with additional input from the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society; the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children; and representatives of newborn screening laboratories. The recommended practices address the benefits of using a quality management system approach, factors to consider before introducing new tests, establishment and verification of test performance specifications, the total laboratory testing process (which consists of the preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic phases), confidentiality of patient information and test results, and personnel qualifications and responsibilities for laboratory testing for inherited metabolic diseases. These recommendations are intended for laboratories that perform biochemical genetic testing to improve the quality of laboratory services and for newborn screening laboratories to ensure the quality of laboratory practices for inherited metabolic disorders. These recommendations also are intended as a resource for medical and public health professionals who evaluate laboratory practices, for users of laboratory services to facilitate their collaboration with newborn screening systems and use of biochemical genetic tests, and for standard-setting organizations and professional societies in developing future laboratory quality standards and practice recommendations. This report complements Good Laboratory Practices for Molecular Genetic Testing for Heritable Diseases and Conditions (CDC. Good laboratory practices for molecular genetic testing for heritable diseases and conditions. MMWR 2009;58 [No. RR-6]) to provide guidance for ensuring and improving the quality of genetic laboratory services and public health outcomes. Future recommendations for additional areas of genetic testing will be considered on the basis of continued monitoring and evaluation of laboratory practices, technology advancements, and the development of laboratory standards and guidelines.

WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations.

PubMed

2011-01-01

The Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations works towards clear, independent and practical standards and guidelines for the quality assurance of medicines. Standards are developed by the Committee through worldwide consultation and an international consensus-building process. The following new guidelines were adopted and recommended for use: procedure for adoption of International Chemical Reference Substances; WHO good practices for pharmaceutical microbiology laboratories; good manufacturing practices: main principles for pharmaceutical products; good manufacturing practices for blood establishments (jointly with the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization); guidelines on good manufacturing practices for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems for non-sterile pharmaceutical dosage forms; good manufacturing practices for sterile pharmaceutical products; guidelines on transfer of technology in pharmaceutical manufacturing; good pharmacy practice: standards for quality of pharmacy services (joint FIP/WHO); model guidance for the storage and transport of time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products (jointly with the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization); procedure for prequalification of pharmaceutical products; guide on submission of documentation for prequalification of innovator finished pharmaceutical products approved by stringent regulatory authorities; prequalification of quality control laboratories: procedure for assessing the acceptability, in principle, of quality control laboratories for use by United Nations agencies; guidelines for preparing a laboratory information file; guidelines for drafting a site master file; guidelines on submission of documentation for a multisource (generic) finished product: general format: preparation of product dossiers in common technical document format.

Variable implementation of good practice recommendations for the assessment and management of UK children with neurodisability.

PubMed

Gray, L; Gibbs, J; Jolleff, N; Williams, J; McConachie, H; Parr, J R

2015-11-01

The aims of this study were to determine whether UK child development teams (CDTs) have implemented good practice recommendations for the co-ordinated assessment and support of children with neurodisability and to explore some of the factors associated with variations in good practice implementation. Surveys were sent to every UK CDT in 2009/2010. Responses about CDT provision and ways of working were compared with good practice recommendations from national policy documents and professional organizations. The extent to which CDTs in England and Wales met 11 selected good practice recommendations was scored; teams in Scotland and Northern Ireland were given a score out of 9 to reflect the optional use of the common assessment framework and early support materials in these countries. Responses were received from 225/240 (94%) UK CDTs. Thirty-seven per cent of CDTs in England and Wales had implemented nine or more of the 11 recommendations. Fifty-nine per cent of teams in Scotland and 78% of teams in Northern Ireland met between six and nine recommendations of good working practice. Higher levels of implementation of recommendations were found when the CDT had a Child Development Centre base and for teams who had received increased funding in the 5 years preceding the survey. There was considerable variability in the degree to which CDTs implemented good practice recommendations for the diagnosis and management of children with neurodisability. Evidence about child and parent satisfaction, and the effectiveness of CDT practices and provision, is required, so policymakers, healthcare commissioners and clinicians can provide the most appropriate services to children with neurodisability and their families. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

9 CFR 149.1 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... generates a written record documenting a pork production site's adherence to the required good production... production site for compliance with good production practices and other program requirements of the Trichinae... or higher, based on adherence to good production practices and other program requirements as provided...

9 CFR 149.1 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... generates a written record documenting a pork production site's adherence to the required good production... production site for compliance with good production practices and other program requirements of the Trichinae... or higher, based on adherence to good production practices and other program requirements as provided...

Knowledge, attitude and practice of women in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil with respect to physical exercise in pregnancy: a descriptive study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Pregnancy is a good time to develop healthy lifestyle habits including regular exercise and good nutrition. Programs of physical exercise for pregnant women have been recommended; however, there are few references on this subject in the literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of pregnant women with respect to appropriate physical exercise during pregnancy, and also to investigate why some women do not exercise during pregnancy. Methods A descriptive study was conducted in which 161 women of 18 to 45 years of age were interviewed in the third trimester of pregnancy. These women were receiving prenatal care at National Health Service (SUS) primary healthcare units and had no pathologies for which physical exercise would constitute a risk. The women were selected at an ultrasonography clinic accredited to the SUS in Campinas, São Paulo. A previously elaborated knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire was used to collect data, which were then stored in an Epinfo database. Statistical analysis was conducted using Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test to evaluate the association between the study variables (p < 0.05). Results Almost two-thirds (65.6%) of the women were sufficiently informed about the practice of physical exercise during pregnancy and the vast majority (93.8%) was in favor of it. Nevertheless, only just over 20% of the women in this sample exercised adequately. Significant associations were found between an adequate knowledge of physical exercise during pregnancy and education level (p = 0.0014) and between the adequate practice of physical exercise during pregnancy and having had fewer pregnancies (p = 0.0001). Lack of time and feeling tired and uncomfortable were the principal reasons given by the women for not exercising. Conclusion These results suggest that women's knowledge concerning the practice of physical exercise during pregnancy is reasonable and their attitude is favorable; however, relatively few actually exercise during pregnancy. PMID:22051371

Knowledge, attitude and practice of women in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil with respect to physical exercise in pregnancy: a descriptive study.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Carmen P; Milanez, Helaine

2011-11-03

Pregnancy is a good time to develop healthy lifestyle habits including regular exercise and good nutrition. Programs of physical exercise for pregnant women have been recommended; however, there are few references on this subject in the literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of pregnant women with respect to appropriate physical exercise during pregnancy, and also to investigate why some women do not exercise during pregnancy. A descriptive study was conducted in which 161 women of 18 to 45 years of age were interviewed in the third trimester of pregnancy. These women were receiving prenatal care at National Health Service (SUS) primary healthcare units and had no pathologies for which physical exercise would constitute a risk. The women were selected at an ultrasonography clinic accredited to the SUS in Campinas, São Paulo. A previously elaborated knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire was used to collect data, which were then stored in an Epinfo database. Statistical analysis was conducted using Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test to evaluate the association between the study variables (p < 0.05). Almost two-thirds (65.6%) of the women were sufficiently informed about the practice of physical exercise during pregnancy and the vast majority (93.8%) was in favor of it. Nevertheless, only just over 20% of the women in this sample exercised adequately. Significant associations were found between an adequate knowledge of physical exercise during pregnancy and education level (p = 0.0014) and between the adequate practice of physical exercise during pregnancy and having had fewer pregnancies (p = 0.0001). Lack of time and feeling tired and uncomfortable were the principal reasons given by the women for not exercising. These results suggest that women's knowledge concerning the practice of physical exercise during pregnancy is reasonable and their attitude is favorable; however, relatively few actually exercise during pregnancy.

Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy: Knowledge, Attitude, Practice (KAP) among Diabetic Patients in A Tertiary Eye Care Centre

PubMed Central

Srinivasan, Nithin Keshav; John, Deepa; Rebekah, Grace; Kujur, Evon Selina; Paul, Padma

2017-01-01

Introduction Diabetic retinopathy is becoming an increasingly important cause of visual impairment in India. Many diabetic patients who come to our centre have undetected, advanced diabetic retinopathy. If diabetic retinopathy had been detected earlier in these patients, irreversible visual impairment could have been prevented. Aim To document Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) patterns of diabetic patients regarding diabetes and diabetic retinopathy, to determine association between them, and to identify barriers to compliance with follow up and treatment regimes. Materials and Methods This was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study, conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology at Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, over a six-month period from June 2013 to November 2013. Two hundred and eighty eight diabetic patients, who fulfilled the eligibility criteria, were included in the study. KAP of patients was assessed using a 45-point, verbally administered questionnaire. Patients were placed in different categories, such as, ‘good/ poor’ knowledge, ‘positive/negative’ attitude and ‘good/poor’ practice. Data were analysed using Chi-square test and binary logistic regression, as appropriate. The proportion of patients with ‘good/poor’ knowledge, ‘positive/negative’ attitude and ‘good/poor’ practice, and the association between KAP were studied. Barriers to compliance with follow up/treatment regimes were identified. Results Out of the 288 patients in the study, 42% had good knowledge about diabetes, but only 4.5% had good knowledge about retinopathy. Good knowledge about diabetes was significantly associated with positive attitude towards diabetes and good practice patterns regarding retinopathy; awareness of retinopathy was also significantly associated with good practice. A total of 61.1% of patients did not have periodic eye examination; most common barrier identified was lack of awareness about the necessity for this (38.5%). Conclusion Good knowledge about the disease was significantly associated with positive attitude and good practice patterns. Knowledge about diabetic retinopathy was poor among the patients in our study. Lack of awareness concerning the need for screening for retinopathy was a major barrier to regular screening. There is an urgent need to educate diabetic patients about this potentially blinding complication of diabetes. PMID:28892947

Challenges of Maintaining Good Clinical Laboratory Practices in Low-Resource Settings:  A Health Program Evaluation Framework Case Study From East Africa.

PubMed

Zhang, Helen L; Omondi, Michael W; Musyoka, Augustine M; Afwamba, Isaac A; Swai, Remigi P; Karia, Francis P; Muiruri, Charles; Reddy, Elizabeth A; Crump, John A; Rubach, Matthew P

2016-08-01

Using a clinical research laboratory as a case study, we sought to characterize barriers to maintaining Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) services in a developing world setting. Using a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention framework for program evaluation in public health, we performed an evaluation of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre-Duke University Health Collaboration clinical research laboratory sections of the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute in Moshi, Tanzania. Laboratory records from November 2012 through October 2014 were reviewed for this analysis. During the 2-year period of study, seven instrument malfunctions suspended testing required for open clinical trials. A median (range) of 9 (1-55) days elapsed between instrument malfunction and biomedical engineer service. Sixteen (76.1%) of 21 suppliers of reagents, controls, and consumables were based outside Tanzania. Test throughput among laboratory sections used a median (range) of 0.6% (0.2%-2.7%) of instrument capacity. Five (55.6%) of nine laboratory technologists left their posts over 2 years. These findings demonstrate that GCLP laboratory service provision in this setting is hampered by delays in biomedical engineer support, delays and extra costs in commodity procurement, low testing throughput, and high personnel turnover. © American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social network of PESCA (Open Source Platform for eHealth).

PubMed

Sanchez, Carlos L; Romero-Cuevas, Miguel; Lopez, Diego M; Lorca, Julio; Alcazar, Francisco J; Ruiz, Sergio; Mercado, Carmen; Garcia-Fortea, Pedro

2008-01-01

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are revolutionizing how healthcare systems deliver top-quality care to citizens. In this way, Open Source Software (OSS) has demonstrated to be an important strategy to spread ICTs use. Several human and technological barriers in adopting OSS for healthcare have been identified. Human barriers include user acceptance, limited support, technical skillfulness, awareness, resistance to change, etc., while Technological barriers embrace need for open standards, heterogeneous OSS developed without normalization and metrics, lack of initiatives to evaluate existing health OSS and need for quality control and functional validation. The goals of PESCA project are to create a platform of interoperable modules to evaluate, classify and validate good practices in health OSS. Furthermore, a normalization platform will provide interoperable solutions in the fields of healthcare services, health surveillance, health literature, and health education, knowledge and research. Within the platform, the first goal to achieve is the setup of the collaborative work infrastructure. The platform is being organized as a Social Network which works to evaluate five scopes of every existing open source tools for eHealth: Open Source Software, Quality, Pedagogical, Security and privacy and Internationalization/I18N. In the meantime, the knowledge collected from the networking will configure a Good Practice Repository on eHealth promoting the effective use of ICT on behalf of the citizen's health.

Information as a Measure of Model Skill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roulston, M. S.; Smith, L. A.

2002-12-01

Physicist Paul Davies has suggested that rather than the quest for laws that approximate ever more closely to "truth", science should be regarded as the quest for compressibility. The goodness of a model can be judged by the degree to which it allows us to compress data describing the real world. The "logarithmic scoring rule" is a method for evaluating probabilistic predictions of reality that turns this philosophical position into a practical means of model evaluation. This scoring rule measures the information deficit or "ignorance" of someone in possession of the prediction. A more applied viewpoint is that the goodness of a model is determined by its value to a user who must make decisions based upon its predictions. Any form of decision making under uncertainty can be reduced to a gambling scenario. Kelly showed that the value of a probabilistic prediction to a gambler pursuing the maximum return on their bets depends on their "ignorance", as determined from the logarithmic scoring rule, thus demonstrating a one-to-one correspondence between data compression and gambling returns. Thus information theory provides a way to think about model evaluation, that is both philosophically satisfying and practically oriented. P.C.W. Davies, in "Complexity, Entropy and the Physics of Information", Proceedings of the Santa Fe Institute, Addison-Wesley 1990 J. Kelly, Bell Sys. Tech. Journal, 35, 916-926, 1956.

The Utilization of the Seven Principles for Good Practices of Full-Time and Adjunct Faculty in Teaching Health & Science in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musaitif, Linda M.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which undergraduate full-time and adjunct faculty members in the health and science programs at community colleges in Southern California utilize the seven principles of good practice as measured by the Faculty Inventory of the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate…

Guide to good practices for operations and administration updates through required reading

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

Not Available

1992-12-01

The purpose of this Guide to Good Practices is to provide Department of Energy (DOE) contractors with information that can be used to validate and/or modify existing programs relative to Conduct of Operations. This Guide to Good Practices is part of a series of guides designed to enhance the guidelines set forth in DOE Order 5480. 19, Conduct of Operations Requirements for DOE Facilities.'' (JDB)

Guide to good practices for operations and administration updates through required reading

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

Not Available

1992-12-01

The purpose of this Guide to Good Practices is to provide Department of Energy (DOE) contractors with information that can be used to validate and/or modify existing programs relative to Conduct of Operations. This Guide to Good Practices is part of a series of guides designed to enhance the guidelines set forth in DOE Order 5480. 19, ``Conduct of Operations Requirements for DOE Facilities.`` (JDB)

76 FR 24291 - Proposed National Marketing Agreement Regulating Leafy Green Vegetables; Recommended Decision and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-29

... Practices (GAPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Handling Practices (GHPs). The program would be voluntary, and cover both United States and... referred to as the ``Act'', and the applicable rules of practice and procedure governing the formulation of...

Good medical ethics, from the inside out--and back again.

PubMed

Oakley, Justin

2015-01-01

I argue here that good medical ethics requires an empirically-informed moral psychology of medical virtue along with sound action-guiding prescriptions for virtuous medical practice. After distinguishing between three levels of justification, I indicate how medical virtue ethics can draw constructively on relevant empirical research in developing feasible and realistic aspirational standards for doctors, and in evaluating how policymakers can support doctors in acting on the virtues that doctors agreed to be guided by when they joined the profession. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Framework for Selecting Best Practices in Public Health: A Systematic Literature Review

PubMed Central

de Colombani, Pierpaolo

2015-01-01

Evidence-based public health has commonly relied on findings from empirical studies, or research-based evidence. However, this paper advocates that practice-based evidence derived from programmes implemented in real-life settings is likely to be a more suitable source of evidence for inspiring and guiding public health programmes. Selection of best practices from the array of implemented programmes is one way of generating such practice-based evidence. Yet the lack of consensus on the definition and criteria for practice-based evidence and best practices has limited their application in public health so far. To address the gap in literature on practice-based evidence, this paper hence proposes measures of success for public health interventions by developing an evaluation framework for selection of best practices. The proposed framework was synthesised from a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed and grey literature on existing evaluation frameworks for public health programmes as well as processes employed by health-related organisations when selecting best practices. A best practice is firstly defined as an intervention that has shown evidence of effectiveness in a particular setting and is likely to be replicable to other situations. Regardless of the area of public health, interventions should be evaluated by their context, process and outcomes. A best practice should hence meet most, if not all, of eight identified evaluation criteria: relevance, community participation, stakeholder collaboration, ethical soundness, replicability, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. Ultimately, a standardised framework for selection of best practices will improve the usefulness and credibility of practice-based evidence in informing evidence-based public health interventions. Significance for public health Best practices are a valuable source of practice-based evidence on effective public health interventions implemented in real-life settings. Yet, despite the frequent branding of interventions as best practices or good practices, there is no consensus on the definition and desirable characteristics of such best practices. Hence, this is likely to be the first systematic review on the topic of best practices in public health. Having a single widely accepted framework for selecting best practices will ensure that the selection processes by different agencies are fair and comparable, as well as enable public health workers to better appreciate and adopt best practices in different settings. Ultimately, standardisation will improve the credibility and usefulness of practice-based evidence to that of research-based evidence. PMID:26753159

Framework for Selecting Best Practices in Public Health: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Ng, Eileen; de Colombani, Pierpaolo

2015-11-17

Evidence-based public health has commonly relied on findings from empirical studies, or research-based evidence. However, this paper advocates that practice-based evidence derived from programmes implemented in real-life settings is likely to be a more suitable source of evidence for inspiring and guiding public health programmes. Selection of best practices from the array of implemented programmes is one way of generating such practice-based evidence. Yet the lack of consensus on the definition and criteria for practice-based evidence and best practices has limited their application in public health so far. To address the gap in literature on practice-based evidence, this paper hence proposes measures of success for public health interventions by developing an evaluation framework for selection of best practices. The proposed framework was synthesised from a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed and grey literature on existing evaluation frameworks for public health programmes as well as processes employed by health-related organisations when selecting best practices. A best practice is firstly defined as an intervention that has shown evidence of effectiveness in a particular setting and is likely to be replicable to other situations. Regardless of the area of public health, interventions should be evaluated by their context, process and outcomes. A best practice should hence meet most, if not all, of eight identified evaluation criteria: relevance, community participation, stakeholder collaboration, ethical soundness, replicability, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. Ultimately, a standardised framework for selection of best practices will improve the usefulness and credibility of practice-based evidence in informing evidence-based public health interventions. Significance for public healthBest practices are a valuable source of practice-based evidence on effective public health interventions implemented in real-life settings. Yet, despite the frequent branding of interventions as best practices or good practices, there is no consensus on the definition and desirable characteristics of such best practices. Hence, this is likely to be the first systematic review on the topic of best practices in public health. Having a single widely accepted framework for selecting best practices will ensure that the selection processes by different agencies are fair and comparable, as well as enable public health workers to better appreciate and adopt best practices in different settings. Ultimately, standardisation will improve the credibility and usefulness of practice-based evidence to that of research-based evidence.

Who does workforce planning well? Workforce review team rapid review summary.

PubMed

Curson, J A; Dell, M E; Wilson, R A; Bosworth, D L; Baldauf, B

2010-01-01

This paper sets out to disseminate new knowledge about workforce planning, a crucial health sector issue. The Health Select Committee criticised NHS England's failure to develop and apply effective workforce planning. The Workforce Review Team (WRT) commissioned the Institute for Employment Research, Warwick University, to undertake a "rapid review" of global literature to identify good practice. A workforce planning overview, its theoretical principles, good practice exemplars are provided before discussing their application to healthcare. The literature review, undertaken September-November 2007, determined the current workforce planning evidence within and outside health service provision and any consensus on successful workforce planning. Much of the literature was descriptive and there was a lack of comparative or evaluative research-based evidence to inform U.K. healthcare workforce planning. Workforce planning practices were similar in other countries. There was no evidence to challenge current WRT approaches to NHS England workforce planning. There are a number of indications about how this might be extended and improved, given additional resources. The evidence-base for workforce planning would be strengthened by robust and authoritative studies. Systematic workforce planning is a key healthcare quality management element. This review highlights useful information that can be turned into knowledge by informed application to the NHS. Best practice in other sectors and other countries appears to warrant exploration.

Procurement of Human Tissues for Research Banking in the Surgical Pathology Laboratory: Prioritization Practices at Washington University Medical Center

PubMed Central

Chernock, Rebecca D.; Leach, Tracey A.; Kahn, Ajaz A.; Yip, James H.; Rossi, Joan; Pfeifer, John D.

2011-01-01

Academic hospitals and medical schools with research tissue repositories often derive many of their internal human specimen acquisitions from their site's surgical pathology service. Typically, such acquisitions come from appropriately consented tissue discards sampled from surgical resections. Because the practice of surgical pathology has patient care as its primary mission, competing needs for tissue inevitably arise, with the requirement to preserve adequate tissue for clinical diagnosis being paramount. A set of best-practice gross pathology guidelines are summarized here, focused on the decision for tissue banking at the time specimens are macroscopically evaluated. These reflect our collective experience at Washington University School of Medicine, and are written from the point of view of our site biorepository. The involvement of trained pathology personnel in such procurements is very important. These guidelines reflect both good surgical pathology practice (including the pathologic features characteristic of various anatomic sites) and the typical objectives of research biorepositories. The guidelines should be helpful to tissue bank directors, and others charged with the procurement of tissues for general research purposes. We believe that appreciation of these principles will facilitate the partnership between surgical pathologists and biorepository directors, and promote both good patient care and strategic, value-added banking procurements. PMID:23386925

Twelve tips for a successful workplace-based masters programme in geriatric for specialist registrars and specialty trainees.

PubMed

Bhat, Sarita; Baker, Paul; Eyres, Renata

2008-01-01

Postgraduate medical training is undergoing major change, shortening and disrupting traditional practices. Scholarship remains highly valued, but increasingly difficult to fit in. Workplace-based Masters study offers a solution. We want consultants who are driven by enquiry, good teachers and team workers. Academic qualifications demonstrate trainees' commitment and expertise in competitive employment markets. Most Deaneries allow two sessions weekly for research/personal development, so this resource demands effective use. The good will, talent and commitment of colleagues are vital. A credible structured curriculum combines real-life consultant-level generic practice, with technical medical skills. Academic writing and practical assignments are assessed. Linking with a far-sighted academic institution brings vast expertise in education administration and delivery of accredited learning. The course is more cost-effective than traditional study leave activities. Running part-time over 4 years fits with Higher Specialist Training. Structured programmes, over 9 month 'terms', fit with clinical rotations. Module leaders run yearly clinical modules alongside continuous generic modules. Clinical units are signed up to releasing trainees to attend. Evaluation is external to faculty, with highly favourable feedback. We believe training in academic disciplines underpins practice. With strong partnership working, planning and especially hard work, such a course is deliverable.

Valuing and selling a practice.

PubMed

Sullivan, Walter

2012-11-01

Surgeons, as they contemplate retirement, wrongly believe that their practices do not have financial value. In fact, a well-organized efficiently functioning office with an emphasis on excellent service in combination with a constant stream of patients make it financially ideal for the new surgeon. Being able to assume such a practice can be a very smart financial decision. The practice's worth can be determined by a careful analysis of the practice financials and an evaluation of the functioning of the office and employees. Purchasing such a practice can be, economically, a very smart move by a new surgeon. Payments are made over time at a rate that allows the surgeon to make a good living, leaving him with real equity once the payments are complete. The departing surgeon, who had spent years building this successful practice, gets some of this value back in the form of an income stream to supplement his retirement. This process should be considered in virtually every case. Do not just "close the door."

Incorporation of the fluoroless C-Arm Trainer at the American Urological Association hands on training percutaneous renal access.

PubMed

Noureldin, Yasser A; Hoenig, David M; Zhao, Philip; Elsamra, Sammy E; Stern, Joshua; Gaunay, Geoffrey; Motamedinia, Piruz; Okeke, Zeph; Rastinehad, Ardeshir R; Sweet, Robert M

2018-07-01

To assess for usefulness and validity evidence for incorporating the C-Arm Trainer (CAT) simulator into the annual AUA hands on course for training percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). The course started with a didactic session followed by four stations for training the "bull's eye" technique using the CAT simulator. Each station included a pre-test, 30-min practice on the simulator, and post-test. All participants were assessed using a 4-item checklist. All participants were asked to fill in a qualitative self-assessment questionnaire after the pre- and the post-test, and respond to a course evaluation questionnaire and post-course survey. A total of 38 physicians, who attended the hands on course, voluntarily participated in the study. Only 21.1% had previous practice on PCNL simulators. Compared with the results of the checklist total score and the qualitative self-assessment questionnaire scores after the pre-test, there was significant improvement in the checklist total score (p < 0.001), temporal demands (p = 0.003), situational stress (p = 0.003, and performance (0.003) after the post-test. A total of 14 (36%) participants responded to the course evaluation questionnaire, 50% evaluated the course as excellent, 28.6% as very good, and 21.4% as good. Unfortunately, only five (13%) participants responded to the post-course survey, 4/5 implemented the new competencies and knowledge into their practice, and 3/5 have attempted to obtain fluoroscopic guided PCA without assistance. The CAT simulator was considered useful for training the percutaneous renal access procedure. There was significant improvement in the qualitative and quantitative assessment parameters after the post-test compared with the pre-test.

Characterization of the animal by-product meal industry in Costa Rica: Manufacturing practices through the production chain and food safety.

PubMed

Leiva, A; Granados-Chinchilla, F; Redondo-Solano, M; Arrieta-González, M; Pineda-Salazar, E; Molina, A

2018-06-01

Animal by-product rendering establishments are still relevant industries worldwide. Animal by-product meal safety is paramount to protect feed, animals, and the rest of the food chain from unwanted contamination. As microbiological contamination may arise from inadequate processing of slaughterhouse waste and deficiencies in good manufacturing practices within the rendering facilities, we conducted an overall establishment's inspection, including the product in several parts of the process.An evaluation of the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) was carried out, which included the location and access (i.e., admission) to the facilities, integrated pest management programs, physical condition of the facilities (e.g., infrastructure), equipments, vehicles and transportation, as well as critical control points (i.e., particle size and temperature set at 50 mm, 133°C at atmospheric pressure for 20 min, respectively) recommended by the OIE and the European Commission. The most sensitive points according to the evaluation are physical structure of the facilities (avg 42.2%), access to the facilities (avg 48.6%), and cleaning procedures (avg 51.4%).Also, indicator microorganisms (Salmonella spp., Clostridium spp., total coliforms, E. coli, E. coli O157:H7) were used to evaluate the safety in different parts of the animal meal production process. There was a prevalence of Salmonella spp. of 12.9, 14.3, and 33.3% in Meat and Bone Meal (MBM), poultry by-products, and fish meal, respectively. However, there were no significant differences (P = 0.73) in the prevalence between the different animal meals, according to the data collected.It was also observed that renderings associated with the poultry industry (i.e., 92.0%) obtained the best ratings overall, which reflects a satisfactory development of this sector and the integration of its production system as a whole.

A Preliminary Economic Evaluation of Marine Corps Acquisition Practices: UHF Satellite Communication Ground Terminal Acquisitions

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

34 Replace outdated teletypewriter/printer technology with the four AN/ UGC - 74’s; " Upgrade communication security (COMSEC) equipment to retain...unbiased information. In fact, the private user recognizes that good marketing techniques are required to receive favorable consideration for a private...developed in accounting, finance, economics, marketing , political science, sociology, and organizational behavior literature. "[The principal-agent

Learning Collaborations between ACE and Vocational Education and Training Providers: Good Practice Partnerships. A National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation Program Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gelade, Sue; Stehlik, Tom; Willis, Peter

2006-01-01

This project developed in response to the national research priority of the role of vocational education and training (VET) in building economic and social capital in regions and communities. Several key streams of work have been identified in relation to this objective, including regional segmentation, indicators and performance measures, and…

Delivery, Student Engagement and the Implementation of Good Practice in Entrepreneurship Education: Learning from the UK's New Entrepreneur Scholarship Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lam, Wing

2010-01-01

This paper presents and discusses the results of a research-informed teaching project carried out to identify key factors in the content and delivery of a successful UK government initiative, the New Entrepreneur Scholarship (NES), from 2001 to 2008. The aim of the project was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing appropriate changes to…

21 CFR 184.1452 - Manganese gluconate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

....1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing... ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The... is used in the following foods at levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked...

21 CFR 184.1452 - Manganese gluconate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

....1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing... ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The... is used in the following foods at levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked...

21 CFR 184.1452 - Manganese gluconate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

....1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing... ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The... is used in the following foods at levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked...

21 CFR 184.1452 - Manganese gluconate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

....1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing... ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The... is used in the following foods at levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked...

Documentation: Records and Reports.

PubMed

Akers, Michael J

2017-01-01

This article deals with documentation to include the beginning of documentation, the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice reports and records, and the steps that can be taken to minimize Good Manufacturing Practice documentation problems. It is important to remember that documentation for 503a compounding involves the Formulation Record, Compounding Record, Standard Operating Procedures, Safety Data Sheets, etc. For 503b outsourcing facilities, compliance with Current Good Manufacturing Practices is required, so this article is applicable to them. For 503a pharmacies, one can see the development and modification of Good Manufacturing Practice and even observe changes as they are occurring in 503a documentation requirements and anticipate that changes will probably continue to occur. Copyright© by International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, Inc.

Knowledge and practice of tuberculosis infection control among health professionals in Northwest Ethiopia; 2011.

PubMed

Temesgen, Chanie; Demissie, Meaza

2014-11-19

Tuberculosis (TB) is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, making the risk of infection transmission high in these countries. Despite high prevalence of TB and expected high probability of nosocomial transmission in Ethiopia, a rapid assessment done in 2008 revealed that most health facilities in Ethiopia do not use tuberculosis infection control (TBIC) practices. Patients and providers are therefore at risk of exposure to TB, especially at high case load facilities. The purpose of this study was to assess TBIC knowledge and practices among health professionals working in hospitals in the Amhara region of Northwest Ethiopia. An institution-based hybrid study was implemented form August 2010 to January 2011. The subjects were health professionals who were proportionally selected from each hospital. Subjects self-administered a questionnaire that contained sections on socio-demographics and on TBIC knowledge and practice. Those answering ≥60% of knowledge questions correctly and ≥50% of practice questions correctly were considered to have good knowledge and practice, respectively. A total of 313 healthcare professionals were enrolled from four healthcare facilities. The response rate was 96%. Only 18.8% received in-service training. Among those who were trained, 74.4%, 95% CI (69.6, 79.3%) were found to have good knowledge and 63.2%, 95% CI (57.9, 68.6%) good practice on TBIC. Training was found to be a predictor of TBIC knowledge, AOR* 3.386 and 95% CI (1.377, 8.330) while knowledge of TBIC was a strong predictor of good TBIC practice, AOR* 10.667 and 95% CI (5.769, 19.721). Though the majority of the respondents had good TBIC knowledge and practice, a considerable proportion of healthcare professionals were not trained on TBIC. Respondents trained on TBIC were found to be more knowledgeable than those not trained. Similarly, respondents with good TBIC knowledge were 10 times more likely to have good TBIC practice compared to those with poor TBIC knowledge. Training was not found to have an effect on TBIC practice. *Adjusted Odds Ratio.

Good manufacturing practice (GMP) compliance in the biologics sector: plasma fractionation.

PubMed

Ways, J P; Preston, M S; Baker, D; Huxsoll, J; Bablak, J

1999-12-01

The U.S. blood supply is the safest it has ever been. Due to blood safety and the introduction of viral inactivation/clearance technologies, protein therapies derived from human blood have also in recent years had a history of product safety. Nevertheless, since 1995, the plasma-fractionation industry has experienced increased compliance-related actions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as shown by a substantive increase in the number of FDA 483 inspectional observations, FDA warning letters and other FDA regulatory action. An evaluation of these trends shows that they reflect the implementation by the FDA of increased inspectional interest in the plasma-fractionation industry and an evolution of inspectional practices and standards of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP). Plasma fractionators have responded to FDA actions by carefully evaluating and addressing each inspectional observation, assessing impact to product and taking appropriate actions, including corrective actions to prevent future occurrence. They have made major investments in facilities, quality systems, personnel and training to meet the evolving standards of cGMP and in an effort to implement these standards systemically. Through industry associations, manufacturers have further enhanced product safety by adopting additional voluntary standards for plasma to prevent the entry of potentially unsuitable plasma into the production process. The industry remains committed to application of cGMP and to working with the FDA in further evolution of these standards while striving to assure a continued supply of safe, pure and effective plasma-derived therapies.

What Is "Good" Mentoring? Understanding Mentoring Practices of Teacher Induction through Case Studies of Finland and Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennanen, Matti; Bristol, Laurette; Wilkinson, Jane; Heikkinen, Hannu L. T.

2016-01-01

Mentoring is a practice widely utilised to support new teachers. However, in locally formed systems, the practice of mentoring is conditioned by traditions and arrangements specific to the site. To understand "good" mentoring, these local arrangements cannot be ignored. In this article, the theory of practice architectures is employed to…

Special considerations for hiring an associate.

PubMed

Hills, Laura Sachs

2004-01-01

If you 're thinking about hiring an associate for your medical practice, you will have many things to consider and many decisions to make. This article weighs the pros and cons of associateships and provides a 12-question quiz to help you determine whether an associate will be a good fit for your goal, philosophy, needs, and personality. It suggests helpful tips for recruiting and interviewing top-notch applicants to your associateship, including effective interview questions. It also offers advice about evaluating associateship applicants and suggests typical compensation arrangements. This article also includes questions to answer in your associateship contract and practical advice about restrictive covenants and externships. Finally, the article offers 12 suggestions for getting your new associate up to speed right away in your practice.

40 CFR 792.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE STANDARDS General Provisions § 792.1 Scope. (a) This part prescribes good laboratory practices for conducting studies relating to health effects, environmental effects, and chemical...

40 CFR 792.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE STANDARDS General Provisions § 792.1 Scope. (a) This part prescribes good laboratory practices for conducting studies relating to health effects, environmental effects, and chemical...

Good Policy, Good Practice II. Improving Outcomes and Productivity in Higher Education: A Guide for Policymakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brenneman, Meghan Wilson; Callan, Patrick M.; Ewell, Peter T.; Finney, Joni E.; Jones, Dennis P.; Zis, Stacey

2010-01-01

This new edition of "Good Policy, Good Practice II" revises and updates the authors' 2007 publication. Like the earlier edition, it responds to one of the questions that is raised most frequently in the authors' work with public policy and education leaders as they begin to address the national and state imperatives to increase the proportion of…

47 CFR 73.508 - Standards of good engineering practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standards of good engineering practice. 73.508 Section 73.508 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES... engineering practice. (a) All noncommercial educational stations and LPFM stations operating with more than 10...

47 CFR 73.508 - Standards of good engineering practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Standards of good engineering practice. 73.508 Section 73.508 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES... engineering practice. (a) All noncommercial educational stations and LPFM stations operating with more than 10...

47 CFR 73.508 - Standards of good engineering practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Standards of good engineering practice. 73.508 Section 73.508 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES... engineering practice. (a) All noncommercial educational stations and LPFM stations operating with more than 10...

47 CFR 73.508 - Standards of good engineering practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Standards of good engineering practice. 73.508 Section 73.508 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES... engineering practice. (a) All noncommercial educational stations and LPFM stations operating with more than 10...

47 CFR 73.508 - Standards of good engineering practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Standards of good engineering practice. 73.508 Section 73.508 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES... engineering practice. (a) All noncommercial educational stations and LPFM stations operating with more than 10...

76 FR 49509 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-10

... Agency (N1-258-09-3, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Good Farming Practice Documentation, including producer... reconsideration of adverse good farming practice determinations. 3. Department of Agriculture, Risk Management... materials, legislation files, negotiation files, review files, unfair trade practices files, and...

76 FR 55067 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-06

... Pharmaceutical Current Good Manufacturing Practice AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice... Good Manufacturing Practice--(OMB Control Number 0910-0563)--Extension The guidance is intended to... products, on how to resolve disputes of scientific and technical issues relating to current good...

21 CFR 184.1449 - Manganese citrate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... § 184.1(b)(1), the ingredient is used in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing... ingredient is based upon the following current good manufacturing practice conditions of use: (1) The... is used in the following foods at levels not to exceed current good manufacturing practice: baked...

I Am Mentor, I Am Coach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Augustine-Shaw, Donna; Reilly, Marceta

2017-01-01

Preparing good leaders depends not only on providing good initial professional learning, but also on creating a strong support structure during the early years of practice. However, what good mentoring looks and sounds like varies widely in practice. Many mentoring programs for education leaders consist of buddy-like relationships that provide…

Feed Safe: a multidisciplinary partnership approach results in a successful mobile application for breastfeeding mothers.

PubMed

White, Becky; White, James; Giglia, Roslyn; Tawia, Susan

2016-05-30

Issue addressed: Mobile applications are increasingly being used in health promotion initiatives. Although there is evidence that developing these mobile health applications in multidisciplinary teams is good practice, there is a gap in the literature with respect to evaluation of the process of this partnership model and how best to disseminate the application into the community. The aim of this paper is twofold, to describe the partnership model in which the Feed Safe application was developed and to investigate what worked in terms of dissemination. Methods: The process of working in partnership was measured using the VicHealth partnership analysis tool for health promotion. The dissemination strategy and reach of the application was measured using both automated analytics data and estimates of community-initiated promotion. Results: The combined average score from the partnership analysis tool was 138 out of a possible 175. A multipronged dissemination strategy led to good uptake of the application among Australian women. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary partnership models are important in the development of health promotion mobile applications. Recognising and utilising the skills of each partner organisation can help expand the reach of mobile health applications into the Australian population and aid in good uptake of health promotion resources. So what?: Developing mobile applications in multidisciplinary partnerships is good practice and can lead to wide community uptake of the health promotion resource.

Medical Malpractice Implications of Clinical Practice Guidelines.

PubMed

Ruhl, Douglas S; Siegal, Gil

2017-08-01

Clinical practice guidelines aim to improve medical care by clarifying and making useful recommendations to providers. Although providers should account for patients' unique characteristics when determining a treatment plan, it is generally perceived as good practice to follow guidelines when applicable. This is of interest in malpractice litigation, where it is essential to establish a standard of care to evaluate the performances of providers. Although the opinions of expert witnesses are used to determine standards of care, guidelines are expected to play a leading role. Guidelines alone should not establish a legal standard but may help inform this discussion in the courtroom. Therefore, it is incumbent that excellent, practical, and timely guidelines are continually created and updated in a transparent way. These guidelines must be very clear and underscore the various strengths of recommendation based on the quality of available evidence.

In search of practice performance data? Call the hospital.

PubMed

Bellile, S K

1997-01-01

Comparative performance data is increasingly being used by hospitals and managed care plans to evaluate physician practices. Outcomes data can also be a valuable tool for continuous improvement within a practice. Administrators need to understand the different categories and sources of physician practice data. Hospitals are a particularly good, yet often underutilized, data resource. Descriptive, financial and clinical information available from hospital systems can be used to compare one physician's performance to norms for specific case types (e.g. DRG's), focus internal review efforts and support managed care marketing and negotiation. Administrators need to identify key hospital contacts, make specific data requests and knowledgeably (and cautiously) interpret the data received. Finally, the administrator plays a crucial role turning data into information: identifying and presenting key findings and insuring that the information is used to the group's competitive advantage.

Evaluation of a national quality use of medicines service in Australia: an evolving model.

PubMed

Beilby, Justin; Wutzke, Sonia E; Bowman, Jenny; Mackson, Judith M; Weekes, Lynn M

2006-04-01

To describe the first phase of a global evaluation framework for the National Prescribing Service (NPS), with a focus on services for health professionals, and in particular highlight the lessons learnt from evaluation around the establishment and implementation of this national program. The agreed evaluation framework used mixed methods focused around a series of evaluation questions, aimed at measuring the overall effect of this new organization as well as the individual programs within it. The evaluation questions were determined a priori and were based on the objectives established by the organization in its first year of operation. A detailed analyses has been completed of: the process, scope and reach of program delivery using both quantitative and qualitative measures; changes in attitudes and knowledge measured through key informant interviews and surveys of professional groups and consumers; and changes in prescribing behaviour and savings to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) through analysis of prescription data. The evaluation period for this report was mid-1998 to mid-2004. The NPS has successfully implemented a complex, multi-faceted program across Australia. From 1998 to 2004, in addition to print material provided to all general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists, 90% of all GPs have been actively involved in one or more educational activity; 116 of 120 divisions of general practice have coordinated local NPS programs; and 9% of pharmacists have actively participated in at least one educational activity. Sixty per cent of GPs and pharmacists rated the printed educational materials as good or very good. In the last three years, the NPS activities have generated savings in the range of $121-163 million to the PBS, owing to changes in prescribing practices. The national evaluation framework has informed program delivery and ongoing design and development. Continued refinement of existing evaluation methods and further exploration of new techniques will remain a priority for the organization.

Images of otoscopy: rate and extent of non-compliance with good practice standards.

PubMed

Crundwell, G; Harmer, J; Maltby, M; Mills, T; Neumann, C; Walsh, L; Baguley, D

2015-01-01

The British Society of Audiology has produced clear guidelines as to how otoscopy should be undertaken; however, no nationally recognised guidelines exist for the wider clinical community. Images of otoscopy appear in many books, journals, magazines and websites. This study aimed to determine the rate of non-compliance with good practice in images of otoscopy, the seriousness of the breach, and whether this is more common in sites for professionals or the general public. Google Images was searched using the terms 'otoscopy' and 'ear examination'. A total of 200 images were identified and collated. The images were reviewed for compliance with good practice standards. Only 12.75 per cent of the images were graded as having no breach of good practice standards. Professional websites have a responsibility to show best practice. When choosing an image, the source of the image needs to be carefully considered.

External evaluation of the Dimension Vista 1500® intelligent lab system.

PubMed

Bruneel, Arnaud; Dehoux, Monique; Barnier, Anne; Boutten, Anne

2012-09-01

Dimension Vista® analyzer combines four technologies (photometry, nephelometry, V-LYTE® integrated multisensor potentiometry, and LOCI® chemiluminescence) into one high-throughput system. We assessed analytical performance of assays routinely performed in our emergency laboratory according to the VALTEC protocol, and practicability. Precision was good for most parameters. Analytical domain was large and suitable for undiluted analysis in most clinical settings encountered in our hospital. Data were comparable and correlated to our routine analyzers (Roche Modular DP®, Abbott AXSYM®, Siemens Dimension® RxL, and BN ProSpec®). Performance of nephelometric and LOCI modules was excellent. Functional sensitivity of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and cardiac troponin I were 0.165 mg/l and 0.03 ng/ml, respectively (coefficient of variation; CV < 10%). The influence of interfering substances (i.e., hemoglobin, bilirubin, or lipids) was moderate, and Dimension Vista® specifically alerted for interference according to HIL (hemolysis, icterus, lipemia) indices. Good instrument performance and full functionality (no reagent or sample carryover in the conditions evaluated, effective sample-volume detection, and clot detection) were confirmed. Simulated routine testing demonstrated excellent practicability, throughput, ease of use of software and security. Performance and practicability of Dimension Vista® are highly suitable for both routine and emergency use. Since no volume detection and thus no warning is available on limited sample racks, pediatric samples require special caution to the Siemens protocol to be analyzed in secured conditions. Our experience in routine practice is also discussed, i.e., the impact of daily workload, "manual" steps resulting from dilutions and pediatric samples, maintenances, flex hydration on instrument's performance on throughput and turnaround time. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Good documentation practice in clinical research

PubMed Central

Bargaje, Chitra

2011-01-01

One of the most common inspection findings in investigator site inspections is lack of reliable, accurate and adequate source documentation. This also happens to be the most common pitfall identified during sponsor audits. The importance of good documentation practice needs to be emphasized to investigator sites to ensure that the study results are built on the foundation of credible and valid data. This article focuses on the key principles of good documentation practice and offers suggestions for improvement. PMID:21731856

Good documentation practice in clinical research.

PubMed

Bargaje, Chitra

2011-04-01

One of the most common inspection findings in investigator site inspections is lack of reliable, accurate and adequate source documentation. This also happens to be the most common pitfall identified during sponsor audits. The importance of good documentation practice needs to be emphasized to investigator sites to ensure that the study results are built on the foundation of credible and valid data. This article focuses on the key principles of good documentation practice and offers suggestions for improvement.

The confusion in complying with good manufacturing practice requirements in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jali, Mohd Bakri; Ghani, Maaruf Abdul; Nor, Norazmir Md

2016-11-01

Food manufacturing operations need to fulfil regulatory requirements related to hygiene and good manufacturing practices (GMP) to successfully market their products as safe and quality products. GMP based on its ten elements used as guidelines to ensure control over biological, chemical and physical hazards. This study aims to investigate the confusion for design and facilities elements among food industries. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques are used as systematic tools. Design and facilities elements lay a firm foundation for good manufacturing practice to ensure food hygiene and should be used in conjunction with each specific code of hygiene practice and guidelines.

Development of good modelling practice for phsiologically based pharmacokinetic models for use in risk assessment: The first steps

EPA Science Inventory

The increasing use of tissue dosimetry estimated using pharmacokinetic models in chemical risk assessments in multiple countries necessitates the need to develop internationally recognized good modelling practices. These practices would facilitate sharing of models and model eva...

Evaluation of high fidelity patient simulator in assessment of performance of anaesthetists.

PubMed

Weller, J M; Bloch, M; Young, S; Maze, M; Oyesola, S; Wyner, J; Dob, D; Haire, K; Durbridge, J; Walker, T; Newble, D

2003-01-01

There is increasing emphasis on performance-based assessment of clinical competence. The High Fidelity Patient Simulator (HPS) may be useful for assessment of clinical practice in anaesthesia, but needs formal evaluation of validity, reliability, feasibility and effect on learning. We set out to assess the reliability of a global rating scale for scoring simulator performance in crisis management. Using a global rating scale, three judges independently rated videotapes of anaesthetists in simulated crises in the operating theatre. Five anaesthetists then independently rated subsets of these videotapes. There was good agreement between raters for medical management, behavioural attributes and overall performance. Agreement was high for both the initial judges and the five additional raters. Using a global scale to assess simulator performance, we found good inter-rater reliability for scoring performance in a crisis. We estimate that two judges should provide a reliable assessment. High fidelity simulation should be studied further for assessing clinical performance.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding dengue virus infection among inhabitants of Aceh, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Harapan, Harapan; Rajamoorthy, Yogambigai; Anwar, Samsul; Bustamam, Aslam; Radiansyah, Arsil; Angraini, Pradiba; Fasli, Riny; Salwiyadi, Salwiyadi; Bastian, Reza Akbar; Oktiviyari, Ade; Akmal, Imaduddin; Iqbalamin, Muhammad; Adil, Jamalul; Henrizal, Fenni; Darmayanti, Darmayanti; Pratama, Rovy; Setiawan, Abdul Malik; Mudatsir, Mudatsir; Hadisoemarto, Panji Fortuna; Dhimal, Mandira Lamichhane; Kuch, Ulrich; Groneberg, David Alexander; Imrie, Allison; Dhimal, Meghnath; Müller, Ruth

2018-02-27

The Indonesian region of Aceh was the area most severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004. Department of Health data reveal an upward trend of dengue cases in Aceh since the events of the tsunami. Despite the increasing incidence of dengue in the region, there is limited understanding of dengue among the general population of Aceh. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding dengue among the people of Aceh, Indonesia in order to design intervention strategies for an effective dengue prevention program. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Aceh between November 2014 and March 2015 with a total of 609 participants living in seven regencies and two municipalities. Information on the socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their KAP regarding dengue was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The KAP status (good vs. poor) of participants with different socio-demographic characteristics was compared using Chi Square-test, ANOVA or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of each KAP domain. We found that 45% of participants had good knowledge regarding dengue and only 32% had good attitudes and good dengue preventive practices. There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes, knowledge and practice, and attitudes and practice. In addition, people who had good knowledge were 2.7 times more likely to have good attitudes, and people who had good attitudes were 2.2 times more likely to have good practices regarding dengue. The level of education, occupation, marital status, monthly income, socioeconomic status (SES) and living in the city were associated with the knowledge level. Occupation, SES, and having experienced dengue fever were associated with attitudes. Education, occupation, SES and type of residence were associated with preventive practices. Our study suggests that dengue prevention programs are required to increase KAP levels regarding dengue in the communities of Aceh.

On the adequacy of current empirical evaluations of formal models of categorization.

PubMed

Wills, Andy J; Pothos, Emmanuel M

2012-01-01

Categorization is one of the fundamental building blocks of cognition, and the study of categorization is notable for the extent to which formal modeling has been a central and influential component of research. However, the field has seen a proliferation of noncomplementary models with little consensus on the relative adequacy of these accounts. Progress in assessing the relative adequacy of formal categorization models has, to date, been limited because (a) formal model comparisons are narrow in the number of models and phenomena considered and (b) models do not often clearly define their explanatory scope. Progress is further hampered by the practice of fitting models with arbitrarily variable parameters to each data set independently. Reviewing examples of good practice in the literature, we conclude that model comparisons are most fruitful when relative adequacy is assessed by comparing well-defined models on the basis of the number and proportion of irreversible, ordinal, penetrable successes (principles of minimal flexibility, breadth, good-enough precision, maximal simplicity, and psychological focus).

Safety and quality of food contact materials. Part 1: evaluation of analytical strategies to introduce migration testing into good manufacturing practice.

PubMed

Feigenbaum, A; Scholler, D; Bouquant, J; Brigot, G; Ferrier, D; Franzl, R; Lillemarktt, L; Riquet, A M; Petersen, J H; van Lierop, B; Yagoubi, N

2002-02-01

The results of a research project (EU AIR Research Programme CT94-1025) aimed to introduce control of migration into good manufacturing practice and into enforcement work are reported. Representative polymer classes were defined on the basis of chemical structure, technological function, migration behaviour and market share. These classes were characterized by analytical methods. Analytical techniques were investigated for identification of potential migrants. High-temperature gas chromatography was shown to be a powerful method and 1H-magnetic resonance provided a convenient fingerprint of plastic materials. Volatile compounds were characterized by headspace techniques, where it was shown to be essential to differentiate volatile compounds desorbed from those generated during the thermal desorption itself. For metal trace analysis, microwave mineralization followed by atomic absorption was employed. These different techniques were introduced into a systematic testing scheme that is envisaged as being suitable both for industrial control and for enforcement laboratories. Guidelines will be proposed in the second part of this paper.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Italian Validation of a Questionnaire on Nurses' Personal and Professional Use, Knowledge, and Attitudes.

PubMed

Belletti, Giada; Shorofi, Seyed Afshin; Arbon, Paul; Dal Molin, Alberto

2017-08-01

Patients are showing an increasing interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Most nurses are open to the adoption of CAM into clinical nursing practice, but they may experience a lack of knowledge about the safe and effective use of these therapies. Several studies concerning nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward CAM have been published, but only in one, the authors (Shorofi and Arbon) used a validated questionnaire. In Italy, there are no validated questionnaires to investigate this aspect of nursing practice. To test the psychometric properties of the Italian Shorofi and Arbon questionnaire for use with Italian nurses. A forward-backward translation method was used to translate the questionnaire from English to Italian. Content validity, face validity and reliability were established. This study examined the potential usefulness of the Shorofi and Arbon questionnaire for the evaluation of CAM knowledge of Italian speaking nurses, which showed good content validity and good reliability.

A knowledge infrastructure for occupational safety and health.

PubMed

van Dijk, Frank J H; Verbeek, Jos H; Hoving, Jan L; Hulshof, Carel T J

2010-12-01

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) professionals should use scientific evidence to support their decisions in policy and practice. Although examples from practice show that progress has been made in evidence-based decision making, there is a challenge to improve and extend the facilities that support knowledge translation in practice. A knowledge infrastructure that supports OSH practice should include scientific research, systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and other tools for professionals such as well accessible virtual libraries and databases providing knowledge, quality tools, and good learning materials. A good infrastructure connects facilities with each other and with practice. Training and education is needed for OSH professionals in the use of evidence to improve effectiveness and efficiency. New initiatives show that occupational health can profit from intensified international collaboration to establish a good functioning knowledge infrastructure.

29 CFR 790.18 - “Administrative practice or enforcement policy.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Faith Reliance on Administrative Regulations, Etc. § 790.18 “Administrative practice or enforcement... employee, because of reliance in good faith on an administrative practice or enforcement policy only (1... acts or omissions led the employer to believe in good faith that such acts or omissions were not...

29 CFR 790.18 - “Administrative practice or enforcement policy.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Faith Reliance on Administrative Regulations, Etc. § 790.18 “Administrative practice or enforcement... employee, because of reliance in good faith on an administrative practice or enforcement policy only (1... acts or omissions led the employer to believe in good faith that such acts or omissions were not...

29 CFR 790.18 - “Administrative practice or enforcement policy.”

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Faith Reliance on Administrative Regulations, Etc. § 790.18 “Administrative practice or enforcement... employee, because of reliance in good faith on an administrative practice or enforcement policy only (1... acts or omissions led the employer to believe in good faith that such acts or omissions were not...

9 CFR 147.26 - Procedures for establishing isolation and maintaining sanitation and good management practices...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... rodent population and other pests under control; (6) Tailor vaccination programs to needs of farm and... and maintaining sanitation and good management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma... management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma infections. (a) The following procedures...

9 CFR 147.26 - Procedures for establishing isolation and maintaining sanitation and good management practices...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... rodent population and other pests under control; (6) Tailor vaccination programs to needs of farm and... and maintaining sanitation and good management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma... management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma infections. (a) The following procedures...

9 CFR 147.26 - Procedures for establishing isolation and maintaining sanitation and good management practices...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... rodent population and other pests under control; (6) Tailor vaccination programs to needs of farm and... and maintaining sanitation and good management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma... management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma infections. (a) The following procedures...

16 CFR 453.3 - Misrepresentations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Misrepresentations. (a) Embalming provisions—(1) Deceptive acts or practices. In selling or offering to sell funeral... practices. In selling or offering to sell funeral goods or funeral services to the public, it is a deceptive... practices. In selling or offering to sell funeral goods and funeral services to the public, it is a...

9 CFR 147.26 - Procedures for establishing isolation and maintaining sanitation and good management practices...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... and maintaining sanitation and good management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma... management practices for the control of Salmonella and Mycoplasma infections. (a) The following procedures...) Allow no visitors except under controlled conditions to minimize the introduction of Salmonella and...

The constraints of good governance practice in national solid waste management policy (NSWMP) implementation: A case study of Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Seow Ta; Abas, Muhamad Azahar; Chen, Goh Kai; Mohamed, Sulzakimin

2017-10-01

Nowadays, international donors have emphasised on the adoption of good governance practices in solid waste management which include policy implementation. In Malaysia, the National Solid Waste Management Policy (NSWMP) was introduced as the main guideline for its solid waste management and the Malaysian government has adopted good governance practice in the NSMWP implementation. However, the good governance practices implemented by the Malaysian government encountered several challenges. This study was conducted to explore the good governance constraints experienced by stakeholders in the NSWMP implementation. An exploratory research approach is applied in this study through in-depth interviews with several government agencies and concessionaires that involved in the NSWMP implementation in Malaysia. A total of six respondents took part in this study. The findings revealed three main good governance constraints in the NSWMP implementation, namely inadequate fund, poor staff's competency, and ambiguity of policy implementation system. Moreover, this study also disclosed that the main constraint influenced the other constraints. Hence, it is crucial to identify the main constraint in order to minimise its impact on the other constraints.

[From Science to Law: Findings of Reha XI Project on Ascertaining the Need for Rehabilitation in Medical Service Assessments].

PubMed

Kalwitzki, T; Huter, K; Runte, R; Breuninger, K; Janatzek, S; Gronemeyer, S; Gansweid, B; Rothgang, H

2017-03-01

Introduction: In the broad-based consortium project "Reha XI - Identifying rehabilitative requirements in medical service assessments: evaluation and implementation", a comprehensive analysis of the corresponding procedures was carried out by the medical services of the German Health Insurance Funds (MDK). On the basis of this analysis, a Good Practice Standard (GPS) for assessments was drawn up and scientifically evaluated. This article discusses the findings and applicability of the GPS as the basis for a nationwide standardized procedure in Germany as required by the Second Act to Strengthen Long-Term Care (PSG II) under Vol. XI Para. 18 (6) of the German Social Welfare Code. Method: The consortium project comprised four project phases: 1. Qualitative and quantitative situation analysis of the procedures for ascertaining rehabilitative needs in care assessments carried out by the MDK; 2. Development of a Good Practice Standard (GPS) in a structured, consensus-based procedure; 3. Scientific evaluation of the validity, reliability and practicability of the assessment procedure according to the GPS in the MDK's operational practice; 4. Survey of long-term care insurance funds with respect to the appropriateness of the rehabilitation recommendations drawn up by care assessors in line with the GPS for providing a qualified recommendation for the applicant. The evaluation carried out in the third project phase was subject to methodological limitations that may have given rise to distortions in the findings. Findings: On the basis of the situation analysis, 7 major thematic areas were identified in which improvements were implemented by applying the GPS. For the evaluation of the GPS, a total of 3 247 applicants were assessed in line with the GPS; in 6.3% of the applicants, an indication for medical rehabilitation was determined. The GPS procedure showed a high degree of reliability and practicability, but the values for the validity of the assessment procedure were highly unsatisfactory. The degree of acceptance by the long-term care insurance funds with respect to the recommendations for rehabilitation following the GPS procedure was high. Conclusion: The application of a general standard across all MDKs shows marked improvements in the quality of the assessment procedure and leads more frequently to the ascertainment of an indication for medical rehabilitation. The methodological problems and the unsatisfactory findings with respect to the validity of the assessors' decisions require further scientific scrutiny. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Intertester and intratester reliability of movement control tests on the hip for patients with hip osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Lenzlinger-Asprion, Rahel; Keller, Niculina; Meichtry, André; Luomajoki, Hannu

2017-01-31

Hip joint complaints are a problem associated with increasing age and impair the mobility of a large section of the elderly population. Reliable and valid tests are necessary for a thorough investigation of a joint. A fundamental function of the hip joint is movement control and a test of this function forms a part of the standard examination. Until now there have been few scientific studies which specifically investigate the reliability of measurement tests of movement control of the hip joint. The aim of this study was to examine the intratester and intertester reliability of the movement control tests of the hip joint which are in use in current clinical practice. Sixteen participants with hip joint complaints and 14 without hip joint impairment were recruited. All participants performed five active movement control tests for the hip joint and were video filmed whilst performing these tests. These films formed the basis for the evaluation and were assessed by two independent physiotherapists. For the intertester and intratester reliability calculations specially set weighted kappa values and the calculated percentages were used. The intertester reliability of the five examined movement control tests of the hip joint showed good to almost perfect values (weighted kappa (wk) = 0.56-0.87). The intratester reliability of the more experienced evaluator A was better in regards to the less experienced evaluator B (average wk = 0.62 vs 0.38). The visual evaluation of movement control tests of the hip joint is especially reliable when carried out by an experienced evaluator. 4 out of 5 tests also showed good results for intertester reliability and support their use in clinical practice.

Feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of an online alternative to face-to-face consultation in general practice: a mixed-methods study of webGP in six Devon practices.

PubMed

Carter, Mary; Fletcher, Emily; Sansom, Anna; Warren, Fiona C; Campbell, John L

2018-02-15

To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of webGP as piloted by six general practices. Mixed-methods evaluation, including data extraction from practice databases, general practitioner (GP) completion of case reports, patient questionnaires and staff interviews. General practices in NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group's area approximately 6 months after implementing webGP (February-July 2016). Six practices provided consultations data; 20 GPs completed case reports (regarding 61 e-consults); 81 patients completed questionnaires; 5 GPs and 5 administrators were interviewed. Attitudes and experiences of practice staff and patients regarding webGP. WebGP uptake during the evaluation was small, showing no discernible impact on practice workload. The completeness of cross-sectional data on consultation workload varied between practices.GPs judged 41/61 (72%) of webGP requests to require a face-to-face or telephone consultation. Introducing webGP appeared to be associated with shifts in responsibility and workload between practice staff and between practices and patients.81/231 patients completed a postal survey (35.1% response rate). E-Consulters were somewhat younger and more likely to be employed than face-to-face respondents. WebGP appeared broadly acceptable to patients regarding timeliness and quality/experience of care provided. Similar problems were presented by all respondents. Both groups appeared equally familiar with other practice online services; e-consulters were somewhat more likely to have used them.From semistructured staff interviews, it appeared that, while largely acceptable within practice, introducing e-consults had potential for adverse interactions with pre-existing practice systems. There is potential to assess the impact of new systems on consultation patterns by extracting routine data from practice databases. Staff and patients noticed subtle changes to responsibilities associated with online options. Greater uptake requires good communication between practice and patients, and organisation of systems to avoid conflicts and misuse. Further research is required to evaluate the full potential of webGP in managing practice workload. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Towards Reproducible Descriptions of Neuronal Network Models

PubMed Central

Nordlie, Eilen; Gewaltig, Marc-Oliver; Plesser, Hans Ekkehard

2009-01-01

Progress in science depends on the effective exchange of ideas among scientists. New ideas can be assessed and criticized in a meaningful manner only if they are formulated precisely. This applies to simulation studies as well as to experiments and theories. But after more than 50 years of neuronal network simulations, we still lack a clear and common understanding of the role of computational models in neuroscience as well as established practices for describing network models in publications. This hinders the critical evaluation of network models as well as their re-use. We analyze here 14 research papers proposing neuronal network models of different complexity and find widely varying approaches to model descriptions, with regard to both the means of description and the ordering and placement of material. We further observe great variation in the graphical representation of networks and the notation used in equations. Based on our observations, we propose a good model description practice, composed of guidelines for the organization of publications, a checklist for model descriptions, templates for tables presenting model structure, and guidelines for diagrams of networks. The main purpose of this good practice is to trigger a debate about the communication of neuronal network models in a manner comprehensible to humans, as opposed to machine-readable model description languages. We believe that the good model description practice proposed here, together with a number of other recent initiatives on data-, model-, and software-sharing, may lead to a deeper and more fruitful exchange of ideas among computational neuroscientists in years to come. We further hope that work on standardized ways of describing—and thinking about—complex neuronal networks will lead the scientific community to a clearer understanding of high-level concepts in network dynamics, and will thus lead to deeper insights into the function of the brain. PMID:19662159

Good cell culture practices &in vitro toxicology.

PubMed

Eskes, Chantra; Boström, Ann-Charlotte; Bowe, Gerhard; Coecke, Sandra; Hartung, Thomas; Hendriks, Giel; Pamies, David; Piton, Alain; Rovida, Costanza

2017-12-01

Good Cell Culture Practices (GCCP) is of high relevance to in vitro toxicology. The European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV), the Center for Alternatives for Animal Testing (CAAT) and the In Vitro Toxicology Industrial Platform (IVTIP) joined forces to address by means of an ESTIV 2016 pre-congress session the different aspects and applications of GCCP. The covered aspects comprised the current status of the OECD guidance document on Good In Vitro Method Practices, the importance of quality assurance for new technological advances in in vitro toxicology including stem cells, and the optimized implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Laboratory Practices for regulatory testing purposes. General discussions raised the duality related to the difficulties in implementing GCCP in an academic innovative research framework on one hand, and on the other hand, the need for such GCCP principles in order to ensure reproducibility and robustness of in vitro test methods for toxicity testing. Indeed, if good cell culture principles are critical to take into consideration for all uses of in vitro test methods for toxicity testing, the level of application of such principles may depend on the stage of development of the test method as well as on the applications of the test methods, i.e., academic innovative research vs. regulatory standardized test method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Achieving Success in Small Business: A Self-Instruction Program for Small Business Owner-Managers. Success in Small Business: Luck or Pluck?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg. Div. of Vocational-Technical Education.

This self-instructional module on success in small business is the first in a set of twelve modules designed for small business owner-managers. Competency objectives for this module are (1) ability to evaluate chances of success based upon one's personality and knowledge of good business practices and (2) ability to determine one's commitment to…

A Cost Analysis Model for Army Sponsored Graduate Dental Education Programs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-04-01

characteristics of a good measurement tool ? Cooper and Emory in their textbook, Business Research Methods, state there are three major criteria for evaluating...a measurement tool : validity, reliability, and practicality (Cooper and Emory 1995). Validity can be compartmentalized into internal and external...tremendous expense? The AEGD-1 year program is used extensively as a recruiting tool to encourage senior dental students to join the Army Dental Corps. The

Evaluating Art Studio Courses at Sultan Qaboos University in Light of the Discipline Based Art Education Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Amri, Mohammed

2010-01-01

Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE), a theory developed in the USA, has been influential but also used in Art Education institutions world-wide. One of its stated goals was to develop the quality of teaching art education. Today, it is used as a theory for identifying and assessing good practices in the field of Art Education. The purpose of…

"Inclusive Working Life" in Norway--experience from "Models of Good Practice" enterprises.

PubMed

Lie, Arve

2008-08-01

To determine whether enterprises belonging to the Bank of Models of Good Practice were more successful than average Norwegian enterprises in the reduction of sickness absence, promotion of early return to work, and prevention of early retirement. In 2004 we selected 86 enterprises with a total of approximately 90000 employees from the Inclusive Working Life (IWL) Bank of Models of Good Practice. One representative of workers and one of management from each enterprise received a questionnaire on the aims, organization, and the results of the IWL program by mail. Data on sickness absence, use of early retirement, and disability retirement in the 2000-2004 period were collected from the National Insurance Registry. Data on comparable enterprises were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics. The response rate was 65%. Although the IWL campaign was directed at reducing sickness absence, preventing early retirement, and promoting employment of the functionally impaired, most attention was paid to reducing sickness absence. Sickness absence rate in Models of Good Practice enterprises (8.2%) was higher than in comparable enterprises that were not part of the Models of Good Practice (6.9%). Implementation of many IWL activities, empowerment and involvement of employees, and good cooperation with the occupational health service were associated with a lower rate of sickness absence. On average, 0.7% new employees per year received disability pension, which is a significantly lower percentage than expected on the basis of the rate of 1.3% per year in comparable enterprises. Frequent use of disability pensioning was associated with high rate of sickness absence and having many employees older than 50 years. On average, 0.4% employees per year received early retirement compensation, which was expected on the basis of national estimates. Frequent use of early retirement was associated with having many employees older than 50 years. Models of Good Practice enterprises had a higher than expected sickness absence rate. This indicates that it is difficult to identify Models of Good Practice enterprises and that they cannot be treated as role model enterprises. Good cooperation with the occupational health service and the empowerment and involvement of the employees is associated with a low sickness absence rate.

Noninvasive evaluation of mental stress using by a refined rough set technique based on biomedical signals.

PubMed

Liu, Tung-Kuan; Chen, Yeh-Peng; Hou, Zone-Yuan; Wang, Chao-Chih; Chou, Jyh-Horng

2014-06-01

Evaluating and treating of stress can substantially benefits to people with health problems. Currently, mental stress evaluated using medical questionnaires. However, the accuracy of this evaluation method is questionable because of variations caused by factors such as cultural differences and individual subjectivity. Measuring of biomedical signals is an effective method for estimating mental stress that enables this problem to be overcome. However, the relationship between the levels of mental stress and biomedical signals remain poorly understood. A refined rough set algorithm is proposed to determine the relationship between mental stress and biomedical signals, this algorithm combines rough set theory with a hybrid Taguchi-genetic algorithm, called RS-HTGA. Two parameters were used for evaluating the performance of the proposed RS-HTGA method. A dataset obtained from a practice clinic comprising 362 cases (196 male, 166 female) was adopted to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The empirical results indicate that the proposed method can achieve acceptable accuracy in medical practice. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully used to identify the relationship between mental stress levels and bio-medical signals. In addition, the comparison between the RS-HTGA and a support vector machine (SVM) method indicated that both methods yield good results. The total averages for sensitivity, specificity, and precision were greater than 96%, the results indicated that both algorithms produced highly accurate results, but a substantial difference in discrimination existed among people with Phase 0 stress. The SVM algorithm shows 89% and the RS-HTGA shows 96%. Therefore, the RS-HTGA is superior to the SVM algorithm. The kappa test results for both algorithms were greater than 0.936, indicating high accuracy and consistency. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve for both the RS-HTGA and a SVM method were greater than 0.77, indicating a good discrimination capability. In this study, crucial attributes in stress evaluation were successfully recognized using biomedical signals, thereby enabling the conservation of medical resources and elucidating the mapping relationship between levels of mental stress and candidate attributes. In addition, we developed a prototype system for mental stress evaluation that can be used to provide benefits in medical practice. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The vendor/laboratory manager relationship: some practical negotiation tips.

PubMed

Bickford, G R

1993-01-01

We negotiate practically every minute of the day with ourselves, as well as with spouses or loved ones, family members, friends, bosses, and coworkers. Skilled negotiators search for the common good, present accurate information, create alternatives, and strive for agreements that are fair to all concerned. Those who use misinformation and manipulation to win their short-term positions fail to build long-term relationships. Developing a positive attitude toward negotiating involves experience, recognizing the negotiating mechanism, evaluating decisions, and correctly determining when to stop negotiating and move on. Negotiations between suppliers and laboratory managers are used in this article to illustrate these processes.

Pay for performance of Estonian family doctors and impact of different practice- and patient-related characteristics on a good outcome: A quantitative assessment.

PubMed

Merilind, Eero; Salupere, Rauno; Västra, Katrin; Kalda, Ruth

2016-01-01

Several practice- and patient-related characteristics are reported to have an influence on a good quality outcome. Estonia started the pay-for-performance (P4P) system for family doctors (FDs) in 2006. Every year the number of FDs participating in P4P has increased, but only half of the FDs achieved good outcome. The aim of this study was to find out which practice- and patient-related characteristics could have an impact on a good outcome. The study was conducted using the database from the Estonian Health Insurance Fund. All working FDs were divided into two groups (with "good" and "poor" outcomes) according their achievements in P4P. We chose characteristics which described structure (practice list size, number of doctors, composition of FDs list: age, number of chronically ill patients) during the observation period 2006-2012. During the observation period 2006-2012, the number of FDs with a good outcome in P4P increased from 6% (2006) to 53% (2012). The high number of FDs in primary care teams, longer experience of participation in P4P and the smaller number of patients on FDs' lists all have an impact on a good outcome. The number of chronically ill patients in FDs lists has no significant effect on an outcome, but P4P increases the number of disease-diagnosed patients. Different practice and patient-related characteristics have an impact on a good outcome. As workload increases, smaller lists of FDs patients or increased staff levels are needed in order to maintain a good outcome. Copyright © 2016 The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

Workplace etiquette for the medical practice employee.

PubMed

Hills, Laura

2010-01-01

Medical practice workplace etiquette is slowly being modified and fine-tuned. New workplace etiquette rules have become necessary because of advances in communications technology, shifting norms, and expectations of what constitutes good manners. Today's medical practice employees must concern themselves with traditional workplace manners but also the manners that come into play when they make or receive cell phone calls, text messages, and e-mails, and when they use social networking media outside of work. This article offers 25 rules for good manners in the medical practice that relate to the ways employees interact with people today, whether face-to-face or when using electronic communications technologies. It offers practical guidelines for making introductions both inside and outside the medical practice. This article also provides a self-quiz to help medical practice employees assess their workplace etiquette intelligence and 12 tips for good workplace table manners.

76 FR 2123 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-12

...; Current Good Manufacturing Practice Quality System Regulation AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS... information entitled ``Current Good Manufacturing Practice Quality System Regulation'' has been approved by...

40 CFR 68.56 - Maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL... testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. The...' recommendations, industry standards or codes, good engineering practices, and prior operating experience. ...

40 CFR 68.56 - Maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL... testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. The...' recommendations, industry standards or codes, good engineering practices, and prior operating experience. ...

40 CFR 68.56 - Maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL... testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. The...' recommendations, industry standards or codes, good engineering practices, and prior operating experience. ...

40 CFR 68.56 - Maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL... testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. The...' recommendations, industry standards or codes, good engineering practices, and prior operating experience. ...

40 CFR 68.56 - Maintenance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL... testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices. The...' recommendations, industry standards or codes, good engineering practices, and prior operating experience. ...

Evaluation of an in-practice wet-chemistry analyzer using canine and feline serum samples.

PubMed

Irvine, Katherine L; Burt, Kay; Papasouliotis, Kostas

2016-01-01

A wet-chemistry biochemical analyzer was assessed for in-practice veterinary use. Its small size may mean a cost-effective method for low-throughput in-house biochemical analyses for first-opinion practice. The objectives of our study were to determine imprecision, total observed error, and acceptability of the analyzer for measurement of common canine and feline serum analytes, and to compare clinical sample results to those from a commercial reference analyzer. Imprecision was determined by within- and between-run repeatability for canine and feline pooled samples, and manufacturer-supplied quality control material (QCM). Total observed error (TEobs) was determined for pooled samples and QCM. Performance was assessed for canine and feline pooled samples by sigma metric determination. Agreement and errors between the in-practice and reference analyzers were determined for canine and feline clinical samples by Bland-Altman and Deming regression analyses. Within- and between-run precision was high for most analytes, and TEobs(%) was mostly lower than total allowable error. Performance based on sigma metrics was good (σ > 4) for many analytes and marginal (σ > 3) for most of the remainder. Correlation between the analyzers was very high for most canine analytes and high for most feline analytes. Between-analyzer bias was generally attributed to high constant error. The in-practice analyzer showed good overall performance, with only calcium and phosphate analyses identified as significantly problematic. Agreement for most analytes was insufficient for transposition of reference intervals, and we recommend that in-practice-specific reference intervals be established in the laboratory. © 2015 The Author(s).

21 CFR 184.1143 - Ammonium sulfate.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... chapter, and processing aid as defined in § 170.3(o)(24) of this chapter. (d) The ingredient is used in food at levels not to exceed good manufacturing practice in accordance with § 184.1(b)(1). Current good manufacturing practice results in a maximum level, as served, of 0.15 percent for baked goods as defined in...

Virtue Ethics, Care Ethics, and "The Good Life of Teaching"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silverman, Marissa

2012-01-01

In "The Good Life of Teaching: An Ethics of Professional Practice," Chris Higgins (2011) reminds people that "self-interest and altruism, personal freedom and social roles, and practical wisdom and personhood" have been ancient philosophical topics that remain vitally important in the practice of contemporary teaching and learning. One of the most…

Assuring Best Practice in Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keppell, Mike; Suddaby, Gordon; Hard, Natasha

2015-01-01

This paper documents the development and findings of the Good Practice Report on Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). Developing the Good Practice Report required a meta-analysis of 33 ALTC learning and teaching projects relating to technology funded between 2006 and 2010. This…

Discrimination and Good Practice Activities in Education: Trends and Developments in the 27 EU Member States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollak, Alexander

2008-01-01

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights collects, through its network of observation points, information on discrimination and good practice in the areas of legislation, employment, housing, racist violence, and education. Data on education includes information on: access to education for vulnerable groups, discriminatory practices,…

Good Laboratory Practice. Part 1. An Introduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedlich, Richard C.; Libera, Agata E.; Pires, Amanda; Therrien, Matthew T.

2013-01-01

The Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations were put into place in 1978. They establish a standard of practice to ensure that results from the nonclinical laboratory study reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are valid and that the study report accurately reflects the conduct of the study. While the GLP regulations promulgate…

A Trial of PBL Education with Emphasis on Improving Practical Competence of Engineering Students-A Trial Connected with the Support for Science Education in Elementary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsutsumi, Hirotaka; Nikkuni, Hiroyuki; Kitakoshi, Daisuke; Yasuda, Toshitaka; Kikuchi, Akira; Mitani, Tomoyo

Recently Colleges of technology as well as universities have some experience-oriented classes in sciences for elementary school students. These have proved to be successful as good motivation for students in the primary education to be engineers. This research has tried the PBL education, which combined the Support of Science Education in Elementary School and the improvement of students‧ practical competence in their careers. The support of science education in elementary school was carried out by using LEGO blocks, widely utilized in the educational researches of robots, and was conducted in the practical class with the autonomous robots. Finally, the method for the class was evaluated by the elementary school students on the basis of the questionnaire.

Guidelines for maintaining and managing the vaccine cold chain.

PubMed

2003-10-24

In February 2002, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) released their revised General Recommendations on Immunization, which included recommendations on the storage and handling of immunobiologics. Because of increased concern over the potential for errors with the vaccine cold chain (i.e., maintaining proper vaccine temperatures during storage and handling to preserve potency), this notice advises vaccine providers of the importance of proper cold chain management practices. This report describes proper storage units and storage temperatures, outlines appropriate temperature-monitoring practices, and recommends steps for evaluating a temperature-monitoring program. The success of efforts against vaccine-preventable diseases is attributable in part to proper storage and handling of vaccines. Exposure of vaccines to temperatures outside the recommended ranges can affect potency adversely, thereby reducing protection from vaccine-preventable diseases. Good practices to maintain proper vaccine storage and handling can ensure that the full benefit of immunization is realized.

Preceptors’ Self-Assessment of Their Ability to Perform the Learning Objectives of an Experiential Program

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Objective. To evaluate preceptors’ perception of their ability to perform the Structured Practical Experiences in Pharmacy (SPEP) learning objectives through a self-assessment activity. Methods. A self-assessment instrument consisting of 28 learning objectives associated with clinic, community, and hospital pharmacy practice experiences were developed. Preceptors rated their performance ability for each of the learning objectives using a 3-point Likert scale. Results. Of the 116 preceptors, 89 (77%) completed the self-assessment survey instrument. The overall preceptor responses to the items on performance of the 28 SPEP learning objectives ranged from good to excellent. Years of experience, practice experience setting, and involvement as a SPEP or SPEP and PharmD preceptor had no influence on their self-reported capabilities. Conclusion. Most preceptors rated their ability to perform the learning objectives for the structured practical experiences in pharmacy as high. Competency areas requiring further preceptor development were identified. PMID:23193333

[Software for illustrating a cost-quality balance carried out by clinical laboratory practice].

PubMed

Nishibori, Masahiro; Asayama, Hitoshi; Kimura, Satoshi; Takagi, Yasushi; Hagihara, Michio; Fujiwara, Mutsunori; Yoneyama, Akiko; Watanabe, Takashi

2010-09-01

We have no proper reference indicating the quality of clinical laboratory practice, which should clearly illustrates that better medical tests require more expenses. Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine was concerned about recent difficult medical economy and issued a committee report proposing a guideline to evaluate the good laboratory practice. According to the guideline, we developed software that illustrate a cost-quality balance carried out by clinical laboratory practice. We encountered a number of controversial problems, for example, how to measure and weight each quality-related factor, how to calculate costs of a laboratory test and how to consider characteristics of a clinical laboratory. Consequently we finished only prototype software within the given period and the budget. In this paper, software implementation of the guideline and the above-mentioned problems are summarized. Aiming to stimulate these discussions, the operative software will be put on the Society's homepage for trial

Developing Oral Case Presentation Skills: Peer and Self-Evaluations as Instructional Tools.

PubMed

Williams, Dustyn E; Surakanti, Shravani

2016-01-01

Oral case presentation is an essential skill in clinical practice that is decidedly varied and understudied in teaching curricula. We developed a curriculum to improve oral case presentation skills in medical students. As part of an internal medicine clerkship, students receive instruction in the elements of a good oral case presentation and then present a real-world case in front of a video camera. Each student self-evaluates his/her presentation and receives evaluations from his/her peers. We expect peer and self-evaluation to be meaningful tools for developing skills in oral presentation. We hope to not only improve the quality of oral case presentations by students but also to reduce the time burden on faculty.

Assessment of knowledge and practice of community pharmacy personnel on diabetes mellitus management in Kathmandu district: a cross sectional descriptive study.

PubMed

Shrestha, M; Maharjan, R; Prajapati, A; Ghimire, S; Shrestha, N; Banstola, A

2015-01-01

Pharmacists are the most reachable healthcare professionals to many chronically ill patients. It has been found that pharmacists see patients with diabetes up to five times more often than any other healthcare provider. Therefore, to provide quality health care to patients it is important that they have appropriate knowledge and practice on diabetes mellitus management. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practice of diabetes mellitus management among community pharmacy personnel involved in retail community pharmacies of Kathmandu. Three hundred and fifteen community pharmacies, selected by systematic random sampling were surveyed by using pre-validated self-administered questionnaires. The first set of questionnaire evaluated the community pharmacy personnel's diabetes knowledge based on a pre-validated 20-item questionnaire. The second set of questionnaire documented about the practice of community pharmacy personnel on diabetes mellitus management which contained 22 questions. Data was entered in EPI Data and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. This survey demonstrated that 76.5 % respondents had poor knowledge and 86.4 % had negative practice on diabetes mellitus (DM) management. Only 26.2 % respondents had good knowledge as well as good practice. 31.4 % of respondents had poor knowledge as well as poor practice on DM management. Laws and regulations regarding community pharmacy personnel need to be implemented. There should be more advanced and experiment based training. Additionally, the provision for further education curriculum in pharmacy education should be implemented which should intensively include disease and proper management. Guidelines covering diabetes care should be distributed and implemented throughout community pharmacies.

Student Practice Evaluation Form-Revised Edition online comment bank: development and reliability analysis.

PubMed

Rodger, Sylvia; Turpin, Merrill; Copley, Jodie; Coleman, Allison; Chien, Chi-Wen; Caine, Anne-Maree; Brown, Ted

2014-08-01

The reliable evaluation of occupational therapy students completing practice education placements along with provision of appropriate feedback is critical for both students and for universities from a quality assurance perspective. This study describes the development of a comment bank for use with an online version of the Student Practice Evaluation Form-Revised Edition (SPEF-R Online) and investigates its reliability. A preliminary bank of 109 individual comments (based on previous students' placement performance) was developed via five stages. These comments reflected all 11 SPEF-R domains. A purpose-designed online survey was used to examine the reliability of the comment bank. A total of 37 practice educators returned surveys, 31 of which were fully completed. Participants were asked to rate each individual comment using the five-point SPEF-R rating scale. One hundred and two of 109 comments demonstrated satisfactory agreement with their respective default ratings that were determined by the development team. At each domain level, the intra-class correlation coefficients (ranging between 0.86 and 0.96) also demonstrated good to excellent inter-rater reliability. There were only seven items that required rewording prior to inclusion in the final SPEF-R Online comment bank. The development of the SPEF-R Online comment bank offers a source of reliable comments (consistent with the SPEF-R rating scale across different domains) and aims to assist practice educators in providing reliable and timely feedback to students in a user-friendly manner. © 2014 Occupational Therapy Australia.

The Clinical Evaluation of Hypertension

PubMed Central

de Champlain, Jacques

1985-01-01

The incidence of secondary hypertension in clinical practice is probably below 5%. The majority of those cases are of renal origin. Extensive and costly investigations for rarer forms of hypertension therefore do not appear justified. A comprehensive medical history, plus a good physical exam and some critical laboratory analyses can uncover the great majority of primary and secondary forms of hypertension, allowing for the detection of additional risks factors. Current research trends will eventually provide newer approaches which may permit a better evaluation of the prognosis of hypertension, as well as the development of more efficient therapies. Imagesp307-a PMID:21274102

21 CFR 225.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Current good manufacturing practice. (a) Section 501(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act... the methods used in, or the facilities or controls used for, its manufacture, processing, packing, or...

21 CFR 225.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Current good manufacturing practice. (a) Section 501(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act... the methods used in, or the facilities or controls used for, its manufacture, processing, packing, or...

21 CFR 225.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Current good manufacturing practice. (a) Section 501(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act... the methods used in, or the facilities or controls used for, its manufacture, processing, packing, or...

21 CFR 225.1 - Current good manufacturing practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Current good manufacturing practice. (a) Section 501(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act... the methods used in, or the facilities or controls used for, its manufacture, processing, packing, or...

21 CFR 26.15 - Monitoring continued equivalence.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM... COMMUNITY Specific Sector Provisions for Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices § 26.15 Monitoring... number of joint inspections; and the conduct of common training sessions. ...

21 CFR 26.15 - Monitoring continued equivalence.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM... COMMUNITY Specific Sector Provisions for Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices § 26.15 Monitoring... number of joint inspections; and the conduct of common training sessions. ...

Development of a Peer Teaching-Assessment Program and a Peer Observation and Evaluation Tool

PubMed Central

Trujillo, Jennifer M.; Barr, Judith; Gonyeau, Michael; Van Amburgh, Jenny A.; Matthews, S. James; Qualters, Donna

2008-01-01

Objectives To develop a formalized, comprehensive, peer-driven teaching assessment program and a valid and reliable assessment tool. Methods A volunteer taskforce was formed and a peer-assessment program was developed using a multistep, sequential approach and the Peer Observation and Evaluation Tool (POET). A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency and practicality of the process and to establish interrater reliability of the tool. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated. Results ICCs for 8 separate lectures evaluated by 2-3 observers ranged from 0.66 to 0.97, indicating good interrater reliability of the tool. Conclusion Our peer assessment program for large classroom teaching, which includes a valid and reliable evaluation tool, is comprehensive, feasible, and can be adopted by other schools of pharmacy. PMID:19325963

[Quality improvement in workers health surveillance: the spirometry training courses experience].

PubMed

Innocenti, A; Quercia, A; Roscelli, F

2012-01-01

The spirometry execution during workers health surveillance requires accurate and reproducible spirometric measurements, which should comply with the ATS/ERS guidelines. Low acceptability of spirometric manoeuvres has been reported in health surveillance. This may hamper the validity of the results and affect clinical decision making. Training and refresher courses may produce and maintain good-quality testing, promote the use of spirometric results in clinical practice and enhance the quality of interpretation. We evaluated (with PLATINO score) 239 spirometries from 23 occupational physicians recorded before and after a spirometry refresher course (16 hours) and we verified that only 4 physicians showed a very good improvement and others 4 a good improvement of score, while 9 showed a very slight improvement and 6 instead no improvement. It is worthy of note that in 2012 some spirometers not suitable to UNI EN 26782/2009 were still in use.

Quality evaluation of rice bran protein isolate-based weaning food for preschoolers.

PubMed

Khan, Saima H; Butt, Masood S; Anjum, Faqir M; Sameen, Ayesha

2011-05-01

Agro-industrial waste 'rice bran' was stabilized and the extracted protein isolates were used as ingredients to make nutritive complimentary food for the growing infants. The formulation processed through drum drying and the starchy ingredients were pregelatinized to reduce bulk in the prepared meal and facilitate spoon-feeding. The formulations had uniform texture, light golden color and good paste consistency. Nutrient composition was good enough to meet standards for supplementary infant foods. Caloric value remained up to 416 kcal/100 g with spoonable viscosity and 80.90-84.45% in vitro digestibility. A single meal could substantially contribute to the daily essential amino acid requirement. The formulation had good acceptability during a short-term infant-feeding trial. The present study can provide practical guideline for manufacturers as well as the nutritionist for the use of an economical and nutritive formulation for young children.

A review of economic evaluations of behavior change interventions: setting an agenda for research methods and practice.

PubMed

Alayli-Goebbels, Adrienne F G; Evers, Silvia M A A; Alexeeva, Daria; Ament, André J H A; de Vries, Nanne K; Tilly, Jan C; Severens, Johan L

2014-06-01

The objective of this study was to review methodological quality of economic evaluations of lifestyle behavior change interventions (LBCIs) and to examine how they address methodological challenges for public health economic evaluation identified in the literature. Pubmed and the NHS economic evaluation database were searched for published studies in six key areas for behavior change: smoking, physical activity, dietary behavior, (illegal) drug use, alcohol use and sexual behavior. From included studies (n = 142), we extracted data on general study characteristics, characteristics of the LBCIs, methodological quality and handling of methodological challenges. Economic evaluation evidence for LBCIs showed a number of weaknesses: methods, study design and characteristics of evaluated interventions were not well reported; methodological quality showed several shortcomings and progress with addressing methodological challenges remained limited. Based on the findings of this review we propose an agenda for improving future evidence to support decision-making. Recommendations for practice include improving reporting of essential study details and increasing adherence with good practice standards. Recommendations for research methods focus on mapping out complex causal pathways for modeling, developing measures to capture broader domains of wellbeing and community outcomes, testing methods for considering equity, identifying relevant non-health sector costs and advancing methods for evidence synthesis. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Good practices and techniques for prevention of accidents at work and occupational diseases. New database of Inail].

PubMed

Bindi, L; Ossicini, A

2007-01-01

The project "The publication of good practices and good techniques for prevention" is one the priorities of nail. This computerized system for the collection of good practices and standards of Good Technology is aimed to health and safety of workers. The basic objective of the database is to provide a valuable tool, usable, dynamic and implemented, in order to facilitate and direct the access to BP and BT it by people responsible for SSL. At the same time constitutes a tool strategically important for enterprises (especially SMEs) in terms of technological innovation and competitiveness, related to the prevention, safety and health of workers. The realization of this project has involved many of the professionals (chemists, engineers, doctors, biologists, geologists, etc.), and everyone gives his intake of qualified professional competence.

Do quality indicators for general practice teaching practices predict good outcomes for students?

PubMed

Bartlett, Maggie; Potts, Jessica; McKinley, Bob

2016-07-01

Keele medical students spend 113 days in general practices over our five-year programme. We collect practice data thought to indicate good quality teaching. We explored the relationships between these data and two outcomes for students; Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores and feedback regarding the placements. Though both are surrogate markers of good teaching, they are widely used. We collated practice and outcome data for one academic year. Two separate statistical analyses were carried out: (1) to determine how much of the variation seen in the OSCE scores was due to the effect of the practice and how much to the individual student. (2) to identify practice characteristics with a relationship to student feedback scores. (1) OSCE performance: 268 students in 90 practices: six quality indicators independently influenced the OSCE score, though without linear relationships and not to statistical significance. (2) Student satisfaction: 144 students in 69 practices: student feedback scores are not influenced by practice characteristics. The relationships between the quality indicators we collect for practices and outcomes for students are not clear. It may be that neither the quality indicators nor the outcome measures are reliable enough to inform decisions about practices' suitability for teaching.

Helping Displaced Older Workers Get Back into Employment: Good Practice Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Victor J.; Bowman, Kaye

2015-01-01

This good practice guide is based on the report "Industry Restructuring and Job Loss: Helping Older Workers Get Back into Employment" by Victor J. Callan and Kaye Bowman. The aim of the research was to identify evidence-based practices that led to successful skills transfer, re-skilling, training and the attainment of new jobs for older…

A Lesson Plan for the Enhancement of Training and Research in Academia by the Adaptation and Adoption of Good Laboratory Practice Guidelines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sitaraman, Ramakrishnan

2010-01-01

The implementation of good laboratory practices (GLPs) is recognized by the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as being critical for ensuring the international acceptability of products. However, as universities and colleges (and research organizations) do not necessarily work under similar constraints, actual laboratory practices vary…

Addressing the Challenge of Diversity in the Graduate Ranks: Good Practices Yield Good Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Nancy L.; Campbell, Andrew G.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we examine the impact of implementing three systemic practices on the diversity and institutional culture in biomedical and public health PhD training at Brown University. We hypothesized that these practices, designed as part of the National Institutes of Health-funded Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) program in…

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Risk to Human Infection due to Mycobacterium bovis among Cattle Farming Communities in Western Uganda.

PubMed

Kazoora, H B; Majalija, S; Kiwanuka, N; Kaneene, J B

2016-12-01

A cross-sectional study involving multistage cluster sampling was undertaken in Kashari county, Mbarara district, western Uganda, in which quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding risk of human infection with zoonotic tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis among cattle farmers. Of 496 respondents, 50% were farm owners and 50% herdsmen. Males were 70.9% of all the study participants. Among these, 37.5% had good knowledge, 41.4% had positive attitudes and 75.2% good practices regarding zoonotic tuberculosis. In the multivariable model, good knowledge was associated with having ever received health education, spending more than 5 years keeping cattle, having heard of cattle condemned at the abattoir due to tuberculosis and marital status. Positive attitudes were associated with having ever received health education, having heard of cattle condemned at the abattoir due to tuberculosis and being a farm owner versus being a herdsman. Good practices were associated with health education and good knowledge of the disease. Overall, knowledge and attitudes towards zoonotic tuberculosis due to M. bovis in humans was found to be low. While the majority of the respondents reported good practices, there were some still consuming raw milk and its products, which may predispose them to infection and indicates the need for greater outreach for zoonotic tuberculosis education. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Good practices : incorporating safety into resurfacing and restoration projects

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-12-01

Integrating safety improvements into resurfacing and restoration projects is a subject of long-standing interest by Federal, State, and local transportation agencies. A Scan Tour was conducted to identify and subsequently observe good practices in th...

[Factors influencing the quality of clinical practice guidelines in ovarian cancer].

PubMed

Castillo-Londoño, J S; Medina-Torres, Y A; Sandoval-Salinas, C; Buitrago-Gutierrez, G; Torres-Ibargüen, M Z; Gonzalez-Rangel, A L

To identify the characteristics of the published clinical practice guidelines for the management of epithelial ovarian cancer that suggest a good methodological quality. A literature review was performed on 25 clinical practice guidelines for epithelial ovarian cancer that were identified in different databases (MEDLINE, Guidelines International Network, National Guidelines Clearing house) published between 2007 and 2014. The quality of the guidelines was evaluated using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II tool. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between the quality of the guidelines and of some of their features and their developers. Just under half (48%) of the guidelines were rated as low quality. Scientific societies or independent centres and private funding, or under-reporting the source of funding, were statistically associated with lower quality of clinical practice guidelines (P<.01). The guidelines developed by National Program Guidelines had a median of consistently higher scores in all domains of the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II, with significant differences in the definition of scope and objectives, the participation of stakeholders, the methodological rigour of development, and applicability to the context. Features such as the nature of the developer and funding of the guidelines are predictors of quality that should be taken into account prior to the use of the recommendations of a document. Copyright © 2016 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Robust data enables managers to promote good practice.

PubMed

Bassett, Sally; Westmore, Kathryn

2012-11-01

This is the third in a series of articles examining the components of good corporate governance. The effective and efficient use of information and sources of information is crucial for good governance. This article explores the ways in which boards and management can obtain and use information to monitor performance and promote good practice, and how boards can be assured about the quality of information on which they rely. The final article in this series will look at the role of accountability in corporate governance.

Physician Rating Websites: What Aspects Are Important to Identify a Good Doctor, and Are Patients Capable of Assessing Them? A Mixed-Methods Approach Including Physicians’ and Health Care Consumers’ Perspectives

PubMed Central

Schulz, Peter J

2017-01-01

Background Physician rating websites (PRWs) offer health care consumers the opportunity to evaluate their doctor anonymously. However, physicians’ professional training and experience create a vast knowledge gap in medical matters between physicians and patients. This raises ethical concerns about the relevance and significance of health care consumers’ evaluation of physicians’ performance. Objective To identify the aspects physician rating websites should offer for evaluation, this study investigated the aspects of physicians and their practice relevant for identifying a good doctor, and whether health care consumers are capable of evaluating these aspects. Methods In a first step, a Delphi study with physicians from 4 specializations was conducted, testing various indicators to identify a good physician. These indicators were theoretically derived from Donabedian, who classifies quality in health care into pillars of structure, process, and outcome. In a second step, a cross-sectional survey with health care consumers in Switzerland (N=211) was launched based on the indicators developed in the Delphi study. Participants were asked to rate the importance of these indicators to identify a good physician and whether they would feel capable to evaluate those aspects after the first visit to a physician. All indicators were ordered into a 4×4 grid based on evaluation and importance, as judged by the physicians and health care consumers. Agreement between the physicians and health care consumers was calculated applying Holsti’s method. Results In the majority of aspects, physicians and health care consumers agreed on what facets of care were important and not important to identify a good physician and whether patients were able to evaluate them, yielding a level of agreement of 74.3%. The two parties agreed that the infrastructure, staff, organization, and interpersonal skills are both important for a good physician and can be evaluated by health care consumers. Technical skills of a doctor and outcomes of care were also judged to be very important, but both parties agreed that they would not be evaluable by health care consumers. Conclusions Health care consumers in Switzerland show a high appraisal of the importance of physician-approved criteria for assessing health care performance and a moderate self-perception of how capable they are of assessing the quality and performance of a physician. This study supports that health care consumers are differentiating between aspects they perceive they would be able to evaluate after a visit to a physician (such as attributes of structure and the interpersonal skills of a doctor), and others that lay beyond their ability to make an accurate judgment about (such as technical skills of a physician and outcome of care). PMID:28461285

[Validity and Reliability of the Korean Version Scale of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher Evaluation Scale (CLES+T)].

PubMed

Kim, Sun Hee; Yoo, So Yeon; Kim, Yae Young

2018-02-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the clinical learning environment, supervision and nurse teacher evaluation scale (CLES+T) that measures the clinical learning environment and the conditions associated with supervision and nurse teachers. The English CLES+T was translated into Korean with forward and back translation. Survey data were collected from 434 nursing students who had more than four days of clinical practice in Korean hospitals. Internal consistency reliability and construct validity using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis were conducted. SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 22.0 programs were used for data analysis. The exploratory factor analysis revealed seven factors for the thirty three-item scale. Confirmatory factor analysis supported good convergent and discriminant validities. The Cronbach's alpha for the overall scale was .94 and for the seven subscales ranged from .78 to .94. The findings suggest that the 33-items Korean CLES+T is an appropriate instrument to measure Korean nursing students'clinical learning environment with good validity and reliability. © 2018 Korean Society of Nursing Science.

Defining principles for good practice: using case studies to inform health systems action on health inequalities.

PubMed

Simpson, Sarah; Kelly, Michael P; Morgan, Antony

2013-02-01

This paper presents work using case studies as a source of data to see if we could extrapolate from the specific to the general particularly with regard to understanding what constitutes effective practice in taking action on SDHI and as a way of enabling policy makers to make better use of knowledge within the case studies and as a way of better understanding what works, in what context and why. Case studies are important to evaluators in that they are relatively straightforward to undertake and because those involved in implementing an intervention are usually keen to profile the intervention. A checklist described in this paper will enable policy advisers and evaluators to quickly review a case study and right away see if it contains enough information to assist in the development of policy options for reducing socially determined health inequalities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conceptions of Good Science in Our Data-Rich World.

PubMed

Elliott, Kevin C; Cheruvelil, Kendra S; Montgomery, Georgina M; Soranno, Patricia A

2016-10-01

Scientists have been debating for centuries the nature of proper scientific methods. Currently, criticisms being thrown at data-intensive science are reinvigorating these debates. However, many of these criticisms represent long-standing conflicts over the role of hypothesis testing in science and not just a dispute about the amount of data used. Here, we show that an iterative account of scientific methods developed by historians and philosophers of science can help make sense of data-intensive scientific practices and suggest more effective ways to evaluate this research. We use case studies of Darwin's research on evolution by natural selection and modern-day research on macrosystems ecology to illustrate this account of scientific methods and the innovative approaches to scientific evaluation that it encourages. We point out recent changes in the spheres of science funding, publishing, and education that reflect this richer account of scientific practice, and we propose additional reforms.

Conceptions of Good Science in Our Data-Rich World

PubMed Central

Elliott, Kevin C.; Cheruvelil, Kendra S.; Montgomery, Georgina M.; Soranno, Patricia A.

2016-01-01

Abstract Scientists have been debating for centuries the nature of proper scientific methods. Currently, criticisms being thrown at data-intensive science are reinvigorating these debates. However, many of these criticisms represent long-standing conflicts over the role of hypothesis testing in science and not just a dispute about the amount of data used. Here, we show that an iterative account of scientific methods developed by historians and philosophers of science can help make sense of data-intensive scientific practices and suggest more effective ways to evaluate this research. We use case studies of Darwin's research on evolution by natural selection and modern-day research on macrosystems ecology to illustrate this account of scientific methods and the innovative approaches to scientific evaluation that it encourages. We point out recent changes in the spheres of science funding, publishing, and education that reflect this richer account of scientific practice, and we propose additional reforms. PMID:29599533

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PRACTICES IN HOSPITAL-BASED HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT UNITS.

PubMed

Sampietro-Colom, Laura; Lach, Krzysztof; Pasternack, Iris; Wasserfallen, Jean-Blaise; Cicchetti, Americo; Marchetti, Marco; Kidholm, Kristian; Arentz-Hansen, Helene; Rosenmöller, Magdalene; Wild, Claudia; Kahveci, Rabia; Ulst, Margus

2015-01-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) carried out for policy decision making has well-established principles unlike hospital-based HTA (HB-HTA), which differs from the former in the context characteristics and ways of operation. This study proposes principles for good practices in HB-HTA units. A framework for good practice criteria was built inspired by the EFQM excellence business model and information from six literature reviews, 107 face-to-face interviews, forty case studies, large-scale survey, focus group, Delphi survey, as well as local and international validation. In total, 385 people from twenty countries have participated in defining the principles for good practices in HB-HTA units. Fifteen guiding principles for good practices in HB-HTA units are grouped in four dimensions. Dimension 1 deals with principles of the assessment process aimed at providing contextualized information for hospital decision makers. Dimension 2 describes leadership, strategy and partnerships of HB-HTA units which govern and facilitate the assessment process. Dimension 3 focuses on adequate resources that ensure the operation of HB-HTA units. Dimension 4 deals with measuring the short- and long-term impact of the overall performance of HB-HTA units. Finally, nine core guiding principles were selected as essential requirements for HB-HTA units based on the expertise of the HB-HTA units participating in the project. Guiding principles for good practices set up a benchmark for HB-HTA because they represent the ideal performance of HB-HTA units; nevertheless, when performing HTA at hospital level, context also matters; therefore, they should be adapted to ensure their applicability in the local context.

21 CFR 26.1 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... PHARMACEUTICAL GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE REPORTS, MEDICAL DEVICE QUALITY SYSTEM AUDIT REPORTS, AND CERTAIN... regulatory systems means that the systems are sufficiently comparable to assure that the process of... require that the respective regulatory systems have identical procedures. (c) Good Manufacturing Practices...

40 CFR 68.73 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.73 Mechanical integrity. (a... accepted good engineering practices. (3) The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, and more...

40 CFR 68.73 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.73 Mechanical integrity. (a... accepted good engineering practices. (3) The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, and more...

40 CFR 68.73 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.73 Mechanical integrity. (a... accepted good engineering practices. (3) The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, and more...

40 CFR 68.73 - Mechanical integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Program 3 Prevention Program § 68.73 Mechanical integrity. (a... accepted good engineering practices. (3) The frequency of inspections and tests of process equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers' recommendations and good engineering practices, and more...

Training or non-surgical factors-what determines a good surgical performance? A randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Lindlohr, Cornelia; Lefering, R; Saad, S; Heiss, M M; Pape-Köhler, C

2017-06-01

Acquiring laparoscopic skills is a necessity for every young surgeon. Whether it is a talent or a non-surgical skill that determines the surgical performance of an endoscopic operation has been discussed for years. In other disciplines aptitude testing has become the norm. Airlines, for example, have implemented assessments to test the natural aptitude of future pilots to predict their performance later on. In the medical field, especially surgery, there are no similar comparable tests implemented or even available. This study investigates the influence of potential factors that may predict the successful performance of a complex laparoscopic operation, such as the surgeon's age, gender or learning method. This study focussed 70 surgical trainees. It was designed as a secondary analysis of data derived from a 2 × 2 factorial randomised controlled trial of practical training and/or multimedia training (four groups) in an experimental exercise. Both before and then after the training sessions, the participating trainees performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a pelvitrainer. Surgical performance was then evaluated using a modified objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS). Participants were classified as 'Skilled' (high score in the pre-test), 'Good Learner' (increase from pre- to post-test) or 'Others' based on the OSATS results. Based on the results of the recorded performance, the training methods as well as non-surgical skills were eventually evaluated in a univariate and in a multivariate analysis. In the pre-training performance 11 candidates were categorised as 'Skilled' (15.7%), 35 participants as 'Good Learners' (50.0%) and 24 participants were classified as 'Others'. The univariate analysis showed that the age, a residency in visceral surgery, and participation in a multimedia training were significantly associated with this grouping. Multivariate analyses revealed that residency in visceral surgery was the most predictive factor for the 'Skilled' participants (p = 0.059), and multimedia training was most predictive for the 'Good Learner' (p = 0.006). Participants in the group of 'Others' who were neither 'Skilled' nor improved in the training phase were younger (p = 0.011) and did not receive multimedia (p < 0.001) or practical (p = 0.025) training. The type of learning method has been shown to be the most effective factor to improve laparoscopic skills, with multimedia training proving to be more effective than practical training.

Reliability of conventional shade guides in teeth color determination.

PubMed

Todorović, Ana; Todorović, Aleksandar; Gostović, Aleksandra Spadijer; Lazić, Vojkan; Milicić, Biljana; Djurisić, Slobodan

2013-10-01

Color matching in prosthodontic therapy is a very important task because it influences the esthetic value of dental restorations. Visual shade matching represents the most frequently applied method in clinical practice. Instrumental measurements provide objective and quantified data in color assessment of natural teeth and restorations. In instrumental shade analysis, the goal is to achieve the smallest deltaE value possible, indicating the most accurate shade match. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of commercially available ceramic shade guides. VITA Easyshade spectrophotometer (VITA, Germany) was used for instrumental color determination. Utilizing this device, color samples of ten VITA Classical and ten VITA 3D - Master shade guides were analyzed. Each color sample from all shade guides was measured three times and the basic parameters of color quality were examined: deltaL, deltaC, deltaH, deltaE, deltaElc. Based on these parameters spectrophotometer marks the shade matching as good, fair or adjust. After performing 1,248 measurements of ceramic color samples, frequency of evaluations adjust, fair and good were statistically significantly different between VITA Classical and VITA 3D Master shade guides (p = 0.002). There were 27.1% cases scored as adjust, 66.3% as fair and 6.7% as good. In VITA 3D - Master shade guides 30.9% cases were evaluated as adjust, 66.4% as fair and 2.7% cases as good. Color samples from different shade guides, produced by the same manufacturer, show variability in basic color parameters, which once again proves the lack of precision and nonuniformity of the conventional method.

Perceptions about Training during Endocrinology Residency Programs in India over the Years: A Cross-sectional Study (PEER India Study)

PubMed Central

Khandelwal, Deepak; Dutta, Deep; Singla, Rajiv; Surana, Vineet; Aggarwal, Sameer; Gupta, Yashdeep; Kalra, Sanjay; Khadgawat, Rajesh; Tandon, Nikhil

2017-01-01

Background: Residents' perception on quality of endocrinology training in India is not known. This study aimed to evaluate the perceptions about endocrinology residency programs in India among current trainees as compared to practicing endocrinologists. Methods: Trainees attending a preconference workshop at the annual conference of Endocrine Society of India (ESI) were given a questionnaire designed to evaluate their perceptions on their training. These evaluated the reasons for choosing endocrinology, their experiences during residency, and career plans. Practicing endocrinologists attending ESICON with at least 5-year experience were evaluated as controls. Results: Questionnaires from 63 endocrine trainees and 78 practicing endocrinologists were analyzed. Endocrinology is perceived to be the super-specialty with the best quality of life (QOL) but fair with regard to financial remuneration. Among current trainees, 61.89%, 31.74%, and 34.91% are satisfied with training in clinical endocrinology, laboratory endocrinology, and clinical/translational research, respectively. The corresponding figures for practicing endocrinologists are 71.78%, 25.63%, and 30.75%, respectively. Exposure to national endocrinology conferences during their endocrinology residency was adequate. However, exposure to international endocrinology conferences, research publications, project writing, and grant application are limited. Laboratory endocrinology is rated as the most neglected aspect during endocrine residency. Most of the trainees want to establish their own clinical practice in the long run. Very few trainees (17.46%) wish to join the medical education services. Conclusion: There is a good perception of QOL in endocrinology in spite of average financial remuneration. There is dissatisfaction with the quality of training in laboratory endocrinology and clinical research. Very few endocrine trainees consider academics as a long-term career option in India. PMID:28459024

[Indoor air quality and parents of asthmatic children practices].

PubMed

Larramendy Magnin, S; Desssome, B; Moret, L

2017-09-01

Indoor air pollution can worsen asthma in children. Better knowledge of factors determining parents' reception of recommendations to limit pollution of indoor air in the homes of asthmatic children would be helpful to improve implementation. A descriptive study evaluating practices known to have an impact on the quality of air in homes was conducted among parents of asthmatic children aged 3 to 16 years. From May to September 2013, parents answered anonymous self-administered questionnaires in waiting rooms of generalist practitioners, in the Nantes University pneumology pediatric outpatient clinic, and as part of therapeutic education sessions conducted by the Asthma-44 Network. There were 190 exploitable questionnaires: 88.2% of parents reported never smoking in the home; 48.4% used home fragrance in the living room at least once a week; 77.8% opened their children's bedroom windows more than 10minutes at least once a day; 32.6% used several cleaning products or bleach once or twice a week. Good practices concerning smoking in housing were applied less in homes where the child was monitored only by a general practitioner (OR=0.08; CI[0.02-0.34]). Good practices on the use of perfume were statistically linked to having an intermediate level occupation (OR=2.31; CI[1.01-5.32]) and being followed by the university hospital, by the asthma network or by a general practitioner if the child had already consulted a pneumo-pediatrician or an allergist (OR=0.24; CI[0.07-0.81]). Good ventilation practices forchildren's bedrooms were statistically linked to residing in a rural rather than urban setting (OR=4.72; CI[1.0-22.16]). Practices observed in parents of asthmatic children differ little from those of the general population. Recommendations on how to limit sources of chemical pollutants, with the exception of smoking, are still poorly applied. Specialist consultations and specific training for general practitioners should improve the penetration of public health messages to this vulnerable population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Good Practice Guide: Bringing a Social Capital Approach into the Teaching of Adult Literacy and Numeracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2010

2010-01-01

This good practice guide is based on research that looked at how to teach adult literacy and numeracy using a social capital approach. The guide suggests ways vocational education and training (VET) practitioners can adopt a social capital approach to their teaching practice. A social capital approach refers to the process in which networks are…

Who Sleeps by Whom Revisited: A Method for Extracting the Moral Goods Implicit in Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schweder, Richard A; And Others

1995-01-01

Explores the specific family practice of determining which family members share a bed or sleeping space. Discusses ways of extracting the moral principles implicit in the practice of arranging where family members sleep at night. Examines similarities and differences in the preferred moral goods of two culture regions--rural Hindu India and urban…

Good Practices in Undergraduate Education from the Students' and Faculty's View: Consensus or Disagreement. AIR 1996 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Negron-Morales, Patricia; And Others

This study examined teaching practices in undergraduate education by surveying 180 undergraduate students and 29 faculty, most in the school of education, at the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. Factors investigated include: (1) degree of agreement between faculty and students on good teaching practices; (2) relationship…

The procurement of cells for the derivation of human embryonic stem cell lines for therapeutic use: recommendations for good practice.

PubMed

Murdoch, Alison; Braude, Peter; Courtney, Aidan; Brison, Daniel; Hunt, Charles; Lawford-Davies, James; Moore, Harry; Stacey, Glyn; Sethe, Sebastian

2012-03-01

The donation of human embryos for the derivation of embryonic stem cell lines that may be used in the development of therapeutic products raises more complex ethical, practical and regulatory problems than the donation of embryos for non-clinical research. This review considers these issues and offers recommendations for good practice.

21 CFR 4.4 - How can I comply with these current good manufacturing practice requirements for a co-packaged or...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... practice operating system in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section, the following requirements..., and the current good manufacturing practice operating system has been shown to comply with the drug... operating system has been shown to comply with the QS regulation, the following provisions of the drug CGMPs...

21 CFR 4.4 - How can I comply with these current good manufacturing practice requirements for a co-packaged or...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... practice operating system in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section, the following requirements..., and the current good manufacturing practice operating system has been shown to comply with the drug... operating system has been shown to comply with the QS regulation, the following provisions of the drug CGMPs...

Development and psychometric testing of the Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (Preceptor/Mentor version).

PubMed

Carter, Amanda G; Creedy, Debra K; Sidebotham, Mary

2016-03-01

develop and test a tool designed for use by preceptors/mentors to assess undergraduate midwifery students׳ critical thinking in practice. a descriptive cohort design was used. participants worked in a range of maternity settings in Queensland, Australia. 106 midwifery clinicians who had acted in the role of preceptor for undergraduate midwifery students. this study followed a staged model for tool development recommended by DeVellis (2012). This included generation of items, content validity testing through mapping of draft items to critical thinking concepts and expert review, administration of items to a convenience sample of preceptors, and psychometric testing. A 24 item tool titled the XXXX Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (CACTiM) was completed by registered midwives in relation to students they had recently preceptored in the clinical environment. ratings by experts revealed a content validity index score of 0.97, representing good content validity. An evaluation of construct validity through factor analysis generated three factors: 'partnership in practice', 'reflection on practice' and 'practice improvements'. The scale demonstrated good internal reliability with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.97. The mean total score for the CACTiM scale was 116.77 (SD=16.68) with a range of 60-144. Total and subscale scores correlated significantly. the CACTiM (Preceptor/Mentor version) was found to be a valid and reliable tool for use by preceptors to assess critical thinking in undergraduate midwifery students. given the importance of critical thinking skills for midwifery practice, mapping and assessing critical thinking development in students׳ practice across an undergraduate programme is vital. The CACTiM (Preceptor/Mentor version) has utility for clinical education, research and practice. The tool can inform and guide preceptors׳ assessment of students׳ critical thinking in practice. The availability of a reliable and valid tool can be used to research the development of critical thinking in practice. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Good surgeon: A search for meaning.

PubMed

Akopov, Andrey L; Artioukh, Dmitri Y

2017-01-01

The art and philosophy of surgery are not as often discussed as scientific discoveries and technological advances in the modern era of surgery. Although these are difficult to teach and pass on to the next generations of surgeons they are no less important for training good surgeons and maintaining their high standards. The authors of this review and opinion article tried to define what being a good surgeon really means and to look into the subject by analysing the essential conditions for being a good surgeon and the qualities that such a specialist should possess. In addition to a strong theoretic knowledge and practical skills and among the several described professional and personal characteristics, a good surgeon is expected to have common sense. It enables a surgeon to make a sound practical judgment independent of specialized medical knowledge and training. The possible ways of developing and/or enhancing common sense during surgical training and subsequent practice require separate analysis.

Evaluation of all African clinical practice guidelines for hypertension: Quality and opportunities for improvement.

PubMed

Okwen, Patrick Mbah; Maweu, Irene; Grimmer, Karen; Margarita Dizon, Janine

2018-06-14

Good-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) provide recommendations based on current best-evidence summaries. Hypertension is a prevalent noncommunicable disease in Africa, with disastrous sequelae (stroke, heart, and kidney disease). Its effective management relies on good quality, current, locally relevant evidence. This paper reports on an all African review of the guidance documents currently informing hypertension management. Attempts were made to contact 62 African countries for formal guidance documents used nationally to inform diagnosis and management of hypertension. Their quality was assessed by using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) II, scored by 2 independent reviewers. Differences in domain scores were compared between documents written prior to 2011 and 2011 onward. Findings were compared with earlier African CPG reviews. Guidelines and protocols were provided by 26 countries. Six used country-specific stand-alone hypertension guidelines, and 10 used protocols embedded in Standard Treatment Guidelines for multiple conditions. Six used guidelines developed by the World Health Organization, and 4 indicated ad hoc use of international guidance (US, Portugal, and Brazil). Only 1 guidance document met CPG construction criteria, and none scored well on all AGREE domain scores. The lowest-scoring domain was rigour of development. There was no significant quality difference between pre-2011 and post-2011 guidance documents, and there were variable AGREE II scores for the same CPGs when comparing the African reviews. The quality of hypertension guidance used by African nations could be improved. The need for so many guidance documents is questioned. Adopting a common evidence base from international good-quality CPGs and layering it with local contexts offer 1 way to efficiently improve African hypertension CPG quality and implementation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Using shared goal setting to improve access and equity: a mixed methods study of the Good Goals intervention in children's occupational therapy.

PubMed

Kolehmainen, Niina; MacLennan, Graeme; Ternent, Laura; Duncan, Edward A S; Duncan, Eilidh M; Ryan, Stephen B; McKee, Lorna; Francis, Jill J

2012-08-16

Access and equity in children's therapy services may be improved by directing clinicians' use of resources toward specific goals that are important to patients. A practice-change intervention (titled 'Good Goals') was designed to achieve this. This study investigated uptake, adoption, and possible effects of that intervention in children's occupational therapy services. Mixed methods case studies (n = 3 services, including 46 therapists and 558 children) were conducted. The intervention was delivered over 25 weeks through face-to-face training, team workbooks, and 'tools for change'. Data were collected before, during, and after the intervention on a range of factors using interviews, a focus group, case note analysis, routine data, document analysis, and researchers' observations. Factors related to uptake and adoptions were: mode of intervention delivery, competing demands on therapists' time, and leadership by service manager. Service managers and therapists reported that the intervention: helped therapists establish a shared rationale for clinical decisions; increased clarity in service provision; and improved interactions with families and schools. During the study period, therapists' behaviours changed: identifying goals, odds ratio 2.4 (95% CI 1.5 to 3.8); agreeing goals, 3.5 (2.4 to 5.1); evaluating progress, 2.0 (1.1 to 3.5). Children's LoT decreased by two months [95% CI -8 to +4 months] across the services. Cost per therapist trained ranged from £1,003 to £1,277, depending upon service size and therapists' salary bands. Good Goals is a promising quality improvement intervention that can be delivered and adopted in practice and may have benefits. Further research is required to evaluate its: (i) impact on patient outcomes, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and (ii) transferability to other clinical contexts.

Evaluation of the Good Start Program: a healthy eating and physical activity intervention for Maori and Pacific Islander children living in Queensland, Australia.

PubMed

Mihrshahi, Seema; Vaughan, Lisa; Fa'avale, Nicola; De Silva Weliange, Shreenika; Manu-Sione, Inez; Schubert, Lisa

2017-01-13

Reducing the prevalence of obesity and chronic disease are important priorities. Maori and Pacific Islander communities living in Australia have higher rates of obesity and chronic disease than the wider Australian population. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the Good Start program, which aims to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices related to healthy eating and physical activity amongst Maori and Pacific Islander communities living in Queensland. The intervention was delivered to children aged 6-19 years (N = 375) in schools by multicultural health workers. Class activities focused on one message each term related to healthy eating and physical activity using methods such as cooking sessions and cultural dance. The evaluation approach was a quantitative uncontrolled pre-post design. Data were collected each term pre- and post-intervention using a short questionnaire. There were significant increases in knowledge of correct servings of fruit and vegetables, knowledge of sugar and caffeine content of common sugar-sweetened drinks, recognition of the consequences of marketing and upsizing, and the importance of controlling portion size (all P < 0.05). There was also increases in knowledge of physical activity recommendations (P < 0.001), as well as the importance of physical activity for preventing heart disease (P < 0.001) and improving self-esteem (P < 0.001). In terms of attitudes, there were significant improvements in some attitudes to vegetables (P = 0.02), and sugar-sweetened drinks (P < 0.05). In terms of practices and behaviours, although the reported intake of vegetables increased significantly (P < 0.001), the proportion of children eating discretionary foods regularly did not change significantly, suggesting that modifying the program with an increased emphasis on reducing intake of junk food may be beneficial. The study has shown that the Good Start Program was effective in engaging children from Maori and Pacific Island backgrounds and in improving knowledge, and some attitudes and practices, related to healthy eating and physical activity. The evaluation contributes valuable information about components and impacts of this type of intervention, and considerations relevant to this population in order to successfully change behaviours and reduce the burden of chronic disease.

Spatial imaging in the soft x-ray region (20--304 A) utilizing the astigmatism of a grazing incidence concave grating

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

Nudelfuden, A.; Solanki, R.; Moos, H.W.

1985-03-15

Soft x-ray (20--304--A) astigmatic line shapes were measured in order to evaluate the spatial imaging properties of a Rowland mounted concave grating in grazing incidence. The practicability of coarse 1-D spatial imaging in the soft x-ray region is demonstrated. Spatial resolution equivalent to approx.4 cm at a source distance of 2 m can be achieved with practical parameters (e.g., sensitivity and time resolution) for a fusion diagnostic spectrograph. The results are compared to computer-generated ray tracings and found to be in good agreement. The ray tracing program which models the grazing incidence optics is discussed.

A simplified design of the staggered herringbone micromixer for practical applications

PubMed Central

Du, Yan; Zhang, Zhiyi; Yim, ChaeHo; Lin, Min; Cao, Xudong

2010-01-01

We demonstrated a simple method for the device design of a staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM) using numerical simulation. By correlating the simulated concentrations with channel length, we obtained a series of concentration versus channel length profiles, and used mixing completion length Lm as the only parameter to evaluate the performance of device structure on mixing. Fluorescence quenching experiments were subsequently conducted to verify the optimized SHM structure for a specific application. Good agreement was found between the optimization and the experimental data. Since Lm is straightforward, easily defined and calculated parameter for characterization of mixing performance, this method for designing micromixers is simple and effective for practical applications. PMID:20697584

A simplified design of the staggered herringbone micromixer for practical applications.

PubMed

Du, Yan; Zhang, Zhiyi; Yim, Chaeho; Lin, Min; Cao, Xudong

2010-05-07

We demonstrated a simple method for the device design of a staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM) using numerical simulation. By correlating the simulated concentrations with channel length, we obtained a series of concentration versus channel length profiles, and used mixing completion length L(m) as the only parameter to evaluate the performance of device structure on mixing. Fluorescence quenching experiments were subsequently conducted to verify the optimized SHM structure for a specific application. Good agreement was found between the optimization and the experimental data. Since L(m) is straightforward, easily defined and calculated parameter for characterization of mixing performance, this method for designing micromixers is simple and effective for practical applications.

Family medicine education in Canada, 1983.

PubMed

Hennen, B K

1983-12-01

We now have good information about family medicine in terms of content, principles, and practice load. Undergraduate, residency and continuing education are improving, but some family medicine programs still have limited support from their university's faculty and governments. Residency in-training assessment and the certification process are better developed than is evaluation of new family doctors' practice performance. Research in the family medicine base is expanding, and residents are increasingly involved in projects. Family medicine teachers are now on a par with other clinical faculty, because they must meet tougher criteria for appointment and promotion. The political leadership of family medicine education, shared by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and academic departments, requires strong consensus and persistent activity.

21 CFR 172.870 - Hydroxypropyl cellulose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... per anhydroglucose unit. The common name for this form of the additive is low substituted... colloid, stabilizer, suspending agent, or thickener, in accordance with good manufacturing practice. (2... additive is used in accordance with good manufacturing practice. [46 FR 50065, Oct. 9, 1981] ...

21 CFR 58.200 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE FOR NONCLINICAL LABORATORY STUDIES Disqualification of Testing Facilities § 58.200 Purpose. (a) The purposes of... testing facility which has failed to comply with the requirements of the good laboratory practice...

21 CFR 58.200 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICE FOR NONCLINICAL LABORATORY STUDIES Disqualification of Testing Facilities § 58.200 Purpose. (a) The purposes of... testing facility which has failed to comply with the requirements of the good laboratory practice...

Cervical pessaries for prevention of spontaneous preterm birth: past, present and future

PubMed Central

Arabin, B; Alfirevic, Z

2013-01-01

This Review describes the rationale for the use of cervical pessaries to prevent spontaneous preterm birth and their gradual introduction into clinical practice, discusses technical aspects of the more commonly used designs and provides guidance for their use and future evaluation. Possible advantages of cervical pessaries include the easy, ‘one-off’ application, good side-effect profile, good patient tolerance and relatively low cost compared with current alternatives. Use of transvaginal sonography to assess cervical length in the second trimester allows much better selection of patients who may benefit from the use of a cervical pessary, but future clinical trials are needed to establish clearly the role of pessaries as a preterm birth prevention strategy worldwide. PMID:23775862

The Health Behavior Checklist: Factor structure in community samples and validity of a revised good health practices scale.

PubMed

Hampson, Sarah E; Edmonds, Grant W; Goldberg, Lewis R

2017-01-01

This study examined the factor structure and predictive validity of the commonly used multidimensional Health Behavior Checklist. A three-factor structure was found in two community samples that included men and women. The new 16-item Good Health Practices scale and the original Wellness Maintenance scale were the only Health Behavior Checklist scales to be related to cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. While the other Health Behavior Checklist scales require further validation, the Good Health Practices scale could be used where more objective or longer measures are not feasible.

Identifying patients with undetected colorectal cancer: an independent validation of QCancer (Colorectal).

PubMed

Collins, G S; Altman, D G

2012-07-10

Early identification of colorectal cancer is an unresolved challenge and the predictive value of single symptoms is limited. We evaluated the performance of QCancer (Colorectal) prediction model for predicting the absolute risk of colorectal cancer in an independent UK cohort of patients from general practice records. A total of 2.1 million patients registered with a general practice surgery between 01 January 2000 and 30 June 2008, aged 30-84 years (3.7 million person-years) with 3712 colorectal cancer cases were included in the analysis. Colorectal cancer was defined as incident diagnosis of colorectal cancer during the 2 years after study entry. The results from this independent and external validation of QCancer (Colorectal) prediction model demonstrated good performance data on a large cohort of general practice patients. QCancer (Colorectal) had very good discrimination with an area under the ROC curve of 0.92 (women) and 0.91 (men), and explained 68% (women) and 66% (men) of the variation. QCancer (Colorectal) was well calibrated across all tenths of risk and over all age ranges with predicted risks closely matching observed risks. QCancer (Colorectal) appears to be a useful tool for identifying undetected cases of undiagnosed colorectal cancer in primary care in the United Kingdom.

Study protocol of a mixed-methods evaluation of a cluster randomized trial to improve the safety of NSAID and antiplatelet prescribing: data-driven quality improvement in primary care.

PubMed

Grant, Aileen; Dreischulte, Tobias; Treweek, Shaun; Guthrie, Bruce

2012-08-28

Trials of complex interventions are criticized for being 'black box', so the UK Medical Research Council recommends carrying out a process evaluation to explain the trial findings. We believe it is good practice to pre-specify and publish process evaluation protocols to set standards and minimize bias. Unlike protocols for trials, little guidance or standards exist for the reporting of process evaluations. This paper presents the mixed-method process evaluation protocol of a cluster randomized trial, drawing on a framework designed by the authors. This mixed-method evaluation is based on four research questions and maps data collection to a logic model of how the data-driven quality improvement in primary care (DQIP) intervention is expected to work. Data collection will be predominately by qualitative case studies in eight to ten of the trial practices, focus groups with patients affected by the intervention and quantitative analysis of routine practice data, trial outcome and questionnaire data and data from the DQIP intervention. We believe that pre-specifying the intentions of a process evaluation can help to minimize bias arising from potentially misleading post-hoc analysis. We recognize it is also important to retain flexibility to examine the unexpected and the unintended. From that perspective, a mixed-methods evaluation allows the combination of exploratory and flexible qualitative work, and more pre-specified quantitative analysis, with each method contributing to the design, implementation and interpretation of the other.As well as strengthening the study the authors hope to stimulate discussion among their academic colleagues about publishing protocols for evaluations of randomized trials of complex interventions. DATA-DRIVEN QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN PRIMARY CARE TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01425502.

What makes a good GP? An empirical perspective on virtue in general practice

PubMed Central

Braunack-Mayer, A

2005-01-01

This paper takes a virtuist approach to medical ethics to explore, from an empirical angle, ideas about settled ways of living a good life. Qualitative research methods were used to analyse the ways in which a group of 15 general practitioners (GPs) articulated notions of good doctoring and the virtues in their work. I argue that the GPs, whose talk is analysed here, defined good general practice in terms of the ideals of accessibility, comprehensiveness, and continuity. They regarded these ideals significant both for the way they dealt with morally problematic situations and for how they conducted their professional lives more generally. In addition, I argue that the GPs who articulated these ideals most clearly were able to, in part, because they shared the experience of working in rural areas. This experience helped them to develop an understanding of the nature of general practice that their urban colleagues were less able to draw on. In that sense, the structural and organisational framework of general practice in rural areas provided the context for their understanding of ideals in general practice. PMID:15681671

Portuguese version of the EUROPEP questionnaire: contributions to the psychometric validation

PubMed Central

Roque, Hugo; Veloso, Ana; Ferreira, Pedro L

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To assess the construct validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the European Task Force on Patient Evaluation of General Practice Care questionnaire. METHODS We applied the Portuguese version of the European Task Force on Patient Evaluation of General Practice Care to 392 users of 20 Family Health Units from the North of Portugal. The validity of the construct was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis, with the Principal Axis Factoring method, by orthogonal rotation (varimax procedure), by the Kaiser normalization criteria (eigenvalue ≥ 1). The factorability of the data matrix was verified by the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett’s sphericity test. We estimated the reliability by the indicator of internal consistency Cronbach’s alpha. To analyze the correlations between satisfaction and loyalty, we used the Pearson correlations. The predictor effect of satisfaction on loyalty was analyzed by simple linear regression. RESULTS Satisfaction presented five robust and well individualized dimensions – medical care, nursing care, clinical secretariat services, accessibility, and organization of services – with alpha values between 0.86 and 0.97, good levels of internal consistency. The loyalty showed alpha value of 0.72, considered a reasonable internal consistency. The satisfaction was predictive of loyalty. CONCLUSIONS The Portuguese European Task Force on Patient Evaluation of General Practice Care questionnaire is a robust and reliable instrument to measure the satisfaction and loyalty of users of the Family Health Units. PMID:27706374

Pay for performance in thoracic surgery.

PubMed

Varela, Gonzalo

2007-08-01

In the context of improving the quality of the medical practice, PFP programs have been developed to reward best medical practice. Early studies showed little gain in quality after implementing PFP family practice programs and some unintended consequences, like excluding high-risk patients from medical services when good outcomes were linked to payment. To date, no PFP programs have been implemented in surgical practice, but it is expected that value-based purchasing philosophy will be extended to surgical specialties in the near future. Quality initiatives in surgery can be based on outcome or process measures. Outcomes-focused quality approaches rely on accurate information obtained from multiinstitutional clinical databases for calculation of risk-adjusted models. Primary outcomes such surgical mortality are uncommon in modern thoracic surgery and outcome measures should rely on more prevalent intermediate outcomes such as specific postoperative morbidities or emergency readmission. Process-based quality approaches need to be based on scientific evidence linking process to outcomes. It is our responsibility to develop practice guidelines or international practice consensus to facilitate the parameters to be evaluated in the near future.