Research on the construction of three level customer service knowledge graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Shi; Shen, Jiajie; Shi, Quan; Cheng, Xianyi

2017-09-01

With the explosion of knowledge and information of the enterprise and the growing demand for intelligent knowledge management and application and improve business performance the knowledge expression and processing of the enterprise has become a hot topic. Aim at the problems of the electric marketing customer service knowledge map (customer service knowledge map) in building theory and method, electric marketing knowledge map of three levels of customer service was discussed, and realizing knowledge reasoning based on Neo4j, achieve good results in practical application.

Food Production, Management, and Services: Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mumme, Debbie; Koukel, Sonja

This curriculum guide provides occupationally specific training designed to develop knowledge and skills for employment in the area of food production, management, and services. Contents include the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEAKS); sample course outlines; instructional strategies organized topically by chapters, each containing a…

The Impact of Child and Family Service Reviews on Knowledge Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mischen, Pamela A.

2008-01-01

This article uses knowledge management as a framework to analyze the impact of the child and family review process on child protective service agencies. Results of a qualitative analysis of child and family service reviews and program improvement plans indicated that the process has led to an increase in the use of family team meetings and risk…

Maturity Assessment of Knowledge Management at PT. Cellular Tbk.: A Case Study at A Telecommunication Operator in Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghazali, Achmad; Vivaldi, Harly; Putranto, Nur Arief Rahmatsyah

2017-01-01

Managing knowledge integrally as one of the company's asset is now a necessity to be part of the knowledge-based economy in the global industry. PT Cellular Tbk. (Cellular) has been a player of mobile communication service for more than 20 years. Cellular shows business transformation through increased gross revenue from Data services while…

Using ICT to Enhance Knowledge Management in Higher Education: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Omona, Walter; van der Weide, Theo; Lubega, Jude

2010-01-01

The adoption and use of ICT to enhance and facilitate Knowledge Management (KM) has brought to focus the urgent need to come out with new methods, tools and techniques in the development of KM systems frameworks, knowledge processes and knowledge technologies to promote effective management of knowledge for improved service deliveries in higher…

Audiology practice management in South Africa: What audiologists know and what they should know

PubMed Central

Kritzinger, Alta; Soer, Maggi

2015-01-01

Background In future, the South African Department of Health aims to purchase services from accredited private service providers. Successful private audiology practices can assist to address issues of access, equity and quality of health services. It is not sufficient to be an excellent clinician, since audiology practices are businesses that must also be managed effectively. Objective The objective was to determine the existing and required levels of practice management knowledge as perceived by South African audiologists. Method An electronic descriptive survey was used to investigate audiology practice management amongst South African audiologists. A total of 147 respondents completed the survey. Results were analysed by calculating descriptive statistics. The Z-proportional test was used to identify significant differences between existing and required levels of practice management knowledge. Results Significant differences were found between existing and required levels of knowledge regarding all eight practice management tasks, particularly legal and ethical issues and marketing and accounting. There were small differences in the knowledge required for practice management tasks amongst respondents working in public and private settings. Conclusion Irrespective of their work context, respondents showed that they need significant expansion of practice management knowledge in order to be successful, to compete effectively and to make sense of a complex marketplace. PMID:26809158

Nutrition training improves health workers' nutrition knowledge and competence to manage child undernutrition: a systematic review.

PubMed

Sunguya, Bruno F; Poudel, Krishna C; Mlunde, Linda B; Urassa, David P; Yasuoka, Junko; Jimba, Masamine

2013-09-24

Medical and nursing education lack adequate practical nutrition training to fit the clinical reality that health workers face in their practices. Such a deficit creates health workers with poor nutrition knowledge and child undernutrition management practices. In-service nutrition training can help to fill this gap. However, no systematic review has examined its collective effectiveness. We thus conducted this study to examine the effectiveness of in-service nutrition training on health workers' nutrition knowledge, counseling skills, and child undernutrition management practices. We conducted a literature search on nutrition interventions from PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, and World Health Organization regional databases. The outcome variables were nutrition knowledge, nutrition-counseling skills, and undernutrition management practices of health workers. Due to heterogeneity, we conducted only descriptive analyses. Out of 3910 retrieved articles, 25 were selected as eligible for the final analysis. A total of 18 studies evaluated health workers' nutrition knowledge and showed improvement after training. A total of 12 studies with nutrition counseling as the outcome variable also showed improvement among the trained health workers. Sixteen studies evaluated health workers' child undernutrition management practices. In all such studies, child undernutrition management practices and competence of health workers improved after the nutrition training intervention. In-service nutrition training improves quality of health workers by rendering them more knowledge and competence to manage nutrition-related conditions, especially child undernutrition. In-service nutrition training interventions can help to fill the gap created by the lack of adequate nutrition training in the existing medical and nursing education system. In this way, steps can be taken toward improving the overall nutritional status of the child population.

Application of a Multimedia Service and Resource Management Architecture for Fault Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Castro, Alfonso; Sedano, Andrés A.; García, Fco. Javier; Villoslada, Eduardo

2017-01-01

Nowadays, the complexity of global video products has substantially increased. They are composed of several associated services whose functionalities need to adapt across heterogeneous networks with different technologies and administrative domains. Each of these domains has different operational procedures; therefore, the comprehensive management of multi-domain services presents serious challenges. This paper discusses an approach to service management linking fault diagnosis system and Business Processes for Telefónica’s global video service. The main contribution of this paper is the proposal of an extended service management architecture based on Multi Agent Systems able to integrate the fault diagnosis with other different service management functionalities. This architecture includes a distributed set of agents able to coordinate their actions under the umbrella of a Shared Knowledge Plane, inferring and sharing their knowledge with semantic techniques and three types of automatic reasoning: heterogeneous, ontology-based and Bayesian reasoning. This proposal has been deployed and validated in a real scenario in the video service offered by Telefónica Latam. PMID:29283398

Application of a Multimedia Service and Resource Management Architecture for Fault Diagnosis.

PubMed

Castro, Alfonso; Sedano, Andrés A; García, Fco Javier; Villoslada, Eduardo; Villagrá, Víctor A

2017-12-28

Nowadays, the complexity of global video products has substantially increased. They are composed of several associated services whose functionalities need to adapt across heterogeneous networks with different technologies and administrative domains. Each of these domains has different operational procedures; therefore, the comprehensive management of multi-domain services presents serious challenges. This paper discusses an approach to service management linking fault diagnosis system and Business Processes for Telefónica's global video service. The main contribution of this paper is the proposal of an extended service management architecture based on Multi Agent Systems able to integrate the fault diagnosis with other different service management functionalities. This architecture includes a distributed set of agents able to coordinate their actions under the umbrella of a Shared Knowledge Plane, inferring and sharing their knowledge with semantic techniques and three types of automatic reasoning: heterogeneous, ontology-based and Bayesian reasoning. This proposal has been deployed and validated in a real scenario in the video service offered by Telefónica Latam.

Opportunities and Strategies to Incorporate Ecosystem Services Knowledge and Decision Support Tools into Planning and Decision Making in Hawai`i

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bremer, Leah L.; Delevaux, Jade M. S.; Leary, James J. K.; J. Cox, Linda; Oleson, Kirsten L. L.

2015-04-01

Incorporating ecosystem services into management decisions is a promising means to link conservation and human well-being. Nonetheless, planning and management in Hawai`i, a state with highly valued natural capital, has yet to broadly utilize an ecosystem service approach. We conducted a stakeholder assessment, based on semi-structured interviews, with terrestrial ( n = 26) and marine ( n = 27) natural resource managers across the State of Hawai`i to understand the current use of ecosystem services (ES) knowledge and decision support tools and whether, how, and under what contexts, further development would potentially be useful. We found that ES knowledge and tools customized to Hawai`i could be useful for communication and outreach, justifying management decisions, and spatial planning. Greater incorporation of this approach is clearly desired and has a strong potential to contribute to more sustainable decision making and planning in Hawai`i and other oceanic island systems. However, the unique biophysical, socio-economic, and cultural context of Hawai`i, and other island systems, will require substantial adaptation of existing ES tools. Based on our findings, we identified four key opportunities for the use of ES knowledge and tools in Hawai`i: (1) linking native forest protection to watershed health; (2) supporting sustainable agriculture; (3) facilitating ridge-to-reef management; and (4) supporting statewide terrestrial and marine spatial planning. Given the interest expressed by natural resource managers, we envision broad adoption of ES knowledge and decision support tools if knowledge and tools are tailored to the Hawaiian context and coupled with adequate outreach and training.

Opportunities and strategies to incorporate ecosystem services knowledge and decision support tools into planning and decision making in Hawai'i.

PubMed

Bremer, Leah L; Delevaux, Jade M S; Leary, James J K; J Cox, Linda; Oleson, Kirsten L L

2015-04-01

Incorporating ecosystem services into management decisions is a promising means to link conservation and human well-being. Nonetheless, planning and management in Hawai'i, a state with highly valued natural capital, has yet to broadly utilize an ecosystem service approach. We conducted a stakeholder assessment, based on semi-structured interviews, with terrestrial (n = 26) and marine (n = 27) natural resource managers across the State of Hawai'i to understand the current use of ecosystem services (ES) knowledge and decision support tools and whether, how, and under what contexts, further development would potentially be useful. We found that ES knowledge and tools customized to Hawai'i could be useful for communication and outreach, justifying management decisions, and spatial planning. Greater incorporation of this approach is clearly desired and has a strong potential to contribute to more sustainable decision making and planning in Hawai'i and other oceanic island systems. However, the unique biophysical, socio-economic, and cultural context of Hawai'i, and other island systems, will require substantial adaptation of existing ES tools. Based on our findings, we identified four key opportunities for the use of ES knowledge and tools in Hawai'i: (1) linking native forest protection to watershed health; (2) supporting sustainable agriculture; (3) facilitating ridge-to-reef management; and (4) supporting statewide terrestrial and marine spatial planning. Given the interest expressed by natural resource managers, we envision broad adoption of ES knowledge and decision support tools if knowledge and tools are tailored to the Hawaiian context and coupled with adequate outreach and training.

Is Self-Perceived Competency in Food Management a Reliable Indicator of Knowledge or Performance among Caucasian and Asian Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sim, Janet M.

1992-01-01

Reports a study of possible relationships among Caucasian and Asian college students' self-perceived competency, knowledge, performance, and ethnicity. Students enrolled in meal management classes completed questionnaires regarding food service management skills. Results indicated knowledge was a stronger determinant of self-perceived competency…

Knowledge management model for teleconsulting in telemedicine.

PubMed

Pico, Lilia Edith Aparicio; Cuenca, Orlando Rodriguez; Alvarez, Daniel José Salas; Salgado, Piere Augusto Peña

2008-01-01

The present article shows a study about requirements for teleconsulting in a telemedicine solution in order to create a knowledge management system. Several concepts have been found related to the term teleconsulting in telemedicine which will serve to clear up their corresponding applications, potentialities, and scope. Afterwards, different theories about the art state in knowledge management have been considered by exploring methodologies and architectures to establish the trends of knowledge management and the possibilities of using them in teleconsulting. Furthermore, local and international experiences have been examined to assess knowledge management systems focused on telemedicine. The objective of this study is to obtain a model for developing teleconsulting systems in Colombia because we have many health-information management systems but they don't offer telemedicine services for remote areas. In Colombia there are many people in rural areas with different necessities and they don't have medicine services, teleconsulting will be a good solution to this problem. Lastly, a model of a knowledge system is proposed for teleconsulting in telemedicine. The model has philosophical principles and architecture that shows the fundamental layers for its development.

41 CFR 105-68.630 - May the General Services Administration impute conduct of one person to another?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false May the General Services... Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES... that organization, or with the organization's knowledge, approval or acquiescence. The organization's...

41 CFR 105-68.630 - May the General Services Administration impute conduct of one person to another?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false May the General Services... Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES... that organization, or with the organization's knowledge, approval or acquiescence. The organization's...

41 CFR 105-68.630 - May the General Services Administration impute conduct of one person to another?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false May the General Services... Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES... that organization, or with the organization's knowledge, approval or acquiescence. The organization's...

41 CFR 105-68.630 - May the General Services Administration impute conduct of one person to another?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false May the General Services... Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES... that organization, or with the organization's knowledge, approval or acquiescence. The organization's...

Unleashing the power of human genetic variation knowledge: New Zealand stakeholder perspectives.

PubMed

Gu, Yulong; Warren, James Roy; Day, Karen Jean

2011-01-01

This study aimed to characterize the challenges in using genetic information in health care and to identify opportunities for improvement. Taking a grounded theory approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with 48 participants to collect multiple stakeholder perspectives on genetic services in New Zealand. Three themes emerged from the data: (1) four service delivery models were identified in operation, including both those expected models involving genetic counselors and variations that do not route through the formal genetic service program; (2) multiple barriers to sharing and using genetic information were perceived, including technological, organizational, institutional, legal, ethical, and social issues; and (3) impediments to wider use of genetic testing technology, including variable understanding of genetic test utilities among clinicians and the limited capacity of clinical genetic services. Targeting these problems, information technologies and knowledge management tools have the potential to support key tasks in genetic services delivery, improve knowledge processes, and enhance knowledge networks. Because of the effect of issues in genetic information and knowledge management, the potential of human genetic variation knowledge to enhance health care delivery has been put on a "leash."

Developing collective customer knowledge and service climate: The interaction between service-oriented high-performance work systems and service leadership.

PubMed

Jiang, Kaifeng; Chuang, Chih-Hsun; Chiao, Yu-Ching

2015-07-01

This study theorized and examined the influence of the interaction between Service-Oriented high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and service leadership on collective customer knowledge and service climate. Using a sample of 569 employees and 142 managers in footwear retail stores, we found that Service-Oriented HPWSs and service leadership reduced the influences of one another on collective customer knowledge and service climate, such that the positive influence of service leadership on collective customer knowledge and service climate was stronger when Service-Oriented HPWSs were lower than when they were higher or the positive influence of Service-Oriented HPWSs on collective customer knowledge and service climate was stronger when service leadership was lower than when it was higher. We further proposed and found that collective customer knowledge and service climate were positively related to objective financial outcomes through service performance. Implications for the literature and managerial practices are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of Diabetic Case Management on Knowledge, Self-Management Abilities, Health Behaviors, and Health Service Utilization for Diabetes in Korea

PubMed Central

Shin, Soon Ae; Lee, Kunsei; Lin, Vivian; Liu, George; Shin, Eunyoung

2015-01-01

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a case management program for diabetics, using a pre-post comparison design. Materials and Methods The study population comprised 6007 diabetics who received case management intervention in 2006 and were sampled nationwide in Korea. Before and after the intervention, the study population answered questions regarding their knowledge of diabetes, self-management ability, and health behaviors. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated. Healthcare service utilization for diabetes was extracted from health insurance claim data from 2005 to 2007. Results The case management program significantly improved the study population's knowledge of diabetes and ability to self-manage nutrition, blood glucose monitoring, foot and oral care, and medications. This program also significantly changed the study population's health behaviors regarding smoking, alcohol drinking, and exercise, and BMI was positively affected. In the over-serviced subgroup, there was a significant decrease in the number of consultations (mean=7.0; SD=19.5) after intervention. Conversely, in the under-serviced subgroup, there was a significant increase in the number of consultations (mean=3.2; SD=7.9) and the days of prescribed medication (mean=66.4; SD=120.3) after intervention. Conclusion This study showed that the case management program led the study population to improve their knowledge, self-management ability, health behaviors, and utilization of health care. It is necessary in future studies to evaluate the appropriateness of healthcare usage and clinical outcome by using a control group to determine the direct effectiveness of this case management program. PMID:25510771

Effects of diabetic case management on knowledge, self-management abilities, health behaviors, and health service utilization for diabetes in Korea.

PubMed

Shin, Soon Ae; Kim, Hyeongsu; Lee, Kunsei; Lin, Vivian; Liu, George; Shin, Eunyoung

2015-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a case management program for diabetics, using a pre-post comparison design. The study population comprised 6007 diabetics who received case management intervention in 2006 and were sampled nationwide in Korea. Before and after the intervention, the study population answered questions regarding their knowledge of diabetes, self-management ability, and health behaviors. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated. Healthcare service utilization for diabetes was extracted from health insurance claim data from 2005 to 2007. The case management program significantly improved the study population's knowledge of diabetes and ability to self-manage nutrition, blood glucose monitoring, foot and oral care, and medications. This program also significantly changed the study population's health behaviors regarding smoking, alcohol drinking, and exercise, and BMI was positively affected. In the over-serviced subgroup, there was a significant decrease in the number of consultations (mean=7.0; SD=19.5) after intervention. Conversely, in the under-serviced subgroup, there was a significant increase in the number of consultations (mean=3.2; SD=7.9) and the days of prescribed medication (mean=66.4; SD=120.3) after intervention. This study showed that the case management program led the study population to improve their knowledge, self-management ability, health behaviors, and utilization of health care. It is necessary in future studies to evaluate the appropriateness of healthcare usage and clinical outcome by using a control group to determine the direct effectiveness of this case management program.

Beyond Civil Service: The Changing Face of Public Personnel Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klingner, Donald E.; Lynn, Dahlia Bradshaw

1997-01-01

Today, public services are often delivered by purchase-of-service agreements, privatization, franchising, vouchers, or other alternatives to civil service. Public personnel managers must now deal with broader policy issues, relationships with external organizations, and tighter focus on cost control, requiring new knowledge, skills, and abilities.…

Managing Knowledge in Internationalizing Universities through Foreign Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, Brendan; McDonnell, Anthony; Mitchell, Rebecca; Nicholas, Stephen

2012-01-01

Purpose: This article discusses the opportunities presented by the globalization of education and the role of knowledge management in successful global expansion. It seeks to explain why the tacit dimensions of the knowledge transferred during international education provision makes it difficult to provide educational services in offshore…

An ontological knowledge framework for adaptive medical workflow.

PubMed

Dang, Jiangbo; Hedayati, Amir; Hampel, Ken; Toklu, Candemir

2008-10-01

As emerging technologies, semantic Web and SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) allow BPMS (Business Process Management System) to automate business processes that can be described as services, which in turn can be used to wrap existing enterprise applications. BPMS provides tools and methodologies to compose Web services that can be executed as business processes and monitored by BPM (Business Process Management) consoles. Ontologies are a formal declarative knowledge representation model. It provides a foundation upon which machine understandable knowledge can be obtained, and as a result, it makes machine intelligence possible. Healthcare systems can adopt these technologies to make them ubiquitous, adaptive, and intelligent, and then serve patients better. This paper presents an ontological knowledge framework that covers healthcare domains that a hospital encompasses-from the medical or administrative tasks, to hospital assets, medical insurances, patient records, drugs, and regulations. Therefore, our ontology makes our vision of personalized healthcare possible by capturing all necessary knowledge for a complex personalized healthcare scenario involving patient care, insurance policies, and drug prescriptions, and compliances. For example, our ontology facilitates a workflow management system to allow users, from physicians to administrative assistants, to manage, even create context-aware new medical workflows and execute them on-the-fly.

Compromises along the Way: Balancing Speed To Market with Sustainability while Delivering Knowledge Management Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heyman, Martha K.

This paper will discuss some of the compromises, and the path to those compromises, that must be made while implementing a successful knowledge management program within a for-profit enterprise. Specifically the following compromises are addressed: (1) manage knowledge where it is created, but do that within a global system; (2) no single scope…

Knowledge base and sensor bus messaging service architecture for critical tsunami warning and decision-support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabeur, Z. A.; Wächter, J.; Middleton, S. E.; Zlatev, Z.; Häner, R.; Hammitzsch, M.; Loewe, P.

2012-04-01

The intelligent management of large volumes of environmental monitoring data for early tsunami warning requires the deployment of robust and scalable service oriented infrastructure that is supported by an agile knowledge-base for critical decision-support In the TRIDEC project (TRIDEC 2010-2013), a sensor observation service bus of the TRIDEC system is being developed for the advancement of complex tsunami event processing and management. Further, a dedicated TRIDEC system knowledge-base is being implemented to enable on-demand access to semantically rich OGC SWE compliant hydrodynamic observations and operationally oriented meta-information to multiple subscribers. TRIDEC decision support requires a scalable and agile real-time processing architecture which enables fast response to evolving subscribers requirements as the tsunami crisis develops. This is also achieved with the support of intelligent processing services which specialise in multi-level fusion methods with relevance feedback and deep learning. The TRIDEC knowledge base development work coupled with that of the generic sensor bus platform shall be presented to demonstrate advanced decision-support with situation awareness in context of tsunami early warning and crisis management.

Variables contributing to an excellent customer service management profile within the regulated electric utility industry: A comparison of self-concept with customer satisfaction for customer service management

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

Johnson, L.E.

1991-01-01

This research sought to address the relationship between self-concept and customer satisfaction: can customer satisfaction with a major electric utility be explained in terms of the self-reported, self-concept of the utility's managers The population to which the results of this study were generalized consisted of customer service managers in public electric utilities across the United States. In order to represent this population, a sample was selected consisting of customer service managers at a midwestern electric utility based in a large metropolitan area. Participants in this study were managers of four direct customer contact service organizations within six geographic division organizations.more » The methodology included comparisons of these four customer contact service organizations on twelve independent, self-concept variables and six customer satisfaction dependent variables using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Scheffe' tests, Chi-Square, and Stepwise multiple regression. The groups were found not to be significantly different and knowledge of the self-concept scores for managers will not increase the ability to predict customer satisfaction over no knowledge of self-concept scores.« less

Social Intelligence and Top Management Team: An Exploratory Study of External Knowledge Acquisition for Strategic Change in Global IT Service Providers in India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kong, Eric; Chadee, Doren; Raman, Revti

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on the processes by which firms, particularly knowledge intensive firms, can augment their overall knowledge stock by tapping into external sources of knowledge. It is argued that Top Management Teams' (TMTs') social intelligence is a critical learning capability in acquiring external knowledge that leads to strategic change.…

Implementation of nutrition care service development plan at Banning Memorial Hospital: a case study.

PubMed

Ben Oumlil, A; Rao, C P

1992-01-01

Health care service markets in general and hospital care service markets in particular are characterized by many competitive developments. Hence, hospital marketing managers are forced to respond to these emerging competitive pressures. However, in formulating appropriate marketing management strategies, hospital managers need to have detailed knowledge about consumers and their behaviors in the marketplace. This paper focuses on the Nutrition Care division of the Department of Nutrition Service at a hospital and its venture into new service development. This case study is intended to emphasize the significance of acquiring adequate knowledge of customers in the health care services industry. It particularly emphasizes the critical role that this type of information concerning customer behavior plays in the development and implementation of an appropriate business expansion strategy. Furthermore, the aim of this case study is to help the reader to relate the acquired marketing information to the problem at hand, and make the appropriate marketing management decision.

Managing Knowledge through "Hoshin Kanri"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennant C.; Roberts P.

2003-01-01

A fundamental challenge within business organizations (whether manufacturing or service, large or small) is posed by the difficulties associated with managing knowledge to integrate the long-term vision and strategic goals with daily working processes and with people. The traditional Western approach of "Management by Objectives" (MbO)…

A legal framework to enable sharing of Clinical Decision Support knowledge and services across institutional boundaries.

PubMed

Hongsermeier, Tonya; Maviglia, Saverio; Tsurikova, Lana; Bogaty, Dan; Rocha, Roberto A; Goldberg, Howard; Meltzer, Seth; Middleton, Blackford

2011-01-01

The goal of the CDS Consortium (CDSC) is to assess, define, demonstrate, and evaluate best practices for knowledge management and clinical decision support in healthcare information technology at scale - across multiple ambulatory care settings and Electronic Health Record technology platforms. In the course of the CDSC research effort, it became evident that a sound legal foundation was required for knowledge sharing and clinical decision support services in order to address data sharing, intellectual property, accountability, and liability concerns. This paper outlines the framework utilized for developing agreements in support of sharing, accessing, and publishing content via the CDSC Knowledge Management Portal as well as an agreement in support of deployment and consumption of CDSC developed web services in the context of a research project under IRB oversight.

Integrating child health services into malaria control services of village malaria workers in remote Cambodia: service utilization and knowledge of malaria management of caregivers.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Aya; Yasuoka, Junko; Ly, Po; Nguon, Chea; Jimba, Masamine

2013-08-23

Malaria and other communicable diseases remain major threats in developing countries. In Cambodia, village malaria workers (VMWs) have been providing malaria control services in remote villages to cope with the disease threats. In 2009, the VMW project integrated child health services into the original malaria control services. However, little has been studied about the utilization of VMWs' child health services. This study aimed to identify determinants of caregivers' VMW service utilization for childhood illness and caregivers' knowledge of malaria management. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 36 VMW villages of Kampot and Kampong Thom provinces in July-September 2012. An equal number of VMW villages with malaria control services only (M) and those with malaria control plus child health services (M+C) were selected from each province. Using structured questionnaires, 800 caregivers of children under five and 36 VMWs, one of the two VMWs who was providing VMW services in each study village were interviewed. Among the caregivers, 23% in M villages and 52% in M+C villages utilized VMW services for childhood illnesses. Determinants of caregivers' utilization of VMWs in M villages included their VMWs' length of experience (AOR = 11.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.46-31.19) and VMWs' service quality (AOR = 2.04, CI = 1.01-4.11). In M+C villages, VMWs' length of experience (AOR = 2.44, CI = 1.52-3.94) and caregivers' wealth index (AOR = 0.35, CI = 0.18-0.68) were associated with VMW service utilization. Meanwhile, better service quality of VMWs (AOR = 3.21, CI = 1.34-7.66) and caregivers' literacy (AOR = 9.91, CI = 4.66-21.05) were positively associated with caregivers' knowledge of malaria management. VMWs' service quality and length of experience are important determinants of caregivers' utilization of VMWs' child health services and their knowledge of malaria management. Caregivers are seeking VMWs' support for childhood illnesses even if they are providing only malaria control services. This underlines the importance of scaling-up VMWs' capacity by adding child health services of good quality, which will result in improving child health status in remote Cambodia.

Experimental climate information services in support of risk management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, R. S.; Pulwarty, R. S.; Davidson, M. A.; Shea, E. E.; Nierenberg, C.; Dole, R. M.

2009-12-01

Climate variability and change impact national and local economies and environments. Developing and communicating climate and climate impacts information to inform decision making requires an understanding of context, societal objectives, and identification of factors important to the management of risk. Information sensitive to changing baselines or extremes is a critical emergent need. Meeting this need requires timely production and delivery of useful climate data, information and knowledge within familiar pathways. We identify key attributes for a climate service , and the network and infrastructure to develop and coordinate the resulting services based on lessons learned in experimental implementations of climate services. "Service-type" activities already exist in many settings within federal, state, academic, and private sectors. The challenge for a climate service is to find effective implementation strategies for improving decision quality (not just meeting user needs). These strategies include upfront infrastructure investments, learning from event to event, coordinated innovation and diffusion, and highlighting common adaptation interests. Common to these strategies is the production of reliable and accessible data, analyses of emergent conditions and needs, and deliberative processes to identify appropriate entry points and uses for improved knowledge. Experimental climate services show that the development of well-structured paths among observations, projections, risk assessments and usable information requires sustained participation in “knowledge management systems” for early warning across temporal and spatial scales. Central to these systems is a collaborative framework between research and management to ensure anticipatory coordination between decision makers and information providers, allowing for emerging research findings and their attendant uncertainties to be considered. Early warnings in this context are not simply forecasts or predictions but information on potential “futures” derived from past records, expert judgments, scenarios, and availability of mechanisms and capacity to use such information. Effective experimental climate services facilitate ongoing appraisals of knowledge needs for informing adaptation and mitigation options across sectors and across scenarios of near and longer-term future climates. Analyses show that climate service experiments drawing on data, applied research and prototyping functions of activities such as RISAs and RCCs are critical to developing the learning needed to inform and structure the flow of knowledge and understanding from problem definition and applications research to information delivery, use and evaluation. These activities effectively serve to inform services implementation when overarching cross-agency coordination, knowledge management, and innovation diffusion mechanisms such as afforded by NIDIS and the Coastal Services Center are engaged. We also demonstrate the importance of positioning climate research to engage and inform the decision-making process as society anticipates and responds to climate and its impacts.

Text-Content-Analysis based on the Syntactic Correlations between Ontologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenschert, Axel; Kotsiopoulos, Ioannis; Koller, Bastian

The work presented in this chapter is concerned with the analysis of semantic knowledge structures, represented in the form of Ontologies, through which Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are enriched with new semantic data. The objective of the enrichment process is to enable SLA negotiation in a way that is much more convenient for a Service Users. For this purpose the deployment of an SLA-Management-System as well as the development of an analyzing procedure for Ontologies is required. This chapter will refer to the BREIN, the FinGrid and the LarKC projects. The analyzing procedure examines the syntactic correlations of several Ontologies whose focus lies in the field of mechanical engineering. A method of analyzing text and content is developed as part of this procedure. In order to so, we introduce a formalism as well as a method for understanding content. The analysis and methods are integrated to an SLA Management System which enables a Service User to interact with the system as a service by negotiating the user requests and including the semantic knowledge. Through negotiation between Service User and Service Provider the analysis procedure considers the user requests by extending the SLAs with semantic knowledge. Through this the economic use of an SLA-Management-System is increased by the enhancement of SLAs with semantic knowledge structures. The main focus of this chapter is the analyzing procedure, respectively the Text-Content-Analysis, which provides the mentioned semantic knowledge structures.

5 CFR 890.1049 - Claims for non-emergency items or services furnished by a debarred or suspended provider.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH... without knowledge that the provider has been sanctioned. It does not authorize debarred or suspended... in order to protect covered individuals who obtain items or services without knowledge of their...

Asthma disease management-Australian pharmacists' interventions improve patients' asthma knowledge and this is sustained.

PubMed

Saini, Bandana; LeMay, Kate; Emmerton, Lynne; Krass, Ines; Smith, Lorraine; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia; Stewart, Kay; Burton, Deborah; Armour, Carol

2011-06-01

To assess any improvements in knowledge of asthma patients after a tailored education program delivered by pharmacists and measure the sustainability of any improvements. To ascertain patients' perceptions about any changes in their knowledge. Ninety-six specially trained pharmacists recruited patients based on their risk of poor asthma control. A tailored intervention was delivered to patients based on individual needs and goals, and was conducted at three or four time points over six months. Asthma knowledge was assessed at the beginning and end of the service, and six and 12 months after it had ended. Patients' perceptions of the impact of the service on their knowledge were explored qualitatively in interviews. The 96 pharmacists recruited 570 patients, 398 (70%) finished. Asthma knowledge significantly improved as a result of the service (7.65 ± 2.36, n=561, to 8.78 ± 2.14, n=393). This improvement was retained for at least 12 months after the service. Patients reported how the knowledge and skills gained had led to a change in the way they managed their asthma. Improvements in knowledge are achievable and sustainable if pharmacists used targeted educational interventions. Pharmacist educational interventions are an efficient way to improve asthma knowledge in the community. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Resource Team: an innovative service delivery support model for mental health services.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Julie; Powell, Jacinta; Gibbon, Peter; Emmerson, Brett

2009-04-01

This paper outlines the development of the Resource Team, an innovative service delivery model supporting clinical services at the Inner North Brisbane Mental Health Service, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Health Service District. The team aims to provide a base for specialist mental health support staff, improve knowledge management and support the development of meaningful community partnerships. Development of the team included a literature review and consultation with internal and external stakeholders. From this, the objectives, roles and functions of the team were clarified and disseminated to stakeholders. The team currently encompasses 12 positions and has initiated a number of programs and service developments. These include improved IT management of clinical resources and the development of partnerships with the community and non-government sectors. The Resource Team effectively coordinates specialist clinical support positions, addresses knowledge management issues and facilitates meaningful engagement with the community and non-government sectors. The model could easily be applied in other mental health and general health services.

Sustaining the Knowledge Base of the United States Air Force for Future Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-10

Comptroller, 53, no. 1 (Winter 2008), 20. 30 “Lagan Web Self-Service: Knowledge Management,” 19 September 2015, http://www.kana.com/lagan- crm ...2015, http://www.kana.com/lagan- crm /knowledge-management. Madden, Leign. “U.S. Air Force Soaring to the Cloud with Office 365,” http

Instructional Design as Knowledge Management: A Knowledge-in-Practice Approach to Choosing Instructional Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIver, Derrick; Fitzsimmons, Stacey; Flanagan, David

2016-01-01

Decisions about instructional methods are becoming more complex, with options ranging from problem sets to experiential service-learning projects. However, instructors not trained in instructional design may make these important decisions based on convenience, comfort, or trends. Instead, this article draws on the knowledge management literature…

Improving service user self-management: development and implementation of a strategy for the Richmond Response and Rehabilitation Team.

PubMed

Sanders, Julie; Fitzpatrick, Joanne M

2017-01-01

Community rapid response and rehabilitation teams are used to prevent avoidable hospital admissions for adults living with multiple long-term conditions and to support early hospital discharge by providing short-term intensive multidisciplinary support. Supporting self-management is an important service intervention if desired outcomes are to be achieved. A Care Quality Commission inspection of the Richmond Response and Rehabilitation Team in 2014 identified that self-management plans were not routinely developed with service users and reported this as requiring improvement. This quality improvement project aimed to develop and implement a self-management strategy for service users and for 90% of service users to have a personalised self-management plan within 3 months. The quality improvement intervention used the Plan-Do-Study-Act model comprising: (1) the development of a self-management plan, (2) staff education to support service users to self-manage using motivational interviewing techniques, (3) piloting the self-management plan with service users, (4) implementation of the self-management plan and (5) monthly audit and feedback. Evaluation involved an audit of the number and quality of self-management plans developed with service users and a survey of staff knowledge and confidence to support service users to self-manage. Following implementation of the intervention, the number of self-management plans developed in collaboration with service users increased from 0 to 187 over a 4-week period. Monthly audit data confirmed that this improvement has been sustained. Results indicated that staff knowledge and confidence improved after an education intervention. Quality improvement methods facilitated development and operationalisation of a self-management strategy by a community rapid response and rehabilitation team. The next phase of the project is to evaluate the impact of the self-management strategy on key service outcomes including self-efficacy, unplanned and emergency hospital admissions and early discharges.

Do they see eye to eye? Management and employee perspectives of high-performance work systems and influence processes on service quality.

PubMed

Liao, Hui; Toya, Keiko; Lepak, David P; Hong, Ying

2009-03-01

Extant research on high-performance work systems (HPWSs) has primarily examined the effects of HPWSs on establishment or firm-level performance from a management perspective in manufacturing settings. The current study extends this literature by differentiating management and employee perspectives of HPWSs and examining how the two perspectives relate to employee individual performance in the service context. Data collected in three phases from multiple sources involving 292 managers, 830 employees, and 1,772 customers of 91 bank branches revealed significant differences between management and employee perspectives of HPWSs. There were also significant differences in employee perspectives of HPWSs among employees of different employment statuses and among employees of the same status. Further, employee perspective of HPWSs was positively related to individual general service performance through the mediation of employee human capital and perceived organizational support and was positively related to individual knowledge-intensive service performance through the mediation of employee human capital and psychological empowerment. At the same time, management perspective of HPWSs was related to employee human capital and both types of service performance. Finally, a branch's overall knowledge-intensive service performance was positively associated with customer overall satisfaction with the branch's service. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Healthcare knowledge management through building and operationalising healthcare enterprise memory.

PubMed

Cheah, Y N; Abidi, S S

1999-01-01

In this paper we suggest that the healthcare enterprise needs to be more conscious of its vast knowledge resources vis-à-vis the exploitation of knowledge management techniques to efficiently manage its knowledge. The development of healthcare enterprise memory is suggested as a solution, together with a novel approach advocating the operationalisation of healthcare enterprise memories leading to the modelling of healthcare processes for strategic planning. As an example, we present a simulation of Service Delivery Time in a hospital's OPD.

Technology usage, quality management system, and service quality in Thailand.

PubMed

Sivabrovornvatana, Nilubon; Siengthai, Sununta; Krairit, Donyaprueth; Paul, Himangshu

2005-01-01

This article aims to explore the relationship between technology and quality management for enhancing Thai hospital service quality. The paper presents the findings of an exploratory study that investigates service quality from the customer and service provider perception. In-depth interviews were conducted with respondents in Thai hospitals. The interviews explored service-related factors that patients and service providers perceive to be important for hospital services. The first interview group consisted of professionals as internal customers in direct contact with external customers, while the second group consisted of external customers of the same hospitals. The study's outcomes clearly suggest factors that make significant contribution to service quality. These factors can be categorized according to five SERVQUAL dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibility), although some factors required slightly different interpretation. The findings suggest that hospitals can develop an appropriate approach to their advantage, which can yield sustainable improvement in service quality as perceived by patients and professionals. Hospitals can make better quality decisions based on structured measurement and knowledge. It is recommended that managers apply this knowledge for successful implementation of activities related to service quality in their organizations.

From hospital information system components to the medical record and clinical guidelines & protocols.

PubMed

Veloso, M; Estevão, N; Ferreira, P; Rodrigues, R; Costa, C T; Barahona, P

1997-01-01

This paper introduces an ongoing project towards the development of a new generation HIS, aiming at the integration of clinical and administrative information within a common framework. Its design incorporates explicit knowledge about domain objects and professional activities to be processed by the system together with related knowledge management services and act management services. The paper presents the conceptual model of the proposed HIS architecture, that supports a rich and fully integrated patient data model, enabling the implementation of a dynamic electronic patient record tightly coupled with computerised guideline knowledge bases.

Collaboration between primary care and psychiatric services: does it help family physicians?

PubMed

Kisely, Stephen; Duerden, Debbie; Shaddick, Susan; Jayabarathan, Ajantha

2006-07-01

To compare family physicians' reports of their experiences managing patients with psychiatric disorders in settings with and without access to collaborative mental health services. Survey using a questionnaire adapted from a similar study in Australia. Family physicians were asked about their knowledge, skills, and degree of comfort in managing the following psychiatric disorders derived from the primary care version of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases: psychosis, depression, anxiety, childhood disorders, and stress-related disorders. We also compared the 2 groups of physicians regarding their satisfaction with mental health services in general. The Capital District Health Authority (CDHA) in Nova Scotia. All family physicians practising in the CDHA. Self-reported knowledge, skills, and degree of comfort in managing psychiatric problems; satisfaction with mental health services, adjusted for family physicians' demographics; and stated interest in mental health. We received 101 responses (37 from physicians with access to collaborative care and 64 from physicians without access) from 7 communities in the CDHA. Family physicians who had access to collaborative care reported significantly greater knowledge in the areas of psychosis, alcohol or substance use, and childhood behavioural problems; and better skills in managing psychosis, alcohol or substance use, childhood depression or anxiety, childhood behavioural disorders, and relationship problems. Their comfort levels in managing relationship problems and childhood behavioural disorders were also significantly higher. Family physicians with access to collaborative care were significantly more satisfied with mental health services, over and above shared care. All these differences remained significant after controlling for sex, level of interest in mental health, and years in practice. Family physicians with access to collaborative care reported greater knowledge, better skills, and more comfort in managing psychiatric disorders and greater satisfaction with mental health services. Further work is needed to establish why this is so and to determine any effect on patient outcomes, such as symptoms, quality of life, and psychosocial functioning.

Scotland's knowledge network: a progress report on Knowledge into Action.

PubMed

Wales, Ann; Boyle, Derek

2015-11-01

Launched in 2012, Knowledge into Action is the national knowledge management strategy for the health and social care workforce in Scotland. It is transforming the role of the national digital knowledge service--NHS Education for Scotlands' Knowledge Network--and the NHSS librarian role to offer more active, tailored support for translating knowledge into frontline clinical practice. This includes the development of a national evidence search and summary service, help with converting knowledge into practical and usable formats for easy use at point of care and with using digital tools to share clinicians' learning, experience and expertise. Through this practical support, Knowledge into Action is contributing to quality and safety outcomes across NHS Scotland, building clinicians' capacity and capability in applying knowledge in frontline practice and service improvement. © The Author(s) 2015.

Knowledge representation and management enabling intelligent interoperability - principles and standards.

PubMed

Blobel, Bernd

2013-01-01

Based on the paradigm changes for health, health services and underlying technologies as well as the need for at best comprehensive and increasingly automated interoperability, the paper addresses the challenge of knowledge representation and management for medical decision support. After introducing related definitions, a system-theoretical, architecture-centric approach to decision support systems (DSSs) and appropriate ways for representing them using systems of ontologies is given. Finally, existing and emerging knowledge representation and management standards are presented. The paper focuses on the knowledge representation and management part of DSSs, excluding the reasoning part from consideration.

Information Management: Army Information Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-05-31

user’s Internet needs in one location. Portals commonly provide services such as e -mail, online chat forums, searching, content, newsfeeds and others. Web...The revision dated 31 May 2002-- o Includes new policy on Army knowledge management, Army Knowledge Online, e - mail, Web site management, the use of...Web portals , and Web site. o The revision dated 15 February 2000-- o Replaces the title ’The Army Information Resources Management Program’ with the

A Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment for the Earth Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Agnese, F. A.

2008-12-01

Earth Knowledge is developing a web-based 'Knowledge Portal and Collaboration Environment' that will serve as the information-technology-based foundation of a modular Internet-based Earth-Systems Monitoring, Analysis, and Management Tool. This 'Knowledge Portal' is essentially a 'mash- up' of web-based and client-based tools and services that support on-line collaboration, community discussion, and broad public dissemination of earth and environmental science information in a wide-area distributed network. In contrast to specialized knowledge-management or geographic-information systems developed for long- term and incremental scientific analysis, this system will exploit familiar software tools using industry standard protocols, formats, and APIs to discover, process, fuse, and visualize existing environmental datasets using Google Earth and Google Maps. An early form of these tools and services is being used by Earth Knowledge to facilitate the investigations and conversations of scientists, resource managers, and citizen-stakeholders addressing water resource sustainability issues in the Great Basin region of the desert southwestern United States. These ongoing projects will serve as use cases for the further development of this information-technology infrastructure. This 'Knowledge Portal' will accelerate the deployment of Earth- system data and information into an operational knowledge management system that may be used by decision-makers concerned with stewardship of water resources in the American Desert Southwest.

Current and Projected Modes of Delivery of Veterinary Medical Services to Animal Agriculture: Industrial/Commercial Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glick, Phillip Ray

1980-01-01

Veterinary education must re-establish its teaching objectives. Students need practical knowledge in areas such as business management, communications, marketing, public relations, facility management, and personnel management. Industry must also meet its obligations to continue to provide safe, dependable products that fill a practice need. (MLW)

Knowledge Sourcing in IT Support Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Workman, Sue B.

2011-01-01

Indiana University (IU) provides great support for the technology the community needs to teach, learn, and conduct research. Rather than limiting support by defining a rigid support matrix, IU has chosen instead to utilize knowledge management technology to provide self-service for repetitive information technology (IT) questions, and focus…

Pharmacy students' knowledge of the Medicare drug benefit and intention to provide Medicare medication therapy management services.

PubMed

Urmie, Julie M; Farris, Karen B; Herbert, Kathleen E

2007-06-15

To examine PharmD students' knowledge about Medicare Part D and their attitudes toward and intention to provide Medicare medication therapy management services (MTMS). Fourth-professional year students were given a self-administered survey instrument that assessed: (1) knowledge about Medicare Part D; (2) attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and intention to provide Medicare MTMS; and (3) demographic and experience information. Ninety-five students responded for a response rate of 94%. Students showed good basic knowledge about Medicare Part D, with a mean score of 94%. Almost 60% of students agreed that they intended to provide Medicare MTMS, but agreement dropped to 37% when they were asked if they were willing to take initiative to provide MTMS. The lack of willingness to take initiative to provide Medicare MTMS suggests that colleges and schools of pharmacy must strengthen efforts to encourage students to take on the role of service provider.

Working with knowledge at the science/policy interface: a unique example from developing the Tongass Land Management Plan.

Treesearch

Charles G. Shaw; Fred H. Everest; Douglas N. Swanston

2000-01-01

An innovative, knowledge-based partnership between research scientists and resource managers in the U.S. Forest Service provided the foundation upon which the Forest Plan was developed that will guide management on the Tongass National Forest for the next 10-15 years. Criteria developed by the scientists to evaluate if management decisions were consistent with the...

Knowledge-Based Information Management in Decision Support for Ecosystem Management

Treesearch

Keith Reynolds; Micahel Saunders; Richard Olson; Daniel Schmoldt; Michael Foster; Donald Latham; Bruce Miller; John Steffenson; Lawrence Bednar; Patrick Cunningham

1995-01-01

The Pacific Northwest Research Station (USDA Forest Service) is developing a knowledge-based information management system to provide decision support for watershed analysis in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. The decision support system includes: (1) a GIS interface that allows users to graphically navigate to specific provinces and watersheds and display a...

Ecosystem services in sustainable groundwater management.

PubMed

Tuinstra, Jaap; van Wensem, Joke

2014-07-01

The ecosystem services concept seems to get foothold in environmental policy and management in Europe and, for instance, The Netherlands. With respect to groundwater management there is a challenge to incorporate this concept in such a way that it contributes to the sustainability of decisions. Groundwater is of vital importance to societies, which is reflected in the presented overview of groundwater related ecosystem services. Classifications of these services vary depending on the purpose of the listing (valuation, protection, mapping et cetera). Though the scientific basis is developing, the knowledge-availability still can be a critical factor in decision making based upon ecosystem services. The examples in this article illustrate that awareness of the value of groundwater can result in balanced decisions with respect to the use of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services concept contributes to this awareness and enhances the visibility of the groundwater functions in the decision making process. The success of the ecosystem services concept and its contribution to sustainable groundwater management will, however, largely depend on other aspects than the concept itself. Local and actual circumstances, policy ambitions and knowledge availability will play an important role. Solutions can be considered more sustainable when more of the key elements for sustainable groundwater management, as defined in this article, are fully used and the presented guidelines for long term use of ecosystem services are respected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Knowledge Management, User Education and Librarianship.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koenig, Michael E. D.

2003-01-01

Discusses the role of librarians in knowledge management in terms of designing information systems, creating classification systems and taxonomies, and implementing and operating the systems. Suggests the need for librarians to be involved in user education and training, including database searching, using current awareness services, and using…

The SysMan monitoring service and its management environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debski, Andrzej; Janas, Ekkehard

1996-06-01

Management of modern information systems is becoming more and more complex. There is a growing need for powerful, flexible and affordable management tools to assist system managers in maintaining such systems. It is at the same time evident that effective management should integrate network management, system management and application management in a uniform way. Object oriented OSI management architecture with its four basic modelling concepts (information, organization, communication and functional models) together with widely accepted distribution platforms such as ANSA/CORBA, constitutes a reliable and modern framework for the implementation of a management toolset. This paper focuses on the presentation of concepts and implementation results of an object oriented management toolset developed and implemented within the framework of the ESPRIT project 7026 SysMan. An overview is given of the implemented SysMan management services including the System Management Service, Monitoring Service, Network Management Service, Knowledge Service, Domain and Policy Service, and the User Interface. Special attention is paid to the Monitoring Service which incorporates the architectural key entity responsible for event management. Its architecture and building components, especially filters, are emphasized and presented in detail.

Making Teamwork Work: Team Knowledge for Team Effectiveness.

PubMed

Guchait, Priyanko; Lei, Puiwa; Tews, Michael J

2016-01-01

This study examined the impact of two types of team knowledge on team effectiveness. The study assessed the impact of taskwork knowledge and teamwork knowledge on team satisfaction and performance. A longitudinal study was conducted with 27 service-management teams involving 178 students in a real-life restaurant setting. Teamwork knowledge was found to impact both team outcomes. Furthermore, team learning behavior was found to mediate the relationships between teamwork knowledge and team outcomes. Educators and managers should therefore ensure these types of knowledge are developed in teams along with learning behavior for maximum effectiveness.

Urban ecosystem services for resilience planning and management in New York City.

PubMed

McPhearson, Timon; Hamstead, Zoé A; Kremer, Peleg

2014-05-01

We review the current state of knowledge about urban ecosystem services in New York City (NYC) and how these services are regulated, planned for, and managed. Focusing on ecosystem services that have presented challenges in NYC-including stormwater quality enhancement and flood control, drinking water quality, food provisioning and recreation-we find that mismatches between the scale of production and scale of management occur where service provision is insufficient. Adequate production of locally produced services and services which are more accessible when produced locally is challenging in the context of dense urban development that is characteristic of NYC. Management approaches are needed to address scale mismatches in the production and consumption of ecosystem services. By coordinating along multiple scales of management and promoting best management practices, urban leaders have an opportunity to ensure that nature and ecosystem processes are protected in cities to support the delivery of fundamental urban ecosystem services.

Integrating neotropical migratory birds into Forest Service plans for ecosystem management

Treesearch

Deborah M. Finch; William M. Block; Reg A. Fletcher; Leon F. Fager

1993-01-01

The USDA Forest Service is undergoing a major change in focus in response to public interests, growing concern for sustaining natural resources, and new knowledge about wildlife, fisheries, forests and grasslands, and how they interact at the ecosystem level. This shift in direction affects how Forest Service lands are managed, what research is conducted, how resource...

Leveraging the Power of Knowledge Management to Transform Global Health and Development.

PubMed

Sullivan, Tara M; Limaye, Rupali J; Mitchell, Vanessa; D'Adamo, Margaret; Baquet, Zachary

2015-04-27

Good knowledge is essential to prevent disease and improve health. Knowledge management (KM) provides a systematic process and tools to promote access to and use of knowledge among health and development practitioners to improve health and development outcomes. KM tools range from publications and resources (briefs, articles, job aids) and products and services (websites, eLearning courses, mobile applications), to training and events (workshops, webinars, meetings) and approaches and techniques (peer assists, coaching, after-action reviews, knowledge cafés).

Semantic Web Technologies for Mobile Context-Aware Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

for Context-Aware Service Provisioning 6 Communication toolkit (http, e-mail, IM, etc.) User interaction manager Platform manager White & yellow ...NAICS] North American Industry Classification System , http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html [OS00] Opermann, R., and Specht , M., A Context...toolkit (http, e-mail, IM, etc.) User interaction manager Platform manager White & yellow pages MAS administration toolkit N ET W O R K knowledge

Implementation of evidence-based weekend service recommendations for allied health managers: a cluster randomised controlled trial protocol.

PubMed

Sarkies, Mitchell N; White, Jennifer; Morris, Meg E; Taylor, Nicholas F; Williams, Cylie; O'Brien, Lisa; Martin, Jenny; Bardoel, Anne; Holland, Anne E; Carey, Leeanne; Skinner, Elizabeth H; Bowles, Kelly-Ann; Grant, Kellie; Philip, Kathleen; Haines, Terry P

2018-04-24

It is widely acknowledged that health policy and practice do not always reflect current research evidence. Whether knowledge transfer from research to practice is more successful when specific implementation approaches are used remains unclear. A model to assist engagement of allied health managers and clinicians with research implementation could involve disseminating evidence-based policy recommendations, along with the use of knowledge brokers. We developed such a model to aid decision-making for the provision of weekend allied health services. This protocol outlines the design and methods for a multi-centre cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the success of research implementation strategies to promote evidence-informed weekend allied health resource allocation decisions, especially in hospital managers. This multi-centre study will be a three-group parallel cluster randomised controlled trial. Allied health managers from Australian and New Zealand hospitals will be randomised to receive either (1) an evidence-based policy recommendation document to guide weekend allied health resource allocation decisions, (2) the same policy recommendation document with support from a knowledge broker to help implement weekend allied health policy recommendations, or (3) a usual practice control group. The primary outcome will be alignment of weekend allied health service provision with policy recommendations. This will be measured by the number of allied health service events (occasions of service) occurring on weekends as a proportion of total allied health service events for the relevant hospital wards at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Evidence-based policy recommendation documents communicate key research findings in an accessible format. This comparatively low-cost research implementation strategy could be combined with using a knowledge broker to work collaboratively with decision-makers to promote knowledge transfer. The results will assist managers to make decisions on resource allocation, based on evidence. More generally, the findings will inform the development of an allied health model for translating research into practice. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ( ACTRN12618000029291 ). Universal Trial Number (UTN): U1111-1205-2621.

Using Knowledge Management to Revise Software-Testing Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nogeste, Kersti; Walker, Derek H. T.

2006-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to use a knowledge management (KM) approach to effectively revise a utility retailer's software testing process. This paper presents a case study of how the utility organisation's customer services IT production support group improved their test planning skills through applying the American Productivity and Quality Center…

Libraries, Knowledge Management, and Higher Education in an Electronic Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Brian

This paper discusses transformational change in academic libraries, as digital technology alters how services are provided, research is conducted, and learning occurs. Highlights include: advantages of libraries over the World Wide Web; redefining the knowledge management paradigm; two different types of information (i.e., explicit and tacit); a…

A Survey to Determine if Significant Differences Exist in the Scoring of Select Management Areas for Fast Food and Full Service Restaurant Managers by Two-Year Foodservice Management Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloom, Thomas A.

A survey was conducted of students in 77 of the 144 two-year foodservice management programs in the United States to assess their knowledge of and attitudes toward fast food restaurant management as compared to full service restaurant management. A total of 1,403 students from 44 programs responded. Results indicated that the food service…

Do service users with intellectual disabilities want to be involved in the risk management process? A thematic analysis.

PubMed

Kilcommons, Aoiffe M; Withers, Paul; Moreno-Lopez, Águeda

2012-09-01

Involving ID service users in risk decision making necessitates consideration of an individual's ability to assess the implications and associated risks and thus make an informed choice. This calls for research on service users' awareness and understanding of risk management (RM). Thirteen people in a residential ID service who were reviewed under the risk management process (RMP) participated in the research. Thematic analysis explored participants' knowledge and understanding of risk management to establish ability to make informed choice. Two main meta-themes (lack of awareness about RM and awareness about RM) and four meta-themes (extent of RM awareness, locus of control, compliance and empowerment) emerged. Nine of 13 participants demonstrated some knowledge and awareness of RM and wanted to contribute to the RMP, despite not being consulted about or given the opportunity to be involved in RM. The majority of service users in this sample had some awareness of the purpose of RM and could make partially informed decisions about whether they would like to be involved in the RMP. The findings highlight the need for professionals to actively attempt to involve ID service users in the management of their own risk. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Building organizational supports for knowledge sharing in county human service organizations: a cross-case analysis of works-in-progress.

PubMed

Lee, Chris; Austin, Michael J

2012-01-01

Building on the literature related to evidence-based practice, knowledge management, and learning organizations, this cross-case analysis presents twelve works-in-progress in ten local public human service organizations seeking to develop their own knowledge sharing systems. The data for this cross-case analysis can be found in the various contributions to this Special Issue. The findings feature the developmental aspects of building a learning organization that include knowledge sharing systems featuring transparency, self-assessment, and dissemination and utilization. Implications for practice focus on the structure and processes involved in building knowledge sharing teams inside public human service organizations. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

5 CFR 470.201 - Purposes of research programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... knowledge, techniques, and materials about personnel management; (b) Seeks solutions to personnel management... Section 470.201 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECTS Regulatory Requirements Pertaining to...

5 CFR 470.201 - Purposes of research programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... knowledge, techniques, and materials about personnel management; (b) Seeks solutions to personnel management... Section 470.201 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECTS Regulatory Requirements Pertaining to...

Agency capacity for recreation science and management: the case of the U.S. Forest Service.

Treesearch

Lee K. Cerveny; Clare M. Ryan

2008-01-01

This report examines the capacity of natural resource agencies to generate scientific knowledge and information for use by resource managers in planning and decisionmaking. This exploratory study focused on recreation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. A semistructured, open-ended interview guide elicited insights from 58 managers and 28 researchers...

Do Librarians Really Do That? Or Providing Custom, Fee-Based Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitmore, Susan; Heekin, Janet

This paper describes some of the fee-based, custom services provided by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Library to NIH staff, including knowledge management, clinical liaisons, specialized database searching, bibliographic database development, Web resource guide development, and journal management. The first section discusses selecting the…

Reducing the burden of diarrhea among children under five years old: lessons learned from oral rehydration therapy corner program implementation in Northern Nigeria.

PubMed

Charyeva, Zulfiya; Cannon, Molly; Oguntunde, Olugbenga; Garba, Aminu Magashi; Sambisa, William; Bassi, Amos Paul; Ibrahim, Mohammed Auwal; Danladi, Saba'atu Elizabeth; Lawal, Nurudeen

2015-05-01

In Nigeria, diarrhea remains one of the leading causes of death among children under five years old. Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) corners were introduced to health facilities in Bauchi and Sokoto states to serve as points of treatment for sick children and equip caregivers with necessary skills in case management of diarrhea and diarrhea prevention. The operations research study examined the effect of facility-based ORT corners on caregivers' knowledge and skills in management of simple and moderate diarrhea at home, as well as caregivers' and service providers' perceived facilitators and barriers to utilization and delivering of ORT corner services. It also examined whether ORT activities were conducted according to the established protocols. This quantitative study relied on multiple sources of information to provide a complete picture of the current status of ORT corner services, namely surveys with ORT corner providers (N = 21), health facility providers (N = 23) and caregivers (N = 229), as well as a review of service statistics and health facility observations. Frequency distribution and binary analysis were conducted. The study revealed that ORT corner users were more knowledgeable in diarrhea prevention and management and demonstrated better skills for managing diarrhea at home than ORT corner non-users. However, the percentage of knowledgeable ORT users is not optimal, and providers need to continue to work toward improving such knowledge. ORT corner providers identified a lack of supplies as the major barrier for providing services. Furthermore, the study revealed a lack of information, education and communication materials, supportive supervision, and protocols and guidelines for delivering ORT corner services, as well as inadequate documentation of services provided at ORT corners. Recommendations for ORT corners program planners and implementers include ensuring all ORT corners have oral rehydration salt (ORS) packages and salt, sugar, and zinc tablets in stock, a secured commodity supply chain to avoid stockouts, and adequate policies and procedures in place.

An Integrated Model of Knowledge Acquisition and Innovation: Examining the Mediation Effects of Knowledge Integration and Knowledge Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahiyat, Samer E.

2015-01-01

The aim of this research is to empirically investigate the relationships among the three vital knowledge management processes of acquisition, integration and application, and their effects on organisational innovation in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Jordan; a knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) sector. Structural equation…

Are we prepared for Affordable Care Act provisions of care coordination? Case managers' self-assessments and views on physicians' roles.

PubMed

Moreo, Kathleen; Moreo, Natalie; Urbano, Frank L; Weeks, Matthew; Greene, Laurence

2014-01-01

Care coordination, traditionally the purview of the case management field, is recognized as a national priority for improving health care delivery and patient outcomes. With reforms of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, case managers face new challenges and opportunities in providing care coordination services. The evolving roles of case managers as members of interprofessional care teams will be influenced by new policies that enable physicians to be reimbursed for care coordination. This qualitative study aimed to evaluate case managers' self-assessed readiness for ACA reforms of care coordination and their perceptions of physicians' understanding of case management and ability to lead care coordination efforts in evolving models. Provisions of care coordination in the ACA affect case managers in all practice settings. The majority of this study's participants represented hospital and managed care settings. An invitation to complete an 11-item online survey was sent by e-mail to 8,110 case managers in an opt-in database maintained by a health care continuing education company. Survey questions were designed to assess respondents' (1) self-reported levels of knowledge and preparation for ACA care coordination provisions and (2) beliefs about the readiness and abilities of physicians to administer care coordination services. In addition, demographic data and open-ended comments regarding physicians' roles in conducting care coordination were collected. Over a restricted 9-day period, 834 case managers representing various health care settings responded to the survey. The majority of respondents (63%) indicated that more than 50% of their day is dedicated to performing care coordination activities. However, 80% of all respondents reported being "not at all knowledgeable" or only "somewhat knowledgeable" about the new care coordination provisions in the ACA. Only 8% admitted to being "very prepared" to implement ACA changes. The majority of respondents (68%) perceive their case management departments to be at least "somewhat prepared" to implement necessary changes. Whereas 67% of respondents expect physicians to have at least a "moderate role" in implementing care coordination services, only 12% believe that physicians have more than "some" understanding of the processes of care coordination and case managers' roles. These qualitative study findings suggest that case managers from multiple practice settings perceive a lack of preparedness, knowledge, and understanding among themselves and physicians regarding ACA reforms that may significantly affect the delivery of care coordination services. The findings call for new initiatives in interprofessional education to address the knowledge gaps and enhance understanding of the collaborative roles among case managers and physicians.

48 CFR 642.271 - Government Technical Monitor (GTM).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES Contract Administration Services 642.271 Government..., or because of special skills or knowledge necessary for monitoring the contractor's work. The...

48 CFR 642.271 - Government Technical Monitor (GTM).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES Contract Administration Services 642.271 Government..., or because of special skills or knowledge necessary for monitoring the contractor's work. The...

48 CFR 642.271 - Government Technical Monitor (GTM).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES Contract Administration Services 642.271 Government..., or because of special skills or knowledge necessary for monitoring the contractor's work. The...

ERP and Knowledge Management Integration: The Case of Malaysian Business Firms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supramaniam, Mahadevan; Kuppusamy, Mudiarasan

2010-01-01

In order to compete in a global environment, Malaysian business firms need to improve their products and services through best practices. This paper aims to investigate the critical success factors to adopt Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) with knowledge management (KM) strategies among Malaysian business firms. In order to achieve the research…

Knowledge Management Model: Practical Application for Competency Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lustri, Denise; Miura, Irene; Takahashi, Sergio

2007-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to present a knowledge management (KM) conceptual model for competency development and a case study in a law service firm, which implemented the KM model in a competencies development program. Design/methodology/approach: The case study method was applied according to Yin (2003) concepts, focusing a six-professional group…

Ecological role and services of tropical mangrove ecosystems: a reassessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lee, Shing Yip; Primavera, Jurgene H.; Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid; McKee, Karen; Bosire, Jared O.; Cannicci, Stefano; Diele, Karen; Fromard, Francois; Koedam, Nico; Marchand, Cyril; Mendelssohn, Irving; Mukherjee, Nibedita; Record, Sydne

2014-01-01

Knowledge of thresholds, spatio-temporal scaling and variability due to geographic, biogeographic and socio-economic settings will improve the management of mangrove ecosystem services. Many drivers respond to global trends in climate change and local changes such as urbanization. While mangroves have traditionally been managed for subsistence, future governance models must involve partnerships between local custodians of mangroves and offsite beneficiaries of the services.

Translating knowledge into practice: An exploratory study of dementia-specific training for community-based service providers.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Grace; Hocking, Clare; McPherson, Kathryn

2017-08-01

Objective To develop, deliver, and evaluate dementia-specific training designed to inform service delivery by enhancing the knowledge of community-based service providers. Methods This exploratory qualitative study used an interdisciplinary, interuniversity team approach to develop and deliver dementia-specific training. Participants included management, care staff, and clients from three organizations funded to provide services in the community. Data on the acceptability, applicability, and perceived outcomes of the training were gathered through focus group discussions and individual interviews. Transcripts were analyzed to generate open codes which were clustered into themes and sub-themes addressing the content, delivery, and value of the training. Findings Staff valued up-to-date knowledge and "real stories" grounded in practice. Clients welcomed the strengths-based approach. Contractual obligations impact on the application of knowledge in practice. Implications The capacity to implement new knowledge may be limited by the legislative policies which frame service provision, to the detriment of service users.

The Finnish healthcare services lean management.

PubMed

Hihnala, Susanna; Kettunen, Lilja; Suhonen, Marjo; Tiirinki, Hanna

2018-02-05

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss health services managers' experiences of management in a special health-care unit and development efforts from the point of view of the Lean method. Additionally, the aim is to deepen the knowledge of the managers' work and nature of the Lean method development processes in the workplace. The research focuses on those aspects and results of Lean method that are currently being used in health-care environments. Design/methodology/approach These data were collected through a number of thematic interviews. The participants were nurse managers ( n = 7) and medical managers ( n = 7) who applied Lean management in their work at the University Hospital in the Northern Ostrobothnia Health Care District. The data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis. Findings A common set of values in specialized health-care services, development of activities and challenges for management in the use of the Lean manager development model to improve personal management skills. Practical implications Managers in specialized health-care services can develop and systematically manage with the help of the Lean method. This emphasizes assumptions, from the point of view of management, about systems development when the organization uses the Lean method. The research outcomes originate from specialized health-care settings in Finland in which the Lean method and its associated management principles have been implemented and applied to the delivery of health care. Originality/value The study shows that the research results and in-depth knowledge on Lean method principles can be applied to health-care management and development processes. The research also describes health services managers' experiences of using the Lean method. In the future, these results can be used to improve Lean management skills, identify personal professional competencies and develop skills required in development processes. Also, the research findings can be used in the training of health services managers in the health-care industry worldwide and to help them survive the pressure to change repeatedly.

ASIS '99 Knowledge: Creation, Organization and Use, Part II: SIG Sessions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1999

1999-01-01

Abstracts and descriptions of Special Interest Group (SIG) sessions include such topics as: knowledge management tools, knowledge organization, information retrieval, information seeking behavior, metadata, indexing, library service for distance education, electronic books, future information workforce needs, technological developments, and…

Institutional Maintenance Management and Services. Student Activity Book [and] Reference Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koukel, Sonja D.

These publications are two of three that comprise a course that provides occupationally specific training designed to develop knowledge and skills for employment in the area of institutional maintenance management and services. The reference book is a student text that provides information needed by employees in the institutional maintenance…

Incorporating a Weight Management Skills Workshop in Pharmacy Curricula in Australia

PubMed Central

Krass, Ines; Armour, Carol; Gill, Timothy; Chaar, Betty B.

2016-01-01

Objective. To develop, implement, and evaluate a competency-based weight management skills workshop for undergraduate pharmacy students in an Australian university. Design. A 3-hour workshop titled “Weight Management in Pharmacy” was implemented with a cohort of fourth-year undergraduate pharmacy students (n=180). Learning activities used included case-based learning, hands-on experience, role-play, and group discussion. Assessment. A 22-item attitudinal survey instrument and the validated Obesity Risk Knowledge (ORK-10) scale were administered at baseline and postworkshop to evaluate the impact of this educational workshop. There was significant improvement in the students’ ORK scores and students’ perceived level of self-confidence in performing weight management skills. Conclusion. An educational workshop designed to enhance professional competencies in weight management ensured graduates were “service-ready” and had the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attributes to deliver patient-centered pharmacy-based weight management services. PMID:27293236

Incorporating a Weight Management Skills Workshop in Pharmacy Curricula in Australia.

PubMed

Um, Irene S; Krass, Ines; Armour, Carol; Gill, Timothy; Chaar, Betty B

2016-05-25

Objective. To develop, implement, and evaluate a competency-based weight management skills workshop for undergraduate pharmacy students in an Australian university. Design. A 3-hour workshop titled "Weight Management in Pharmacy" was implemented with a cohort of fourth-year undergraduate pharmacy students (n=180). Learning activities used included case-based learning, hands-on experience, role-play, and group discussion. Assessment. A 22-item attitudinal survey instrument and the validated Obesity Risk Knowledge (ORK-10) scale were administered at baseline and postworkshop to evaluate the impact of this educational workshop. There was significant improvement in the students' ORK scores and students' perceived level of self-confidence in performing weight management skills. Conclusion. An educational workshop designed to enhance professional competencies in weight management ensured graduates were "service-ready" and had the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attributes to deliver patient-centered pharmacy-based weight management services.

Knowledge Management in Blended Learning: Effects on Professional Development in Creativity Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeh, Yu-chu; Huang, Ling-yi; Yeh, Yi-ling

2011-01-01

The purposes of this study were (1) to develop a teacher training program that integrates knowledge management (KM) and blended learning and examine its effects on pre-service teachers' professional development in creativity instruction; and (2) to explore the mechanisms underlying the success of such KM-based training. The employed KM model was…

A Knowledge-Based Information Management System for Watershed Analysis in the Pacific Northwest U.S.

Treesearch

Keith Reynolds; Patrick Cunningham; Larry Bednar; Michael Saunders; Michael Foster; Richard Olson; Daniel Schmoldt; Donald Latham; Bruce Miller; John Steffenson

1996-01-01

The Pacific Northwest Research Station (USDA Forest Service) is developing a knowledge-based information management system to provide decision support for watershed analysis. The system includes: (1) a GIS interface that allows users to navigate graphically to specific provinces and watersheds and display a variety of themes (vegetation, streams, roads, topography, etc...

Impact of Knowledge Management on Learning Organization Practices in India: An Exploratory Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chawla, Deepak; Joshi, Himanshu

2011-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to report the preliminary findings of the difference in learning organization (LO) practices across industries. It also reports the impact of knowledge management (KM) dimensions on LO and whether this impact is different across manufacturing, IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) and power generation and distribution in…

A Survey of Nutrition Knowledge and Opinion of Wisconsin Elementary Teachers and Food Service Managers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Francis B.

Conducted by the Wisconsin Nutrition Education and Training (NET) program, this study was designed to (1) assess public and private elementary school teachers' and public school food managers' nutrition knowledge, and (2) to ascertain their opinions on various topics related to nutrition education. The first section of the report provides…

Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management of Service and Product in the Internet of Things: Semantic Framework for Knowledge Integration.

PubMed

Yoo, Min-Jung; Grozel, Clément; Kiritsis, Dimitris

2016-07-08

This paper describes our conceptual framework of closed-loop lifecycle information sharing for product-service in the Internet of Things (IoT). The framework is based on the ontology model of product-service and a type of IoT message standard, Open Messaging Interface (O-MI) and Open Data Format (O-DF), which ensures data communication. (1) BACKGROUND: Based on an existing product lifecycle management (PLM) methodology, we enhanced the ontology model for the purpose of integrating efficiently the product-service ontology model that was newly developed; (2) METHODS: The IoT message transfer layer is vertically integrated into a semantic knowledge framework inside which a Semantic Info-Node Agent (SINA) uses the message format as a common protocol of product-service lifecycle data transfer; (3) RESULTS: The product-service ontology model facilitates information retrieval and knowledge extraction during the product lifecycle, while making more information available for the sake of service business creation. The vertical integration of IoT message transfer, encompassing all semantic layers, helps achieve a more flexible and modular approach to knowledge sharing in an IoT environment; (4) Contribution: A semantic data annotation applied to IoT can contribute to enhancing collected data types, which entails a richer knowledge extraction. The ontology-based PLM model enables as well the horizontal integration of heterogeneous PLM data while breaking traditional vertical information silos; (5) CONCLUSION: The framework was applied to a fictive case study with an electric car service for the purpose of demonstration. For the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of the approach, the semantic model is implemented in Sesame APIs, which play the role of an Internet-connected Resource Description Framework (RDF) database.

Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management of Service and Product in the Internet of Things: Semantic Framework for Knowledge Integration

PubMed Central

Yoo, Min-Jung; Grozel, Clément; Kiritsis, Dimitris

2016-01-01

This paper describes our conceptual framework of closed-loop lifecycle information sharing for product-service in the Internet of Things (IoT). The framework is based on the ontology model of product-service and a type of IoT message standard, Open Messaging Interface (O-MI) and Open Data Format (O-DF), which ensures data communication. (1) Background: Based on an existing product lifecycle management (PLM) methodology, we enhanced the ontology model for the purpose of integrating efficiently the product-service ontology model that was newly developed; (2) Methods: The IoT message transfer layer is vertically integrated into a semantic knowledge framework inside which a Semantic Info-Node Agent (SINA) uses the message format as a common protocol of product-service lifecycle data transfer; (3) Results: The product-service ontology model facilitates information retrieval and knowledge extraction during the product lifecycle, while making more information available for the sake of service business creation. The vertical integration of IoT message transfer, encompassing all semantic layers, helps achieve a more flexible and modular approach to knowledge sharing in an IoT environment; (4) Contribution: A semantic data annotation applied to IoT can contribute to enhancing collected data types, which entails a richer knowledge extraction. The ontology-based PLM model enables as well the horizontal integration of heterogeneous PLM data while breaking traditional vertical information silos; (5) Conclusion: The framework was applied to a fictive case study with an electric car service for the purpose of demonstration. For the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of the approach, the semantic model is implemented in Sesame APIs, which play the role of an Internet-connected Resource Description Framework (RDF) database. PMID:27399717

A watershed-based adaptive knowledge system for developing ecosystem stakeholder partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Hebin; Thornton, Jeffrey A.; Shadrin, Nickolai

2015-11-01

This study proposes a Watershed-based Adaptive Knowledge System (WAKES) to consistently coordinate multiple stakeholders in developing sustainable partnerships for ecosystem management. WAKES is extended from the institutional mechanism of Payments for Improving Ecosystem Services at the Watershed-scale (PIES-W). PIES-W is designed relating to the governance of ecosystem services fl ows focused on a lake as a resource stock connecting its infl owing and outfl owing rivers within its watershed. It explicitly realizes the values of conservation services provided by private land managers and incorporates their activities into the public organizing framework for ecosystem management. It implicitly extends the "upstream-to-downstream" organizing perspective to a broader vision of viewing the ecosystems as comprised of both "watershed landscapes" and "marine landscapes". Extended from PIES-W, WAKES specifies two corresponding feedback: Framework I and II. Framework I is a relationship matrix comprised of three input-output structures of primary governance factors intersecting three subsystems of a watershed with regard to ecosystem services and human stakeholders. Framework II is the Stakeholder-and-Information structure channeling five types of information among four stakeholder groups in order to enable the feedbacks mechanism of Framework I. WAKES identifies the rationales behind three fundamental information transformations, illustrated with the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis and the Strategic Action Program of the Bermejo River Binational Basin. These include (1) translating scientific knowledge into public information within the Function-and-Service structure corresponding to the ecological subsystem, (2) incorporating public perceptions into political will within the Service- and- Value structure corresponding to the economic subsystem, and (3) integrating scientific knowledge, public perceptions and political will into management options within the Value-and-Stakeholder structure corresponding to the social subsystem. This study seeks to share a vision of social adaptation for a global sustainable future through developing a network to adopt contributions from and forming partnerships among all ecosystem stakeholders.

The use of key indicators as a foundation for knowledge management: the experiences of Monterey County's Social and Employment Services Department.

PubMed

Lindberg, Arley

2012-01-01

While effective knowledge management practices are commonly sought by organizations, facilitating the use and ongoing engagement in these practices can be challenging. To this end, one agency developed a strategy for institutionalizing their knowledge management functions by appointing a team responsible for monitoring and implementing knowledge management functions, and creating a report for use as a tool by departments agency-wide. Aimed at increasing transparency both within the agency and with the surrounding community, the report provides an overview of individual departments' programs, goals, recent caseload trends, and latest achievements. The report is made available online and accessible by the general public. This case study describes the development of this team and report, as well as lessons learned and future knowledge management goals for the agency. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Prerequisite programs and food hygiene in hospitals: food safety knowledge and practices of food service staff in Ankara, Turkey.

PubMed

Bas, Murat; Temel, Mehtap Akçil; Ersun, Azmi Safak; Kivanç, Gökhan

2005-04-01

Our objective was to determine food safety practices related to prerequisite program implementation in hospital food services in Turkey. Staff often lack basic food hygiene knowledge. Problems of implementing HACCP and prerequisite programs in hospitals include lack of food hygiene management training, lack of financial resources, and inadequate equipment and environment.

A transdisciplinary approach for supporting the integration of ecosystem services into land and water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatt Siew, Tuck; Döll, Petra

2015-04-01

Transdisciplinary approaches are useful for supporting integrated land and water management. However, the implementation of the approach in practice to facilitate the co-production of useable socio-hydrological (and -ecological) knowledge among scientists and stakeholders is challenging. It requires appropriate methods to bring individuals with diverse interests and needs together and to integrate their knowledge for generating shared perspectives/understanding, identifying common goals, and developing actionable management strategies. The approach and the methods need, particularly, to be adapted to the local political and socio-cultural conditions. To demonstrate how knowledge co-production and integration can be done in practice, we present a transdisciplinary approach which has been implemented and adapted for supporting land and water management that takes ecosystem services into account in an arid region in northwestern China. Our approach comprises three steps: (1) stakeholder analysis and interdisciplinary knowledge integration, (2) elicitation of perspectives of scientists and stakeholders, scenario development, and identification of management strategies, and (3) evaluation of knowledge integration and social learning. Our adapted approach has enabled interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral communication among scientists and stakeholders. Furthermore, the application of a combination of participatory methods, including actor modeling, Bayesian Network modeling, and participatory scenario development, has contributed to the integration of system, target, and transformation knowledge of involved stakeholders. The realization of identified management strategies is unknown because other important and representative decision makers have not been involved in the transdisciplinary research process. The contribution of our transdisciplinary approach to social learning still needs to be assessed.

Forward view: advancing health library and knowledge services in England.

PubMed

Lacey Bryant, Sue; Bingham, Helen; Carlyle, Ruth; Day, Alison; Ferguson, Linda; Stewart, David

2018-03-01

This article is the fourth in a series on New Directions. The National Health Service is under pressure, challenged to meet the needs of an ageing population, whilst striving to improve standards and ensure decision making is underpinned by evidence. Health Education England is steering a new course for NHS library and knowledge services in England to ensure access to knowledge and evidence for all decision makers. Knowledge for Healthcare calls for service transformation, role redesign, greater coordination and collaboration. To meet user expectations, health libraries must achieve sustainable, affordable access to digital content. Traditional tasks will progressively become mechanised. Alongside supporting learners, NHS librarians and knowledge specialists will take a greater role as knowledge brokers, delivering business critical services. They will support the NHS workforce to signpost patients and the public to high-quality information. There is a need for greater efficiency and effectiveness through greater co-operation and service mergers. Evaluation of service quality will focus more on outcomes, less on counting. These changes require an agile workforce, fit for the future. There is a bright future in which librarians' expertise is used to mobilise evidence, manage and share knowledge, support patients, carers and families, optimise technology and social media and provide a keystone for improved patient care and safety. © 2018 Health Libraries Group.

Knowledge creation using artificial intelligence: a twin approach to improve breast screening attendance.

PubMed

Baskaran, Vikraman; Bali, Rajeev K; Arochena, Hisbel; Naguib, Rauf N G; Wallis, Matthew; Wheaton, Margot

2006-01-01

Knowledge management (KM) is rapidly becoming established as a core organizational element within the healthcare industry to assist in the delivery of better patient care. KM is a cyclical process which typically starts with knowledge creation (KC), progresses to knowledge sharing, knowledge accessibility and eventually results in new KC (in the same or a related domain). KC plays a significant role in KM as it creates the necessary "seeds" for propagating many more knowledge cycles. This paper addresses the potential of KC in the context of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) breast screening service. KC can be automated to a greater extent by embedding processes within an artificial intelligence (AI) based environment. The UK breast screening service is concerned about non-attendance and this paper discusses issues pertaining to increasing attendance.

Views of Community Managers on Knowledge Co-creation in Online Communities for People With Disabilities: Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Amann, Julia; Rubinelli, Sara

2017-10-10

The use of online communities to promote end user involvement and co-creation in the product and service innovation process is well documented in the marketing and management literature. Whereas online communities are widely used for health care service provision and peer-to-peer support, only little is known about how they could be integrated into the health care innovation process. The overall objective of this qualitative study was to explore community managers' views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation in online communities for people with disabilities. A descriptive qualitative research design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine community managers. To complement the interview data, additional information was retrieved from the communities in the form of structural information (number of registered users, number and names of topic areas covered by the forum) and administrative information (terms and conditions and privacy statements, forum rules). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Our results highlight two main aspects: peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation and types of collaboration with external actors. Although community managers strongly encouraged peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation, our findings indicated that these activities were not common practice in the communities under investigation. In fact, much of what related to co-creation, prototyping, and product development was still perceived to be directed by professionals and experts. Community managers described the role of their respective communities as informing this process rather than a driving force. The role of community members as advisors to researchers, health care professionals, and businesses was discussed in the context of types of collaboration with external actors. According to the community managers, most of the external inquiries related to research projects of students or health care professionals in training, who often joined a community for the sole purpose of recruiting participants for their research. Despite this unilateral form of knowledge co-creation, community managers acknowledged the mere interest of these user groups as beneficial, as long as their interest was not purely financially motivated. Being able to contribute to advancing research, improving products, and informing the planning and design of health care services were described as some of the key motivations to engage with external stakeholders. This paper draws attention to the currently under-investigated role of online communities as platforms for collaboration and co-creation between patients, health care professionals, researchers, and businesses. It describes community managers' views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation and provides recommendations on how these activities can be leveraged to foster knowledge co-creation in health care. Engaging in knowledge co-creation with online health communities may ultimately help to inform the planning and design of products, services, and research activities that better meet the actual needs of those living with a disability. ©Julia Amann, Sara Rubinelli. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 10.10.2017.

A Knowledge Navigation Method for the Domain of Customers' Services of Mobile Communication Corporations in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jiangning; Wang, Xiaohuan

Rapidly increasing amount of mobile phone users and types of services leads to a great accumulation of complaining information. How to use this information to enhance the quality of customers' services is a big issue at present. To handle this kind of problem, the paper presents an approach to construct a domain knowledge map for navigating the explicit and tacit knowledge in two ways: building the Topic Map-based explicit knowledge navigation model, which includes domain TM construction, a semantic topic expansion algorithm and VSM-based similarity calculation; building Social Network Analysis-based tacit knowledge navigation model, which includes a multi-relational expert navigation algorithm and the criterions to evaluate the performance of expert networks. In doing so, both the customer managers and operators in call centers can find the appropriate knowledge and experts quickly and exactly. The experimental results show that the above method is very powerful for knowledge navigation.

Reported Preparedness of Certified Counselors in Rehabilitation Counseling Knowledge Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szymanski, Edna Mora; And Others

1993-01-01

Rehabilitation counselors (n=1,535) reported that they were at least moderately prepared in vocational services; foundations of rehabilitation; case management/services; group/family counseling; medical/psychosocial aspects; workers' compensation, employer services, and technology; individual counseling/development; social, cultural, and…

Effect of supportive supervision on routine immunization service delivery-a randomized post-test study in Odisha.

PubMed

Som, Meena; Panda, Bhuputra; Pati, Sanghamitra; Nallala, Srinivas; Anasuya, Anita; Chauhan, Abhimanyu Singh; Sen, Ashish Kumar; Zodpey, Sanjay

2014-06-30

Routine immunization is a key child survival intervention. Issues related to quality of service delivery pose operational challenges in delivering effective immunization services. Accumulated evidences suggest that "supportive supervision" improves the quality of health care services. During 2009-10, Govt. of Odisha (GoO) and UNICEF jointly piloted this strategy in four districts to improve routine immunization. The present study aims to assess the effect of supportive supervision strategy on improvement of knowledge and practices on routine immunization among service providers. We adopted a 'post-test only' study design to compare the knowledge and practices of frontline health workers and their supervisors in four intervention districts with that of two control districts. Altogether we interviewed 170 supervisors and supervisees (health workers), each, using semi-structured interview schedules. We also directly observed 25 ice lined refrigerator (ILR) points in both groups of districts. The findings were compared with the baseline information, available only for the intervention districts. The health workers in the intervention districts displayed a higher knowledge score in selected items than in the control group. No significant difference in knowledge was observed between control and intervention supervisors. The management practices at ILR points on key routine immunization components were found to have improved significantly in intervention districts. The observed improvements in the ILR management practices indicate positive influence of supportive supervision. Higher level of domain knowledge among intervention health workers on specific items related to routine immunization could be due to successful transfer of knowledge from supervisors. A 'pre-post' study design should be undertaken to gain insights into the effectiveness of supportive supervision in improving routine immunization services.

Housing, Furnishings, and Equipment Production, Management, and Services. Student Activity Book [and] Reference Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koukel, Sonja D.

These two publications are two of three that comprise a course that provides occupationally specific training designed to develop knowledge and skills for employment in the area of housing, furnishings, and equipment production, management, and services. The reference book is a student text that provides information needed by employees in the…

Leading the Way: Disabilities Services and the Management Team. Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Development Center, Inc., Newton, MA.

This guide is designed to provide Head Start managers with the skills and knowledge needed to plan and implement integrated services for children with disabilities and their families. Module 1, "Identifying Shared Responsibilities," assists participants in identifying how current roles and collaboration practices as a team affect…

Assessing how green space types affect ecosystem services delivery in Porto, Portugal

Treesearch

Marisa Graça; Paulo Alves; João Gonçalves; David J. Nowak; Robert Hoehn; Paulo Farinha-Marques; Mario Cunha

2018-01-01

Significant advances have been made in identifying, quantifying and valuing multiple urban ecosystem services (UES), yet this knowledge remains poorly implemented in urban planning and management. One of the reasons for this low implementation is the insufficient thematic and spatial detail in UES research to provide guidance for urban planners and managers....

Knowledge Management Orientation: An Innovative Perspective to Hospital Management.

PubMed

Ghasemi, Matina; Ghadiri Nejad, Mazyar; Bagzibagli, Kemal

2017-12-01

By considering innovation as a new project in hospitals, all the project management's standard steps should be followed in execution. This study investigated the validation of a new set of measures in terms of providing a procedure for knowledge management-oriented innovation that enriches the hospital management system. The relation between innovation and all the knowledge management areas, as the main constructs of project management, was illustrated by referring to project management standard steps and previous studies. Through consultations and meetings with a committee of professional project managers, a questionnaire was developed to measure ten knowledge management areas in hospital's innovation process. Additionally, a group of experts from hospital managers were invited to comment on the applicability of the questionnaires by considering if the items are measurable in hospitals practically. A close-ended, Likert-type scale items, consisted of ten sections, were developed based on project management body of knowledge thorough Delphi technique. It enables the managers to evaluate hospitals' situation to be aware whether the organization follows the knowledge management standards in innovation process or not. By pilot study, confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the measurement items. The developed items seem to have a potential to help hospital managers and subsequently delivering new products/services successfully based on the standard procedures in their organization. In all innovation processes, the knowledge management areas and their standard steps help hospital managers by a new tool as questionnaire format.

Customer Relationship Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fayerman, Michael

2002-01-01

Presents an approach increasingly employed by businesses to track and respond to their customers to provide better and faster services: customer relationship management. Discusses its applicability to the operations of higher education and institutional research and the role it plays in the knowledge management framework. (EV)

Financial Services and the Internet: What Does Cyberspace Mean for the Financial Services Industry?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birch, David; Young, Michael A.

1997-01-01

More than 30 million households own PCs and more than 20% of these use PCs to manage their finances. This article examines the Internet and financial services, consumer needs, and differentiation in service products and predicts future trends in retail financial services (cheaper niche products, cross-border selling, selling knowledge, payments,…

The Integration of Synchronous Communication Technology into Service Learning for Pre-Service Teachers' Online Tutoring of Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Chao-Hsiu; Liao, Chen-Hung; Chen, Yi-Chieh; Lee, Chen-Feng

2011-01-01

To well prepare pre-service teachers for their future teaching, researchers and teacher-educators have been employing information and communication technology to improve pre-service teachers' learning of subject-matter knowledge, pedagogies, classroom-management skills, and so on. This study illustrates a service-learning project we conducted to…

39 CFR 262.3 - Information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Information. 262.3 Section 262.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEFINITIONS § 262.3 Information. Data combined with the knowledge of its context and having the potential to...

39 CFR 262.3 - Information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Information. 262.3 Section 262.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEFINITIONS § 262.3 Information. Data combined with the knowledge of its context and having the potential to...

39 CFR 262.3 - Information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Information. 262.3 Section 262.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEFINITIONS § 262.3 Information. Data combined with the knowledge of its context and having the potential to...

39 CFR 262.3 - Information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Information. 262.3 Section 262.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEFINITIONS § 262.3 Information. Data combined with the knowledge of its context and having the potential to...

39 CFR 262.3 - Information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Information. 262.3 Section 262.3 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION RECORDS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT DEFINITIONS § 262.3 Information. Data combined with the knowledge of its context and having the potential to...

Solutions in radiology services management: a literature review.

PubMed

Pereira, Aline Garcia; Vergara, Lizandra Garcia Lupi; Merino, Eugenio Andrés Díaz; Wagner, Adriano

2015-01-01

The present study was aimed at reviewing the literature to identify solutions for problems observed in radiology services. Basic, qualitative, exploratory literature review at Scopus and SciELO databases, utilizing the Mendeley and Illustrator CC Adobe softwares. In the databases, 565 papers - 120 out of them, pdf free - were identified. Problems observed in the radiology sector are related to procedures scheduling, humanization, lack of training, poor knowledge and use of management techniques, and interaction with users. The design management provides the services with interesting solutions such as Benchmarking, CRM, Lean Approach, ServiceBlueprinting, continued education, among others. Literature review is an important tool to identify problems and respective solutions. However, considering the small number of studies approaching management of radiology services, this is a great field of research for the development of deeper studies.

Kwf-Grid workflow management system for Earth science applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, V.; Hluchy, L.

2009-04-01

In this paper, we present workflow management tool for Earth science applications in EGEE. The workflow management tool was originally developed within K-wf Grid project for GT4 middleware and has many advanced features like semi-automatic workflow composition, user-friendly GUI for managing workflows, knowledge management. In EGEE, we are porting the workflow management tool to gLite middleware for Earth science applications K-wf Grid workflow management system was developed within "Knowledge-based Workflow System for Grid Applications" under the 6th Framework Programme. The workflow mangement system intended to - semi-automatically compose a workflow of Grid services, - execute the composed workflow application in a Grid computing environment, - monitor the performance of the Grid infrastructure and the Grid applications, - analyze the resulting monitoring information, - capture the knowledge that is contained in the information by means of intelligent agents, - and finally to reuse the joined knowledge gathered from all participating users in a collaborative way in order to efficiently construct workflows for new Grid applications. Kwf Grid workflow engines can support different types of jobs (e.g. GRAM job, web services) in a workflow. New class of gLite job has been added to the system, allows system to manage and execute gLite jobs in EGEE infrastructure. The GUI has been adapted to the requirements of EGEE users, new credential management servlet is added to portal. Porting K-wf Grid workflow management system to gLite would allow EGEE users to use the system and benefit from its avanced features. The system is primarly tested and evaluated with applications from ES clusters.

Management map for tomorrow.

PubMed

Castella, Francisco

2005-02-01

The way forward for hospital services and facilities management is examined by Francisco Castella, Doctor of Engineering and a member of the International Federation of Hospital Engineering Council. In this article, which is based on a paper presented at the 18th IFHE Congress, he draws on his experience as facility manager and director of general services in the Teaching Hospital of Badalona, Spain, and on knowledge gained through attending IFHE Congresses - representing the Spanish Hospital Engineering Association.

Utilization of Rural Primary Care Physicians' Visit Services for Diabetes Management of Public Health in Southwestern China: A Cross-Sectional Study from Patients' View.

PubMed

Miao, Yudong; Ye, Ting; Qian, Dongfu; Li, Jinlong; Zhang, Liang

2014-06-01

Primary care physicians' visit services for diabetes management are now widely delivered in China's rural public health care. Current studies mainly focus on supply but risk factors from patients' view have not been previously explored. This study aims to present the utilization of rural primary care physicians' visit services for diabetes management in the last 12 months in southwestern China, and to explore risk factors from patients' view. This cross sectional study selected six towns at random and all 385 diabetics managed by primary care physicians were potential participants. Basing on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 374 diabetics were taken as valid subjects and their survey responses formed the data resource of analyses. Descriptive indicators, χ2 contingency table analyses and Logistic regression were used. 54.8% respondents reported the utilization of visit services. According to the multivariate analysis, the positive factors mainly associated with utilization of visit services include disease duration (OR=1.654), use of diabetic drugs (OR=1.869), consulting diabetes care knowledge (OR=1.602), recognition of diabetic complications (OR=1.662), needs of visit services (OR=2.338). The utilization of rural primary care physicians' visit services still remains unsatisfactory. Mass rural health policy awareness, support, and emphasis are in urgent need and possible risk factors including disease duration, use of diabetic drugs, consulting diabetes care knowledge, recognition of diabetic complications and needs of visit services should be taken into account when making rural health policy of visit services for diabetes management in China and many other low- and middle-income countries.

Knowledge of Advocacy Options within Services for People with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martins, Claudia Da Silva; Willner, Paul; Brown, Amanda; Jenkins, Rosemary

2011-01-01

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which care managers in learning disability services understand the role of the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) service, and the difference between the newly created statutory IMCA and existing general advocacy (GA) services. Method: There were 22 participants from three…

[Challenges for home care services in the pain management of cancer patients : A qualitative study].

PubMed

Gnass, I; Krutter, S; Nestler, N

2018-03-21

People with cancer are increasingly supported by home care services. Pain is a relevant symptom of these diseases and nurses of home care services are involved in the treatment. The German National Expert Standard "Pain management in nursing" includes evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of adequate pain management. Considering the given structural conditions of home care services, nurses describe both barriers and challenges with the implementation. By means of five guideline-based discussion groups, nurses of 14 home care services were questioned about the challenges they had experienced in pain management. The questioning focuses on the level of implementation of the recommendation for each aspect: pain assessment, pharmacological pain therapy, non-pharmacological pain therapy, pain-related side effects, information, training, and counseling in the care of people with cancer. A qualitative content analysis was conducted. On the one hand, the results illustrate a need for further knowledge and possibilities, e.g., for the assessment of pain as a multidimensional phenomenon and, on the other hand, that the conditions for continuous pain monitoring of cancer patients in home care services are limited. The need for short-term reconciliation with the treatment team and the practitioners proved to be more difficult than the cooperation with the palliative care network. Involvement of family members is important to ensure uninterrupted treatment. Beside knowledge and competencies regarding nursing care, structures and processes for interprofessional pain management need further development and research.

7 CFR 61.6 - Denial of further services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... knowledge, approval, or acquiescence of the general management. [22 FR 10948, Dec. 28, 1957, as amended at... cottonseed crushing units under separate local managements, such penalty shall apply only to the offending...

42 CFR 438.114 - Emergency and poststabilization services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... severe pain) that a prudent layperson, who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could... management system regardless of whether the case manager referred the enrollee to the provider that furnishes...

42 CFR 438.114 - Emergency and poststabilization services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... severe pain) that a prudent layperson, who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could... management system regardless of whether the case manager referred the enrollee to the provider that furnishes...

42 CFR 438.114 - Emergency and poststabilization services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... severe pain) that a prudent layperson, who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could... management system regardless of whether the case manager referred the enrollee to the provider that furnishes...

42 CFR 438.114 - Emergency and poststabilization services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... severe pain) that a prudent layperson, who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could... management system regardless of whether the case manager referred the enrollee to the provider that furnishes...

Applying Knowledge Management to an Organization's Transformation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, Shannon; Gill, Tracy; Fritsche, Ralph

2008-01-01

Although workers in the information age have more information at their fingertips than ever before, the ability to effectively capture and reuse actual knowledge is still a surmounting challenge for many organizations. As high tech organizations transform from providing complex products and services in an established domain to providing them in new domains, knowledge remains an increasingly valuable commodity. This paper explores the supply and demand elements of the "knowledge market" within the International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing Directorate (ISSSPD) of NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It examines how knowledge supply and knowledge demand determine the success of an organization's knowledge management (KM) activities, and how the elements of a KM infrastructure (tools, culture, and training), can be used to create and sustain knowledge supply and demand

76 FR 15984 - Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-22

... entirety the title for the Knowledge Management Branch (CPGBB). within the Division of Laboratory Policy... Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (CP) and insert the Technology Management Branch (CPGBB... health leadership and management, public policy, program planning, implementation, and evaluation; (2...

76 FR 41274 - Committee Name: Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-13

..., cyber-security, knowledge management and how best to leverage related technologies funded by other... Science and Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC) ACTION: Committee Management; Notice of Federal... Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration. Name of Committee: Homeland Security...

Views of the Scottish general public on community pharmacy weight management services: international implications.

PubMed

Weidmann, Anita Elaine; Cunningham, Scott; Gray, Gwen; Hansford, Denise; Bermano, Giovanna; Stewart, Derek

2012-04-01

Obesity has reached pandemic levels, with more than 1.5 billion adults being affected worldwide. In Scotland two-thirds of men and more than half of women are either overweight or obese, placing Scotland overall third behind the United States of America and Mexico. All community pharmacies in Scotland are contracted to provide public health services such as smoking cessation and there is increasing interest in their contribution to weight management. Researching this area in Scotland may provide valuable information to facilitate the development of community pharmacy services in other parts of the UK and internationally. To describe the views of the Scottish general public on the provision of weight management services via community pharmacies. General public in Scotland. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey of 6,000 randomly selected members of the Scottish general public aged 18 years and over. Views on community pharmacy led weight management services. Questionnaires were returned by 20.6% (n = 1,236). Over half 60.1% (n = 751) agreed or strongly agreed that they had easy access to pharmacy services in general and around one-third agreed (35%; n = 438) that it was more convenient to obtain weight management advice from a pharmacist than it is to make an appointment with a GP. Most respondents however lacked awareness of the types of health services available through community pharmacy (13.2%; n = 162) and would not feel comfortable speaking to a pharmacist or medicines counter assistant about weight related issues (25%; n = 320). Concerns over privacy (47.3%; n = 592) and perceived lack of pharmacists' specialist knowledge (open comments) were identified as potential barriers to service uptake by the general public. Overall, respondents appear to be receptive to the idea of accessing weight management services through community pharmacy but a perceived lack of privacy, poor knowledge of pharmacists' skill level and of public health services available to them may explain the reluctance in the uptake of such services to date. The general public's views expressed in this study may help to shape future community pharmacy led weight management service provision.

A Service Oriented Web Application for Learner Knowledge Representation, Management and Sharing Conforming to IMS LIP

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazarinis, Fotis

2014-01-01

iLM is a Web based application for representation, management and sharing of IMS LIP conformant user profiles. The tool is developed using a service oriented architecture with emphasis on the easy data sharing. Data elicitation from user profiles is based on the utilization of XQuery scripts and sharing with other applications is achieved through…

Knowledge as a Service at the Point of Care.

PubMed

Shellum, Jane L; Freimuth, Robert R; Peters, Steve G; Nishimura, Rick A; Chaudhry, Rajeev; Demuth, Steve J; Knopp, Amy L; Miksch, Timothy A; Milliner, Dawn S

2016-01-01

An electronic health record (EHR) can assist the delivery of high-quality patient care, in part by providing the capability for a broad range of clinical decision support, including contextual references (e.g., Infobuttons), alerts and reminders, order sets, and dashboards. All of these decision support tools are based on clinical knowledge; unfortunately, the mechanisms for managing rules, order sets, Infobuttons, and dashboards are often unrelated, making it difficult to coordinate the application of clinical knowledge to various components of the clinical workflow. Additional complexity is encountered when updating enterprise-wide knowledge bases and delivering the content through multiple modalities to different consumers. We present the experience of Mayo Clinic as a case study to examine the requirements and implementation challenges related to knowledge management across a large, multi-site medical center. The lessons learned through the development of our knowledge management and delivery platform will help inform the future development of interoperable knowledge resources.

Knowledge as a Service at the Point of Care

PubMed Central

Shellum, Jane L.; Freimuth, Robert R.; Peters, Steve G.; Nishimura, Rick A.; Chaudhry, Rajeev; Demuth, Steve J.; Knopp, Amy L.; Miksch, Timothy A.; Milliner, Dawn S.

2016-01-01

An electronic health record (EHR) can assist the delivery of high-quality patient care, in part by providing the capability for a broad range of clinical decision support, including contextual references (e.g., Infobuttons), alerts and reminders, order sets, and dashboards. All of these decision support tools are based on clinical knowledge; unfortunately, the mechanisms for managing rules, order sets, Infobuttons, and dashboards are often unrelated, making it difficult to coordinate the application of clinical knowledge to various components of the clinical workflow. Additional complexity is encountered when updating enterprise-wide knowledge bases and delivering the content through multiple modalities to different consumers. We present the experience of Mayo Clinic as a case study to examine the requirements and implementation challenges related to knowledge management across a large, multi-site medical center. The lessons learned through the development of our knowledge management and delivery platform will help inform the future development of interoperable knowledge resources. PMID:28269911

Toward Knowledge Systems for Sustainability Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaks, D. P.; Jahn, M.

2011-12-01

Managing ecosystems for the outcomes of agricultural productivity and resilience will require fundamentally different knowledge management systems. In the industrial paradigm of the 20th century, land was considered an open, unconstrained system managed for maximum yield. While dramatic increases in yield occurred in some crops and locations, unintended but often foreseeable consequences emerged. While productivity remains a key objective, we must develop analytic systems that can identify better management options for the full range of monetized and non-monetized inputs, outputs and outcomes that are captured in the following framing question: How much valued service (e.g. food, materials, energy) can we draw from a landscape while maintaining adequate levels of other valued or necessary services (e.g. biodiversity, water, climate regulation, cultural services) including the long-term productivity of the land? This question is placed within our contemporary framing of valued services, but structured to illuminate the shifts required to achieve long-term sufficiency and planetary resilience. This framing also highlights the need for fundamentally new knowledge systems including information management infrastructures, which effectively support decision-making on landscapes. The purpose of this initiative by authors from diverse fields across government and academic science is to call attention to the need for a vision and investment in sustainability science for landscape management. Substantially enhanced capabilities are needed to compare and integrate information from diverse sources, collected over time that link choices made to meet our needs from landscapes to both short and long term consequences. To further the goal of an information infrastructure for sustainability science, three distinct but interlocking domains are best distinguished: 1) a domain of data, information and knowledge assets; 2) a domain that houses relevant models and tools in a curated space; and 3) a domain that includes decision support tools and systems tailored toward frame particular trade-offs, which may focus on inputs or outputs and may range in scale from local to global. An information infrastructure for sustainability science is best built be built and maintained as a modular, open source, open standard, open access, open content platform. We have defined the scope of this challenge, managing choices within agroecosystems, recognizing that any decision on a landscape involves multidimensional tradeoffs. An effort to address this challenge will need a cohesive, coherent and targeted approach toward an integrated knowledge management infrastructure for sustainability science applied to land management is essential to move more rapidly toward sustainable, productive, and resilient landscapes.

The status of IT service management in health care - ITIL® in selected European countries.

PubMed

Hoerbst, Alexander; Hackl, Werner O; Blomer, Roland; Ammenwerth, Elske

2011-12-21

Due to the strained financial situation in the healthcare sector, hospitals and other healthcare providers are facing an increasing pressure to improve their efficiency and to reduce costs. These trends challenge health care organizations to introduce innovative information technology (IT) based supportive processes. To guarantee that IT supports the clinical processes perfectly, IT must be managed proactively. However, until now, there is only very few research on IT service management especially on ITIL® implementations in the health care context. The current study aims at exploring knowledge about and acceptance of IT service management (especially ITIL®) in hospitals in Austria and its neighboring regions Bavaria (Germany), Slovakia, South Tyrol (Italy) and Switzerland. Therefore highly standardized interviews with the respective head of information technology (CIO, IT manager) were conducted for selected hospitals from the different regions. In total 75 hospitals were interviewed. Data gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics and where necessary methods of qualitative content analysis. In most regions, two-thirds or more of the participating IT managers claim to be familiar with the concepts of IT service management and of ITIL®. IT managers expect from ITIL® mostly better IT services, followed by an increased productivity and a reduction of IT cost. But only five hospitals said to have implemented at least parts of ITIL®, and eight hospitals stated to be planning to do this in the next two years. When it comes to ITIL®, Switzerland and Bavaria seem to be ahead of the other countries. There, the highest levels of knowledge, the highest number of implementations or plans of an implementation as well as the highest number of ITIL® certified staff members were observed. The results collected through this study indicate that the idea of IT services and IT service management is still not widely recognized in hospitals in the countries and regions of the study. It is also indicated that hospitals need further assistance in order to be able to successfully implement ITIL®. Overall, research on IT service management and ITIL® in health care is rare.

Prevention, Policies and Priorities to Reduce the Impact of Malaria on US Military Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

malaria knowledge  management in the DoD.    The group deliberated upon the  pros  and  cons  of having a centralized DoD repository for  knowledge management...unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Malaria remains a significant force health pro -tection issue and Service members contracting malaria... pro ‐ tection  issue  and  Service  members  contracting  malaria continue to make headlines in the national  news.  The  Medical  Surveillance

Building organizational supports for research-minded practitioners.

PubMed

Austin, Michael J; Dal Santo, Teresa S; Lee, Chris

2012-01-01

One of the biggest challenges facing human service organizations is the proliferation of information from inside and outside the agency that needs to be managed if it is to be of use. The concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge can inform an approach to this challenge. Tacit knowledge is stored in the minds of practitioners (often called practice wisdom) and the explicit knowledge is often found in organizational procedure manuals and educational and training materials. Building on this perspective, this analysis provides a preliminary definition of research-minded practitioners by explicating the elements of curiosity, critical reflection, and critical thinking. The organizational implications of developing a cadre of research-minded practitioners include the commitment of top management to support "link officers", evidence request services, research and development units, and service standards. The challenges include the capacity to identify/support research-minded practitioners, promote an organizational culture of evidence-informed practice, redefine staff development and training, redefine job descriptions, and specify the nature of managerial leadership. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

A suicide awareness and intervention program for health professional students.

PubMed

De Silva, Eve; Bowerman, Lisa; Zimitat, Craig

2015-01-01

Many emergency service professionals and health professionals play important roles in the assessment and management of suicide risk but often receive inadequate mental health training in this area. A 'Suicide Awareness and Intervention Program' (SAIP) was developed for first year medical, paramedical and pharmacy students at the University of Tasmania, Australia. The program aimed to increase students' knowledge and awareness about suicide-related issues, develop interpersonal skills around suicide screening and increase awareness of available support services. A 5-hour experiential SAIP was embedded within the curriculum. A pre and post evaluation of knowledge, skills and attitudes was conducted, with an open-ended follow-up survey regarding use of what was learned in the program. Pre and post SAIP surveys showed significant improvement inknowledge and practical skills. Feedback from students and the counselling service indicated enduring impact of the program. Participation in the SAIP increased knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the assessment and management of individuals at risk for suicide, and the application of this ability to students' personal and professional lives.

Changing Services and Space at an Academic Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradigan, Pamela S.; Rodman, Ruey L.

2006-01-01

This paper focuses on how an academic library managed changes in services and space to meet customer needs for streamlined services, increasing efficiency for students, faculty and staff in finding, analyzing, sharing, and producing knowledge. The Ohio State University's John A. Prior Health Sciences Library (PHSL) has merged its circulation and…

Developing and Managing a Comprehensive Community Services Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fightmaster, Walter J.

Five objectives of any comprehensive Community Services program are to: (1) provide educational services for all age and occupational groups, utilizing the skills and knowledge of college staff and outside experts, (2) take educational, cultural, and recreational activities to the total community, (3) become a center of community life, (4) provide…

A Knowledge Base for FIA Data Uses

Treesearch

Victor A. Rudis

2005-01-01

Knowledge management provides a way to capture the collective wisdom of an organization, facilitate organizational learning, and foster opportunities for improvement. This paper describes a knowledge base compiled from uses of field observations made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program and a citation database of...

Stormwater Management Effects on Ecosystem Services: A Literature Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prudencio, L.; Null, S. E.

2016-12-01

Managing stormwater provides benefits for enhancing water supplies while reducing urban runoff. Yet, there has been little research focused on understanding how stormwater management affects ecosystem services, the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Garnering more knowledge of the changes to ecosystem services from stormwater management will ultimately improve management and decision-making. The objective of this research is to review and synthesize published literature on 1) ecosystem services and stormwater management and 2) changes in ecosystem services from anthropogenic impacts and climate warming, to establish a foundation for research at the intersection of ecosystems services, stormwater management, and global environmental change. We outline four research areas for ecosystem services and stormwater management that should be further explored. These four areas, named after the four types of ecosystem services, highlight context-specific research questions and human and climate change effects. We conclude that effective and sustainable stormwater management requires incorporating engineering, social, and environmental criteria to quantify benefits of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services. Lastly, improved current and potential stormwater management policy may better support sustainable stormwater methods at the institutional level. Stormwater quality and monitoring could be improved through the use of the Clean Water Act (e.g. Total Maximum Daily Loads), the Endangered Species Act, and public health measures. Additional policies regulating groundwater quantity and quality have been and may continue to be implemented by states, encouraging sustainable and cleaner stormwater practices.

Knowledge management system for risk mitigation in supply chain uncertainty: case from automotive battery supply chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marie, I. A.; Sugiarto, D.; Surjasa, D.; Witonohadi, A.

2018-01-01

Automotive battery supply chain include battery manufacturer, sulphuric acid suppliers, polypropylene suppliers, lead suppliers, transportation service providers, warehouses, retailers and even customers. Due to the increasingly dynamic condition of the environment, supply chain actors were required to improve their ability to overcome various uncertainty issues in the environment. This paper aims to describe the process of designing a knowledge management system for risk mitigation in supply chain uncertainty. The design methodology began with the identification of the knowledge needed to solve the problems associated with uncertainty and analysis of system requirements. The design of the knowledge management system was described in the form of a data flow diagram. The results of the study indicated that key knowledge area that needs to be managed were the knowledge to maintain the stability of process in sulphuric acid process and knowledge to overcome the wastes in battery manufacturing process. The system was expected to be a media acquisition, dissemination and storage of knowledge associated with the uncertainty in the battery supply chain and increase the supply chain performance.

Obstetric care providers' knowledge, practice and associated factors towards active management of third stage of labor in Sidama Zone, South Ethiopia.

PubMed

Tenaw, Zelalem; Yohannes, Zemenu; Amano, Abdela

2017-09-07

Active management of third stage of labor played a great role to prevent child birth related hemorrhage. However, maternal morbidity and mortality related to hemorrhage is high due to lack of knowledge and skill of obstetric care providers 'on active management of third stage of labor. Our study was aimed to assess knowledge, practice and associated factors of obstetric care providers (Midwives, Nurses and Health officers) on active management of third stage of labor in Sidama Zone, South Ethiopia. An institution based cross sectional study design was conducted from December 1-30 /2015 among midwives, nurses and health officers. Simple random sampling technique was used to get the total of 528 participants. Data entry was done using EPI Info 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 software package for analysis. The presence of association between independent and dependent variables was assessed using odds ratio with 97% confidence interval by applying logistic regression model. Of the 528 obstetric care providers 37.7% and 32.8% were knowledgeable and skilled to manage third stage of labor respectively. After controlling for possible confounding factors, the result showed that pre/in service training, being midwife and graduation year were found to be the major predictors of proper active management of third stage of labor. The knowledge and practice of obstetric care providers towards active management of third stage of labor can be improved with appropriate interventions like in-service trainings. This study also clearly showed that the level of knowledge and practice of obstetric care providers to wards active management of third stage of labor needs immediate attention of Universities and health science colleges better to revise their obstetrics course contents, health institutions and zonal health bureau should arrange trainings for their obstetrics care providers to enhance skill.

Knowledge Management Orientation: An Innovative Perspective to Hospital Management

PubMed Central

GHASEMI, Matina; GHADIRI NEJAD, Mazyar; BAGZIBAGLI, Kemal

2017-01-01

Background: By considering innovation as a new project in hospitals, all the project management’s standard steps should be followed in execution. This study investigated the validation of a new set of measures in terms of providing a procedure for knowledge management-oriented innovation that enriches the hospital management system. Methods: The relation between innovation and all the knowledge management areas, as the main constructs of project management, was illustrated by referring to project management standard steps and previous studies. Through consultations and meetings with a committee of professional project managers, a questionnaire was developed to measure ten knowledge management areas in hospital’s innovation process. Additionally, a group of experts from hospital managers were invited to comment on the applicability of the questionnaires by considering if the items are measurable in hospitals practically. Results: A close-ended, Likert-type scale items, consisted of ten sections, were developed based on project management body of knowledge thorough Delphi technique. It enables the managers to evaluate hospitals’ situation to be aware whether the organization follows the knowledge management standards in innovation process or not. By pilot study, confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the measurement items. Conclusion: The developed items seem to have a potential to help hospital managers and subsequently delivering new products/services successfully based on the standard procedures in their organization. In all innovation processes, the knowledge management areas and their standard steps help hospital managers by a new tool as questionnaire format. PMID:29259938

Improving health service management education: the manager speaks.

PubMed

Harris, M G; Harris, R D; Tapsell, L

1993-01-01

This paper uses health service manager judgements to discuss educational approaches and environments suitable to the development of required competencies and reports barriers to and opportunities for competency development. Practising managers were found to recognise and value the educational contributions made by academic programs, health service organisations and professional associations to the development of professional competence. Academic programs are seen as the appropriate vehicle for developing conceptual, analytical, problem solving and communication competencies that require considerable maturation time. Health service organisations are seen to have a key role in promoting professional competence through maintaining a culture conductive to encouraging managers to undertake further education, supported by appropriate system strategies. Professional associations are regarded as appropriate sponsors for promoting knowledge and skill update in relation to current issues in management through short courses, conferences and timely educational meetings. Wherever possible, collaboration between professional and educational organisations was seen to be desirable.

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework and its implications for continuing professional development in nursing.

PubMed

Gould, Dinah; Berridge, Emma-Jane; Kelly, Daniel

2007-01-01

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework has been introduced as part of the Agenda for Change Reforms in the United Kingdom to link pay and career progression to competency. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications for nurses, their managers and the impact on university departments delivering continuing professional development for nurses. The new system has the potential to increase the human resources management aspect of the clinical nurse managers' role and could have legal implications, for example if practitioners perceive that their needs for continuing professional development have been overlooked to the detriment of their pay and career aspirations. The new system also has implications for providers of continuing professional development in the universities and is likely to demand closer liaison between education providers and trust staff who commission education and training. The Knowledge and Skills Framework is of interest to nurses and nurse educators internationally because the system, if effective, could be introduced elsewhere.

5 CFR 575.102 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS RECRUITMENT, RELOCATION, AND... knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics an individual needs to perform the duties... following: (i) A time-limited appointment in the competitive or excepted service; (ii) A non-permanent...

Landscape ethnoecological knowledge base and management of ecosystem services in a Székely-Hungarian pre-capitalistic village system (Transylvania, Romania).

PubMed

Molnár, Zsolt; Gellény, Krisztina; Margóczi, Katalin; Biró, Marianna

2015-01-07

Previous studies showed an in-depth ecological understanding by traditional people of managing natural resources. We studied the landscape ethnoecological knowledge (LEEK) of Székelys on the basis of 16-19(th) century village laws. We analyzed the habitat types, ecosystem services and sustainable management types on which village laws had focused. Székelys had self-governed communities formed mostly of "noble peasants". Land-use was dominated by commons and regulated by village laws framed by the whole community. Seventy-two archival laws from 52 villages, resulting in 898 regulations, were analyzed using the DPSIR framework. Explicit and implicit information about the contemporary ecological knowledge of Székelys was extracted. We distinguished between responses that limited use and supported regeneration and those that protected produced/available ecosystem services and ensured their fair distribution. Most regulations referred to forests (674), arable lands (562), meadows (448) and pastures (134). Székelys regulated the proportion of arable land, pasture and forest areas consciously in order to maximize long-term exploitation of ecosystem services. The inner territory was protected against overuse by relocating certain uses to the outer territory. Competition for ecosystem services was demonstrated by conflicts of pressure-related (mostly personal) and response-related (mostly communal) driving forces. Felling of trees (oaks), grazing of forests, meadows and fallows, masting, use of wild apple/pear trees and fishing were strictly regulated. Cutting of leaf-fodder, grazing of green crops, burning of forest litter and the polluting of streams were prohibited. Marketing by villagers and inviting outsiders to use the ecosystem services were strictly regulated, and mostly prohibited. Székelys recognized at least 71 folk habitat types, understood ecological regeneration and degradation processes, the history of their landscape and the management possibilities of ecosystem services. Some aspects of LEEK were so well known within Székely communities that they were not made explicit in village laws, others remained implicit because they were not related to regulations. Based on explicit and implicit information, we argue that Székelys possessed detailed knowledge of the local ecological system. Moreover the world's first known explicit mention of ecosystem services ("Benefits that are provided by Nature for free") originated from this region from 1786.

Views of Community Managers on Knowledge Co-creation in Online Communities for People With Disabilities: Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Rubinelli, Sara

2017-01-01

Background The use of online communities to promote end user involvement and co-creation in the product and service innovation process is well documented in the marketing and management literature. Whereas online communities are widely used for health care service provision and peer-to-peer support, only little is known about how they could be integrated into the health care innovation process. Objective The overall objective of this qualitative study was to explore community managers’ views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation in online communities for people with disabilities. Methods A descriptive qualitative research design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine community managers. To complement the interview data, additional information was retrieved from the communities in the form of structural information (number of registered users, number and names of topic areas covered by the forum) and administrative information (terms and conditions and privacy statements, forum rules). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Our results highlight two main aspects: peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation and types of collaboration with external actors. Although community managers strongly encouraged peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation, our findings indicated that these activities were not common practice in the communities under investigation. In fact, much of what related to co-creation, prototyping, and product development was still perceived to be directed by professionals and experts. Community managers described the role of their respective communities as informing this process rather than a driving force. The role of community members as advisors to researchers, health care professionals, and businesses was discussed in the context of types of collaboration with external actors. According to the community managers, most of the external inquiries related to research projects of students or health care professionals in training, who often joined a community for the sole purpose of recruiting participants for their research. Despite this unilateral form of knowledge co-creation, community managers acknowledged the mere interest of these user groups as beneficial, as long as their interest was not purely financially motivated. Being able to contribute to advancing research, improving products, and informing the planning and design of health care services were described as some of the key motivations to engage with external stakeholders. Conclusions This paper draws attention to the currently under-investigated role of online communities as platforms for collaboration and co-creation between patients, health care professionals, researchers, and businesses. It describes community managers’ views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation and provides recommendations on how these activities can be leveraged to foster knowledge co-creation in health care. Engaging in knowledge co-creation with online health communities may ultimately help to inform the planning and design of products, services, and research activities that better meet the actual needs of those living with a disability. PMID:29017993

Bottomland Hardwood Ecosystem Management Project

Treesearch

John A. Stanturf; Calvin E. Meier

1994-01-01

Federal agency approaches to land management are undergoing a shift from parcel-specific concerns toward a more holistic, ecosystem management approach. Southern bottomland hardwood ecosystems provide important environmental services and commodity goods (Wharton et al. 1982), yet much of our knowledge of these systems comes from anecdotal information. The Bottomland...

Preparing Students for Practice in a Managed Care Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Claiborne, Nancy; Fortune, Anne

2005-01-01

Managed care has profound effects on health and mental health service delivery in the United States. This article describes the knowledge that students need for effective social work practice within a managed care environment and evaluates a course to deliver the content. (Contains 3 tables.)

LIS Journals in the Knowledge Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breen, Eileen

This paper examines EMERALD LIS and how it facilitates the use of information contained in LIS (library and information science) journals for improvements and progress. EMERALD LIS is a full-text database of journals in information management, library technology, library and information service management, and collection management/development.…

Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory Management Professional Development Needs of Wyoming Secondary Agriculture Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKim, Billy R.; Saucier, P. Ryan

2011-01-01

Accidents happen; however, the likelihood of accidents occurring in the agricultural mechanics laboratory is greatly reduced when agricultural mechanics laboratory facilities are managed by secondary agriculture teachers who are competent and knowledgeable. This study investigated the agricultural mechanics laboratory management in-service needs…

The power of collaboration: using internet-based tools to facilitate networking and benchmarking within a consortium of academic health centers.

PubMed

Korner, Eli J; Oinonen, Michael J; Browne, Robert C

2003-02-01

The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) represents a strategic alliance of 169 academic health centers and associated institutions engaged in knowledge sharing and idea-generation. The use of the Internet as a tool in the delivery of UHC's products and services has increased dramatically over the past year and will continue to increase during the foreseeable future. This paper examines the current state of UHC-member institution driven tools and services that utilize the Web as a fundamental component in their delivery. The evolution of knowledge management at UHC, its management information and reporting tools, and expansion of e-commerce provide real world examples of Internet use in health care delivery and management. Health care workers are using these Web-based tools to help manage rising costs and optimize patient outcomes. Policy, technical, and organizational issues must be resolved to facilitate rapid adoption of Internet applications.

Quality management as knowledge sharing: experiences of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency.

PubMed

Harrison, Lindsay

2012-01-01

Lacking a coordinated effort in utilizing data and tracking program outcomes, one agency developed a Quality Management (QM) division to facilitate and manage more effective data use. To support this process, the agency sought to develop a collective, agency-wide understanding and investment in improving and measuring client outcomes. Similarly, the agency also focused efforts on creating a culture of transparency and accountability, with goals of improving service, increasing agency integrity, meeting regulatory compliance, and engaging in effective risk management. Operationalizing the QM initiative involved developing procedures, systems, and guidelines that would facilitate the generation of reliable and accurate data that could be used to inform program change and decision-making. This case study describes this agency's experience in successfully creating and implementing a QM initiative aimed at engaging in greater knowledge sharing. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

A comparison of food safety knowledge among restaurant managers, by source of training and experience, in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.

PubMed

Lynch, Robert A; Elledge, Brenda L; Griffith, Charles C; Boatright, Daniel T

2003-09-01

The annual incidence of illness related to food consumption continues to present a challenge to environmental health management. A significant fraction of cases have been attributed to consumption of food in restaurants, and as the number of meals eaten away from the home continues to rise, the potential for large-scale foodborne-disease outbreaks will continue to increase. Food handlers in retail establishments contribute to the incidence of foodborne disease; therefore, it is essential that workers and management staff have a thorough understanding of safe food practices. Since the training, certification, and experience of food service managers vary greatly, it is also likely that managers' knowledge base may differ. In the study reported here, restaurant managers were administered a survey designed to measure their understanding of basic food safety principles. The sources of training, certification, and experience were found to significantly affect the level of food safety knowledge; however, increased hours of training did not increase knowledge. In addition, the time lapsed since training did not significantly affect the level of knowledge.

Towards sustainable infrastructure management: knowledge-based service-oriented computing framework for visual analytics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vatcha, Rashna; Lee, Seok-Won; Murty, Ajeet; Tolone, William; Wang, Xiaoyu; Dou, Wenwen; Chang, Remco; Ribarsky, William; Liu, Wanqiu; Chen, Shen-en; Hauser, Edd

2009-05-01

Infrastructure management (and its associated processes) is complex to understand, perform and thus, hard to make efficient and effective informed decisions. The management involves a multi-faceted operation that requires the most robust data fusion, visualization and decision making. In order to protect and build sustainable critical assets, we present our on-going multi-disciplinary large-scale project that establishes the Integrated Remote Sensing and Visualization (IRSV) system with a focus on supporting bridge structure inspection and management. This project involves specific expertise from civil engineers, computer scientists, geographers, and real-world practitioners from industry, local and federal government agencies. IRSV is being designed to accommodate the essential needs from the following aspects: 1) Better understanding and enforcement of complex inspection process that can bridge the gap between evidence gathering and decision making through the implementation of ontological knowledge engineering system; 2) Aggregation, representation and fusion of complex multi-layered heterogeneous data (i.e. infrared imaging, aerial photos and ground-mounted LIDAR etc.) with domain application knowledge to support machine understandable recommendation system; 3) Robust visualization techniques with large-scale analytical and interactive visualizations that support users' decision making; and 4) Integration of these needs through the flexible Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) framework to compose and provide services on-demand. IRSV is expected to serve as a management and data visualization tool for construction deliverable assurance and infrastructure monitoring both periodically (annually, monthly, even daily if needed) as well as after extreme events.

Lessons Learned in Building the Ares Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sumrall, John Phil

2010-01-01

Since being established in 2005, the Ares Projects at Marshall Space Flight Center have been making steady progress designing, building, testing, and flying the next generation of exploration launch vehicles. Ares is committed to rebuilding crucial capabilities from the Apollo era that made the first human flights to the Moon possible, as well as incorporating the latest in computer technology and changes in management philosophy. One example of an Apollo-era practice has been giving NASA overall authority over vehicle integration activities, giving civil service engineers hands-on experience in developing rocket hardware. This knowledge and experience help make the agency a "smart buyer" of products and services. More modern practices have been added to the management tool belt to improve efficiency, cost effectiveness, and institutional knowledge, including knowledge management/capture to gain better insight into design and decision making; earned value management, where Ares won a NASA award for its practice and implementation; designing for operability; and Lean Six Sigma applications to identify and eliminate wasted time and effort. While it is important to learn technical lessons like how to fly and control unique rockets like the Ares I-X flight test vehicle, the Ares management team also has been learning important lessons about how to manage large, long-term projects.

Linking an agency strategic review to increase knowledge management: San Francisco County Human Service Agency.

PubMed

Harrison, Lindsay

2012-01-01

Led by the agency director, the agency engaged in a Strategic Review, based on a comprehensive assessment of agency performance that identified strategies to improve organizational effectiveness through increased data-informed practice and knowledge management. The Strategic Review gathered information on staff perceptions, perceptions of external stakeholders, changing citywide and neighborhood demographics, policy mandates, and budget and workload issues. The need for the review was based upon multiple, substantial changes not addressed in the 2000 Strategic Plan, including the 2004 merger of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Aging and Adult Services, changes among the executive management team, transitions among key political entities, new policy mandates and changing budget allocations. This case study describes the Strategic Review process and content, summarizing key challenges and lessons related to addressing workload demands, fostering positive staff attitudes, balancing internal and external information needs, and integrating data use and planning processes across the agency. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

The new productivity challenge.

PubMed

Drucker, P F

1991-01-01

"The single greatest challenge facing managers in the developed countries of the world is to raise the productivity of knowledge and service workers," writes Peter F. Drucker in "The New Productivity Challenge." Productivity, says Drucker, ultimately defeated Karl Marx; it gave common laborers the chance to earn the wages of skilled workers. Now five distinct steps will raise the productivity of knowledge and service workers--and not only stimulate new economic growth but also defuse rising social tensions.

Cultivating Data Expertise and Roles at a National Research Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, C. A.

2015-12-01

As research becomes more computation and data-intensive, it brings new demands for staff that can manage complex data, design user services, and facilitate open access. Responding to these new demands, universities and research institutions are developing data services to support their scientists and scholarly communities. As more organizations extend their operations to research data, a better understanding of the staff roles and expertise required to support data-intensive research services is needed. What is data expertise - knowledge, skills, and roles? This study addresses this question through a case study of an exemplar research center, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO. The NCAR case study results were supplemented and validated with a set of interviews of managers at additional geoscience data centers. To date, 11 interviews with NCAR staff and 19 interviews with managers at supplementary data centers have been completed. Selected preliminary results from the qualitative analysis will be reported in the poster: Data professionals have cultivated expertise in areas such as managing scientific data and products, understanding use and users, harnessing technology for data solutions, and standardizing metadata and data sets. Staff roles and responsibilities have evolved over the years to create new roles for data scientists, data managers/curators, data engineers, and senior managers of data teams, embedding data expertise into each NCAR lab. Explicit career paths and ladders for data professionals are limited but starting to emerge. NCAR has supported organization-wide efforts for data management, leveraging knowledge and best practices across all the labs and their staff. Based on preliminary results, NCAR provides a model for how organizations can build expertise and roles into their data service models. Data collection for this study is ongoing. The author anticipates that the results will help answer questions on what are the knowledge and skills required for data professionals and how organizations can develop data expertise.

Shepherds' local knowledge and scientific data on the scavenging ecosystem service: Insights for conservation.

PubMed

Morales-Reyes, Zebensui; Martín-López, Berta; Moleón, Marcos; Mateo-Tomás, Patricia; Olea, Pedro P; Arrondo, Eneko; Donázar, José A; Sánchez-Zapata, José A

2018-05-05

Integrating indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) and scientific knowledge (SK) in the evaluation of ecosystem services has been recommended by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. We examined the similarities and contradictions between shepherds' ILK and SK on the scavenging service provided by vertebrates in Spain. We conducted 73 face-to-face surveys with shepherds to evaluate their ILK. We collected scientific information on 20 scavenger species by monitoring the consumption of 45 livestock carcasses with camera traps. We found a high consistency between ILK and SK regarding the provision of the scavenging service by vertebrates, which was also consistent over the range of shepherd ages and experience. Our findings support the importance of ILK held by shepherds to better understand and to collect information on the scavenging service, particularly at the species level. The integration of ILK and SK into the management strategies of scavengers can benefit the conservation of globally endangered scavengers and the ecosystem services they provide.

Predictors of attitude and intention to use knowledge management system among Korean nurses.

PubMed

Yun, Eun Kyoung

2013-12-01

Knowledge sharing using Knowledge Management (KM) systems helps nurses to understand and acquire appropriate knowledge that influences the quality of healthcare service. The purpose of this study was to identify organizational and individual factors influencing attitude and intention to use KM systems among Korean nurses. A cross-sectional survey design was used to study a sample of 245 nurses employed at five hospitals in Seoul. A multiple hierarchical regression was used to examine predictors of nurses' attitude and intention to use. From an individual perspective, nurse's informatics competency was identified as a significant factor influencing attitudes toward knowledge management usage within adhocracy and clan cultures. However, from an organizational perspective, level of hospital information system was identified as a significant factor influencing KM system usage within adhocracy cultures. The findings of this study will be helpful in better understanding and assessing the impact of the factors affecting the implementation of nursing knowledge management systems and in further developing successful managerial strategies using knowledge resources in healthcare settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Specialized Common Carriers: Long Distance Alternatives for Military Installations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-03-01

military installation managers with a basic knowledge of how Specialized Common Carriers enter-f ed the telecommuunications market , what services...how Specialized Common Carriers .ntered the teleccumunicaticns market , what services Specialized Common Carriers offer, and how to obtain these...26 A. ATSTOS SEFIICES--THE MARKET STANDARD .... 26 E. SCC SVITCEID VOICE NETWORK SERVICES . . . 28 1. Dial Access Services . . . .. 28 2

Knowledge About Hospice Care and Beliefs About Pain Management: Exploring Differences Between Hispanics and Non-Hispanics.

PubMed

Carrion, Iraida V; Cagle, John G; Van Dussen, Daniel J; Culler, Krystal L; Hong, Seokho

2015-09-01

Among Hispanics, incomplete knowledge about hospice care may explain low rates of utilization and culturally-specific beliefs about pain and pain treatments may contribute to disparities in pain management. To compare (1) knowledge and attitudes regarding hospice, (2) and beliefs about pain and pain medication between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. A cross-sectional phone-based survey of adults living in the contiguous United States was conducted using randomly selected phone numbers with over-sampling for diversity. Measures assessed knowledge (a 23-item test), attitudes (an 8-item scale), experiences, preferences related to hospice and beliefs regarding pain and pain management. 123 individuals participated in the survey, 13% of whom were Hispanic. Hispanics were less likely to have heard of hospice are (p <. 001) and, among those who had, more likely to have inaccurate information about it (p = .05). Specifically, Hispanics were more likely to report that only individuals over age 65 are eligible for hospice services, which is incorrect (44% vs. 93% of non-Hispanics; p=.001). Only 67% of Hispanics knew that hospice helps family members as well as the dying person. More Hispanics (43%) than non-Hispanics (9.3%) reported that admitting pain is a sign of weakness (p < .001). A greater proportion of Hispanic respondents agreed that a good patient does not talk about pain (p = .07): 38% vs. 18% from non-Hispanics. Despite the increasing knowledge of hospice care among Hispanics, specific information about the scope of services remains limited. Cultural beliefs about pain management, along with inadequate knowledge of the role of pain management at end of life, persist. © The Author(s) 2014.

Development of a waste management protocol based on assessment of knowledge and practice of healthcare personnel in surgical departments.

PubMed

Mostafa, Gehan M A; Shazly, Mona M; Sherief, Wafaa I

2009-01-01

Good healthcare waste management in a hospital depends on a dedicated waste management team, good administration, careful planning, sound organization, underpinning legislation, adequate financing, and full participation by trained staff. Hence, waste management protocols must be convenient and sensible. To assess the knowledge and practice related to waste management among doctors, nurses, and housekeepers in the surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital, and to design and validate a waste management protocol for the health team in these settings. This cross-sectional study was carried out in the eight surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital. All health care personnel and their assistants were included: 38 doctors, 106 nurses, and 56 housekeepers. Two groups of jury were included for experts' opinions validation of the developed protocol, one from academia (30 members) and the other from service providers (30 members). Data were collected using a self-administered knowledge questionnaire for nurses and doctors, and an interview questionnaire for housekeepers. Observation checklists were used for assessment of performance. The researchers developed the first draft of the waste management protocol according to the results of the analysis of the data collected in the assessment phase. Then, the protocol was presented to the jury group for validation, and then was implemented. Only 27.4% of the nurses, 32.1% of the housekeepers, and 36.8% of the doctors had satisfactory knowledge. Concerning practice, 18.9% of the nurses, 7.1% of the housekeepers, and none of the doctors had adequate practice. Nurses' knowledge score had a statistically significant weak positive correlation with the attendance of training courses (r=0.23, p<0.05). Validation of the developed protocol was done, and the percent of agreement ranged between 60.0% and 96.7% for the service group, and 60.0% and 90.0% for the academia group. The majority of the doctors, nurses, and housekeepers have unsatisfactory knowledge and inadequate practice related to health care waste management. The knowledge among nurses is positively affected by attendance of training programs. Based on the findings, a protocol for healthcare waste management was developed and validated. It is recommended to implement the developed waste management protocol for the surgical departments in the designed hospital, with establishment of waste management audits.

Effective healthcare teams require effective team members: defining teamwork competencies

PubMed Central

Leggat, Sandra G

2007-01-01

Background Although effective teamwork has been consistently identified as a requirement for enhanced clinical outcomes in the provision of healthcare, there is limited knowledge of what makes health professionals effective team members, and even less information on how to develop skills for teamwork. This study identified critical teamwork competencies for health service managers. Methods Members of a state branch of the professional association of Australian health service managers participated in a teamwork survey. Results The 37% response rate enabled identification of a management teamwork competency set comprising leadership, knowledge of organizational goals and strategies and organizational commitment, respect for others, commitment to working collaboratively and to achieving a quality outcome. Conclusion Although not part of the research question the data suggested that the competencies for effective teamwork are perceived to be different for management and clinical teams, and there are differences in the perceptions of effective teamwork competencies between male and female health service managers. This study adds to the growing evidence that the focus on individual skill development and individual accountability and achievement that results from existing models of health professional training, and which is continually reinforced by human resource management practices within healthcare systems, is not consistent with the competencies required for effective teamwork. PMID:17284324

Part-time, e-learning interprofessional pain management education for the primary and community care setting.

PubMed

Jenkins, M Sue; Bean, W Geinor; Luke, Karl

2014-02-01

Chronic pain is a long-term condition, which has a major impact on patients, carers and the health service. Despite the Chief Medical Officer setting chronic pain and its management as a national priority in 2008, the utilisation of health services by patients with long-term conditions is increasing, people with pain-related problems are not seen early enough and pain-related attendances to accident and emergency departments is increasing. Early assessment with appropriate evidence-based intervention and early recognition of when to refer to specialist and specialised services is key to addressing the growing numbers suffering with chronic pain. Pain education is recommended in many guidelines, as part of the process to address pain in these issues. Cardiff University validated an e-learning, master's level pain management module for healthcare professionals working in primary and community care. The learning outcomes revolve around robust early assessment and management of chronic pain in primary and community care and the knowledge when to refer on. The module focuses on the biopsychosocial aspects of pain and its management, using a blog as an online case study assessment for learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and application to practice. The module has resulted in learners developing evidence-based recommendations, for pain management in clinical practice.

Engineering youth service system infrastructure: Hawaii's continued efforts at large-scale implementation through knowledge management strategies.

PubMed

Nakamura, Brad J; Mueller, Charles W; Higa-McMillan, Charmaine; Okamura, Kelsie H; Chang, Jaime P; Slavin, Lesley; Shimabukuro, Scott

2014-01-01

Hawaii's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division provides a unique illustration of a youth public mental health system with a long and successful history of large-scale quality improvement initiatives. Many advances are linked to flexibly organizing and applying knowledge gained from the scientific literature and move beyond installing a limited number of brand-named treatment approaches that might be directly relevant only to a small handful of system youth. This article takes a knowledge-to-action perspective and outlines five knowledge management strategies currently under way in Hawaii. Each strategy represents one component of a larger coordinated effort at engineering a service system focused on delivering both brand-named treatment approaches and complimentary strategies informed by the evidence base. The five knowledge management examples are (a) a set of modular-based professional training activities for currently practicing therapists, (b) an outreach initiative for supporting youth evidence-based practices training at Hawaii's mental health-related professional programs, (c) an effort to increase consumer knowledge of and demand for youth evidence-based practices, (d) a practice and progress agency performance feedback system, and (e) a sampling of system-level research studies focused on understanding treatment as usual. We end by outlining a small set of lessons learned and a longer term vision for embedding these efforts into the system's infrastructure.

Solutions in radiology services management: a literature review*

PubMed Central

Pereira, Aline Garcia; Vergara, Lizandra Garcia Lupi; Merino, Eugenio Andrés Díaz; Wagner, Adriano

2015-01-01

Objective The present study was aimed at reviewing the literature to identify solutions for problems observed in radiology services. Materials and Methods Basic, qualitative, exploratory literature review at Scopus and SciELO databases, utilizing the Mendeley and Illustrator CC Adobe softwares. Results In the databases, 565 papers – 120 out of them, pdf free – were identified. Problems observed in the radiology sector are related to procedures scheduling, humanization, lack of training, poor knowledge and use of management techniques, and interaction with users. The design management provides the services with interesting solutions such as Benchmarking, CRM, Lean Approach, ServiceBlueprinting, continued education, among others. Conclusion Literature review is an important tool to identify problems and respective solutions. However, considering the small number of studies approaching management of radiology services, this is a great field of research for the development of deeper studies. PMID:26543281

Management of food allergy: a survey of Australian paediatricians.

PubMed

Morawetz, Deborah Y; Hiscock, Harriet; Allen, Katrina J; Davies, Sarah; Danchin, Margie H

2014-06-01

The prevalence of Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergy in the developed world is increasing, overwhelming tertiary allergy services. Alternative models of care are required. General paediatricians could provide this care but may require further training to do so. We aimed to determine Australian general paediatricians': (i) knowledge and management of IgE-mediated food allergy; (ii) access to and use of diagnostic services; and (iii) interest in further training. Members of the Australian Paediatric Research Network completed an online survey in 2011/12. A case study elicited paediatrician's knowledge of diagnostic history taking, testing and key management principles. Study-designed questions assessed paediatricians' current practice, access to allergy services and interest in further training. One hundred sixty-eight (43%) of 390 paediatricians responded; 93 paediatricians reported managing food allergy. Diagnostic and management practices varied widely. Paediatricians had high levels of agreement (>90%) for only three of 13 questions pertaining to diagnosis and management. Only 56 (61%) correctly identified that a diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergy requires a history consistent with a clinical reaction and a positive specific serum IgE antibody or skin prick test result. Reported waiting times for tertiary allergy services ranged from 5.4 (private) to 10.6 months (public). Most (91%) paediatricians expressed interest in further training. General paediatricians would benefit from further training if they are to practice allergy care as their diagnosis and management is often inconsistent with international guidelines. Training could be delivered online to maximise reach and uptake. If effective, such a model could relieve some of the burden experienced by Australian tertiary allergy services. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2014 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Textile & Apparel Production, Management, and Services: Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Killman, Letitia

This curriculum guide contains materials for a course that provides occupationally specific training designed to develop knowledge and skills for employment in the textile and apparel industries. Contents include an introduction; the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) covered; sample course outlines; instructional strategies organized…

XML-based data model and architecture for a knowledge-based grid-enabled problem-solving environment for high-throughput biological imaging.

PubMed

Ahmed, Wamiq M; Lenz, Dominik; Liu, Jia; Paul Robinson, J; Ghafoor, Arif

2008-03-01

High-throughput biological imaging uses automated imaging devices to collect a large number of microscopic images for analysis of biological systems and validation of scientific hypotheses. Efficient manipulation of these datasets for knowledge discovery requires high-performance computational resources, efficient storage, and automated tools for extracting and sharing such knowledge among different research sites. Newly emerging grid technologies provide powerful means for exploiting the full potential of these imaging techniques. Efficient utilization of grid resources requires the development of knowledge-based tools and services that combine domain knowledge with analysis algorithms. In this paper, we first investigate how grid infrastructure can facilitate high-throughput biological imaging research, and present an architecture for providing knowledge-based grid services for this field. We identify two levels of knowledge-based services. The first level provides tools for extracting spatiotemporal knowledge from image sets and the second level provides high-level knowledge management and reasoning services. We then present cellular imaging markup language, an extensible markup language-based language for modeling of biological images and representation of spatiotemporal knowledge. This scheme can be used for spatiotemporal event composition, matching, and automated knowledge extraction and representation for large biological imaging datasets. We demonstrate the expressive power of this formalism by means of different examples and extensive experimental results.

Just-in-Time Employees: UPS and the Knowledge Supply Chain. Tomorrow's Workplace Today: Profiles of Excellence in Business Leadership, Volume 1, Number 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alden, John

All businesses are grappling with knowledge networks--finding the right employees at the right time with the right knowledge and skills. The National Alliance of Business, MIT, and others have been working on an intriguing way to look at labor supply and demand issues called knowledge supply chain management. UPS (United Parcel Service) manages…

Functional traits in agriculture: agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services.

PubMed

Wood, Stephen A; Karp, Daniel S; DeClerck, Fabrice; Kremen, Claire; Naeem, Shahid; Palm, Cheryl A

2015-09-01

Functional trait research has led to greater understanding of the impacts of biodiversity in ecosystems. Yet, functional trait approaches have not been widely applied to agroecosystems and understanding of the importance of agrobiodiversity remains limited to a few ecosystem processes and services. To improve this understanding, we argue here for a functional trait approach to agroecology that adopts recent advances in trait research for multitrophic and spatially heterogeneous ecosystems. We suggest that trait values should be measured across environmental conditions and agricultural management regimes to predict how ecosystem services vary with farm practices and environment. This knowledge should be used to develop management strategies that can be easily implemented by farmers to manage agriculture to provide multiple ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resource Discovery within the Networked "Hybrid" Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leigh, Sally-Anne

This paper focuses on the development, adoption, and integration of resource discovery, knowledge management, and/or knowledge sharing interfaces such as interactive portals, and the use of the library's World Wide Web presence to increase the availability and usability of information services. The introduction addresses changes in library…

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Case Decisions: Health-Related Service Considerations for School Psychologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Ara J.; Wodrich, David L.; Lazar, Susan

2010-01-01

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic illness that can impact learning and often requires medical management in the school setting. School psychologists must therefore be knowledgeable of special service eligibility criteria associated with T1DM, the health-related services often required of such students, and what health-related services…

Teachers' Facility with Evidence-Based Classroom Management Practices: An Investigation of Teachers' Preparation Programmes and In-Service Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ficarra, Laura; Quinn, Kevin

2014-01-01

In the present investigation, teachers' self-reported knowledge and competency ratings for the evidence-based classroom management practices were analysed. Teachers also reflected on how they learned evidence-based classroom management practices. Results suggest that teachers working in schools that implement Positive Behavioural Interventions and…

Asthma education for school staff in Riyadh city: effectiveness of pamphlets as an educational tool.

PubMed

Abdel Gawwad, Ensaf S; El-Herishi, Sultana

2007-01-01

Teachers and support staff are often called upon to manage asthma at school but may have little knowledge and understanding of the condition. The objectives of this study were to develop educational package (pamphlets) about asthma, and assess its effectiveness as an educational tool for schools' staff through evaluation of its impact on the staff's asthma-related knowledge, attitudes and management practices on their pupils. A pre-post experimental research design was used in Riyadh city with distribution of self-administered questionnaires and asthma package to 4 randomly selected girls schools compounds. Participants were school staff (n = 297) of primary, intermediate and secondary schools. Results showed that only 5.7% of the staff had received previous training in asthma education. Lack of knowledge and misconceptions about asthma medication were evident among a considerable proportion of the staff specifically for use of antibiotics, steroids, side effect of ventolin, and addicting effect of inhalers. At pretest, only 35% and 40.1% of the staff had good level of knowledge and management practices. At posttest, the corresponding percentages increased significantly to be 83.9% and 68.6% respectively. The mean total score of staff's asthma related-attitudes became more favorable towards asthma education after intervention, it increased significantly from 53.5 to be 55.0. Total posttest knowledge score was the only predictor of both staff attitudes and management practices constituting 9.1% and 10.2% of their variance. The great majority cited lack of training (92%), unavailability school policy (86.8%), and shortage of educational resources (88.3%) as barriers against asthma education and management in their schools. Most of school staff had poor to fair level of asthma knowledge and management practices. Such simple educational intervention using pamphlets and demonstration of inhaler use and peaked flow meter was significantly successful in enhancing staff's asthma-related knowledge, attitudes and management practices among their pupils. It is very important that training is directed to all staff as pre-service and in-service programs.

Nurses' knowledge of universal health coverage for inclusive and sustainable elderly care services

PubMed Central

Tung, Fabian Ling Ngai; Yan, Vincent Chun Man; Tai, Winnie Ling Yin; Chen, Jing Han; Chung, Joanne Wai-yee; Wong, Thomas Kwok Shing

2016-01-01

Objectives: to explore nurses' knowledge of universal health coverage (UHC) for inclusive and sustainable development of elderly care services. Method: this was a cross-sectional survey. A convenience sample of 326 currently practicing enrolled nurses (EN) or registered nurses (RN) was recruited. Respondents completed a questionnaire which was based on the implementation strategies advocated by the WHO Global Forum for Governmental Chief Nursing Officers and Midwives (GCNOMs). Questions covered the government initiative, healthcare financing policy, human resources policy, and the respondents' perception of importance and contribution of nurses in achieving UHC in elderly care services. Results: the knowledge of nurses about UHC in elderly care services was fairly satisfactory. Nurses in both clinical practice and management perceived themselves as having more contribution and importance than those in education. They were relatively indifferent to healthcare policy and politics. Conclusion: the survey uncovered a considerable knowledge gap in nurses' knowledge of UHC in elderly care services, and shed light on the need for nurses to be more attuned to healthcare policy. The educational curriculum for nurses should be strengthened to include studies in public policy and advocacy. Nurses can make a difference through their participation in the development and implementation of UHC in healthcare services. PMID:26959330

Knowledge Management in Sensor Enabled Online Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smyth, Dominick; Cappellari, Paolo; Roantree, Mark

The Future Internet, has as its vision, the development of improved features and usability for services, applications and content. In many cases, services can be provided automatically through the use of monitors or sensors. This means web generated sensor data becoming available not only to the companies that own the sensors but also to the domain users who generate the data and to information and knowledge workers who harvest the output. The goal is improving the service through better usage of the information provided by the service. Applications and services vary from climate, traffic, health and sports event monitoring. In this paper, we present the WSW system that harvests web sensor data to provide additional and, in some cases, more accurate information using an analysis of both live and warehoused information.

Ecosystem services as a common language for coastal ecosystem-based management.

PubMed

Granek, Elise F; Polasky, Stephen; Kappel, Carrie V; Reed, Denise J; Stoms, David M; Koch, Evamaria W; Kennedy, Chris J; Cramer, Lori A; Hacker, Sally D; Barbier, Edward B; Aswani, Shankar; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Perillo, Gerardo M E; Silliman, Brian R; Muthiga, Nyawira; Bael, David; Wolanski, Eric

2010-02-01

Ecosystem-based management is logistically and politically challenging because ecosystems are inherently complex and management decisions affect a multitude of groups. Coastal ecosystems, which lie at the interface between marine and terrestrial ecosystems and provide an array of ecosystem services to different groups, aptly illustrate these challenges. Successful ecosystem-based management of coastal ecosystems requires incorporating scientific information and the knowledge and views of interested parties into the decision-making process. Estimating the provision of ecosystem services under alternative management schemes offers a systematic way to incorporate biogeophysical and socioeconomic information and the views of individuals and groups in the policy and management process. Employing ecosystem services as a common language to improve the process of ecosystem-based management presents both benefits and difficulties. Benefits include a transparent method for assessing trade-offs associated with management alternatives, a common set of facts and common currency on which to base negotiations, and improved communication among groups with competing interests or differing worldviews. Yet challenges to this approach remain, including predicting how human interventions will affect ecosystems, how such changes will affect the provision of ecosystem services, and how changes in service provision will affect the welfare of different groups in society. In a case study from Puget Sound, Washington, we illustrate the potential of applying ecosystem services as a common language for ecosystem-based management.

Building the capacity for evidence-based clinical nursing leadership: the role of executive co-coaching and group clinical supervision for quality patient services.

PubMed

Alleyne, Jo; Jumaa, Mansour Olawale

2007-03-01

The general aims of this article were to facilitate primary care nurses (District Nurse Team Leaders) to link management and leadership theories with clinical practice and to improve the quality of the service provided to their patients. The specific aim was to identify, create and evaluate effective processes for collaborative working so that the nurses' capacity for clinical decision-making could be improved. This article, part of a doctoral study on Clinical Leadership in Nursing, has wider application in the workplace of the future where professional standards based on collaboration will be more critical in a world of work that will be increasingly complex and uncertain. This article heralds the type of research and development activities that the nursing and midwifery professions should give premier attention to, particularly given the recent developments within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The implications of: Agenda for Change, the Knowledge and Skills Framework, 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say' and the recent proposals from the article 'Modernising Nursing Career', to name but a few, are the key influences impacting on and demanding new ways of clinical supervision for nurses and midwives to improve the quality of patient management and services. The overall approach was based on an action research using a collaborative enquiry within a case study. This was facilitated by a process of executive co-coaching for focused group clinical supervision sessions involving six district nurses as co-researchers and two professional doctoral candidates as the main researchers. The enquiry conducted over a period of two and a half years used evidence-based management and leadership interventions to assist the participants to develop 'actionable knowledge'. Group clinical supervision was not practised in this study as a form of 'therapy' but as a focus for the development of actionable knowledge, knowledge needed for effective clinical management and leadership in the workplace. 1. Management and leadership interventions and approaches have significantly influenced the participants' capacity to improve the quality of services provided to their patients. 2. Using various techniques, tools, methods and frameworks presented at the sessions increased participants' confidence to perform. 3. A structured approach like the Clinical Nursing Leadership Learning and Action Process (CLINLAP) model makes implementing change more practical and manageable within a turbulent care environment. The process of Stakeholder Mapping and Management made getting agreement to do things differently much easier. Generally it is clear that many nurses and midwives, according to the participants, have to carry out management and leadership activities in their day-to-day practice. The traditional boundary between the private, the public and the voluntary sector management is increasingly becoming blurred. It is conclusive that the district nurses on this innovative programme demonstrated how they were making sense of patterns from the past, planning for the future and facilitating the clinical nursing leadership processes today to improve quality patient services tomorrow. Their improved capacity to manage change and lead people was demonstrated, for example, through their questioning attitudes about the dominance of general practitioners. They did this, for example, by initiating and leading case conferences with the multi-disciplinary teams. It became evident from this study that to use group clinical supervision with an executive co-coaching approach for the implementation and to sustain quality service demand that 'good nursing' is accepted as being synonymous with 'good management'. This is the future of 'new nursing'.

Nurse-led management of chronic disease in a residential care setting.

PubMed

Neylon, Julie

2015-11-01

Introduction of the advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) role has enabled nurses to develop their clinical knowledge and skills, providing greater service provision and improved access to healthcare services. It can also help with the challenges of providing care to an ageing population in primary care. This article reports on the evaluation of an ANP-led clinic in two residential care homes that provides annual reviews for chronic disease management (CDM). A mixed method approach was used to evaluate the service using clinical data obtained from the electronic patient record system and software and patient satisfaction questionnaires. The number of patients receiving CDM reviews in the homes increased as a result of the clinic. Completed satisfaction questionnaires further demonstrated patients' satisfaction and willingness to engage with the service. The service highlights the ANP's effectiveness in managing residential care home patients with chronic diseases and improving their access to healthcare services.

[Conceptualization of knowledge management in medium and high complexity health institutions].

PubMed

Arboleda-Posada, Gladys I

2016-06-01

Objective To identify the familiarization, conceptualization and incorporation of employees of medium and high complexity health institutions in the Valle de Aburrá, Colombia into the strategic knowledge management platform in 2011. Methodology Cross sectional study. The study was carried out by applying surveys to 224 employees to assess knowledge management. The population included staff who working in the Health Providing Institutions (IPS) of high (52) and medium complexity (322) in the Valle de Aburrá in 2011. In both the public and private institutions surveyed, 38.8 % of the respondents said they were not familiar with knowledge management. Among those who had administrative training, the ignorance was less than among care workers. It was also noted that as the level of education increased, knowledge of the concept was greater. A high proportion (65.2 % ) of respondents placed the concept in line with the creation, organization, storage, retrieval, transfer and application of knowledge systematically. 78.7 % of respondents from public institutions said that knowledge management was part of the strategic platform of the institution. 58.3 % from private institutions said the same. Conclusions In general terms the concept of knowledge management is not well conceived or familiar to the staff working in these institutions. The study confirmed a lack of empowerment in the field to promote the development of new ideas and to ensure that they become service innovations or processes that contribute to the development of institutional knowledge.

How to get the customer service your practice deserves.

PubMed

Cavallo, Nancy

2009-01-01

What is good customer service, and how can office managers and others who deal with medical supply distributors get the customer service they deserve? This article covers the basics of good customer service, including examples of companies known for putting the customer first-Nordstrom, Disney, Johnson &Johnson, and VaxServe. Helpful tips on what to look for in a distributor include personalized service, cost considerations, dedication, knowledge, experience, helpfulness, openness, reliability, and compatibility.

Testing an Adapted Modified Delphi Method: Synthesizing Multiple Stakeholder Ratings of Health Care Service Effectiveness.

PubMed

Escaron, Anne L; Chang Weir, Rosy; Stanton, Petra; Vangala, Sitaram; Grogan, Tristan R; Clarke, Robin M

2016-03-01

The Affordable Care Act incentivizes health systems for better meeting patient needs, but often guidance about patient preferences for particular health services is limited. All too often vulnerable patient populations are excluded from these decision-making settings. A community-based participatory approach harnesses the in-depth knowledge of those experiencing barriers to health care. We made three modifications to the RAND-UCLA appropriateness method, a modified Delphi approach, involving patients, adding an advisory council group to characterize existing knowledge in this little studied area, and using effectiveness rather than "appropriateness" as the basis for rating. As a proof of concept, we tested this method by examining the broadly delivered but understudied nonmedical services that community health centers provide. This method created discrete, new knowledge about these services by defining 6 categories and 112 unique services and by prioritizing among these services based on effectiveness using a 9-point scale. Consistent with the appropriateness method, we found statistical convergence of ratings among the panelists. Challenges include time commitment and adherence to a clear definition of effectiveness of services. This diverse stakeholder engagement method efficiently addresses gaps in knowledge about the effectiveness of health care services to inform population health management. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Knowledge, Skills and Attributes for Academic Reference Librarians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haddow, Gaby

2012-01-01

A survey of Australian academic reference librarians was conducted as part of an international collaboration seeking to identify the most important knowledge, skills and attributes now and for the next ten years. Librarians working in or managing reference-related services at university and vocational education and training institutions…

30 CFR 250.1506 - How often must I train my employees?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Section 250.1506 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL...) Establish procedures to verify adequate retention of the knowledge and skills that employees need to perform... programs provide for periodic training and verification of well control or production safety knowledge and...

[Benefits of nursing care service in the assisted reproduction clinic to self-cycle-management and self-efficiency of infertility patients].

PubMed

Li, Xiao-Qin; Sun, Chao-Feng; Guo, Mei

2017-06-01

To investigate the benefits of nursing care service in the assisted reproduction clinic to self-cycle-management and self-efficiency of the outpatients with infertility. We randomly divided 600 females preliminarily diagnosed with infertility into a control and an experimental group, 288 in the former and 285 in the latter group excluding those whose husbands had azoospermia. For the women patients of the experimental group, we conducted nursing care intervention concerning related knowledge, skills, diet, excise, medication, and psychology, by one-to-one consultation, individualized or group communication, establishing files, telephone follow-up, and wechat guidance. After 3 months of intervention, we compared the compliance of medical visits, effectiveness of cycle management, sense of self-efficiency, satisfaction, and anxiety score between the two groups of patients. In comparison with the controls, the patients of the experimental group showed significantly better knowledge about assisted reproduction and higher effectiveness of self-cycle-management, self-efficiency, and satisfaction (P <0.05), but a markedly lower degree of anxiety (P <0.05). Nursing care service in the assisted reproduction clinic can improve the compliance of medical visits, effectiveness of self-cycle-management, self-efficiency, and satisfaction and reduce the anxiety of the patients.

Designing a theory-informed, contextually appropriate intervention strategy to improve delivery of paediatric services in Kenyan hospitals.

PubMed

English, Mike

2013-03-28

District hospital services in Kenya and many low-income countries should deliver proven, effective interventions that could substantially reduce child and newborn mortality. However such services are often of poor quality. Researchers have therefore been challenged to identify intervention strategies that go beyond addressing knowledge, skill, or resource inadequacies to support health systems to deliver better services at scale. An effort to develop a system-oriented intervention tailored to local needs and context and drawing on theory is described. An intervention was designed to improve district hospital services for children based on four main strategies: a reflective process to distill root causes for the observed problems with service delivery; developing a set of possible intervention approaches to address these problems; a search of literature for theory that provided the most appropriate basis for intervention design; and repeatedly moving backwards and forwards between identified causes, proposed interventions, identified theory, and knowledge of the existing context to develop an overarching intervention that seemed feasible and likely to be acceptable and potentially sustainable. In addition to human and resource constraints key problems included failures of relevant professionals to take responsibility for or ownership of the challenge of pediatric service delivery; inadequately prepared, poorly supported leaders of service units (mid-level managers) who are often professionally and geographically isolated and an almost complete lack of useful information for routinely monitoring or understanding service delivery practice or outcomes. A system-oriented intervention recognizing the pivotal role of leaders of service units but addressing the outer and inner setting of hospitals was designed to help shape and support an appropriate role for these professionals. It aims to foster a sense of ownership while providing the necessary understanding, knowledge, and skills for mid-level managers to work effectively with senior managers and frontline staff to improve services. The intervention will include development of an information system, feedback mechanisms, and discussion fora that promote positive change. The vehicle for such an intervention is a collaborative network partnering government and national professional associations. This case is presented to promote discussion on approaches to developing context appropriate interventions particularly in international health.

Evaluation of the hypertension disease management program in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Younmi; Lee, Kunsei; Shin, Eunyoung; Kim, Hyeongsu; June, Kyung Ja

2010-07-01

This study evaluated how the Hypertension Disease Management Program (HDMP) affects patient's blood pressure, knowledge, health behaviors, and use of medical services. Evaluation was performed by 2 measures, which were before and after comparison within the management group (n = 210) and comparison between the management group and control group (n = 1050) in 2005. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure of management group significantly decreased from 137.5 and 86.0 mm Hg to 131.2 and 83.8 mm Hg (P < .001, P < .01), respectively. Dieting, snack control, consumption of low-sodium meals, low-cholesterol meals, and fruits or vegetables, regular checking of blood pressure, and stress management techniques significantly increased after HDMP. However, there was no significant difference in the use of medical service between the disease management group and the control group. This study showed that the HDMP improved lifestyle and reduced blood pressure on the disease management group, but changed neither medical costs nor use of medical services. Long-term evaluation should be performed to determine if the HDMP reduce medical costs and use of medical services.

Knowledge capture and the retirement of the director of finance: succession planning in the San Mateo County Human Services Agency.

PubMed

Winship, Kathy

2012-01-01

Concern over the impending retirement of several top-level managers led a county agency to engage in efforts aimed at more efficient succession management. Administrators developed plans to prevent the loss of invaluable knowledge and wisdom accompanying retirement of experienced agency leaders. The agency's Director of Finance (DoF) was one of the first key figures projected to retire, and a succession plan was implemented to transfer his knowledge for use after his departure. The knowledge transfer process involved three stages, including: (1) employing the DoF as teacher, having him develop curricula and conduct trainings; (2) engaging the DoF as mentor, allowing an existing staff member and the DoF's successor to shadow and be coached by the DoF; and (3) developing a knowledge management system that could be used after the DoF departed. This case study describes the knowledge transfer process and experiences shared by the DoF and this agency. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

[Biomedical waste management in five hospitals in Dakar, Senegal].

PubMed

Ndiaye, M; El Metghari, L; Soumah, M M; Sow, M L

2012-10-01

Biomedical waste is currently a real health and environmental concern. In this regard, a study was conducted in 5 hospitals in Dakar to review their management of biomedical waste and to formulate recommendations. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from 1 April to 31 July 2010 in five major hospitals of Dakar. A questionnaire administered to hospital managers, heads of departments, residents and heads of hospital hygiene departments as well as interviews conducted with healthcare personnel and operators of waste incinerators made it possible to assess mechanisms and knowledge on biomedical waste management. Content analysis of interviews, observations and a data sheet allowed processing the data thus gathered. Of the 150 questionnaires distributed, 98 responses were obtained representing a response rate of 65.3%. An interview was conducted with 75 employees directly involved in the management of biomedical waste and observations were made on biomedical waste management in 86 hospital services. Sharps as well as blood and liquid waste were found in all services except in pharmacies, pharmaceutical waste in 66 services, infectious waste in 49 services and anatomical waste in 11 services. Sorting of biomedical waste was ill-adapted in 53.5% (N = 46) of services and the use of the colour-coding system effective in 31.4% (N = 27) of services. Containers for the safe disposal of sharps were available in 82.5% (N = 71) of services and were effectively utilized in 51.1% (N = 44) of these services. In most services, an illadapted packaging was observed with the use of plastic bottles and bins for waste collection and overfilled containers. With the exception of Hôpital Principal, the main storage area was in open air, unsecured, with biomedical waste littered on the floor and often mixed with waste similar to household refuse. The transfer of biomedical waste to the main storage area was done using trolleys or carts in 67.4% (N = 58) of services and wheelbarrows in 33.7% (N = 29). Biomedical waste was disposed of in old incinerators or in artisanal ovens with a great deal of smoke emanating from these. Working conditions were deemed poor by 81.3% (N = 61) of employees interviewed and personal protection equipment was available in 45.3% (N = 39) of services. Knowledge about biomedical waste management was deemed satisfactory by 62.6% (N = 47) of interviewees and 80% (N = 60) were aware of the health risks related to biomedical waste. The poor management of biomedical waste is a reality in hospital facilities in Dakar. This can be addressed by increasing the awareness of managers for an effective application of the legislation, implementing realistic management programmes and providing the appropriate on-the-job training to staff members.

5 CFR 293.203 - Review of Office or agency practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

....203 Section 293.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS... practices. Reviews of agency personnel management policies and practices will be conducted to insure... necessary. Office or agency officials who have knowledge of violations of these regulations shall take...

5 CFR 293.203 - Review of Office or agency practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

....203 Section 293.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS... practices. Reviews of agency personnel management policies and practices will be conducted to insure... necessary. Office or agency officials who have knowledge of violations of these regulations shall take...

5 CFR 293.203 - Review of Office or agency practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

....203 Section 293.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS... practices. Reviews of agency personnel management policies and practices will be conducted to insure... necessary. Office or agency officials who have knowledge of violations of these regulations shall take...

5 CFR 293.203 - Review of Office or agency practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

....203 Section 293.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS... practices. Reviews of agency personnel management policies and practices will be conducted to insure... necessary. Office or agency officials who have knowledge of violations of these regulations shall take...

5 CFR 293.203 - Review of Office or agency practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

....203 Section 293.203 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS... practices. Reviews of agency personnel management policies and practices will be conducted to insure... necessary. Office or agency officials who have knowledge of violations of these regulations shall take...

The Shape of Ecosystem Management to Come: Anticipating Risks and Fostering Resilience

PubMed Central

Seidl, Rupert

2014-01-01

Global change is increasingly challenging the sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services to society. Addressing future uncertainty and risk has therefore become a central problem of ecosystem management. With risk management and resilience-based stewardship, two contrasting approaches have been proposed to address this issue. Whereas one is concentrated on anticipating and mitigating risks, the other is focused on fostering the ability to absorb perturbations and maintain desired properties. While they have hitherto been discussed largely separately in the literature, I here propose a unifying framework of anticipating risks and fostering resilience in ecosystem management. Anticipatory action is advocated when the predictability of risk is high and sufficient knowledge to address it is available. Conversely, in situations in which predictability and knowledge are limited, resilience-based measures are paramount. I conclude that, by adopting a purposeful combination of insights from risk and resilience research, we can make ecosystem services provisioning more robust to future uncertainty and change. PMID:25729079

The Effect of Implementing Knowledge Management System in Supplier Selection Content to Improve Learning Performance of Online Travel Agencies Staff

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ariya, Pakinee; Chakpitak, Nopasit; Sureepong, Pradorn

2016-01-01

Supplier selection knowledge of OTAs businesses is one of the most valuable and significant knowledge since OTAs now operate businesses that gain their benefits from having many kinds of tourism products and services for customers to browse from in their own online booking systems. The better the suppliers, the more successful will OTAs be. The…

An ecosystem service approach to support integrated pond management: a case study using Bayesian belief networks--highlighting opportunities and risks.

PubMed

Landuyt, Dries; Lemmens, Pieter; D'hondt, Rob; Broekx, Steven; Liekens, Inge; De Bie, Tom; Declerck, Steven A J; De Meester, Luc; Goethals, Peter L M

2014-12-01

Freshwater ponds deliver a broad range of ecosystem services (ESS). Taking into account this broad range of services to attain cost-effective ESS delivery is an important challenge facing integrated pond management. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of an ESS approach to support decisions in integrated pond management, we applied it on a small case study in Flanders, Belgium. A Bayesian belief network model was developed to assess ESS delivery under three alternative pond management scenarios: intensive fish farming (IFF), extensive fish farming (EFF) and nature conservation management (NCM). A probabilistic cost-benefit analysis was performed that includes both costs associated with pond management practices and benefits associated with ESS delivery. Whether or not a particular ESS is included in the analysis affects the identification of the most preferable management scenario by the model. Assessing the delivery of a more complete set of ecosystem services tends to shift the results away from intensive management to more biodiversity-oriented management scenarios. The proposed methodology illustrates the potential of Bayesian belief networks. BBNs facilitate knowledge integration and their modular nature encourages future model expansion to more encompassing sets of services. Yet, we also illustrate the key weaknesses of such exercises, being that the choice whether or not to include a particular ecosystem service may determine the suggested optimal management practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant Functional Traits: Soil and Ecosystem Services.

PubMed

Faucon, Michel-Pierre; Houben, David; Lambers, Hans

2017-05-01

Decline of ecosystem services has triggered numerous studies aiming at developing more sustainable agricultural management practices. Some agricultural practices may improve soil properties by expanding plant biodiversity. However, sustainable management of agroecosystems should be performed from a functional plant trait perspective. Advances in functional ecology, especially plant functional trait effects on ecosystem processes and services, provide pivotal knowledge for ecological intensification of agriculture; this approach acknowledges that a crop field is an agroecosystem whose ecological processes influence soil properties. We highlight the links between plant functional traits and soil properties in relation to four major ecosystem processes involved in vital ecosystem services: food production, crop protection, climate change mitigation, and soil and water conservation, aiming towards ecological intensification of sustainable agricultural and soil management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ontology-based knowledge management for personalized adverse drug events detection.

PubMed

Cao, Feng; Sun, Xingzhi; Wang, Xiaoyuan; Li, Bo; Li, Jing; Pan, Yue

2011-01-01

Since Adverse Drug Event (ADE) has become a leading cause of death around the world, there arises high demand for helping clinicians or patients to identify possible hazards from drug effects. Motivated by this, we present a personalized ADE detection system, with the focus on applying ontology-based knowledge management techniques to enhance ADE detection services. The development of electronic health records makes it possible to automate the personalized ADE detection, i.e., to take patient clinical conditions into account during ADE detection. Specifically, we define the ADE ontology to uniformly manage the ADE knowledge from multiple sources. We take advantage of the rich semantics from the terminology SNOMED-CT and apply it to ADE detection via the semantic query and reasoning.

The restoration experience: volunteers' motives, values, and concepts of nature

Treesearch

Herbert W. Schroeder

2000-01-01

The last several years have brought significant changes in the management of public lands and natural resources in the United States. As a result of debates over management practices, shifts in the goods and services demanded by the public, and evelopment in scientific knowledge, there has emerged a general philosophical shift toward managing natural environmnets as...

An architecture for integrating distributed and cooperating knowledge-based Air Force decision aids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nugent, Richard O.; Tucker, Richard W.

1988-01-01

MITRE has been developing a Knowledge-Based Battle Management Testbed for evaluating the viability of integrating independently-developed knowledge-based decision aids in the Air Force tactical domain. The primary goal for the testbed architecture is to permit a new system to be added to a testbed with little change to the system's software. Each system that connects to the testbed network declares that it can provide a number of services to other systems. When a system wants to use another system's service, it does not address the server system by name, but instead transmits a request to the testbed network asking for a particular service to be performed. A key component of the testbed architecture is a common database which uses a relational database management system (RDBMS). The RDBMS provides a database update notification service to requesting systems. Normally, each system is expected to monitor data relations of interest to it. Alternatively, a system may broadcast an announcement message to inform other systems that an event of potential interest has occurred. Current research is aimed at dealing with issues resulting from integration efforts, such as dealing with potential mismatches of each system's assumptions about the common database, decentralizing network control, and coordinating multiple agents.

The Association Between Residential Care Facility Manager's Educational Attainment and the Presence of Structural and Service Innovations.

PubMed

Davis, Jullet A

For many service-oriented firms, knowledge is a key commodity, and the process by which knowledge is codified is critical for firm survival. The administrator or top manager acts as the repository and disseminator of organizational knowledge. The purpose of this project is to examine the association between the administrator's educational attainment and innovation in residential care facilities. The study hypothesized that administrator academic education and certification or licensure would be positively associated with facility innovation. Data for this project comes from the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities. There were 2277 facilities included in the sample (weighted 30 811). Innovation, the dependent variable, was operationalized using 5 dichotomized measures: clinical information systems, pharmaceutical information systems, electronic health records, providing adult day care, and providing respite care. The data were analyzed using logistic regression. Overall, the results reveal that college education or certification/licensure increased the likelihood of technology use. In addition, those with a high school diploma and certification/licensure were more likely to use technology than were individuals who had, at a minimum, some college. The services models were not significant. It may be that the resources necessary to implement information systems vary substantially from the resources necessary to provide services.

Bioinformatics workflows and web services in systems biology made easy for experimentalists.

PubMed

Jimenez, Rafael C; Corpas, Manuel

2013-01-01

Workflows are useful to perform data analysis and integration in systems biology. Workflow management systems can help users create workflows without any previous knowledge in programming and web services. However the computational skills required to build such workflows are usually above the level most biological experimentalists are comfortable with. In this chapter we introduce workflow management systems that reuse existing workflows instead of creating them, making it easier for experimentalists to perform computational tasks.

Educational Model for Social Service Administration and Management. Summary Progress Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Marjorie Brown

This paper constitutes a summary progress report on a short-term training course designed to provide social work bachelor's degree practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary for administrative and managerial positions. Increasingly, social work graduates have reported moving into social service administration and managerial positions…

Community-based Monitoring of Water Resources in Remote Mountain Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buytaert, W.; Hannah, D. M.; Dewulf, A.; Clark, J.; Zulkafli, Z. D.; Karpouzoglou, T.; Mao, F.; Ochoa-Tocachi, B. F.

2016-12-01

Remote mountain regions are often represented by pockets of poverty combined with accelerated environmental change. The combination of harsh climatic and topographical conditions with limited infrastructure puts severe pressures on local livelihoods, many of which rely strongly on local ecosystem services (ESS) such as agricultural production and water supply. It is therefore paramount to optimise the management of ESS for the benefit of local people. This is hindered by a scarcity of quantitative data about physical processes such as precipitation and river flow as well as qualitative data concerning the management of water and land. National and conventional scientific monitoring networks tend to be insufficient to cover adequately the spatial and temporal gradients. Additionally, the data that are being collected often fail to be converted into locally relevant and actionable knowledge for ESS management. In such conditions, community-based monitoring of natural resources may be an effective way to reduce this knowledge gap. The participatory nature of such monitoring also enhances knowledge co-production and integration in locally-based decision-making processes. Here, we present the results of a 4-year consortium project on the use of citizen science technologies for ecosystem services management (Mountain-EVO). The project analyzed ecosystem service dynamics and decision-making processes and implemented a comparative analysis of experiments with community-based monitoring of water resources in 4 remote mountain regions, i.e. Peru, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Ethiopia. We find that community-based monitoring can have a transformative impact on local ESS management, because of its potential to be more inclusive, polycentric, and context-driven as compared to conventional monitoring. However, the results and effectiveness of community-based approaches depend strongly on the natural and socio-economic boundary conditions. As such, this requires a tailored and bottom-up approach to implementation, which ideally isrooted in locally-based set of actors that can act as catalysts for knowledge co-production between the scientific community and local ESS users.

Planning documents: a business planning strategy.

PubMed

Kaehrle, P A

2000-06-01

Strategic planning and business plan development are essential nursing management skills in today's competitive, fast paced, continually changing health care environment. Even in times of great uncertainty, nurse managers need to plan and forecast for the future. A well-written business plan allows nurse managers to communicate their expertise and proactively contribute to the programmatic decisions and changes occurring within their patient population or service area. This article presents the use of planning documents as a practical, strategic business planning strategy. Although the model addresses orthopedic services specifically, nurse managers can gain an understanding and working knowledge of planning concepts that can be applied to all patient populations.

Designing the Successful Grounds Organization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gratto, Fred

2011-01-01

The most important component of any service organization is people. This is especially true of grounds management, because effective maintenance is dependent on good supervision and knowledgeable people. The grounds management function, therefore, must have personnel who are competent and committed. They must fully understand the scope of their …

TRIAD: The Translational Research Informatics and Data Management Grid

PubMed Central

Payne, P.; Ervin, D.; Dhaval, R.; Borlawsky, T.; Lai, A.

2011-01-01

Objective Multi-disciplinary and multi-site biomedical research programs frequently require infrastructures capable of enabling the collection, management, analysis, and dissemination of heterogeneous, multi-dimensional, and distributed data and knowledge collections spanning organizational boundaries. We report on the design and initial deployment of an extensible biomedical informatics platform that is intended to address such requirements. Methods A common approach to distributed data, information, and knowledge management needs in the healthcare and life science settings is the deployment and use of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Such SOA technologies provide for strongly-typed, semantically annotated, and stateful data and analytical services that can be combined into data and knowledge integration and analysis “pipelines.” Using this overall design pattern, we have implemented and evaluated an extensible SOA platform for clinical and translational science applications known as the Translational Research Informatics and Data-management grid (TRIAD). TRIAD is a derivative and extension of the caGrid middleware and has an emphasis on supporting agile “working interoperability” between data, information, and knowledge resources. Results Based upon initial verification and validation studies conducted in the context of a collection of driving clinical and translational research problems, we have been able to demonstrate that TRIAD achieves agile “working interoperability” between distributed data and knowledge sources. Conclusion Informed by our initial verification and validation studies, we believe TRIAD provides an example instance of a lightweight and readily adoptable approach to the use of SOA technologies in the clinical and translational research setting. Furthermore, our initial use cases illustrate the importance and efficacy of enabling “working interoperability” in heterogeneous biomedical environments. PMID:23616879

TRIAD: The Translational Research Informatics and Data Management Grid.

PubMed

Payne, P; Ervin, D; Dhaval, R; Borlawsky, T; Lai, A

2011-01-01

Multi-disciplinary and multi-site biomedical research programs frequently require infrastructures capable of enabling the collection, management, analysis, and dissemination of heterogeneous, multi-dimensional, and distributed data and knowledge collections spanning organizational boundaries. We report on the design and initial deployment of an extensible biomedical informatics platform that is intended to address such requirements. A common approach to distributed data, information, and knowledge management needs in the healthcare and life science settings is the deployment and use of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Such SOA technologies provide for strongly-typed, semantically annotated, and stateful data and analytical services that can be combined into data and knowledge integration and analysis "pipelines." Using this overall design pattern, we have implemented and evaluated an extensible SOA platform for clinical and translational science applications known as the Translational Research Informatics and Data-management grid (TRIAD). TRIAD is a derivative and extension of the caGrid middleware and has an emphasis on supporting agile "working interoperability" between data, information, and knowledge resources. Based upon initial verification and validation studies conducted in the context of a collection of driving clinical and translational research problems, we have been able to demonstrate that TRIAD achieves agile "working interoperability" between distributed data and knowledge sources. Informed by our initial verification and validation studies, we believe TRIAD provides an example instance of a lightweight and readily adoptable approach to the use of SOA technologies in the clinical and translational research setting. Furthermore, our initial use cases illustrate the importance and efficacy of enabling "working interoperability" in heterogeneous biomedical environments.

Electronic Health Services

PubMed Central

Khalil, Mounir M; Jones, Ray

2007-01-01

Information and communication technologies have made dramatic changes in our lives. Healthcare communities also made use of these technologies. Using computerized medical knowledge, electronic patients’ information and telecommunications a lot of applications are now established throughout the world. These include better ways of information management, remote education, telemedicine and public services. Yet, a lot of people don't know about these technologies and their applications. Understanding the concepts and ideologies behind these terms, knowing how they will be implemented, what is it like to use them and what benefit will be gained, are basic knowledge steps approaching these technologies. Difficulties using these services, especially in developing countries should not be neglected or underestimated. PMID:21503245

Barriers to Managing Fertility: Findings From the Understanding Fertility Management in Contemporary Australia Facebook Discussion Group.

PubMed

Holton, Sara; Rowe, Heather; Kirkman, Maggie; Jordan, Lynne; McNamee, Kathleen; Bayly, Christine; McBain, John; Sinnott, Vikki; Fisher, Jane

2016-02-15

As part of research investigating the complexities of managing fertility in Australia, public opinions about how Australians manage their fertility were sought from women and men. To identify public opinion about sexual and reproductive health in Australia. To ensure access to a diverse group of people throughout Australia, an online group was advertised and convened on Facebook from October through December 2013. In a closed-group moderated discussion, participants responded to questions about how people in Australia attempt to manage three aspects of fertility: avoiding pregnancy, achieving pregnancy, and difficulties conceiving. Nonidentifiable demographic information was sought; no personal accounts of fertility management were requested. The discussion transcript was analyzed thematically. There were 61 female and 2 male Facebook users aged 18 to 50 years living in Australia participating in the study. Four main themes about fertility management were identified: access, geographical location, knowledge, and cost. Participants reported that young people and people from rural areas face barriers accessing contraception and fertility services. Limited knowledge about sex and reproduction and the cost of fertility services and contraception were also said to impede effective fertility management. Reasons for inequalities in effective fertility management that are amenable to change were identified. Facebook is an effective method for gaining insights into public opinion about sexual and reproductive health.

Degradation of soil fertility can cancel pollination benefits in sunflower.

PubMed

Tamburini, Giovanni; Berti, Antonio; Morari, Francesco; Marini, Lorenzo

2016-02-01

Pollination and soil fertility are important ecosystem services to agriculture but their relative roles and potential interactions are poorly understood. We explored the combined effects of pollination and soil fertility in sunflower using soils from a trial characterized by different long-term input management in order to recreate plausible levels of soil fertility. Pollinator exclusion was used as a proxy for a highly eroded pollination service. Pollination benefits to yield depended on soil fertility, i.e., insect pollination enhanced seed set and yield only under higher soil fertility indicating that limited nutrient availability may constrain pollination benefits. Our study provides evidence for interactions between above- and belowground ecosystem services, highlighting the crucial role of soil fertility in supporting agricultural production not only directly, but also indirectly through pollination. Management strategies aimed at enhancing pollination services might fail in increasing yield in landscapes characterized by high soil service degradation. Comprehensive knowledge about service interactions is therefore essential for the correct management of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes.

Patient empowerment and choice in chronic pain management.

PubMed

Barrie, Janette

Service provision and access to pain services vary considerably in the UK, with only a small percentage of people with chronic pain accessing specialist services. Government policy supports giving patients more choice and control over their care. Empowerment involves ensuring patients have the knowledge, skills, attitudes and self-awareness to improve the quality of their lives. As most healthcare professionals provide care to people with chronic pain at some point, it is their responsibility to prepare patients to make informed decisions about their treatment. Empowering patients to self-manage their chronic pain can lead to improved person-centred outcomes.

Aged care managers' perceptions of staff preparedness for caring for older survivors of genocide and mass trauma in Australia: How prepared are aged care workers?

PubMed

Teshuva, Karen; Wells, Yvonne

2017-03-01

To investigate aged care managers' perceptions of staff preparedness for working with older people who experienced genocide or mass trauma earlier in their lives (referred to in this paper as 'older survivors'). A survey of 60 aged care service managers was conducted (50% response rate). Trauma knowledge and skills scales with Cronbach's alpha scores of 0.74 and 0.90 respectively, were used. Scores across groups were compared using Student's t-tests. Three-quarters of the respondents reported that their agency had provided aged care services for older survivors. The majority of these managers perceived their staff to be moderately informed about trauma-related issues and half rated staff trauma-related skills positively. These ratings were positively associated with trauma-related staff training, service type and service location. Results suggest that, overall, managers perceive a need to improve aged care staff's preparedness for providing care for older survivors. © 2016 AJA Inc.

EMDS users guide (version 2.0): knowledge-based decision support for ecological assessment.

Treesearch

Keith M. Reynolds

1999-01-01

The USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon, has developed the ecosystem management decision support (EMDS) system. The system integrates the logical formalism of knowledge-based reasoning into a geographic information system (GIS) environment to provide decision support for ecological landscape assessment and evaluation. The...

Managing physical and mental health conditions: Consumer perspectives on integrated care.

PubMed

Rollins, Angela L; Wright-Berryman, Jennifer; Henry, Nancy H; Quash, Alicia M; Benbow, Kyle; Bonfils, Kelsey A; Hedrick, Heidi; Miller, Alex P; Firmin, Ruthie; Salyers, Michelle P

2017-01-01

Despite the growing trend of integrating primary care and mental health services, little research has documented how consumers with severe mental illnesses manage comorbid conditions or view integrated services. We sought to better understand how consumers perceive and manage both mental and physical health conditions and their views of integrated services. We conducted semi-structured interviews with consumers receiving primary care services integrated in a community mental health setting. Consumers described a range of strategies to deal with physical health conditions and generally viewed mental and physical health conditions as impacting one another. Consumers viewed integration of primary care and mental health services favorably, specifically its convenience, friendliness and knowledge of providers, and collaboration between providers. Although integration was viewed positively, consumers with SMI may need a myriad of strategies and supports to both initiate and sustain lifestyle changes that address common physical health problems.

Knowledge management strategies: Enhancing knowledge transfer to clinicians and patients.

PubMed

Roemer, Lorrie K; Rocha, Roberto A; Del Fiol, Guilherme; Bradshaw, Richard L; Hanna, Timothy P; Hulse, Nathan C

2006-01-01

At Intermountain Healthcare (Intermountain), executive clinical content experts are responsible for disseminating consistent evidence-based clinical content throughout the enterprise at the point-of-care. With a paper-based system it was difficult to ensure that current information was received and was being used in practice. With electronic information systems multiple applications were supplying similar, but different, vendor-licensed and locally-developed content. These issues influenced the consistency of clinical practice within the enterprise, jeopardized patient and clinician safety, and exposed the enterprise and its employees to potential financial penalties. In response to these issues Intermountain is developing a knowledge management infrastructure providing tools and services to support clinical content development, deployment, maintenance, and communication. The Intermountain knowledge management philosophy includes strategies guiding clinicians and consumers of health information to relevant best practice information with the intention of changing behaviors. This paper presents three case studies describing different information management problems identified within Intermountain, methods used to solve the problems, implementation challenges, and the current status of each project.

FJET Database Project: Extract, Transform, and Load

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samms, Kevin O.

2015-01-01

The Data Mining & Knowledge Management team at Kennedy Space Center is providing data management services to the Frangible Joint Empirical Test (FJET) project at Langley Research Center (LARC). FJET is a project under the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). The purpose of FJET is to conduct an assessment of mild detonating fuse (MDF) frangible joints (FJs) for human spacecraft separation tasks in support of the NASA Commercial Crew Program. The Data Mining & Knowledge Management team has been tasked with creating and managing a database for the efficient storage and retrieval of FJET test data. This paper details the Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) process as it is related to gathering FJET test data into a Microsoft SQL relational database, and making that data available to the data users. Lessons learned, procedures implemented, and programming code samples are discussed to help detail the learning experienced as the Data Mining & Knowledge Management team adapted to changing requirements and new technology while maintaining flexibility of design in various aspects of the data management project.

ASK Magazine. Volume 10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, Edward (Editor); Laufer, Alexander (Editor); Post, Todd (Editor); Brady, Jody Lannen (Editor)

2003-01-01

The Academy of Program and Project Leadership (APPL) and ASK Magazine is presented. APPL is a research-based organization that serves NASA program and project managers, as well as project teams, at every level of development. In 1997, APPL was created from an earlier program to underscore the importance that NASA places on project management and project teams through a wide variety of products and services, including knowledge sharing, classroom and online courses, career development guidance, performance support, university partnerships, and advanced technology tools. ASK Magazine grew out of our Knowledge Sharing Initiative. The stories that appear in ASK are written by the 'best of the best' project managers, primarily from NASA, but also from other government agencies and industry. These stories contain genuine nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that are transferable across projects. Who better than a project manager to help another project manager address a critical issue on a project? Big projects, small projects-they're all here in ASK. APPL is one of our most exciting publications about project management.

Stroke awareness among Dubai emergency medical service staff and impact of an educational intervention.

PubMed

Shire, Fatima; Kasim, Zahra; Alrukn, Suhail; Khan, Maria

2017-07-06

Emergency medical services (EMS) play a vital role in expediting hospital arrival in stroke patients. The objective of our study was to assess the level of awareness regarding pre-hospital identification and management of acute stroke among EMS Staff in Dubai and to evaluate the impact of an educational lecture on their knowledge. Ours was a cross-sectional study with a pre-test and post-test design. The intervention was an educational lecture, based on the updated guidelines in pre-hospital care of acute stroke. Participants were assessed before and after the intervention on various aspects of stroke care. Paired t test were used to compare the impact of the intervention. A total of 274 EMS workers participated in our study. The baseline knowledge of participants regarding stroke types was inadequate with only 68% correctly identifying these. 79% were able to name the cardinal stroke symptoms. Knowledge of stroke mimics was poor with only 6.6% identifying stroke mimics correctly. With respect to management, most participants were unable to correctly identify the points to illicit in the history of an acute stroke patient (25.2%) and also the steps in pre-hospital management (40%). All these aspects showed remarkable improvement post intervention. The baseline awareness of most aspects of acute stroke identification and management was poor in our EMS participants. Our educational lecture proved effective in improving this knowledge when tested immediately post intervention. However, there is a need to re-assess this at periodic intervals to identify the need for refresher courses on pre-hospital stroke management.

Defense Science Board 2006 Summer Study of Information Management for Net-Centric Operations. Volume 2. Operations Panel Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

and/or time de-confliction to insure safe separation of component forces. For example, in the Vietnam era, Air Force units were employed in the Hanoi...systems and people to exploit it. For example, Accenture (Accenture.com), a $15 billion global management consulting and technology services company ...information managers (called knowledge managers) to functional specialties, such as oil, gas, insurance , and pharmaceuticals. Information managers collect

Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

2014-12-01

Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

Desired future conditions for pinon-juniper ecosystems

Treesearch

Douglas W. Shaw; Earl. F. Aldon; Carol LoSapio

1995-01-01

The purpose of this symposium was to assist the USDA Forest Service, other federal land management agencies, and the Arizona State Land Office in managing pinon-juniper ecosystems in the Southwest. Authors assessed the current state of knowledge about the pinon-juniper resource and helped develop desired future conditions.

75 FR 79437 - Notification of Proposed Delegation Programs and Request for Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... programs. Knowledge Testing ODAs would be appointed and managed by The Flight Standards Airman Testing... CFR part 133. Air Operator ODAs would be appointed and managed by the geographic Flight Standards District Office under the authority of the Director, Flight Standards Service. The FAA anticipates granting...

An ontology-based telemedicine tasks management system architecture.

PubMed

Nageba, Ebrahim; Fayn, Jocelyne; Rubel, Paul

2008-01-01

The recent developments in ambient intelligence and ubiquitous computing offer new opportunities for the design of advanced Telemedicine systems providing high quality services, anywhere, anytime. In this paper we present an approach for building an ontology-based task-driven telemedicine system. The architecture is composed of a task management server, a communication server and a knowledge base for enabling decision makings taking account of different telemedical concepts such as actors, resources, services and the Electronic Health Record. The final objective is to provide an intelligent management of the different types of available human, material and communication resources.

Sustainability of knowledge translation interventions in healthcare decision-making: protocol for a scoping review.

PubMed

Tricco, Andrea C; Cogo, Elise; Ashoor, Huda; Perrier, Laure; McKibbon, K Ann; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Straus, Sharon E

2013-05-14

Knowledge translation (KT also known as research utilisation, translational medicine and implementation science) is a dynamic and iterative process that includes the synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically sound application of knowledge to improve health. After the implementation of KT interventions, their impact on relevant outcomes should be monitored. The objectives of this scoping review are to: (1) conduct a systematic search of the literature to identify the impact on healthcare outcomes beyond 1 year, or beyond the termination of funding of the initiative of KT interventions targeting chronic disease management for end-users including patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers and policy-makers; (2) identify factors that influence sustainability of effective KT interventions; (3) identify how sustained change from KT interventions should be measured; and (4) develop a framework for assessing sustainability of KT interventions. Comprehensive searches of relevant electronic databases (eg, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), websites of funding agencies and websites of healthcare provider organisations will be conducted to identify relevant material. We will include experimental, quasi-experimental and observational studies providing information on the sustainability of KT interventions targeting chronic disease management in adults and focusing on end-users including patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers and policy-makers. Two reviewers will pilot-test the screening criteria and data abstraction form. They will then screen all citations, full articles and abstract data in duplicate independently. The results of the scoping review will be synthesised descriptively and used to develop a framework to assess the sustainability of KT interventions. Our results will help inform end-users (ie, patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers and policy-makers) regarding the sustainability of KT interventions. Our dissemination plan includes publications, presentations, website posting and a stakeholder meeting.

Building Perinatal Case Manager Capacity Using Quality Improvement.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Elaine

2015-01-01

Improving breastfeeding rates among Black women is a potential strategy to address disparities in health outcomes that disproportionately impact Black women and children. This quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed to improve perinatal case manager knowledge and self-efficacy to promote breastfeeding among Black, low-income women who use services through Boston Healthy Start Initiative. QI methodology was used to develop and test a two-part strategy for perinatal case managers to promote and support breastfeeding. A positive change was observed in infant feeding knowledge and case manager self-efficacy to promote breastfeeding. Among the 24 mothers participating in this QI initiative, 100% initiated and continued breastfeeding at 1 week postpartum, and 92% were breastfeeding at 2 weeks postpartum.

Potential role of dermatologists and dermatological services in developing and sustaining the leprosy control referral system in resource constrained settings.

PubMed

Kawuma, Herman Joseph S

2007-03-01

General Health Services that pay due attention to the management of skin conditions are opportune for suspecting and diagnosing early leprosy. In many developing countries, patients with dermatological conditions can only access specialist services in the larger cities and university hospitals; unaffordable costs make the services even less accessible if they can only be provided in the private sector. The high profile of dermatologists in the health services, gives them the opportunity to facilitate the development and implementation of a referral system that includes leprosy. This potential benefit for leprosy control must be initiated by current National Leprosy Programme Managers through establishing formal relationships with the dermatologists and involving them and other partners in the re-designing of leprosy control strategies to keep them in tandem with changing epidemiological patterns, national policies and on -going health sector reforms. The same health service managers should avail of the opportunities from the dermatologists (both in public and private sectors) about the current knowledge on the management and control of leprosy.

Semantic Repositories for eGovernment Initiatives: Integrating Knowledge and Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmonari, Matteo; Viscusi, Gianluigi

In recent years, public sector investments in eGovernment initiatives have depended on making more reliable existing governmental ICT systems and infrastructures. Furthermore, we assist at a change in the focus of public sector management, from the disaggregation, competition and performance measurements typical of the New Public Management (NPM), to new models of governance, aiming for the reintegration of services under a new perspective in bureaucracy, namely a holistic approach to policy making which exploits the extensive digitalization of administrative operations. In this scenario, major challenges are related to support effective access to information both at the front-end level, by means of highly modular and customizable content provision, and at the back-end level, by means of information integration initiatives. Repositories of information about data and services that exploit semantic models and technologies can support these goals by bridging the gap between the data-level representations and the human-level knowledge involved in accessing information and in searching for services. Moreover, semantic repository technologies can reach a new level of automation for different tasks involved in interoperability programs, both related to data integration techniques and service-oriented computing approaches. In this chapter, we discuss the above topics by referring to techniques and experiences where repositories based on conceptual models and ontologies are used at different levels in eGovernment initiatives: at the back-end level to produce a comprehensive view of the information managed in the public administrations' (PA) information systems, and at the front-end level to support effective service delivery.

Social science informing forest management — bringing new knowledge to fuels managers

Treesearch

Pamela Jakes

2007-01-01

To improve access, interpretability, and use of the full body of research, a pilot project was initiated by the USDA Forest Service to synthesize relevant scientific information and develop publications and decision support tools that managers can use to inform fuels treatment plans. This article provides an overview of the work of the Social Science Core Team. Team...

An emerging crisis across northern prairie refuges: Prevalence of invasive plants and a plan for adaptive management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grant, T.A.; Flanders-Wanner, B.; Shaffer, T.L.; Murphy, R.K.; Knutsen, G.A.

2009-01-01

In the northern Great Plains, native prairies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) can be pivotal in conservation of North America's biological diversity. From 2002 to 2006, we surveyed 7,338 belt transects to assess the general composition of mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie vegetation across five "complexes" (i.e., administrative groupings) of national wildlife refuges managed by the Service in North Dakota and South Dakota. Native grasses and forbs were common (mean frequency of occurrence 47%-54%) on two complexes but uncommon (4%-13%) on two others. Conversely, an introduced species of grass, smooth brome (Bromus inermis), accounted for 45% to 49% of vegetation on two complexes and another species, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) accounted for 27% to 36% of the vegetation on three of the complexes. Our data confirm prior suspicions of widespread invasion by introduced species of plants on Service-owned tracts of native prairie, changes that likely stem in part from a common management history of little or no disturbance (e.g., defoliation by grazing or fire). However, variability in the degree and type of invasion among prairie tracts suggests that knowledge of underlying causes (e.g., edaphic or climatic factors, management histories) could help managers more effectively restore prairies. We describe an adaptive management approach to acquire such knowledge while progressing with restoration. More specifically, we propose to use data from inventories of plant communities on Service-owned prairies to design and implement, as experiments, optimal restoration strategies. We will then monitor these experiments and use the results to refine future strategies. This comprehensive, process-oriented approach should yield reliable and robust recommendations for restoration and maintenance of native prairies in the northern Great Plains. 2009 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

Application of the principles of evidence-based practice in decision making among senior management in Nova Scotia's addiction services agencies.

PubMed

Murphy, Matthew; MacCarthy, M Jayne; McAllister, Lynda; Gilbert, Robert

2014-12-05

Competency profiles for occupational clusters within Canada's substance abuse workforce (SAW) define the need for skill and knowledge in evidence-based practice (EBP) across all its members. Members of the Senior Management occupational cluster hold ultimate responsibility for decisions made within addiction services agencies and therefore must possess the highest level of proficiency in EBP. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of the principles of EBP, and use of the components of the evidence-based decision making (EBDM) process in members of this occupational cluster from selected addiction services agencies in Nova Scotia. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants from addiction services agencies. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eighteen Senior Management. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked by the participants. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes using content analysis and assisted by qualitative data analysis software (NVivo 9.0). Data analysis revealed four main themes: 1) Senior Management believe that addictions services agencies are evidence-based; 2) Consensus-based decision making is the norm; 3) Senior Management understand the principles of EBP and; 4) Senior Management do not themselves use all components of the EBDM process when making decisions, oftentimes delegating components of this process to decision support staff. Senior Management possess an understanding of the principles of EBP, however, when making decisions they often delegate components of the EBDM process to decision support staff. Decision support staff are not defined as an occupational cluster in Canada's SAW and have not been ascribed a competency profile. As such, there is no guarantee that this group possesses competency in EBDM. There is a need to advocate for the development of a defined occupational cluster and associated competency profile for this critical group.

Managing pinon-juniper ecosystems for sustainability and social needs; proceedings of the symposium 1993 April 26-30; Sante Fe, New Mexico

Treesearch

Earl F. Aldon; Douglas W. Shaw

1993-01-01

The purpose of this symposium was to assist the USDA Forest Service, other federal land management agencies, and the New Mexico State Land Office in the future development and management of the pinon-juniper ecosystem in the Southwest. Authors assessed the current state of knowledge about the pinon-juniper resource and helped develop future research and management...

Screening and managing cannabis use: comparing GP's and nurses' knowledge, beliefs, and behavior.

PubMed

Norberg, Melissa M; Gates, Peter; Dillon, Paul; Kavanagh, David J; Manocha, Ramesh; Copeland, Jan

2012-07-24

General practitioners (GPs) and nurses are ideally placed to address the significant unmet demand for the treatment of cannabis-related problems given the numbers of people who regularly seek their care. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences between GPs and nurses' perceived knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors toward cannabis use and its screening and management. This study involved 161 nurses and 503 GPs who completed a survey distributed via conference satchels to delegates of Healthed seminars focused on topics relevant to women and children's health. Differences between GPs and nurses were analyzed using χ(2)- tests and two-sample t-tests, while logistic regression examined predictors of service provision. GPs were more likely than nurses to have engaged in cannabis-related service provision, but also more frequently reported barriers related to time, interest, and having more important issues to address. Nurses reported less knowledge, skills, and role legitimacy. Perceived screening skills predicted screening and referral to alcohol and other drug (AOD) services, while knowing a regular user increased the likelihood of referrals only. Approaches to increase cannabis-related screening and intervention may be improved by involving nurses, and by leveraging the relationship between nurses and doctors, in primary care.

Research on land registration procedure ontology of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Zhongjun; Du, Qingyun; Zhang, Weiwei; Liu, Tao

2009-10-01

Land registration is public act which is to record the state-owned land use right, collective land ownership, collective land use right and land mortgage, servitude, as well as other land rights required the registration according to laws and regulations onto land registering books. Land registration is one of the important government affairs , so it is very important to standardize, optimize and humanize the process of land registration. The management works of organization are realized through a variety of workflows. Process knowledge is in essence a kind of methodology knowledge and a system which including the core and the relational knowledge. In this paper, the ontology is introduced into the field of land registration and management, trying to optimize the flow of land registration, to promote the automation-building and intelligent Service of land registration affairs, to provide humanized and intelligent service for multi-types of users . This paper tries to build land registration procedure ontology by defining the land registration procedure ontology's key concepts which represent the kinds of processes of land registration and mapping the kinds of processes to OWL-S. The land registration procedure ontology shall be the start and the basis of the Web service.

How can managers in the hospital in the home units help to balance technology and physician-patient knowledge?

PubMed

Cepeda-Carrión, Gabriel; Cegarra-Navarro, Juan Gabriel; Martínez-Caro, Eva; Eldridge, Stephen

2011-10-01

With the passing of time, knowledge like other resources can become obsolete. Thus, people in a healthcare system need to update their knowledge in order to keep pace with the ongoing changes in their operational environment. Information technology continually provides a great amount of new knowledge which can lead to healthcare professionals becoming overloaded with knowledge. This overloading can be alleviated by a process of unlearning which enables the professional to retain just the relevant and critical knowledge required to improve the quality of service provided by them. This paper shows some of the tools and methods that Hospital-in-the-Home Units (HHUs) have used to update the physician-patient knowledge and the technology knowledge of the HHUs' personnel. A survey study was carried out in the HHU in Spanish health system in 2010. Fifty-five doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 HHUs. None. Three hypotheses are presented and supported, which suggest that technology and physician-patient knowledge is related to the unlearning context and the unlearning context impacts positively on the quality of health services provided. The key benefits of the unlearning context for the quality of service provided in HHUs are clear: it enables them to identify and replace poor practices and also avoids the reinvention of the wheel (e.g.: by minimizing unnecessary work caused by the use of poor methods) and it reduces costs through better productivity and efficiency (improving services to patients).

A workplace intervention program and the increase in HIV knowledge, perceived accessibility and use of condoms among young factory workers in Thailand.

PubMed

Chamratrithirong, Aphichat; Ford, Kathleen; Punpuing, Sureeporn; Prasartkul, Pramote

2017-12-01

Vulnerability to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection among factory workers is a global problem. This study investigated the effectiveness of an intervention to increase AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use among young factory workers in Thailand. The intervention was a workplace program designed to engage the private sector in HIV prevention. A cross-sectional survey conducted in 2008 to measure program outcomes in factories in Thailand was used in this study. The workplace intervention included the development of policies for management of HIV-positive employees, training sessions for managers and workers, and distribution of educational materials and condoms. A multi-level analysis was used to investigate the effect of HIV/AIDS prevention program components at the workplace on HIV/AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use with regular sexual partners among 699 young factory workers (aged 18-24 years), controlling for their individual socio-demographic characteristics. Interventions related to the management and services component including workplace AIDS policy formulation, condom services programs and behavioral change campaigns were found to be significantly related to increased AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use with regular partners. The effect of the HIV/AIDS training for managers, peer leaders and workers was positive but not statistically significant. With some revision of program components, scaling up of workplace interventions and the engagement of the private sector in HIV prevention should be seriously considered.

Use of performance indicators to assess the solid waste management of health services.

PubMed

Assis, Mayara C; Gomes, Vanielle A P; Balista, Wagner C; Freitas, Rodrigo R DE

2017-01-01

Modern society faces serious challenges, among them, the complexity of environmental problems. Thus, there are several possible sources of environmental degradation, however, the waste produced by health services have an important peculiarity due to its toxic or pathogenic characteristics, since when managed improperly provide also health risk public. The involvement of solid waste from healthcare services environmental impact integrates matters a little more complex, because in addition to environmental health, they also interfere with the healthiness of environments that generate, with the consequences of nosocomial infections, occupational health and public. Thus, the management has become an urgent need, especially when we see no use of performance indicators management in healthcare environments in the city of São Mateus, ES. For this, we used the Analytic Hierarchy Process Method to prioritize such indicators as the potential improvement in health services waste management process - WHS and thus environmental analysis was performed with the use of a template for SWOT analysis. The results showed that the performance indicator training strategies developed with employees has the greatest potential to assist in improvements in WHS (Health Services Waste) management process followed indicator knowledge of the regulations associated with procedures performed by employees and importance of biosafety regulations.

Patients’ management of type 2 diabetes in Middle Eastern countries: review of studies

PubMed Central

Alsairafi, Zahra Khalil; Taylor, Kevin Michael Geoffrey; Smith, Felicity J; Alattar, Abdulnabi T

2016-01-01

The increased prevalence of diabetes in Middle Eastern countries is a health policy priority. Important risk factors for diabetes have been identified. Lifestyle interventions and adherence to medications are central to disease prevention and management. This review focuses on the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Middle Eastern countries. The aim is to identify the ways in which knowledge, health beliefs, and social and cultural factors influence adherence to medication and lifestyle measures. Thirty-four studies were identified following a systematic search of the literature. The studies describe the influence of knowledge, health beliefs, culture, and lifestyle on the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Middle East. Findings indicate a lack of health knowledge about diabetes among populations, which has implications for health behaviors, medication adherence, and treatment outcomes. Many identified health beliefs and cultural lifestyle factors, such as religious beliefs, beliefs about fasting during Ramadan, and sedentary lifestyles played a role in patients’ decisions. For better management of this disease, a collaborative approach between patients, their families, health care professionals, and governments should be adopted. Implementing behavioral strategies and psychological interventions that incorporate all health care professionals in the management process have been shown to be effective methods. Such services help patients change their behavior. However, the utilization of such services and interventions is still limited in Arabian countries. Physicians in the Middle East are the health care professionals most involved in the care process. PMID:27354775

Patients' management of type 2 diabetes in Middle Eastern countries: review of studies.

PubMed

Alsairafi, Zahra Khalil; Taylor, Kevin Michael Geoffrey; Smith, Felicity J; Alattar, Abdulnabi T

2016-01-01

The increased prevalence of diabetes in Middle Eastern countries is a health policy priority. Important risk factors for diabetes have been identified. Lifestyle interventions and adherence to medications are central to disease prevention and management. This review focuses on the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Middle Eastern countries. The aim is to identify the ways in which knowledge, health beliefs, and social and cultural factors influence adherence to medication and lifestyle measures. Thirty-four studies were identified following a systematic search of the literature. The studies describe the influence of knowledge, health beliefs, culture, and lifestyle on the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Middle East. Findings indicate a lack of health knowledge about diabetes among populations, which has implications for health behaviors, medication adherence, and treatment outcomes. Many identified health beliefs and cultural lifestyle factors, such as religious beliefs, beliefs about fasting during Ramadan, and sedentary lifestyles played a role in patients' decisions. For better management of this disease, a collaborative approach between patients, their families, health care professionals, and governments should be adopted. Implementing behavioral strategies and psychological interventions that incorporate all health care professionals in the management process have been shown to be effective methods. Such services help patients change their behavior. However, the utilization of such services and interventions is still limited in Arabian countries. Physicians in the Middle East are the health care professionals most involved in the care process.

Knowledge and attitude of Jordanian school health teachers with regards to emergency management of dental trauma.

PubMed

Al-Jundi, Suhad H; Al-Waeili, Haydar; Khairalah, Khaled

2005-08-01

The purpose of this study was to assess, by means of a self administered structured questionnaire, the level of knowledge of school health teachers in northern Jordan with regards to the immediate emergency management of dental trauma. The questionnaire surveyed teacher's background, Knowledge of management of tooth fracture, avulsion, and loss of consciousness, it also investigated teacher's attitudes, and self assessed knowledge, as well as knowledge of availability of emergency services in Jordan. The sample consisted of all school health teachers in northern Jordan (220) who attended an oral health education course held by the Jordanian dental association. Only 190 were included in the survey. Sixty-three percent were females, 44% were in their twenties, and 43% in their forties. Their school health teaching experience ranged from 1 to 7 years. Only 20% were officially trained in school health. Less than half of the teachers received first aid training only once in their teaching career, not necessarily as part of school health training. Only 10 teachers were trained in dental first aid, and more than half had a previous experience with handling dental trauma in children. Overall the teachers' knowledge with regards to the emergency management of the trauma cases presented in the report was deficient. Chi-square test showed that, the difference in their responses to the knowledge part of the questionnaire was not statistically significant with regards to age, gender, years of teaching experience, first aid training, or number of seen trauma cases. Generally, the attitude was positive, most teachers wanting further education on the topic, however those who were trained in first aid, thought they were able to give proper action when needed in cases of trauma (P = 0.026). Most teachers were unsatisfied with their level of knowledge, and only 30% knew of the availability of after hour emergency services for dental trauma. The present report indicated the gross lack of knowledge among school health teachers with regards to dental trauma emergency management. Educational programs to improve the knowledge and awareness of this group of adults, who are usually the first line of advice in case of dental trauma in schools, are mandatory. These programs should be properly designed to insure that proper information is retained with a positive effect on attitude, and self assessed competence.

Emergency Medical Services Program Administration Prototype Curriculum: Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

The curriculum guide was developed for training administrators (new entrants and incumbents), at the college level, in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program administration. It is designed to be comprehensive and to include all knowledge and skills needed to perform the functions and tasks involved in EMS administration and management. The brief…

What qualities are valued in residential direct care workers from the perspective of people with an intellectual disability and managers of accommodation services?

PubMed

Dodevska, G A; Vassos, M V

2013-07-01

To date, the descriptions of a 'good' direct care worker used to recruit workers for disability services have largely been drawn up by managerial professionals in charge of hiring supports for people with disabilities. However, previous research highlights that these professionals conceptualise a 'good' direct care worker differently from service users with an intellectual disability (ID), with professionals placing an emphasis on describing workers with a range of practical skills and knowledge and service users placing an emphasis on describing workers with interpersonal skills. The aim of this research was to replicate this finding using a methodological approach that rectifies some of the weaknesses of previous research in this field. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the qualities that are valued in residential direct care workers (RDCWs) from the perspective of seven residents with ID and seven managers of accommodation services located in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Thematic and chi-squared analysis confirmed the findings of previous research with residents with an ID placing more of an emphasis on the interpersonal behaviours of RDCWs in their descriptions compared to the managers. The interpersonal skills of a potential worker along with their practical skills and knowledge must be considered when recruiting RDCWs. It is also implied that given the different conceptualisation of a 'good' direct care worker across service users and professionals, increased service user participation in the organisation of appropriate supports is warranted. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, MENCAP & IASSID.

Evaluation of Immunization Knowledge, Practices, and Service-delivery in the Private Sector in Cambodia

PubMed Central

Soeung, Sann Chan; Grundy, John; Morn, Cheng; Samnang, Chham

2008-01-01

A study of private-sector immunization services was undertaken to assess scope of practice and quality of care and to identify opportunities for the development of models of collaboration between the public and the private health sector. A questionnaire survey was conducted with health providers at 127 private facilities; clinical practices were directly observed; and a policy forum was held for government representatives, private healthcare providers, and international partners. In terms of prevalence of private-sector provision of immunization services, 93% of the private inpatient clinics surveyed provided immunization services. The private sector demonstrated a lack of quality of care and management in terms of health workers’ knowledge of immunization schedules, waste and vaccine management practices, and exchange of health information with the public sector. Policy and operational guidelines are required for private-sector immunization practices that address critical subject areas, such as setting of standards, capacity-building, public-sector monitoring, and exchange of health information between the public and the private sector. Such public/private collaborations will keep pace with the trends towards the development of private-sector provision of health services in developing countries. PMID:18637533

EO Domain Specific Knowledge Enabled Services (KES-B)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varas, J.; Busto, J.; Torguet, R.

2004-09-01

This paper recovers and describes a number of major statements with respect to the vision, mission and technological approaches of the Technological Research Project (TRP) "EO Domain Specific Knowledge Enabled Services" (project acronym KES-B), which is currently under development at the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) under contract "16397/02/I- SB". Resulting from the on-going R&D activities, the KES-B project aims are to demonstrate with a prototype system the feasibility of the application of innovative knowledge-based technologies to provide services for easy, scheduled and controlled exploitation of EO resources (e.g.: data, algorithms, procedures, storage, processors, ...), to automate the generation of products, and to support users in easily identifying and accessing the required information or products by using their own vocabulary, domain knowledge and preferences. The ultimate goals of KES-B are summarized in the provision of the two main types of KES services: 1st the Search service (also referred to as Product Exploitation or Information Retrieval; and 2nd the Production service (also referred to as Information Extraction), with the strategic advantage that they are enabled by Knowledge consolidated (formalized) within the system. The KES-B system technical solution approach is driven by a strong commitment for the adoption of industry (XML-based) language standards, aiming to have an interoperable, scalable and flexible operational prototype. In that sense, the Search KES services builds on the basis of the adoption of consolidated and/or emergent W3C semantic-web standards. Remarkably the languages/models Dublin Core (DC), Universal Resource Identifier (URI), Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Ontology Web Language (OWL), and COTS like Protege [1] and JENA [2] are being integrated in the system as building bricks for the construction of the KES based Search services. On the other hand, the Production KES services builds on top of workflow management standards and tools. In this side, the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL), the Web Services Definition Language (WSDL), and the Collaxa [3] COTS tool for workflow management are being integrated for the construction of the KES-B Production Services. The KES-B platform (web portal and web-server) architecture is build on the basis of the J2EE reference architecture. These languages represent the mean for the codification of the different types of knowledge that are to be formalized in the system. This representing the ontological architecture of the system. This shall enable in fact the interoperability with other KES-based systems committing as well to those standards. The motivation behind this vision is pointing towards the construction of the Semantic-web based GRID supply- chain infrastructure for EO-services, in line with the INSPIRE initiative suggestions.

Traditional ecological knowledge trends in the transition to a market economy: empirical study in the Doñana natural areas.

PubMed

Gómez-Baggethun, Erik; Mingorría, Sara; Reyes-García, Victoria; Calvet, Laura; Montes, Carlos

2010-06-01

Researchers and conservation managers largely agree on the relevance of traditional ecological knowledge for natural resource management in indigenous communities, but its prevalence and role as societies modernize are contested. We analyzed the transmission of traditional knowledge among rural local people in communities linked to protected areas in Doñana, southwestern Spain. We studied changes in knowledge related to local practices in agriculture and livestock farming among 198 informants from three generations that cover the period in which the area transited from an economy strongly dependent on local ecosystem services to a market economy with intensified production systems. Our results suggest an abrupt loss of traditional agricultural knowledge related to rapid transformations and intensification of agricultural systems, but maintenance of knowledge of traditional livestock farming, an activity allowed in the protected areas that maintains strong links with local cultural identity. Our results demonstrate the potential of protected areas in protecting remaining bodies of traditional ecological knowledge in developed country settings. Nevertheless, we note that strict protection in cultural-landscape-dominated areas can disrupt transmission of traditional knowledge if local resource users and related practices are excluded from ecosystem management.

Supervisors matter more than you think: components of a mission-centered organizational climate.

PubMed

Butcher, A H

1994-01-01

A study was conducted in a medical center among a diverse sample of employees to examine whether components of organizational climate related to workers' knowledge of the organization's mission and mission-centered values. Findings supported a mediated relationship between supervisor behaviors, mission knowledge, and customer service orientation (the organization's key mission value). Employee perceptions of coworker and organizational support and knowledge of their own performance expectations also related positively to customer service orientation. Results suggest that supervisors are in an ideal position to disseminate a mission-centered climate. Practical applications of these findings for management wishing to develop mission-centered climates in health care organizations are discussed.

Using forest knowledge: how silviculture can benefit from ecological knowledge systems about beargrass harvesting sites

Treesearch

S. Hummel; Frank Lake; A. Watts

2015-01-01

Sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of national forests and grasslands is the mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. Yet managing these lands is challenging because people hold different expectations for them. Public uses can include: • Recreation (scenery, trails, bicycle and snowmobile routes)...

42 CFR 35.44 - Delivery to legal representative; to other claimants if value is $1,000 or less.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL CARE AND EXAMINATIONS HOSPITAL AND STATION MANAGEMENT Disposal of Money... charge has neither notice nor other knowledge of the appointment or qualification of a legal... of the persons specified above if the officer in charge has neither notice nor other knowledge that a...

Satisfaction of village doctors with the township and village health services integration policy in the western minority-inhabited areas of China.

PubMed

Feng, Da; Zhang, Liang; Xiang, Yuan-Xi; Zhang, Dong-Lan; Wang, Ruo-Xi; Tang, Shang-Feng; Fu, Hang; Li, Bo-Yang

2017-02-01

Township and Village Health Services Integration Management (TVHSIM) is an essential form of China's two-tiered health service integration plan at the township and village level. Its main purpose, also one of the target goals in China's new healthcare reform, is to gradually integrate rural health services and appropriately allocate rural health resources. This study aims to assess the village doctors' satisfaction with the TVHSIM and provide scientific base to further improve TVHSIM. A cross-sectional study was carried out in which 162 village doctors from Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang in western China were interviewed. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Spearman rank correlation and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the difference and relevance between village doctors' personal characteristics and their satisfaction with TVHSIM and six subscales. Village doctors with different years of practice, social insurance status and essential medical knowledge level showed statistically significant differences in their satisfaction levels (all P<0.05). Age (P<0.05) and years of practice (P<0.01) were negatively correlated with Drug and Medical Device Management and Financing Management. Essential medical knowledge level (P<0.05) was negatively correlated with Operations Management as well. However, social insurance status (P<0.05) was positively correlated with Human Resources Management and Drug and Medical Device management. Gender, age and years of practice respectively had significant influence on village doctors' satisfaction with TVHSIM (P<0.01). In conclusion, in order to further promote TVHSIM policy in rural China, a well-rounded social insurance model for village doctors is urgently needed. In addition, the development of TVHSIM is regionally imbalanced. Efficient and effective measures aiming at rationalizing gender and age structure and enhancing essential medical training should be carefully considered.

Business Entity Selection: Why It Matters to Healthcare Practitioners. Part III--Nonprofits, Ethics, Practice Implications, and Conclusions.

PubMed

Nithman, Robert W

2015-01-01

The Bureau of Labor statistics indicates only a 50% four-year survivability rate among businesses classified as "education and health services." Gaining knowledge of IRS business entities can result in cost savings, operational efficiency, reduced liability, and enhanced sustainability. Each entity has unique disadvantages, depending on size, diversity of ownership, desire to expand, and profitability. Business structures should be compatible with organizational mission or vision statements, services and products, and professional codes of ethics. Healthcare reform will require greater business acumen. We have an ethical duty to disseminate and acquire the knowledge to properly establish and manage healthcare practices to ensure sustainable services that protect and serve the community.

Business Entity Selection: Why It Matters to Healthcare Practitioners. Part II--Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, and Professional Entities.

PubMed

Nithman, Robert W

2015-01-01

The Bureau of Labor statistics indicates only a 50% four-year survivability rate among businesses classified as "education and health services." Gaining knowledge of IRS business entities can result in cost savings, operational efficiency, reduced liability, and enhanced sustainability. Each entity has unique disadvantages, depending on size, diversity of ownership, desire to expand, and profitability. Business structures should be compatible with organizational mission or vision statements, services and products, and professional codes of ethics. Healthcare reform will require greater business acumen. We have an ethical duty to disseminate and acquire the knowledge to properly establish and manage healthcare practices to ensure sustainable services that protect and serve the community.

Designing a theory-informed, contextually appropriate intervention strategy to improve delivery of paediatric services in Kenyan hospitals

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background District hospital services in Kenya and many low-income countries should deliver proven, effective interventions that could substantially reduce child and newborn mortality. However such services are often of poor quality. Researchers have therefore been challenged to identify intervention strategies that go beyond addressing knowledge, skill, or resource inadequacies to support health systems to deliver better services at scale. An effort to develop a system-oriented intervention tailored to local needs and context and drawing on theory is described. Methods An intervention was designed to improve district hospital services for children based on four main strategies: a reflective process to distill root causes for the observed problems with service delivery; developing a set of possible intervention approaches to address these problems; a search of literature for theory that provided the most appropriate basis for intervention design; and repeatedly moving backwards and forwards between identified causes, proposed interventions, identified theory, and knowledge of the existing context to develop an overarching intervention that seemed feasible and likely to be acceptable and potentially sustainable. Results and discussion In addition to human and resource constraints key problems included failures of relevant professionals to take responsibility for or ownership of the challenge of pediatric service delivery; inadequately prepared, poorly supported leaders of service units (mid-level managers) who are often professionally and geographically isolated and an almost complete lack of useful information for routinely monitoring or understanding service delivery practice or outcomes. A system-oriented intervention recognizing the pivotal role of leaders of service units but addressing the outer and inner setting of hospitals was designed to help shape and support an appropriate role for these professionals. It aims to foster a sense of ownership while providing the necessary understanding, knowledge, and skills for mid-level managers to work effectively with senior managers and frontline staff to improve services. The intervention will include development of an information system, feedback mechanisms, and discussion fora that promote positive change. The vehicle for such an intervention is a collaborative network partnering government and national professional associations. This case is presented to promote discussion on approaches to developing context appropriate interventions particularly in international health. PMID:23537192

Composting of Municipal Solid Wastes in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breidenbach, Andrew W.

To gain more comprehensive knowledge about composting as a solid waste management tool and to better assess the limited information available, the Federal solid waste management program, within the U. S. Public Health Service, entered into a joint experimental windrow composting project in 1966 with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the City of…

Using avian focal species to inform rangeland management in California oak woodland

Treesearch

Alicia D. Young; Breanna Owens; Melissa Odell; Corey Shake; Wendell Gilgert; Geoffrey R. Geupel

2015-01-01

Biological knowledge about bird focal species may be used to inform planning, habitat management, and restoration efforts, with the assumption that the implementation of these species-based recommendations will maintain and enhance healthy functioning habitats and the ecosystems services they provide. Point Blue Conservation Science in collaboration with the Natural...

Exploring Barriers to the Categorization of Electronic Content in a Global Professional Services Firm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Totterdale, Robert L.

2009-01-01

Businesses have always maintained records pertinent to the enterprise. With over 90% of new business records now estimated to be available in electronic form, organizations struggle to manage these vast amounts of electronic content while at the same time meeting collaboration, knowledge management, regulatory, and compliance needs. This case…

The Film as Visual Aided Learning Tool in Classroom Management Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altinay Gazi, Zehra; Altinay Aksal, Fahriye

2011-01-01

This research aims to investigate the impact of the visual aided learning on pre-service teachers' co-construction of subject matter knowledge in teaching practice. The study revealed the examination of film as an active cognizing and learning tool in classroom management course within teacher education programme. Within the framework of action…

Intelligent data management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, William J.

1985-01-01

Intelligent data management is the concept of interfacing a user to a database management system with a value added service that will allow a full range of data management operations at a high level of abstraction using human written language. The development of such a system will be based on expert systems and related artificial intelligence technologies, and will allow the capturing of procedural and relational knowledge about data management operations and the support of a user with such knowledge in an on-line, interactive manner. Such a system will have the following capabilities: (1) the ability to construct a model of the users view of the database, based on the query syntax; (2) the ability to transform English queries and commands into database instructions and processes; (3) the ability to use heuristic knowledge to rapidly prune the data space in search processes; and (4) the ability to use an on-line explanation system to allow the user to understand what the system is doing and why it is doing it. Additional information is given in outline form.

ASK Magazine. No. 14

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laufer, Alexander (Editor); Post, Todd (Editor); Brady, Jody Lannen (Editor)

2003-01-01

Academy of Program and Project Leadership (APPL) and ASK Magazine helps NASA managers and project teams accomplish today's missions and meet tomorrow's challenges by providing performance enhancement services and tools, supporting career development programs, sponsoring knowledge sharing events and publications, and creating opportunities for project management collaboration with universities, professional associations, industry partners, and other government agencies. ASK Magazine grew out of APPL's Knowledge Sharing Initiative. The stories that appear in ASK are written by the best of the best project managers, primarily from NASA, but also from other government agencies and industry. These stories contain genuine nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that are transferable across projects. Who better than a project manager to help another project manager address a critical issue on a project? Big projects, small projects - they're all here in ASK. Please direct all inquiries about ASK Magazine editorial policy to Todd Post, EduTech Ltd., 8455 Colesville Rd., Suite 930, Silver Spring, MD 20910, (301) 585-1030; or email to tpost@edutechltd.com.

Defense Science Board 2006 Summer Study on Information Management for Net-Centric Operations. Volume 1: Main Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

industrial and commercial companies have been very successful at developing this type of organization and management structure, beginning with a... companies like large management consulting firms depends on being extremely proficient at this kind of knowledge and information management. The...technology services company , recognizes that their information base and experience is their most valued corporate asset and they treat it as such. They

Thomson Scientific's expanding Web of Knowledge: beyond citation databases and current awareness services.

PubMed

London, Sue; Brahmi, Frances A

2005-01-01

As end-user demand for easy access to electronic full text continues to climb, an increasing number of information providers are combining that access with their other products and services, making navigating their Web sites by librarians seeking information on a given product or service more daunting than ever. One such provider of a complex array of products and services is Thomson Scientific. This paper looks at some of the many products and tools available from two of Thomson Scientific's businesses, Thomson ISI and Thomson ResearchSoft. Among the items of most interest to health sciences and veterinary librarians and their users are the variety of databases available via the ISI Web of Knowledge platform and the information management products available from ResearchSoft.

Trust and Privacy Solutions Based on Holistic Service Requirements.

PubMed

Sánchez Alcón, José Antonio; López, Lourdes; Martínez, José-Fernán; Rubio Cifuentes, Gregorio

2015-12-24

The products and services designed for Smart Cities provide the necessary tools to improve the management of modern cities in a more efficient way. These tools need to gather citizens' information about their activity, preferences, habits, etc. opening up the possibility of tracking them. Thus, privacy and security policies must be developed in order to satisfy and manage the legislative heterogeneity surrounding the services provided and comply with the laws of the country where they are provided. This paper presents one of the possible solutions to manage this heterogeneity, bearing in mind these types of networks, such as Wireless Sensor Networks, have important resource limitations. A knowledge and ontology management system is proposed to facilitate the collaboration between the business, legal and technological areas. This will ease the implementation of adequate specific security and privacy policies for a given service. All these security and privacy policies are based on the information provided by the deployed platforms and by expert system processing.

Trust and Privacy Solutions Based on Holistic Service Requirements

PubMed Central

Sánchez Alcón, José Antonio; López, Lourdes; Martínez, José-Fernán; Rubio Cifuentes, Gregorio

2015-01-01

The products and services designed for Smart Cities provide the necessary tools to improve the management of modern cities in a more efficient way. These tools need to gather citizens’ information about their activity, preferences, habits, etc. opening up the possibility of tracking them. Thus, privacy and security policies must be developed in order to satisfy and manage the legislative heterogeneity surrounding the services provided and comply with the laws of the country where they are provided. This paper presents one of the possible solutions to manage this heterogeneity, bearing in mind these types of networks, such as Wireless Sensor Networks, have important resource limitations. A knowledge and ontology management system is proposed to facilitate the collaboration between the business, legal and technological areas. This will ease the implementation of adequate specific security and privacy policies for a given service. All these security and privacy policies are based on the information provided by the deployed platforms and by expert system processing. PMID:26712752

D-WISE: Diabetes Web-Centric Information and Support Environment: conceptual specification and proposed evaluation.

PubMed

Abidi, Samina; Vallis, Michael; Raza Abidi, Syed Sibte; Piccinini-Vallis, Helena; Imran, Syed Ali

2014-06-01

To develop and evaluate Diabetes Web-Centric Information and Support Environment (D-WISE) that offers 1) a computerized decision-support system to assist physicians to A) use the Canadian Diabetes Association clinical practice guidelines (CDA CPGs) to recommend evidence-informed interventions; B) offer a computerized readiness assessment strategy to help physicians administer behaviour-change strategies to help patients adhere to disease self-management programs; and 2) a patient-specific diabetes self-management application, accessible through smart mobile devices, that offers behaviour-change interventions to engage patients in self-management. The above-mentioned objectives were pursued through a knowledge management approach that involved 1) Translation of paper-based CDA CPGs and behaviour-change models as computerized decision-support tools that will assist physicians to offer evidence-informed and personalized diabetes management and behaviour-change strategies; 2) Engagement of patients in their diabetes care by generating a diabetes self-management program that takes into account their preferences, challenges and needs; 3) Empowering patients to self-manage their condition by providing them with personalized educational and motivational messages through a mobile self-management application. The theoretical foundation of our research is grounded in behaviour-change models and healthcare knowledge management. We used 1) knowledge modelling to computerize the paper-based CDA CPGs and behaviour-change models, in particular, the behaviour-change strategy elements of A) readiness-to-change assessments; B) motivation-enhancement interventions categorized along the lines of patients' being ready, ambivalent or not ready; and C) self-efficacy enhancement. The CDA CPGs and the behaviour-change models are modelled and computerized in terms of A) a diabetes management ontology that serves as the knowledge resource for all the services offered by D-WISE; B) decision support services that use logic-based reasoning algorithms to utilize the knowledge encoded within the diabetes management ontology to assist physicians by recommending patient-specific diabetes-management interventions and behaviour-change strategies; C) a mobile diabetes self-management application to engage and educate diabetes patients to self-manage their condition in a home-based setting while working in concert with their family physicians. We have been successful in creating and conducting a usability assessment of the physician decision support tool. These results will be published once the patient self- management application has been evaluated. D-WISE will be evaluated through pilot studies measuring 1) the usability of the e-Health interventions; and 2) the impact of the interventions on patients' behaviour changes and diabetes control. Copyright © 2014 Canadian Diabetes Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lynch syndrome: barriers to and facilitators of screening and disease management.

PubMed

Watkins, Kathy E; Way, Christine Y; Fiander, Jacqueline J; Meadus, Robert J; Esplen, Mary Jane; Green, Jane S; Ludlow, Valerie C; Etchegary, Holly A; Parfrey, Patrick S

2011-09-07

Lynch syndrome is a hereditary cancer with confirmed carriers at high risk for colorectal (CRC) and extracolonic cancers. The purpose of the current study was to develop a greater understanding of the factors influencing decisions about disease management post-genetic testing. The study used a grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis as part of a multiphase project examining the psychosocial and behavioral impact of predictive DNA testing for Lynch syndrome. Individual and small group interviews were conducted with individuals from 10 families with the MSH2 intron 5 splice site mutation or exon 8 deletion. The data from confirmed carriers (n = 23) were subjected to re-analysis to identify key barriers to and/or facilitators of screening and disease management. Thematic analysis identified personal, health care provider and health care system factors as dominant barriers to and/or facilitators of managing Lynch syndrome. Person-centered factors reflect risk perceptions and decision-making, and enduring screening/disease management. The perceived knowledge and clinical management skills of health care providers also influenced participation in recommended protocols. The health care system barriers/facilitators are defined in terms of continuity of care and coordination of services among providers. Individuals with Lynch syndrome often encounter multiple barriers to and facilitators of disease management that go beyond the individual to the provider and health care system levels. The current organization and implementation of health care services are inadequate. A coordinated system of local services capable of providing integrated, efficient health care and follow-up, populated by providers with knowledge of hereditary cancer, is necessary to maintain optimal health.

Innovation in health service management: Adoption of project management offices to support major health care transformation.

PubMed

Lavoie-Tremblay, Mélanie; Aubry, Monique; Cyr, Guylaine; Richer, Marie-Claire; Fortin-Verreault, Jean-François; Fortin, Claude; Marchionni, Caroline

2017-11-01

To explore the characteristics that influence project management offices acceptance and adoption in healthcare sector. The creation of project management offices has been suggested as a promising avenue to promote successful organisational change and facilitate evidence-based practice. However, little is known about the characteristics that promote their initial adoption and acceptance in health care sector. This knowledge is important in the context where many organisations are considering implementing project management offices with nurse managers as leaders. A descriptive multiple case study design was used. The unit of analysis was the project management offices. The study was conducted in three university-affiliated teaching hospitals in 2013-14 (Canada). Individual interviews (n = 34) were conducted with senior managers. Results reveal that project management offices dedicated to project and change management constitute an innovation and an added value that addresses tangible needs in the field. Project management offices are an innovation highly compatible with health care managers and their approach has parallels to the process of clinical problem solving and reasoning well-known to adopters. This knowledge is important in a context where many nurses hold various roles in project management offices, such as Director, project manager, clinical expert and knowledge broker. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

System Architecture Development for Energy and Water Infrastructure Data Management and Geovisual Analytics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berres, A.; Karthik, R.; Nugent, P.; Sorokine, A.; Myers, A.; Pang, H.

2017-12-01

Building an integrated data infrastructure that can meet the needs of a sustainable energy-water resource management requires a robust data management and geovisual analytics platform, capable of cross-domain scientific discovery and knowledge generation. Such a platform can facilitate the investigation of diverse complex research and policy questions for emerging priorities in Energy-Water Nexus (EWN) science areas. Using advanced data analytics, machine learning techniques, multi-dimensional statistical tools, and interactive geovisualization components, such a multi-layered federated platform is being developed, the Energy-Water Nexus Knowledge Discovery Framework (EWN-KDF). This platform utilizes several enterprise-grade software design concepts and standards such as extensible service-oriented architecture, open standard protocols, event-driven programming model, enterprise service bus, and adaptive user interfaces to provide a strategic value to the integrative computational and data infrastructure. EWN-KDF is built on the Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) environment in Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Identification and Management of Human Trafficking Victims in the Emergency Department.

PubMed

Hachey, Lisa M; Phillippi, Julia C

Health care practitioners serve an important role in identification and assistance of human trafficking victims. Advanced practice registered nurses, including certified nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse practitioners, are in a unique position to interact with persons trafficked and seen in the clinical setting, yet they require knowledge to identify the signs of human trafficking. Lack of training and education has been identified as a barrier for health care professionals to recognize human trafficking victims and implement needed health care services (; ). Barriers to identification and management include gap in knowledge about the process to screen for trafficking, to assist victims, and to make referrals. A patient-centered, trauma-informed approach can provide a safe environment to sensitively screen patients for human trafficking. Advanced practice registered nurses should be able to assess for trafficking indicators, collaborate with multidisciplinary service providers, and ensure understanding and availability of federal, state, and local resources to manage the care of victims of trafficking.

Barriers to Managing Fertility: Findings From the Understanding Fertility Management in Contemporary Australia Facebook Discussion Group

PubMed Central

Rowe, Heather

2016-01-01

Background As part of research investigating the complexities of managing fertility in Australia, public opinions about how Australians manage their fertility were sought from women and men. Objective To identify public opinion about sexual and reproductive health in Australia. Methods To ensure access to a diverse group of people throughout Australia, an online group was advertised and convened on Facebook from October through December 2013. In a closed-group moderated discussion, participants responded to questions about how people in Australia attempt to manage three aspects of fertility: avoiding pregnancy, achieving pregnancy, and difficulties conceiving. Nonidentifiable demographic information was sought; no personal accounts of fertility management were requested. The discussion transcript was analyzed thematically. Results There were 61 female and 2 male Facebook users aged 18 to 50 years living in Australia participating in the study. Four main themes about fertility management were identified: access, geographical location, knowledge, and cost. Participants reported that young people and people from rural areas face barriers accessing contraception and fertility services. Limited knowledge about sex and reproduction and the cost of fertility services and contraception were also said to impede effective fertility management. Conclusions Reasons for inequalities in effective fertility management that are amenable to change were identified. Facebook is an effective method for gaining insights into public opinion about sexual and reproductive health. PMID:26878865

A method of extracting ontology module using concept relations for sharing knowledge in mobile cloud computing environment.

PubMed

Lee, Keonsoo; Rho, Seungmin; Lee, Seok-Won

2014-01-01

In mobile cloud computing environment, the cooperation of distributed computing objects is one of the most important requirements for providing successful cloud services. To satisfy this requirement, all the members, who are employed in the cooperation group, need to share the knowledge for mutual understanding. Even if ontology can be the right tool for this goal, there are several issues to make a right ontology. As the cost and complexity of managing knowledge increase according to the scale of the knowledge, reducing the size of ontology is one of the critical issues. In this paper, we propose a method of extracting ontology module to increase the utility of knowledge. For the given signature, this method extracts the ontology module, which is semantically self-contained to fulfill the needs of the service, by considering the syntactic structure and semantic relation of concepts. By employing this module, instead of the original ontology, the cooperation of computing objects can be performed with less computing load and complexity. In particular, when multiple external ontologies need to be combined for more complex services, this method can be used to optimize the size of shared knowledge.

Building Perinatal Case Manager Capacity Using Quality Improvement

PubMed Central

Fitzgerald, Elaine

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Improving breastfeeding rates among Black women is a potential strategy to address disparities in health outcomes that disproportionately impact Black women and children. This quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed to improve perinatal case manager knowledge and self-efficacy to promote breastfeeding among Black, low-income women who use services through Boston Healthy Start Initiative. QI methodology was used to develop and test a two-part strategy for perinatal case managers to promote and support breastfeeding. A positive change was observed in infant feeding knowledge and case manager self-efficacy to promote breastfeeding. Among the 24 mothers participating in this QI initiative, 100% initiated and continued breastfeeding at 1 week postpartum, and 92% were breastfeeding at 2 weeks postpartum. PMID:26937160

Increasing Secondary Student Enrollment in a Vocational Child Care Services Course through a Marketing Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Judy Lacy

This practicum met its goals of increasing enrollment in an inner city high school vocational home economics course on child guidance, care, and management services; increasing students' and counselors' knowledge about the course; and providing audiovisual and printed materials to help students make an informed selection of the course. The…

Using Interactions among In-Service Music Teachers in a Graduate Programme for Teacher Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shin, Jihae

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine interactions among in-service music teachers in a graduate music teacher education programme using Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder's [2002. "Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge." Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press] Communities of Practice (CoPs) framework. The…

Integration of health and social care: a case of learning and knowledge management.

PubMed

Williams, Paul M

2012-09-01

This paper considers integration of health and social care as an exercise in learning and knowledge management (KM). Integration assembles diverse actors and organisations in a collective effort to design and deliver new service models underpinned by multidisciplinary working and generic practice. Learning and KM are integral to this process. A critical review of the literature is undertaken to identify theoretical insights and models in this field, albeit grounded mainly in a private sector context. The findings from a research study involving two integrated services are then used to explore the role of, and approach to, learning and KM. This case study research was qualitative in nature and involved an interrogation of relevant documentary material, together with 25 in-depth interviews with a cross-section of strategic managers and professionals undertaken between March and May 2011. The evidence emerging indicated no planned strategies for learning and KM, but rather, interventions and mechanisms at different levels to support integration processes. These included formal activities, particularly around training and appraisal, but also informal ones within communities of practice and networking. Although structural enablers such as a co-location of facilities and joint appointments were important, the value of trust and inter-personal relationships was highlighted especially for tacit knowledge exchange. The infrastructure for learning and KM was constructed around a collaborative culture characterised by a coherent strategic framework; clarity of purpose based on new models of service; a collaborative leadership approach that was facilitative and distributed; and, a focus on team working to exploit the potential of multidisciplinary practice, generic working and integrated management. The discussion and conclusion use Nonaka's knowledge conversation model to reflect on the research findings, to comment on the absence of an explicit approach to learning and KM, and to develop a template to assist policy-makers with the design of planned strategies. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

5 CFR 337.302 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Definitions. 337.302 Section 337.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING SYSTEM Alternative... levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. ...

5 CFR 337.302 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Definitions. 337.302 Section 337.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING SYSTEM Alternative... levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. ...

5 CFR 337.302 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Definitions. 337.302 Section 337.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING SYSTEM Alternative... levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. ...

5 CFR 337.302 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Definitions. 337.302 Section 337.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING SYSTEM Alternative... levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. ...

5 CFR 337.302 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Definitions. 337.302 Section 337.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING SYSTEM Alternative... levels of knowledge, skills, and abilities. ...

A diabetes self-management program designed for urban American Indians.

PubMed

Castro, Sarah; O'Toole, Mary; Brownson, Carol; Plessel, Kimberly; Schauben, Laura

2009-10-01

Although the American Indian population has a disproportionately high rate of type 2 diabetes, little has been written about culturally sensitive self-management programs in this population. Community and clinic partners worked together to identify barriers to diabetes self-management and to provide activities and services as part of a holistic approach to diabetes self-management, called the Full Circle Diabetes Program. The program activities and services addressed 4 components of holistic health: body, spirit, mind, and emotion. Seven types of activities or services were available to help participants improve diabetes self-management; these included exercise classes, educational classes, and talking circles. Ninety-eight percent of program enrollees participated in at least 1 activity, and two-thirds participated in 2 or more activities. Program participation resulted in a significant improvement in knowledge of resources for managing diabetes. The Full Circle Diabetes Program developed and implemented culturally relevant resources and supports for diabetes self-management in an American Indian population. Lessons learned included that a holistic approach to diabetes self-management, community participation, and stakeholder partnerships are needed for a successful program.

Study of college library appealing information system: A case of Longyan University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Jin-Hui

2014-10-01

The complaints from the readers at university libraries mainly focus on the aspects of service attitude, quality of service, reading environment, the management system, etc. Librarians should realize that reader complaints can actually promote the role of the library service and communicate with readers who complain in a friendly manner. In addition, the Longyan University library should establish an internal management system, improve library hardware facilities, improve the quality of librarians and optimize the knowledge structure of librarians, so as to improve the quality of the service for readers and reduce complaints. Based on this point, we have designed an appealing information system in cryptography machine basis, to provide readers online, remote and anonymous complaint functions.

A description of physical therapists' knowledge in managing musculoskeletal conditions.

PubMed

Childs, John D; Whitman, Julie M; Sizer, Phillip S; Pugia, Maria L; Flynn, Timothy W; Delitto, Anthony

2005-06-17

Physical therapists increasingly provide direct access services to patients with musculoskeletal conditions, and growing evidence supports the cost-effectiveness of this mode of healthcare delivery. However, further evidence is needed to determine if physical therapists have the requisite knowledge necessary to manage musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe physical therapists' knowledge in managing musculoskeletal conditions. This study utilized a cross-sectional design in which 174 physical therapist students from randomly selected educational programs and 182 experienced physical therapists completed a standardized examination assessing knowledge in managing musculoskeletal conditions. This same examination has been previously been used to assess knowledge in musculoskeletal medicine among medical students, physician interns and residents, and across a variety of physician specialties. Experienced physical therapists had higher levels of knowledge in managing musculoskeletal conditions than medical students, physician interns and residents, and all physician specialists except for orthopaedists. Physical therapist students enrolled in doctoral degree educational programs achieved significantly higher scores than their peers enrolled in master's degree programs. Furthermore, experienced physical therapists who were board-certified in orthopaedic or sports physical therapy achieved significantly higher scores and passing rates than their non board-certified colleagues. The results of this study may have implications for health and public policy decisions regarding the suitability of utilizing physical therapists to provide direct access care for patients with musculoskeletal conditions.

Innoversity in knowledge-for-action and adaptation to climate change: the first steps of an 'evidence-based climatic health' transfrontier training program.

PubMed

Lapaige, Véronique; Essiembre, Hélène

2010-01-01

It has become increasingly clear to the international scientific community that climate change is real and has important consequences for human health. To meet these new challenges, the World Health Organization recommends reinforcing the adaptive capacity of health systems. One of the possible avenues in this respect is to promote awareness and knowledge translation in climatic health, at both the local and global scales. Within such perspective, two major themes have emerged in the field of public health research: 1) the development of advanced training adapted to 'global environment' change and to the specific needs of various groups of actors (doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, health care managers, public service managers, local communities, etc) and 2) the development of strategies for implementing research results and applying various types of evidence to the management of public health issues affected by climate change. Progress on these two fronts will depend on maximum innovation in transdisciplinary and transsectoral collaborations. The general purpose of this article is to present the program of a new research and learning chair designed for this double set of developmental objectives - a chair that emphasizes 'innoversity' (the dynamic relationship between innovation and diversity) and 'transfrontier ecolearning for adaptive actions'. The Écoapprentissages, santé mentale et climat collaborative research chair (University of Montreal and Quebec National Public Health Institute) based in Montreal is a center for 'transdisciplinary research' on the transfrontier knowledge-for-action that can aid adaptation of the public health sector, the public mental health sector, and the public service sector to climate change, as well as a center for complex collaborations on evidence-based climatic health 'training'. This program-focused article comprises two main sections. The first section presents the 'general' and 'specific contexts' in which the chair emerged. The 'general context' pertains to the health-related challenge of finding ways to integrate, transfer, and implement knowledge, a particularly pointed challenge in Canada. The 'specific context' refers to the emerging research field of adaptation of public health to climate change. In the second section, the characteristics of the research chair are more extensively detailed (the vision of 'innoversity' and ' transfrontier knowledge-for-action,' the approach of shared responsibility and complex collaboration, objectives, and major axes of research). We conclude with a call for complex collaboration toward knowledge-for-action in public health services/mental health services/public services' adaptation to climate change: this call is aimed at individual and institutional actors in the North and South/West and East concerned by these issues.

Use of qualitative methods in published health services and management research: a 10-year review.

PubMed

Weiner, Bryan J; Amick, Halle R; Lund, Jennifer L; Lee, Shoou-Yih Daniel; Hoff, Timothy J

2011-02-01

Over the past 10 years, the field of health services and management research has seen renewed interest in the use of qualitative research methods. This article examines the volume and characteristics of qualitative research articles published in nine major health services and management journals between 1998 and 2008. Qualitative research articles comprise 9% of research articles published in these journals. Although the publication rate of qualitative research articles has not kept pace with that of quantitative research articles, citation analysis suggests that qualitative research articles contribute comparably to the field's knowledge base. A wide range of policy and management topics has been examined using qualitative methods. Case study designs, interviews, and documentary sources were the most frequently used methods. Half of qualitative research articles provided little or no detail about key aspects the study's methods. Implications are discussed and recommendations are offered for promoting the publication of qualitative research.

Effects of consumer-centered u-health service for the knowledge, skill, and attitude of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Kim, Jeongeun; Kim, Sukwha; Kim, Hee-Chan; Kim, Kyung-Hwan; Yang, Seok-Chul; Lee, Choon-Taek; Kong, Hyoun-Joong; Lee, Kyungsoon

2012-12-01

Through the use of ubiquitous health, or u-Health, services, medical information can be adapted and made accessible via computer and Internet to provide quality healthcare to anybody, any place, and any time. We developed and implemented u-Health services for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and studied their experiences with respect to their knowledge of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and skill and attitude toward the u-Health devices. The u-Health services were composed of telemonitoring and teleconsultation supplemented with home visits. To determine its effectiveness, the u-Health service system was implemented for 2 years with 144 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in a clinical experiment. The subjects were divided into three experimental groups, each provided with different services, compared before and after intervention, and among groups. The analysis of data gathered through the system suggested that u-Health services can support patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, improve patients' knowledge about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease self-management, build u-Health device usage skills, and foster a positive attitude toward u-Health devices. The u-Health services for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients were both feasible and effective from the patients' perspective.

A theoretical framework to support research of health service innovation.

PubMed

Fox, Amanda; Gardner, Glenn; Osborne, Sonya

2015-02-01

Health service managers and policy makers are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of innovations implemented in health care settings. The increasing demand on health services requires that innovations are both effective and sustainable; however, research in this field is limited, with multiple disciplines, approaches and paradigms influencing the field. These variations prevent a cohesive approach, and therefore the accumulation of research findings, in the development of a body of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough examination of the research findings and provide an appropriate theoretical framework to examine sustainability of health service innovation. This paper presents an integrative review of the literature available in relation to sustainability of health service innovation and provides the development of a theoretical framework based on integration and synthesis of the literature. A theoretical framework serves to guide research, determine variables, influence data analysis and is central to the quest for ongoing knowledge development. This research outlines the sustainability of innovation framework; a theoretical framework suitable for examining the sustainability of health service innovation. If left unaddressed, health services research will continue in an ad hoc manner, preventing full utilisation of outcomes, recommendations and knowledge for effective provision of health services. The sustainability of innovation theoretical framework provides an operational basis upon which reliable future research can be conducted.

The EBM-DPSER Conceptual Model: Integrating Ecosystem Services into the DPSIR Framework

PubMed Central

Kelble, Christopher R.; Loomis, Dave K.; Lovelace, Susan; Nuttle, William K.; Ortner, Peter B.; Fletcher, Pamela; Cook, Geoffrey S.; Lorenz, Jerry J.; Boyer, Joseph N.

2013-01-01

There is a pressing need to integrate biophysical and human dimensions science to better inform holistic ecosystem management supporting the transition from single species or single-sector management to multi-sector ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management should focus upon ecosystem services, since they reflect societal goals, values, desires, and benefits. The inclusion of ecosystem services into holistic management strategies improves management by better capturing the diversity of positive and negative human-natural interactions and making explicit the benefits to society. To facilitate this inclusion, we propose a conceptual model that merges the broadly applied Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR) conceptual model with ecosystem services yielding a Driver, Pressure, State, Ecosystem service, and Response (EBM-DPSER) conceptual model. The impact module in traditional DPSIR models focuses attention upon negative anthropomorphic impacts on the ecosystem; by replacing impacts with ecosystem services the EBM-DPSER model incorporates not only negative, but also positive changes in the ecosystem. Responses occur as a result of changes in ecosystem services and include inter alia management actions directed at proactively altering human population or individual behavior and infrastructure to meet societal goals. The EBM-DPSER conceptual model was applied to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas marine ecosystem as a case study to illustrate how it can inform management decisions. This case study captures our system-level understanding and results in a more holistic representation of ecosystem and human society interactions, thus improving our ability to identify trade-offs. The EBM-DPSER model should be a useful operational tool for implementing EBM, in that it fully integrates our knowledge of all ecosystem components while focusing management attention upon those aspects of the ecosystem most important to human society and does so within a framework already familiar to resource managers. PMID:23951002

The EBM-DPSER conceptual model: integrating ecosystem services into the DPSIR framework.

PubMed

Kelble, Christopher R; Loomis, Dave K; Lovelace, Susan; Nuttle, William K; Ortner, Peter B; Fletcher, Pamela; Cook, Geoffrey S; Lorenz, Jerry J; Boyer, Joseph N

2013-01-01

There is a pressing need to integrate biophysical and human dimensions science to better inform holistic ecosystem management supporting the transition from single species or single-sector management to multi-sector ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management should focus upon ecosystem services, since they reflect societal goals, values, desires, and benefits. The inclusion of ecosystem services into holistic management strategies improves management by better capturing the diversity of positive and negative human-natural interactions and making explicit the benefits to society. To facilitate this inclusion, we propose a conceptual model that merges the broadly applied Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR) conceptual model with ecosystem services yielding a Driver, Pressure, State, Ecosystem service, and Response (EBM-DPSER) conceptual model. The impact module in traditional DPSIR models focuses attention upon negative anthropomorphic impacts on the ecosystem; by replacing impacts with ecosystem services the EBM-DPSER model incorporates not only negative, but also positive changes in the ecosystem. Responses occur as a result of changes in ecosystem services and include inter alia management actions directed at proactively altering human population or individual behavior and infrastructure to meet societal goals. The EBM-DPSER conceptual model was applied to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas marine ecosystem as a case study to illustrate how it can inform management decisions. This case study captures our system-level understanding and results in a more holistic representation of ecosystem and human society interactions, thus improving our ability to identify trade-offs. The EBM-DPSER model should be a useful operational tool for implementing EBM, in that it fully integrates our knowledge of all ecosystem components while focusing management attention upon those aspects of the ecosystem most important to human society and does so within a framework already familiar to resource managers.

Knowledge and practice related to gestational diabetes among primary health care providers in Morocco: Potential for a defragmentation of care?

PubMed

Utz, Bettina; Assarag, Bouchra; Essolbi, Amina; Barkat, Amina; Delamou, Alexandre; De Brouwere, Vincent

2017-08-01

The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and practices of general practitioners, nurses and midwives working at primary health care facilities in Morocco regarding screening and management of gestational diabetes (GDM). Structured interviews with 100 doctors, midwives and nurses at 44 randomly selected public health care centers were conducted in Marrakech and Al Haouz. All data were descriptively analyzed. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the institutional review boards in Belgium and Morocco. Public primary health care providers have a basic understanding of gestational diabetes but screening and management practices are not uniform. Although 56.8% of the doctors had some pre-service training on gestational diabetes, most nurses and midwives lack such training. After diagnosing GDM, 88.5% of providers refer patients to specialists, only 11.5% treat them as outpatients. Updating knowledge and skills of providers through both pre- and in-service-training needs to be supported by uniform national standards enabling first line health care workers to manage women with GDM and thus increase access and provide a continuity in care. Findings of this study will be used to pilot a model of GDM screening and initial management through the primary level of care. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Administrative integration of vertical HIV monitoring and evaluation into health systems: a case study from South Africa.

PubMed

Kawonga, Mary; Fonn, Sharon; Blaauw, Duane

2013-01-24

In light of an increasing global focus on health system strengthening and integration of vertical programmes within health systems, methods and tools are required to examine whether general health service managers exercise administrative authority over vertical programmes. To measure the extent to which general health service (horizontal) managers, exercise authority over the HIV programme's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) function, and to explore factors that may influence this exercise of authority. This cross-sectional survey involved interviews with 51 managers. We drew ideas from the concept of 'exercised decision-space' - traditionally used to measure local level managers' exercise of authority over health system functions following decentralisation. Our main outcome measure was the degree of exercised authority - classified as 'low', 'medium' or 'high' - over four M&E domains (HIV data collection, collation, analysis, and use). We applied ordinal logistic regression to assess whether actor type (horizontal or vertical) was predictive of a higher degree of exercised authority, independent of management capacity (training and experience), and M&E knowledge. Relative to vertical managers, horizontal managers had lower HIV M&E knowledge, were more likely to exercise a higher degree of authority over HIV data collation (OR 7.26; CI: 1.9, 27.4), and less likely to do so over HIV data use (OR 0.19; CI: 0.05, 0.84). A higher HIV M&E knowledge score was predictive of a higher exercised authority over HIV data use (OR 1.22; CI: 0.99, 1.49). There was no association between management capacity and degree of authority. This study demonstrates a HIV M&E model that is neither fully vertical nor integrated. The HIV M&E is characterised by horizontal managers producing HIV information while vertical managers use it. This may undermine policies to strengthen integrated health system planning and management under the leadership of horizontal managers.

Knowledge and demand for medicinal plants used in the treatment and management of diabetes in Nyeri County, Kenya.

PubMed

Kamau, Loice N; Mbaabu, Mathiu P; Mbaria, James M; Karuri, Gathumbi P; Kiama, Stephen G

2016-08-02

Non communicable diseases are currently a major health challenge facing humanity. Nyeri County has one of the highest diabetes prevalence in Kenya (12.6%), compared to the country's prevalence of 5.6%. The purpose of the study was to document; diabetes knowledge, medicinal plants and demand for the services of traditional medicine practitioners, in the management and treatment of diabetes. A cross-sectional study was carried out in the six constituencies in Nyeri, using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires. Thirty practicing traditional medicine practitioners were purposively selected for the study. Field observation and identification was carried out on all plants that were cited during the interview. Plant samples were collected and voucher specimen deposited in the University of Nairobi Herbarium in the - School of Biological Sciences. The study revealed 30 plant species in 28 genera and 23 families that are used by the traditional medicine practitioners to treat and manage diabetes. Demand for traditional medicine practitioners' services in the treatment of diabetes is low and often occurs when conventional drugs fail. Interaction with the TMPs unveiled significant diversity of potential anti diabetic medicinal plants and in-depth ethnobotanical knowledge that they possessed. Preference for traditional herbal medicine was low despite wide ethnobotanical knowledge in the face of high prevalence of diabetes in the locality. The findings form the basis of pharmacological studies for standardization of the documented ethnomedicine used in the treatment and management of diabetes in the study area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dietitian-general practitioner interface: a pilot study on what influences the provision of effective nutrition management.

PubMed

Nicholas, Lisa G; Pond, C Dimity; Roberts, David C K

2003-04-01

Effective patient nutrition management can both improve people's health and reduce the cost of health care. In Australia, general practitioners (GPs) and dietitians are in a position to provide this service. However, there is a lack of information available on what influences the provision of the service. The objective was to determine qualitative factors that influence nutrition management by GPs and dietitians. A convenience sample of GPs and dietitians was surveyed using a qualitative questionnaire. The questionnaire related to issues including influences on the GP's decision to initiate nutrition management, barriers to providing nutrition counseling, influences on the GP's decision to refer to a dietitian, and barriers to referral. Fourteen of 20 GPs and 15 of 30 dietitians responded with usable data. The primary influence on a GP's decision to initiate nutrition management (GPs' and dietitians' responses) was the presentation of a patient who required nutrition advice. Barriers to providing nutrition counseling were time and knowledge (GP response), whereas dietitians saw time and lack of patient interest as issues. The primary influence on the GP's decision to refer to a dietitian was a patient presenting with complicated nutrition requirements (GP response), whereas dietitians considered a patient seeking nutrition knowledge as the key influencer. GPs identified cost to the patient as the main barrier to referring to a dietitian, whereas dietitians saw lack of knowledge of where to refer as the key issue. The differing responses suggest that more research is required to understand what influences patient nutrition management by GPs and dietitians in Australia.

Practice management.

PubMed

Althausen, Peter L; Mead, Lisa

2014-07-01

The practicing orthopaedic traumatologist must have a sound knowledge of business fundamentals to be successful in the changing healthcare environment. Practice management encompasses multiple topics including governance, the financial aspects of billing and coding, physician extender management, ancillary service development, information technology, transcription utilization, and marketing. Some of these are universal, but several of these areas may be most applicable to the private practice of medicine. Attention to each component is vital to develop an understanding of the intricacies of practice management.

[An anti-Taylor approach: the invention of a method for the cogovernance of health care institutions in order to produce freedom and compromise].

PubMed

Campos, G W

1998-01-01

This paper describes a new health care management method. A triangular confrontation system was constructed, based on a theoretical review, empirical facts observed from health services, and the researcher's knowledge, jointly analyzed. This new management model was termed 'health-team-focused collegiate management', entailing several original organizational concepts: production unity, matrix-based reference team, collegiate management system, cogovernance, and product/production interface.

Measuring and managing progress in the establishment of basic health services: the Afghanistan health sector balanced scorecard.

PubMed

Hansen, Peter M; Peters, David H; Niayesh, Haseebullah; Singh, Lakhwinder P; Dwivedi, Vikas; Burnham, Gilbert

2008-01-01

The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) of Afghanistan has adopted the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a tool to measure and manage performance in delivery of a Basic Package of Health Services. Based on results from the 2004 baseline round, the MOPH identified eight of the 29 indicators on the BSC as priority areas for improvement. Like the 2004 round, the 2005 and 2006 BSCs involved a random selection of more than 600 health facilities, 1700 health workers and 5800 patient-provider interactions. The 2005 and 2006 BSCs demonstrated substantial improvements in all eight of the priority areas compared to 2004 baseline levels, with increases in median provincial scores for presence of active village health councils, availability of essential drugs, functional laboratories, provider knowledge, health worker training, use of clinical guidelines, monitoring of tuberculosis treatment, and provision of delivery care. For three of the priority indicators-drug availability, health worker training and provider knowledge-scores remained unchanged or decreased between 2005 and 2006. This highlights the need to ensure that early gains achieved in establishment of health services in Afghanistan are maintained over time. The use of a coherent and balanced monitoring framework to identify priority areas for improvement and measure performance over time reflects an objectives-based approach to management of health services that is proving to be effective in a difficult environment. 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Citizen Science: Participatory Monitoring of Water Resources Management in Mustang District, Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regmi, S.; Bhusal, J.; Gurung, P.; Ochoa-Tocachi, B. F.; Buytaert, W.

2016-12-01

Abstract The Mustang region of the Himalayas has unique geographical and climatic features. This region is characterized by a cold-arid climate with total annual precipitation of less than 300mm. Agriculture and livestock grazing lands are the major ecosystem services, which support directly the livelihoods of local populations yet, are strongly determined by low water availability. As a result, optimizing water resources management is paramount to support local development, but this is severely complicated by the lack of information about water availability. This problem is further aggravated by increasing pressure on the social, physical and climatic environments. In order to support the management of scarce water in irrigation and domestic uses, stream flow and precipitation monitoring networks were established using a participatory approach under the principle of citizen science. Data collection, and the following interpretation and application of the co-generated knowledge relies on local users, whereas the establishment of the system, knowledge co-generation, and development of application tools particularly is part of a collaboration of members of the general public with professional scientists. We show how the resulting data enable local users to quantify the water balance in the area and reduce the uncertainty associated to data-scarcity, which leads to the generation of useable information about water availability for irrigation, livestock grazing, and domestic demand. We contrast the current scenario of water use, under different conditions of natural variability and environmental change, with an optimized water management strategy generated and agreed with local users. This approach contributes to an optimal use of water, to an improvement in ecosystem services supporting to livelihood development and economic progress of local populations. Key words: ecosystem services, climate change, water balance, knowledge generation, irrigation

School Plant Management: Administering the Custodial Program. Bulletin, 1961, No. 4. OE-21005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finchum, R. N.

1961-01-01

The job of operating school plants so as to utilize their potentialities in promoting an effective educational program is one that requires training, knowledges, skills, and services of a specialized nature. School officials in charge of school plant management are primarily responsible for developing an operating program that will meet this…

Management Science in Higher Education Institutions: Case Studies from Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saiti, Anna

2010-01-01

Regardless of the source of funding, university quality is based on knowledge, teaching, and research, and hence cannot be run like private enterprises as they are expert organisations that provide solely a public service. The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through the analysis of case studies, whether or not management theory,…

Social science to improve fuels management: a synthesis of research on collaboration.

Treesearch

Victoria Sturtevant; Margaret Ann Moote; Pamela Jakes; Anthony S. Cheng

2005-01-01

A series of syntheses were commissioned by the USDA Forest Service to aid in fuels mitigation project planning. This synthesis focuses on collaboration research, and offers knowledge and tools to improve collaboration in the planning and implementation of wildland fire and fuels management projects. It covers a variety of topics including benefits of collaboration,...

Effective Practices in Providing Online, In-Service Training to Health Professionals in Low-Resource Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chio, Karen Sherk

2012-01-01

As doctors, nurses and public health professionals are promoted into management and leadership positions in resource-poor countries around the world, they are tasked with leading teams and managing drugs and financial and material resources. These responsibilities require a set of skills and knowledge different from that needed for their clinical…

NASA GES DISC New Data Service and Data Management for the Air Quality Community

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wei, Jennifer C.

2017-01-01

President Obama's Big Data Research and Development Initiative seeks to improve our ability to acquire knowledge and discover insights into large and complex collections of digital data. The Big Earth Data Initiative (BEDI) Invests in standardizing and optimizing the collection, management and delivery of U.S. Government's civil Earth observation data.

Applying Knowledge-Based Methods to Design and Implement an Air Quality Workshop

Treesearch

Daniel L. Schmoldt; David L. Peterson

1991-01-01

In response to protection needs in class I wilderness areas, forest land managers of the USDA Forest Service must provide input to regulatory agencies regarding air pollutant impacts on air quality-related values. Regional workshops have been convened for land managers and scientists to discuss the aspects and extent of wilderness protection needs. Previous experience...

SUPERVISORY TRAINING, A NEW APPROACH FOR MANAGEMENT--A STUDY BY THE INDUSTRIAL TRAINING SERVICE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

GRIEG, F.W.; MEADE, J.P.D.

THE SUPERVISORY TRAINING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES ADVOCATED IN THIS BOOKLET INVOLVE JOB ANALYSIS, APPRAISAL BY BOTH MANAGERS AND TRAINEES, AND CAREFULLY PLANNED TRAINING ON AN INDIVIDUAL AND SMALL GROUP BASIS. JOB ANALYSIS CAN BE CONDUCTED BY OBSERVATION, INTERVIEWS AND OTHER MEANS, AND WILL BE AIMED AT IDENTIFYING NEEDED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE AND…

The educational needs of health information managers in an electronic environment: what information technology and health informatics skills and knowledge are required?

PubMed

Robertson, Merryn; Callen, Joanne

The profile of health information managers (HIMs) employed within one metropolitan area health service in New South Wales (NSW) was identified, together with which information technology and health informatics knowledge and skills they possess, and which ones they require in their workplace. The subjects worked in a variety of roles: 26% were employed in the area's Information Systems Division developing and implementing point-of-care clinical systems. Health information managers perceived they needed further continuing and formal education in point-of-care clinical systems, decision support systems, the electronic health record, privacy and security, health data collections, and database applications.

Sbexpert users guide (version 1.0): A knowledge-based decision-support system for spruce beetle management. Forest Service general technical report

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

Reynolds, K.M.; Holsten, E.H.; Werner, R.A.

1995-03-01

SBexpert version 1.0 is a knowledge-based decision-support system for management of spruce beetle developed for use in Microsoft Windows. The users guide provides detailed instructions on the use of all SBexpert features. SBexpert has four main subprograms; introduction, analysis, textbook, and literature. The introduction is the first of the five subtopics in the SBexpert help system. The analysis topic is an advisory system for spruce beetle management that provides recommendation for reducing spruce beetle hazard and risk to spruce stands and is the main analytical topic in SBexpert. The textbook and literature topics provide complementary decision support for analysis.

Ontology-based reusable clinical document template production system.

PubMed

Nam, Sejin; Lee, Sungin; Kim, James G Boram; Kim, Hong-Gee

2012-01-01

Clinical documents embody professional clinical knowledge. This paper shows an effective clinical document template (CDT) production system that uses a clinical description entity (CDE) model, a CDE ontology, and a knowledge management system called STEP that manages ontology-based clinical description entities. The ontology represents CDEs and their inter-relations, and the STEP system stores and manages CDE ontology-based information regarding CDTs. The system also provides Web Services interfaces for search and reasoning over clinical entities. The system was populated with entities and relations extracted from 35 CDTs that were used in admission, discharge, and progress reports, as well as those used in nursing and operation functions. A clinical document template editor is shown that uses STEP.

Screening and managing cannabis use: comparing GP’s and nurses’ knowledge, beliefs, and behavior

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background General practitioners (GPs) and nurses are ideally placed to address the significant unmet demand for the treatment of cannabis-related problems given the numbers of people who regularly seek their care. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences between GPs and nurses’ perceived knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors toward cannabis use and its screening and management. Methods This study involved 161 nurses and 503 GPs who completed a survey distributed via conference satchels to delegates of Healthed seminars focused on topics relevant to women and children’s health. Differences between GPs and nurses were analyzed using χ2- tests and two-sample t-tests, while logistic regression examined predictors of service provision. Results GPs were more likely than nurses to have engaged in cannabis-related service provision, but also more frequently reported barriers related to time, interest, and having more important issues to address. Nurses reported less knowledge, skills, and role legitimacy. Perceived screening skills predicted screening and referral to alcohol and other drug (AOD) services, while knowing a regular user increased the likelihood of referrals only. Conclusions Approaches to increase cannabis-related screening and intervention may be improved by involving nurses, and by leveraging the relationship between nurses and doctors, in primary care. PMID:22827931

Prioritising Mangrove Ecosystem Services Results in Spatially Variable Management Priorities.

PubMed

Atkinson, Scott C; Jupiter, Stacy D; Adams, Vanessa M; Ingram, J Carter; Narayan, Siddharth; Klein, Carissa J; Possingham, Hugh P

2016-01-01

Incorporating the values of the services that ecosystems provide into decision making is becoming increasingly common in nature conservation and resource management policies, both locally and globally. Yet with limited funds for conservation of threatened species and ecosystems there is a desire to identify priority areas where investment efficiently conserves multiple ecosystem services. We mapped four mangrove ecosystems services (coastal protection, fisheries, biodiversity, and carbon storage) across Fiji. Using a cost-effectiveness analysis, we prioritised mangrove areas for each service, where the effectiveness was a function of the benefits provided to the local communities, and the costs were associated with restricting specific uses of mangroves. We demonstrate that, although priority mangrove areas (top 20%) for each service can be managed at relatively low opportunity costs (ranging from 4.5 to 11.3% of overall opportunity costs), prioritising for a single service yields relatively low co-benefits due to limited geographical overlap with priority areas for other services. None-the-less, prioritisation of mangrove areas provides greater overlap of benefits than if sites were selected randomly for most ecosystem services. We discuss deficiencies in the mapping of ecosystems services in data poor regions and how this may impact upon the equity of managing mangroves for particular services across the urban-rural divide in developing countries. Finally we discuss how our maps may aid decision-makers to direct funding for mangrove management from various sources to localities that best meet funding objectives, as well as how this knowledge can aid in creating a national mangrove zoning scheme.

Prioritising Mangrove Ecosystem Services Results in Spatially Variable Management Priorities

PubMed Central

Atkinson, Scott C.; Jupiter, Stacy D.; Adams, Vanessa M.; Ingram, J. Carter; Narayan, Siddharth; Klein, Carissa J.; Possingham, Hugh P.

2016-01-01

Incorporating the values of the services that ecosystems provide into decision making is becoming increasingly common in nature conservation and resource management policies, both locally and globally. Yet with limited funds for conservation of threatened species and ecosystems there is a desire to identify priority areas where investment efficiently conserves multiple ecosystem services. We mapped four mangrove ecosystems services (coastal protection, fisheries, biodiversity, and carbon storage) across Fiji. Using a cost-effectiveness analysis, we prioritised mangrove areas for each service, where the effectiveness was a function of the benefits provided to the local communities, and the costs were associated with restricting specific uses of mangroves. We demonstrate that, although priority mangrove areas (top 20%) for each service can be managed at relatively low opportunity costs (ranging from 4.5 to 11.3% of overall opportunity costs), prioritising for a single service yields relatively low co-benefits due to limited geographical overlap with priority areas for other services. None-the-less, prioritisation of mangrove areas provides greater overlap of benefits than if sites were selected randomly for most ecosystem services. We discuss deficiencies in the mapping of ecosystems services in data poor regions and how this may impact upon the equity of managing mangroves for particular services across the urban-rural divide in developing countries. Finally we discuss how our maps may aid decision-makers to direct funding for mangrove management from various sources to localities that best meet funding objectives, as well as how this knowledge can aid in creating a national mangrove zoning scheme. PMID:27008421

Administrative integration of vertical HIV monitoring and evaluation into health systems: a case study from South Africa

PubMed Central

Kawonga, Mary; Fonn, Sharon; Blaauw, Duane

2013-01-01

Background In light of an increasing global focus on health system strengthening and integration of vertical programmes within health systems, methods and tools are required to examine whether general health service managers exercise administrative authority over vertical programmes. Objective To measure the extent to which general health service (horizontal) managers, exercise authority over the HIV programme's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) function, and to explore factors that may influence this exercise of authority. Methods This cross-sectional survey involved interviews with 51 managers. We drew ideas from the concept of ‘exercised decision-space’ – traditionally used to measure local level managers’ exercise of authority over health system functions following decentralisation. Our main outcome measure was the degree of exercised authority – classified as ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’ – over four M&E domains (HIV data collection, collation, analysis, and use). We applied ordinal logistic regression to assess whether actor type (horizontal or vertical) was predictive of a higher degree of exercised authority, independent of management capacity (training and experience), and M&E knowledge. Results Relative to vertical managers, horizontal managers had lower HIV M&E knowledge, were more likely to exercise a higher degree of authority over HIV data collation (OR 7.26; CI: 1.9, 27.4), and less likely to do so over HIV data use (OR 0.19; CI: 0.05, 0.84). A higher HIV M&E knowledge score was predictive of a higher exercised authority over HIV data use (OR 1.22; CI: 0.99, 1.49). There was no association between management capacity and degree of authority. Conclusions This study demonstrates a HIV M&E model that is neither fully vertical nor integrated. The HIV M&E is characterised by horizontal managers producing HIV information while vertical managers use it. This may undermine policies to strengthen integrated health system planning and management under the leadership of horizontal managers. PMID:23364092

Business entity selection: why it matters to healthcare practitioners--part I--Conceptual framework, sole proprietorships, and partnerships.

PubMed

Nithman, Robert W

2015-01-01

The Bureau of Labor statistics indicates only a 50% four-year survivability rate among businesses classified as "education and health services." Gaining knowledge of IRS business entities can result in cost savings, operational efficiency, reduced liability, and enhanced sustainability. Each entity has unique disadvan- tages, depending on size, diversity of ownership, desire to expand, and profitability. Business structures should be compatible with the organizational mission or vision statement, services and products, and professional codes of ethics. Healthcare reform will require greater business acumen. We have an ethical duty to disseminate and acquire the knowledge to properly establish and manage healthcare practices to ensure sustainable services that protect and serve the community.

Managing preconceived expectations: mental health service users experiences of going home from hospital: a grounded theory study.

PubMed

Keogh, B; Callaghan, P; Higgins, A

2015-11-01

What is known on the subject? The time of discharge from a mental health hospital can be challenging for mental health service users, with high rates of readmission in the immediate months following discharge. Although some research exists that explores service users' perspectives of being discharged, little evidence exists that explores the processes influencing or used by service users' to adapt to the transition from in-patient acute mental health service. What this papers adds to existing knowledge? The findings of this grounded theory study demonstrates the strategies service users used to managed their own, as well as their social audiences, preconceived expectations arising from their new identity as 'psychiatric patients' following their discharge from hospital. While there is a move to develop recovery-orientated mental health services, key indicators of recovery-oriented practices were often absent from service users' experiences of service provision. What are the implications for practice? Nurses and other mental health professionals need to recognize their contribution to the architecture of stigma that transcends the physical structures of hospital or ward and are entrenched within attitudes, interactions and practices. The findings of this study can provide guidance to those working with service users and help them to understand the complexities of their experiences when using mental health services, which go far beyond the management of their symptoms. Following a period of hospitalization, the transition to home can result in increased vulnerability and a source of stress for mental health service users. Readmission rates have been suggested as one indicator of the success of the transition from hospital to community care. Despite knowledge of some of the factors that impact on service users following discharge, no coherent model or theoretical framework could be located in the literature, which explains or aides an in-depth understanding of the transition from hospital to community for service users. The aim of this study was to develop a grounded theory that explored service users' experiences of going home from hospital. This qualitative study used grounded theory, and a total of 35 interviews were conducted with 31 service users. The core category was 'Managing Preconceived Expectations', which had seven subcategories, describes how the participants were negatively perceived by themselves and others following their admission and discharge from hospital. This theory presents the strategies that the participants used to manage this new identity. This theory demonstrates that although there has been a move to adopt recovery-orientated services, key indicators of recovery were often absent for service users being admitted and subsequently discharged. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of a training program to support health care professionals to deliver the SPACE for COPD self-management program

PubMed Central

Blackmore, Claire; Johnson-Warrington, Vicki L; Williams, Johanna EA; Apps, Lindsay D; Young, Hannah ML; Bourne, Claire LA; Singh, Sally J

2017-01-01

Background With the growing burden of COPD and associated morbidity and mortality, a need for self-management has been identified. The Self-management Programme of Activity, Coping and Education for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (SPACE for COPD) manual was developed to support self-management in COPD patients. Currently, there is no literature available regarding health care professionals’ training needs when supporting patients with COPD on self-management. Aim This study sought to identify these needs to inform, design and develop a training program for health care professionals being trained to deliver a self-management program in COPD. Methods Fourteen health care professionals from both primary and secondary care COPD services participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to produce a framework and identify training needs and views on delivery of the SPACE for COPD self-management program. Components of training were web-based knowledge training, with pre-and posttraining knowledge questionnaires, and a 1-day program to introduce the self-management manual. Feedback was given after training to guide the development of the training program. Results Health care professionals were able to identify areas where they required increased knowledge to support patients. This was overwhelming in aspects of COPD seen to be outside of their current clinical role. Skills in goal setting and behavioral change were not elicited as a training need, suggesting a lack of understanding of components of supporting self-management. An increase in knowledge of COPD was demonstrated following the training program. Conclusion Both knowledge and skill gaps existed in those who would deliver self-management. Analysis of this has enabled a training program to be designed to address these gaps and enable health care professionals to support patients in self-management. PMID:28652720

Development of a training program to support health care professionals to deliver the SPACE for COPD self-management program.

PubMed

Blackmore, Claire; Johnson-Warrington, Vicki L; Williams, Johanna Ea; Apps, Lindsay D; Young, Hannah Ml; Bourne, Claire LA; Singh, Sally J

2017-01-01

With the growing burden of COPD and associated morbidity and mortality, a need for self-management has been identified. The Self-management Programme of Activity, Coping and Education for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (SPACE for COPD) manual was developed to support self-management in COPD patients. Currently, there is no literature available regarding health care professionals' training needs when supporting patients with COPD on self-management. This study sought to identify these needs to inform, design and develop a training program for health care professionals being trained to deliver a self-management program in COPD. Fourteen health care professionals from both primary and secondary care COPD services participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to produce a framework and identify training needs and views on delivery of the SPACE for COPD self-management program. Components of training were web-based knowledge training, with pre-and posttraining knowledge questionnaires, and a 1-day program to introduce the self-management manual. Feedback was given after training to guide the development of the training program. Health care professionals were able to identify areas where they required increased knowledge to support patients. This was overwhelming in aspects of COPD seen to be outside of their current clinical role. Skills in goal setting and behavioral change were not elicited as a training need, suggesting a lack of understanding of components of supporting self-management. An increase in knowledge of COPD was demonstrated following the training program. Both knowledge and skill gaps existed in those who would deliver self-management. Analysis of this has enabled a training program to be designed to address these gaps and enable health care professionals to support patients in self-management.

An exploration of how nurse prescribing is being used for patients with respiratory conditions across the east of England

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background There is a need to reduce symptoms, exacerbations and improve quality of life for patients with respiratory diseases. Across the world, increasing numbers of nurses are adopting the prescribing role and can potentially enhance service provision. Evidence suggests improved quality of care and efficiencies occur when nurses adopt the prescribing role. No evidence is available on the views of nurse prescribers who care for respiratory patients. The aim was to explore how nurse prescribing is being used for patients with respiratory conditions in different care settings across one strategic health authority, and whether this has benefited patients, healthcare professionals and the National Health Service. Methods A qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 40 nurses who prescribed for respiratory patients across the six counties in the East of England Strategic Health Authority. Data were collected in 2011 and subject to thematic analysis. Results Disease management, including treatment and prevention of exacerbations, emergency episodes and minor illness, optimising and co-ordinating care were key aspects of care provided. Findings are reported under three themes: access, adherence and risk management and impact on nurses. Prescribing enabled nurses overcome existing problems in service provision to improve access, efficiency and patient convenience, reducing hospital admissions and length of stay. It also enabled patient centered consultations, which encouraged self-management, improved adherence, helped manage expectations, and reduced inappropriate service use. While participants experienced increased job satisfaction, knowledge and confidence, concerns were raised about increased responsibility, support, governance and future commissioning of services in line with planned major changes to the National Health Service. Conclusions This study provides new knowledge about how nurse prescribers provide care to patients with respiratory diseases. Despite a lack of consensus over the most effective model of respiratory care, prescribing was reported to have improved and extended points of access to treatment, and supported management of complex patients, particularly vulnerable groups. Given the high burden of chronic respiratory disease to patients and families this has important implications that need to be considered by those responsible for commissioning services in the United Kingdom and other countries. PMID:24443796

Training System Device Certification and Qualification Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

Engineering IPT Integrated Product Team ISD Instructional Systems Development ISEO In-Service Engineering Office KSAs Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes...Plan TES Tactical Engagement Simulation TPM Training Pipeline Managers T&R Training and Readiness TRR Test Readiness Review TS Training System...NAWCTSD) is the Navy’s source for a full range of innovative products and services that provide complete training solutions. This includes

A Semantic Approach with Decision Support for Safety Service in Smart Home Management

PubMed Central

Huang, Xiaoci; Yi, Jianjun; Zhu, Xiaomin; Chen, Shaoli

2016-01-01

Research on smart homes (SHs) has increased significantly in recent years because of the convenience provided by having an assisted living environment. The functions of SHs as mentioned in previous studies, particularly safety services, are seldom discussed or mentioned. Thus, this study proposes a semantic approach with decision support for safety service in SH management. The focus of this contribution is to explore a context awareness and reasoning approach for risk recognition in SH that enables the proper decision support for flexible safety service provision. The framework of SH based on a wireless sensor network is described from the perspective of neighbourhood management. This approach is based on the integration of semantic knowledge in which a reasoner can make decisions about risk recognition and safety service. We present a management ontology for a SH and relevant monitoring contextual information, which considers its suitability in a pervasive computing environment and is service-oriented. We also propose a rule-based reasoning method to provide decision support through reasoning techniques and context-awareness. A system prototype is developed to evaluate the feasibility, time response and extendibility of the approach. The evaluation of our approach shows that it is more effective in daily risk event recognition. The decisions for service provision are shown to be accurate. PMID:27527170

A Semantic Approach with Decision Support for Safety Service in Smart Home Management.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaoci; Yi, Jianjun; Zhu, Xiaomin; Chen, Shaoli

2016-08-03

Research on smart homes (SHs) has increased significantly in recent years because of the convenience provided by having an assisted living environment. The functions of SHs as mentioned in previous studies, particularly safety services, are seldom discussed or mentioned. Thus, this study proposes a semantic approach with decision support for safety service in SH management. The focus of this contribution is to explore a context awareness and reasoning approach for risk recognition in SH that enables the proper decision support for flexible safety service provision. The framework of SH based on a wireless sensor network is described from the perspective of neighbourhood management. This approach is based on the integration of semantic knowledge in which a reasoner can make decisions about risk recognition and safety service. We present a management ontology for a SH and relevant monitoring contextual information, which considers its suitability in a pervasive computing environment and is service-oriented. We also propose a rule-based reasoning method to provide decision support through reasoning techniques and context-awareness. A system prototype is developed to evaluate the feasibility, time response and extendibility of the approach. The evaluation of our approach shows that it is more effective in daily risk event recognition. The decisions for service provision are shown to be accurate.

The Climate Services Partnership (CSP): Working Together to Improve Climate Services Worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zebiak, S.; Brasseur, G.; Members of the CSP Coordinating Group

2012-04-01

Throughout the world, climate services are required to address urgent needs for climate-informed decision-making, policy and planning. These needs were explored in detail at the first International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS), held in New York in October 2011. After lengthy discussions of needs and capabilities, the conference culminated in the creation of the Climate Services Partnership (CSP). The CSP is an informal interdisciplinary network of climate information users, providers, donors and researchers interested in improving the provision and development of climate services worldwide. Members of the Climate Services Partnership work together to share knowledge, accelerate learning, develop new capacities, and establish good practices. These collaborative efforts will inform and support the evolution and implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services. The Climate Services Partnership focuses its efforts on three levels. These include: 1. encouraging and sustaining connections between climate information providers, users, donors, and researchers 2. gathering, synthesizing and disseminating current knowledge on climate services by way of an online knowledge management platform 3. generating new knowledge on critical topics in climate service development and provision, through the creation of focused working groups on specific topics To date, the Climate Services Partnership has made progress on all three fronts. Connections have been fostered through outreach at major international conferences and professional societies. The CSP also maintains a website and a monthly newsletter, which serves as a resource for those interested in climate services. The second International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS2) will be held in Berlin in September. The CSP has also created a knowledge capture system that gathers and disseminates a wide range of information related to the development and provision of climate services. This includes an online-searchable database that allows users to see what climate services activities are underway in what locations, to gather and analyze information. As part of the knowledge capture system, more than 10 CSP members are currently developing case studies to describe specific climate services activities; in a few cases, this involves in-depth evaluations of the service in question. Finally, the Economics Working Group of the Climate Services Partnership is analyzing previous methods to economically value climate services in hopes of generating knew knowledge regarding the methods are best suited to assessing the benefits associated with various climate services. Other groups are working to develop guidance materials for the development and use of climate information to support decision and policy-making. The Climate Services Partnership is an open, informal network that builds on activities that are already underway and works to create synergies to improve the provision and development for climate services. Its members currently number more than 50 organizations; it seeks new participants and new initiatives.

Innovative applications of artificial intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schorr, Herbert; Rappaport, Alain

Papers concerning applications of artificial intelligence are presented, covering applications in aerospace technology, banking and finance, biotechnology, emergency services, law, media planning, music, the military, operations management, personnel management, retail packaging, and manufacturing assembly and design. Specific topics include Space Shuttle telemetry monitoring, an intelligent training system for Space Shuttle flight controllers, an expert system for the diagnostics of manufacturing equipment, a logistics management system, a cooling systems design assistant, and a knowledge-based integrated circuit design critic. Additional topics include a hydraulic circuit design assistant, the use of a connector assembly specification expert system to harness detailed assembly process knowledge, a mixed initiative approach to airlift planning, naval battle management decision aids, an inventory simulation tool, a peptide synthesis expert system, and a system for planning the discharging and loading of container ships.

Consumers’ experiences of back pain in rural Western Australia: access to information and services, and self-management behaviours

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Coordinated, interdisciplinary services, supported by self-management underpin effective management for chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, a combination of system, provider and consumer-based barriers exist which limit the implementation of such models into practice, particularly in rural areas where unique access issues exist. In order to improve health service delivery for consumers with CLBP, policymakers and service providers require a more in depth understanding of these issues. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore barriers experienced by consumers in rural settings in Western Australia (WA) to accessing information and services and implementing effective self-management behaviours for CLBP. Methods Fourteen consumers with a history of CLBP from three rural sites in WA participated. Maximum variation sampling was employed to ensure a range of experiences were captured. An interviewer, blinded to quantitative pain history data, conducted semi-structured telephone interviews using a standardised schedule to explore individuals’ access to information and services for CLBP, and self-management behaviours. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive analysis techniques were used to derive and refine key themes. Results Five key themes were identified that affected individuals’ experiences of managing CLBP in a rural setting, including: 1) poor access to information and services in rural settings; 2) inadequate knowledge and skills among local practitioners; 3) feelings of isolation and frustration; 4) psychological burden associated with CLBP; and 5) competing lifestyle demands hindering effective self-management for CLBP. Conclusions Consumers in rural WA experienced difficulties in knowing where to access relevant information for CLBP and expressed frustration with the lack of service delivery options to access interdisciplinary and specialist services for CLBP. Competing lifestyle demands such as work and family commitments were cited as key barriers to adopting regular self-management practices. Consumer expectations for improved health service coordination and a workforce skilled in pain management are relevant to future service planning, particularly in the contexts of workforce capacity, community health services, and enablers to effective service delivery in primary care. PMID:23057669

The Case to Widen Defence Acquisition Research Paradigms

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-30

achieved in the delivery of government services (Steger & Roy, 2010). In the 1980s , the United Kingdom (UK) government gave expression to...motivation to work across conceptual divides as new knowledge and ideas are often generated within the spaces between disciplines ( Hislop , 2009). The...Advances in computers (pp. 293–392), 34. Hislop , D. (2009). Knowledge management in organizations: A critical introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford

WisDOT research program : 2012 annual report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

WisDOT manages a $3.9 million program for research, library and technology transfer services. The program provides applied research solutions and knowledge transfer to support the wide array of topics, modes and applications across the department. : ...

78 FR 9951 - Excepted Service

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-12

...) Not to exceed 3000 positions that require unique cyber security skills and knowledge to perform cyber..., distributed control systems security, cyber incident response, cyber exercise facilitation and management, cyber vulnerability detection and assessment, network and systems engineering, enterprise architecture...

Assessing the Food Safety Attitudes and Awareness of Managers of School Feeding Programmes in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

PubMed

Sibanyoni, J J; Tabit, F T

2017-08-01

The managers of school feeding programmes are responsible for ensuring the safety of the food which is provided to schoolchildren, but very few studies have been conducted on the food safety knowledge and awareness of these managers. The objective of this study is to evaluate the food safety attitudes and awareness of managers of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in schools in Mpumalanga, a province of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in which questionnaires were used to collect data from 300 NSNP food service managers. The majority of schools offering NSNP meals were located in informal settlements and most were found to lack basic resources such as electricity (power supplies to the food preparation facility) and potable tap water in their kitchens. No school was found to have implemented the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) programme, and only a few staff had received food safety training. Food safety implementation is worst in informal schools in rural areas due to limited resources and infrastructure. The NSNP food service managers in some schools-especially those located in rural settlements-were found to have little knowledge and awareness of HACCP. These results indicate an urgent need to provide NSNP managers with food safety training and resources (potable water supplies, electricity, dedicated food preparation facilities), particularly in schools in rural settlements.

E-learning in newborn health - a paradigm shift for continuing professional development for doctors and nurses.

PubMed

Chandrasekaran, Aparna; Thukral, Anu; Deorari, Ashok K

2014-12-01

Neonatal mortality can be largely prevented by wide-scale coverage of components of essential newborn care and management of sick neonates in district-level healthcare facilities. A vital step in this direction is imparting the requisite knowledge and skill among healthcare providers. Medical education programs with their static curricula seldom adapt to the changing needs of neonatal healthcare providers in patient-centered, collaborative and remote delivery contexts. E-learning is emerging as the cutting edge tool towards refinement of knowledge, attitude and practices of physicians. Module-based e-learning courses can be blended with a skill learning contact period in partnering institutions thus saving resources and rapidly covering a wide geographical region with uniform standardized education. In this review, the authors discuss their experience with e-learning aimed at introducing and refining the understanding of sick newborn care among pre-service and in-service doctors who manage neonates.

Naval Ship Maintenance: An Analysis of the Dutch Shipbuilding Industry using the Knowledge Value Added, Systems Dynamics, and Integrated Risk Management Methodologies

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

and Integrated Risk Management Methodologies 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...supply chains, risk management with real options, and sustainability . [dnford@nps.edu] Thomas J. Housel—Housel specializes in valuing intellectual...maintenance services for the RDN. Damen Schelde has used an ILS since 2002 to manage the shipbuilding process from project initiation through the

Bottom-up priority setting revised. A second evaluation of an institutional intervention in a Swedish health care organisation.

PubMed

Waldau, Susanne

2015-09-01

Transparent priority setting in health care based on specific ethical principles is requested by the Swedish Parliament since 1997. Implementation has been limited. In this case, transparent priority setting was performed for a second time round and engaged an entire health care organisation. Objectives were to refine a bottom-up priority setting process, reach a political decision on service limits to make reallocation towards higher prioritised services possible, and raise systems knowledge. An action research approach was chosen. The national model for priority setting was used with addition of dimensions costs, volumes, gender distribution and feasibility. The intervention included a three step process and specific procedures for each step which were created, revised and evaluated regarding factual and functional aspects. Evaluations methods included analyses of documents, recordings and surveys. Vertical and horizontal priority setting occurred and resources were reallocated. Participants' attitudes remained positive, however less so than in the first priority setting round. Identifying low-priority services was perceived difficult, causing resentment and strategic behaviour. The horizontal stage served to raise quality of the knowledge base, level out differences in ranking of services and raise systems knowledge. Existing health care management systems do not meet institutional requirements for transparent priority setting. Introducing transparent priority setting constitutes a complex institutional reform, which needs to be driven by management/administration. Strong managerial commitment is required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diabetes knowledge and utilization of healthcare services among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

PubMed

Siddique, Md Kaoser Bin; Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful; Banik, Palash Chandra; Rawal, Lal B

2017-08-22

Diabetes is a significant global public health concern. Poor knowledge of disease and healthcare utilization is associated with worse health outcomes, leading to increasing burden of diabetes in many developing countries. This study aimed to determine diabetes related knowledge and factors affecting utilization of healthcare services among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh. This analytical study was conducted among 318 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) attending two large tertiary hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh between August 2014 and January 2015. Interviewer assisted semi-structured survey questionnaire was used to collect data on diabetes knowledge (measured by a validated Likert scale) and self-reported utilization of service for diabetes. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to determine the factors associated with diabetes knowledge and healthcare utilization. The mean (±SD) age of participants was 52 (±10) years. Majority of the participants were females (58%) and urban residents (74%). Almost two-third (66%) of the participants had an average level of knowledge of T2DM. One-fifth (21%) of the participants had poor knowledge which was significantly associated with gender (P < 0.002), education (P < 0 .001) and income (P < 0.001). The median travel and waiting time at the facility was 30 and 45 min respectively. More than one-third (37%) of the participants checked their blood glucose monthly. Most patients were satisfied regarding the family (55%) and hospital (67%) support. T2DM patients had average knowledge of diabetes which might affect the utilization of healthcare services for diabetes management. Innovations in increasing diabetes knowledge and health behavior change are recommended specially for females, those with lower education and less income.

The power of techknowledgy.

PubMed

Kabachinski, Jeff

2010-01-01

Knowledge can range from complex, accumulated expertise (tacit knowledge) to structured explicit content like service procedures. For most of us, knowledge management should only be one of many collaborative means to an end, not the end in itself (unless you are the corporate knowledge management director or chief knowledge officer). For that reason, KM is important only to the extent that it improves an organization's capability and capacity to deal with, and develop in, the four dimensions of capturing, codifying, storing, and using knowledge. Knowledge that is more or less explicit can be embedded in procedures or represented in documents and databases and transferred with reasonable accuracy. Tacit knowledge transfer generally requires extensive personal contact. Take for example troubleshooting circuits. While troubleshooting can be procedural to an extent, it is still somewhat of an art that pulls from experience and training. This is the kind of tacit knowledge where partnerships, mentoring, or an apprenticeship, are most effective. The most successful organizations are those where knowledge management is part of everyone's job. Tacit, complex knowledge that is developed and internalized over a long period of time is almost impossible to reproduce in a document, database, or expert system. Even before the days of "core competencies", the learning organization, expert systems, and strategy focus, good managers valued the experience and know-how of employees. Today, many are recognizing that what is needed is more than a casual approach to corporate knowledge if they are to succeed. In addition, the aging population of the baby boomers may require means to capture their experience and knowledge before they leave the workforce. There is little doubt that knowledge is one of any organization's most important resources, or that knowledge workers' roles will grow in importance in the years ahead. Why would an organization believe that knowledge and knowledge workers are important, yet not advocate active management of knowledge itself? Taking advantage of already accumulated corporate intellectual property is by far the most low-cost way to increase capability and competitive stature. These are all good reasons why it might pay to take a look at your KM usage.

Weight management in community pharmacy: what do the experts think?

PubMed

Um, Irene S; Armour, Carol; Krass, Ines; Gill, Timothy; Chaar, Betty B

2013-06-01

The increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight adults creates a significant public health burden and there is great potential for pharmacists to be involved in the provision of weight management services, other than the mundane supply of commercial products. In order to provide optimal services that can be integrated into the healthcare system, a best practice model for weight management services in community pharmacy should be in place. We sought experts' and key stakeholders' opinions on this matter. (1) To identify components of a best practice model of a weight management service feasible in Australian community pharmacy. (2) To identify the role of pharmacists and the training requirements to up-skill pharmacists to competently provide weight management services. (3) To elicit any practical suggestions that would contribute to successful implementation of weight management services in pharmacy. Australian primary care sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 participants including Australian experts in obesity and representatives of main Australian professional organisations in pharmacy. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed using the framework approach. Recommended components of pharmacy-based weight management services and training requirements. Participants perceived two potential roles for pharmacists involved in weight management: health promotion and individualised service. Multi-component interventions targeting all three areas: diet, physical activity and behaviour change were emphasised. Physical assessment (e.g. weight, waist circumference measurements), goal setting, referral to allied healthcare professionals and on-going support for weight maintenance were also proposed. Participants suggested pharmacists should undergo formal training and identified various training topics to improve pharmacists' knowledge, attributes and skills to acquire competencies necessary for delivery of this service. Some physical and financial barriers in providing these services were also identified including infrastructure, pharmacists' time and cost-effectiveness. Pharmacists are well-positioned to promote healthy weight and/or implement weight management interventions. Furthering pharmacists' role would involve training and up-skilling; and addressing key practice change facilitators such as pharmacy layout and remuneration. This study provides some insight into the design and implementation of a best practice model for pharmacy-based weight management services in Australia.

Predictors of acceptance of offered care management intervention services in a quality improvement trial for dementia.

PubMed

Kaisey, Marwa; Mittman, Brian; Pearson, Marjorie; Connor, Karen I; Chodosh, Joshua; Vassar, Stefanie D; Nguyen, France T; Vickrey, Barbara G

2012-10-01

Care management approaches have been proven to improve outcomes for patients with dementia and their family caregivers (dyads). However, acceptance of services in these programs is incomplete, impacting effectiveness. Acceptance may be related to dyad as well as healthcare system characteristics, but knowledge about factors associated with program acceptance is lacking. This study investigates patient, caregiver, and healthcare system characteristics associated with acceptance of offered care management services. This study analyzed data from the intervention arm of a cluster randomized controlled trial of a comprehensive dementia care management intervention. There were 408 patient-caregiver dyads enrolled in the study, of which 238 dyads were randomized to the intervention. Caregiver, patient, and health system factors associated with participation in offered care management services were assessed through bivariate and multivariate regression analyses. Out of the 238 dyads, 9 were ineligible for this analysis, leaving data of 229 dyads in this sample. Of these, 185 dyads accepted offered care management services, and 44 dyads did not. Multivariate analyses showed that higher likelihood of acceptance of care management services was uniquely associated with cohabitation of caregiver and patient (p < 0.001), lesser severity of dementia (p = 0.03), and higher patient comorbidity (p = 0.03); it also varied across healthcare organization sites. Understanding factors that influence care management participation could result in increased adoption of successful programs to improve quality of care. Using these factors to revise both program design as well as program promotion may also benefit external validity of future quality improvement research trials. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Role of Customer Engagement in Innovation Adoption

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

strikingly true for our knowledge of skills. I can say that I know how to ride a bicycle or how to swim, but this does not mean that I can tell how I...Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Research and Development Management Management Scott A. Skiple, BS DR...Encountered in New Product and Service Development

Management curriculum redesign: integrating customer expectations for new leaders.

PubMed

Young, Judith; Urden, Linda D; Wellman, Debra S; Stoten, Sharon

2004-01-01

Tumultuous and dynamic changes in the healthcare environment have resulted in unprecedented stresses and challenges for both nursing education and nursing practice. It is essential that nursing education curricula reflect the rapidly changing technologies and dramatically expanding knowledge and changes in the practice environment and incorporate theory, science, professional standards, and consumer/service input. The authors describe a redesigned undergraduate management curriculum.

Southwesterners’ views of threatened and endangered species management: does ethnic/racial diversity make a difference?

Treesearch

Patricia L. Winter; George T. Cvetkovich

2008-01-01

This paper presents an examination of trust in the Forest Service to manage threatened and endangered species as measured through a survey of residents of four Southwestern States. Of particular interest were variations by ethnic/racial group, gender, concern about threatened and endangered species, and self-assessed knowledge. Increasing diversity in the United States...

Current advance care planning practice in the Australian community: an online survey of home care package case managers and service managers.

PubMed

Sellars, Marcus; Detering, Karen M; Silvester, William

2015-04-23

Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of planning for future healthcare that is facilitated by a trained healthcare professional, whereby a person's values, beliefs and treatment preferences are made known to guide clinical decision-making at a future time when they cannot communicate their decisions. Despite the potential benefits of ACP for community aged care clients the availability of ACP is unknown, but likely to be low. In Australia many of these clients receive services through Home Care Package (HCP) programs. This study aimed to explore current attitudes, knowledge and practice of advance care planning among HCP service managers and case managers. An invitation to take part in a cross-sectional online survey was distributed by email to all HCP services across Australia in November 2012. Descriptive analyses were used to examine overall patterns of responses to each survey item in the full sample. 120 (response rate 25%) service managers and 178 (response rate 18%) case managers completed the survey. Only 34% of services had written ACP policies and procedures in place and 48% of case managers had previously completed any ACP training. In addition, although most case managers (70%) had initiated an ACP discussion in the past 12 months and viewed ACP as part of their role, the majority of the conversations (80%) did not result in documentation of the client's wishes and most (85%) of the case managers who responded did not believe ACP was done well within their service. This survey shows low organisational ACP systems and support for case managers and a lack of a normative approach to ACP across Australian HCP services. As HCPs become more prevalent it is essential that a model of ACP is developed and evaluated in this setting, so that clients have the opportunity to discuss and document their future healthcare wishes if they choose to.

Exploring knowledge exchange at the research-policy-practice interface in children's behavioral health services.

PubMed

Leslie, Laurel K; Maciolek, Susan; Biebel, Kathleen; Debordes-Jackson, Gifty; Nicholson, Joanne

2014-11-01

This case study explored core components of knowledge exchange among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners within the context of the Rosie D. versus Romney class action lawsuit in Massachusetts and the development and implementation of its remedial plan. We identified three distinct, sequential knowledge exchange episodes with different purposes, stakeholders, and knowledge exchanged, as decision-making moved from Federal Medicaid policy to state Medicaid program standards and to community-level practice. The knowledge exchanged included research regarding Wraparound, a key component of the remedial plan, as well as contextual information critical for implementation (e.g., Federal Medicaid policy, managed care requirements, community organizations' characteristics).

Progress and gaps in reproductive health services in three humanitarian settings: mixed-methods case studies

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background Reproductive health (RH) care is an essential component of humanitarian response. Women and girls living in humanitarian settings often face high maternal mortality and are vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and sexual violence. This study explored the availability and quality of, and access barriers to RH services in three humanitarian settings in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and South Sudan. Methods Data collection was conducted between July and October 2013. In total, 63 purposively selected health facilities were assessed: 28 in Burkina Faso, 25 in DRC, and nine in South Sudan, and 42 providers completed a questionnaire to assess RH knowledge and attitudes. Thirty-four focus group discussions were conducted with 29 members of the host communities and 273 displaced married and unmarried women and men to understand access barriers. Results All facilities reported providing some RH services in the prior three months. Five health facilities in Burkina Faso, six in DRC, and none in South Sudan met the criteria as a family planning service delivery point. Two health facilities in Burkina Faso, one in DRC, and two in South Sudan met the criteria as an emergency obstetric and newborn care service delivery point. Across settings, three facilities in DRC adequately provided selected elements of clinical management of rape. Safe abortion was unavailable. Many providers lacked essential knowledge and skills. Focus groups revealed limited knowledge of available RH services and socio-cultural barriers to accessing them, although participants reported a remarkable increase in use of facility-based delivery services. Conclusion Although RH services are being provided, the availability of good quality RH services was inconsistent across settings. Commodity management and security must be prioritized to ensure consistent availability of essential supplies. It is critical to improve the attitudes, managerial and technical capacity of providers to ensure that RH services are delivered respectfully and efficiently. In addition to ensuring systematic implementation of good quality RH services, humanitarian health actors should meaningfully engage crisis-affected communities in RH programming to increase understanding and use of this life-saving care. PMID:25798189

Managing change in the care of children with complex needs: healthcare providers' perspectives.

PubMed

Law, James; McCann, Dolly; O'May, Fiona

2011-12-01

 This paper is a report of a descriptive qualitative study of the role and activities of nursing and allied health professionals caring for children with complex needs in a community setting. Health care is changing in terms of service provision and delivery, with an increased focus on person-centred care, prevention and community-based services. The role of nursing and allied health professionals is central to these changes but is not well described in terms of capacity, or the knowledge and skills required to meet increasing demand. Within four Health Boards, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted in 2007 with three nursing and four allied health managers, followed by four focus groups with 15 nursing and 11 allied health practitioners; in addition, three nurses and one speech therapist were interviewed by telephone. Respondents identified challenges related to communication and information systems, equity of service provision, family-centred care and partnership working. Generic and specialized knowledge and skills are needed, although providing the right skills in the right place can often prove problematic with potential implications for service provision. Findings support the adoption of integrated partnership working, going beyond the identification of key professionals, to developing a set of criteria against which future service provision could be judged. Research priorities were identified; comparative evaluation of services, better understanding of the transition process and a clearer sense of the individual's response to the increasing customization of services. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Community Data Management and the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duerr, R.; Pulsifer, P. L.; Strawhacker, C.; Mccann, H. S.

2016-12-01

The mission of the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA) is to facilitate the collection, preservation, exchange, and use of local observations and knowledge by Indigenous communities in the Arctic by providing data management services and user support, and by fostering collaboration between resident Arctic experts and visiting researchers. ELOKA's overarching philosophy is that Local and Traditional Knowledge (LTK) and scientific data and expertise are complementary and reinforcing ways of understanding the Arctic system. Collecting, documenting, preserving, and sharing knowledge is a cooperative endeavor, and ELOKA is dedicated to fostering ethical knowledge sharing among Arctic residents and communities, scientists, educators, policy makers, and the general public. But what does that mean in practice and what are the next steps for ELOKA in the coming years? In this presentation, we discuss the ethical issues involved with data management for LTK and community-based projects, some of the tools ELOKA has developed for interacting with communities and researchers and for managing LTK data, and our plans for the future. These include a discussion of the considerations local and community-based projects should make when planning and conducting research. It is clear, for example, that research projects should either include Indigenous voices at the outset of the project or have a prominent Indigenous voice so that appropriate methods or approaches can be adopted. Discussion of data access and funder obligations will be included. The data management tools that ELOKA employs and is developing for the future that can manage the wide range of data types typical of a community or LTK project will also be described, as will ELOKA's program for transferring long-term data management skills to communities that wish to take that on. Finally, ELOKA's plans for the future will be described.

Rocky Mountain Research Station Part 1 [U.S. Forest Service scientists continue work with the Lincoln National Forest

Treesearch

Todd Rawlinson

2010-01-01

The Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) is one of five regional Research Stations that make up the US Forest Service Research and Development organization. RMRS is organized into eight science program areas, with an overall mission to develop new and synthesize existing knowledge to foster improved management of natural resources. Scientists with the Wildlife and...

Determining habitat potential and surveying for nine rare plant species in south-central Utah

Treesearch

Deborah J. Clark; Christine M. Groebner

2001-01-01

In south-central Utah, lands within and adjacent to Capitol Reef National Park contain populations of nine rare plant species. In an effort to enhance the combined knowledge about these species, the Bureau of Land Management, the USDA Forest Service, and the National Park Service signed an Interagency Agreement and hired an interagency biologist and field crew to...

Library Venturing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, H. Donald

1986-01-01

There is opportunity for service and profit to imaginative libraries organizing to provide new forms of knowledge. Librarians as entrepreneurs must learn venture management and finance. Available assistance includes growing entrepreneural understanding in large institutions; family and friends; private wealth-seeking investment; new business…

Assessing the feasibility of integration of self-care for filarial lymphoedema into existing community leprosy self-help groups in Nepal.

PubMed

Pryce, Joseph; Mableson, Hayley E; Choudhary, Ramesh; Pandey, Basu Dev; Aley, Dambar; Betts, Hannah; Mackenzie, Charles D; Kelly-Hope, Louise A; Cross, Hugh

2018-01-30

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) and leprosy are disabling infectious diseases endemic in Nepal. LF infection can lead to lymphoedema and hydrocoele, while secondary effects of leprosy infection include impairments to hands, eyes and feet. The disabling effects of both conditions can be managed through self-care and the supportive effects of self-help groups (SHGs). A network of SHGs exists for people affected by leprosy in four districts in Nepal's Central Development Region, however no such service exists for people affected by LF. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of integrating LF affected people into existing leprosy SHGs in this area. A survey was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire to elicit information on: (i) participant characteristics, clinical manifestation and disease burden; (ii) participants' knowledge of management of their condition and access to services; and (iii) participants' knowledge and perceptions of the alternate condition (LF affected participants' knowledge of leprosy and vice versa) and attitudes towards integration. A total of 52 LF affected and 53 leprosy affected participants were interviewed from 14 SHGs. On average, leprosy affected participants were shown to have 1.8 times greater knowledge of self-care techniques, and practiced 2.5 times more frequently than LF affected participants. Only a quarter of LF affected participants had accessed a health service for their condition, compared with 94.3% of leprosy affected people accessing a service (including SHGs), at least once a week. High levels of stigma were perceived by both groups towards the alternate condition, however, the majority of LF (79%) and leprosy (94.3%) affected participants stated that they would consider attending an integrated SHG. LF affected participants need to increase their knowledge of self-care and access to health services. Despite stigma being a potential barrier, attitudes towards integration were positive, suggesting that the SHGs may be a good platform for LF affected people to start self-care in this area. This is not a registered trial.

Towards understanding and managing the learning process in mail sorting.

PubMed

Berglund, M; Karltun, A

2012-01-01

This paper was based on case study research at the Swedish Mail Service Division and it addresses learning time to sort mail at new districts and means to support the learning process on an individual as well as organizational level. The study population consisted of 46 postmen and one team leader in the Swedish Mail Service Division. Data were collected through measurements of time for mail sorting, interviews and a focus group. The study showed that learning to sort mail was a much more complex process and took more time than expected by management. Means to support the learning process included clarification of the relationship between sorting and the topology of the district, a good work environment, increased support from colleagues and management, and a thorough introduction for new postmen. The identified means to support the learning process require an integration of human, technological and organizational aspects. The study further showed that increased operations flexibility cannot be reinforced without a systems perspective and thorough knowledge about real work activities and that ergonomists can aid businesses to acquire this knowledge.

Interregional flows of ecosystem services: Concepts, typology and four cases

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schröter, Matthias; Koellner, Thomas; Alkemade, Rob; Arnhold, Sebastian; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Frank, Karin; Erb, Karl-Heinz; Kastner, Thomas; Kissinger, Meidad; Liu, Jianguo; López-Hoffman, Laura; Maes, Joachim; Marques, Alexandra; Martín-López, Berta; Meyer, Carsten; Schulp, Catharina J. E.; Thober, Jule; Wolff, Sarah; Bonn, Aletta

2018-01-01

Conserving and managing global natural capital requires an understanding of the complexity of flows of ecosystem services across geographic boundaries. Failing to understand and to incorporate these flows into national and international ecosystem assessments leads to incomplete and potentially skewed conclusions, impairing society’s ability to identify sustainable management and policy choices. In this paper, we synthesise existing knowledge and develop a conceptual framework for analysing interregional ecosystem service flows. We synthesise the types of such flows, the characteristics of sending and receiving socio-ecological systems, and the impacts of ecosystem service flows on interregional sustainability. Using four cases (trade of certified coffee, migration of northern pintails, flood protection in the Danube watershed, and information on giant pandas), we test the conceptual framework and show how an enhanced understanding of interregional telecouplings in socio-ecological systems can inform ecosystem service-based decision making and governance with respect to sustainability goals.

Genetic service delivery: infrastructure, assessment and information.

PubMed

Kaye, C I

2012-01-01

Identification of genomic determinants of complex disorders such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease has prompted public health systems to focus on genetic service delivery for prevention of these disorders, adding to their previous efforts in birth defects prevention and newborn screening. This focus is consistent with previously identified obligations of the public health system as well as the core functions of public health identified by the Institute of Medicine. Models of service delivery include provision of services by the primary care provider in conjunction with subspecialists, provision of services through the medical home with co-management by genetics providers, provision of services in conjunction with disorder-specific treatment centers, and provision of services through a network of genetics clinics linked to medical homes. Whatever the model for provision of genetic services, tools to assist providers include facilities for outreach and telemedicine, information technology, just-in-time management plans, and emergency management tools. Assessment tools to determine which care is best are critical for quality improvement and development of best practices. Because the workforce of genetics providers is not keeping pace with the need for services, an understanding of the factors contributing to this lag is important, as is the development of an improved knowledge base in genomics for primary care providers. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Climate services to improve public health.

PubMed

Jancloes, Michel; Thomson, Madeleine; Costa, María Mánez; Hewitt, Chris; Corvalan, Carlos; Dinku, Tufa; Lowe, Rachel; Hayden, Mary

2014-04-25

A high level expert panel discussed how climate and health services could best collaborate to improve public health. This was on the agenda of the recent Third International Climate Services Conference, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, 4-6 December 2013. Issues and challenges concerning a demand led approach to serve the health sector needs, were identified and analysed. Important recommendations emerged to ensure that innovative collaboration between climate and health services assist decision-making processes and the management of climate-sensitive health risk. Key recommendations included: a move from risk assessment towards risk management; the engagement of the public health community with both the climate sector and development sectors, whose decisions impact on health, particularly the most vulnerable; to increase operational research on the use of policy-relevant climate information to manage climate- sensitive health risks; and to develop in-country capacities to improve local knowledge (including collection of epidemiological, climate and socio-economic data), along with institutional interaction with policy makers.

A conceptual framework for assessing interorganizational integration and interprofessional collaboration.

PubMed

Willumsen, Elisabeth; Ahgren, Bengt; Ødegård, Atle

2012-05-01

The need for collaboration in health and social welfare is well documented internationally. It is related to the improvement of services for the users, particularly target groups with multiple problems. However, there is still insufficient knowledge of the complex area of collaboration, and the interprofessional literature highlights the need to develop adequate research approaches for exploring collaboration between organizations, professionals and service users. This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on interorganizational and interprofessional research, with focus on the concepts of integration and collaboration. Furthermore, the paper suggests how two measurement instruments can be combined and adapted to the welfare context in order to explore collaboration between organizations, professionals and service users, thereby contributing to knowledge development and policy improvement. Issues concerning reliability, validity and design alternatives, as well as the importance of management, clinical implications and service user involvement in future research, are discussed.

The Impact of Leadership Styles and Knowledge Sharing on Police Officers' Willingness to Exert Extra Effort to Provide Better Security: A Study in the Riot Unit of the Turkish National Police

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tombul, Fatih

2011-01-01

The motivation for this study is to understand the factors affecting police officers' willingness to exert extra effort for providing better service through knowledge sharing in different working environments such as riots. Since managers' leadership styles may be important factors affecting subordinates' willingness to exert extra effort, this…

ASK Magazine. No. 12

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laufer, Alexander (Editor); Post, Todd (Editor); Brady, Jody Lannen (Editor)

2003-01-01

Welcome to the Academy of Program and Project Leadership (APPL) and ASK Magazine. APPL helps NASA managers and project teams accomplish today's missions and meet tomorrow's challenges by providing performance enhancement services and tools, supporting career development programs, sponsoring knowledge sharing events and publications, and creating opportunities for project management collaboration with universities, professional associations, industry partners and other government agencies. ASK Magazine grew out of APPL's Knowledge Sharing Initiative. The stories that appear in ASK are written by the 'best of the best' project managers, primarily from NASA, but also from other government agencies and industry. These stories contain genuine nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that are transferable across projects. Who better than a project manager to help another project manager address a critical issue on a project? Big projects, smaLl projects-they're ali here in ASK. Stories in this issue include: Earthly Considerations on Mars, Getting Politically Active, Stumping for the Project, Grins & Giggles: The Launch Pad to High Performance, Transfer Wisdom Workshops: Coming to a NASA Center Near You, Project Management: The Television Show, Lessons Learned Again and Again and Again, Implementation Reviews, ASK Talks with Dr. Michael Hecht, and What Is This Fourth Dimension?.

Diabetes Medication Assistance Service: the pharmacist's role in supporting patient self-management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Australia.

PubMed

Mitchell, Bernadette; Armour, Carol; Lee, Mary; Song, Yun Ju; Stewart, Kay; Peterson, Greg; Hughes, Jeff; Smith, Lorraine; Krass, Ines

2011-06-01

To evaluate the capacity and effectiveness of trained community pharmacists in delivering the Diabetes Medication Assistance Service (DMAS) via (1) number and types of self-management support interventions (SMSIs); (2) number of goals set and attained by patients and (3) patient outcomes (glycaemic control, medication adherence and satisfaction). Pharmacists (n=109) from 90 community pharmacies in Australia were trained and credentialed to deliver the DMAS. The training focused on developing pharmacists' knowledge and skills in supporting patients' diabetes self-management. A total of 387 patients completed the trial. The mean number of SMSIs per patient was 35 (SD ±31) and the majority (87%) had at least one documented goal that was fully or partially attained. There were significant health benefits for patients including improved glycaemic control and a reduced risk of non-adherence to medications. Over 90% of DMAS patients reported improvements in their knowledge about diabetes self-management. The DMAS provides self management support in the community pharmacy for people with T2DM which may result in improved clinical outcomes. Given appropriate training in diabetes care and behavior change strategies, community pharmacists can offer programs which provide self-management support to their patients with T2DM and improve their health outcomes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Knowledge of breastfeeding management among residents in pediatrics].

PubMed

Temboury Molina, M C

2003-03-01

The staff of maternity wards and clinics for maternal and child health should receive appropriate basic and in-service training on the health benefits of breastfeeding and on lactation management. Pediatricians should not only be knowledgeable about the health, nutritional and physiological aspects of appropriate feeding, they should also be familiar with the mechanics of breastfeeding, its various psychosocial influences, possible difficulties and how to overcome them. To evaluate knowledge of breastfeeding among pediatrics residents throughout Spain, a survey was conducted. A total of 250 questionnaires were collected. Significant differences were observed among provinces. In most areas, residents' training was insufficient. To achieve an appropriate level of knowledge among pediatrics residents in a subject as important to mother and child health as breastfeeding, courses should be given and repeated at regular intervals. Professional associations should be actively involved in promoting appropriate training for health professionals.

Health care workers' knowledge and attitude towards TB patients under Direct Observation of Treatment in Plateau state Nigeria, 2011.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Luka Mangveep; Hadjia, Idris Suleiman; Nguku, Patrick; Waziri, Ndadilnasiya Endie; Akhimien, Moses Obiemen; Patrobas, Phillip; Nsubuga, Peter

2014-01-01

Tuberculosis (TB) is a public health problem in Nigeria. Adherence to the total duration of treatment is critical to cure the patients. We explored the knowledge of the health care workers on management of TB patients including their perceived reasons for patient non adherence to treatment to develop strategies to improve the quality of the TB control service in the state. We conducted a cross sectional study. We used self administered questionnaire to extract information from the health workers on their trainings for TB control, knowledge of the control services, patients' education including prevention of defaulting from treatment. We conducted focus group discussion with the health care workers. We performed descriptive analysis using epiInfo software. Of the 76 respondents 41 (53.9%) were female, 39.9% were community health extension workers, 26.3% were nurses/midwifes 30.3% lacked training on management of TB patient. Only 43.4% knew when to take action on patients who miss their drugs in the intensive phase, 30.3% and 35.5% knew defaults among category 1 and category 2 in the continuation phases of treatment respectively. They identified side effects of drugs (80%), daily clinic attendance (76.3%), health workers attitude (73.4%) and lack of knowledge on duration of treatment (71.1%) including their unfriendly attitudes towards the patients as the major barriers to patients' adherence to treatment. Lack of knowledge of the health care workers on management of TB patients and poor interpersonal relation and communication with patients have negative effect on patients' adherence to the long duration of TB treatment.

Reducing errors through a web-based self-management support system.

PubMed

Ekstedt, Mirjam; Børøsund, Elin; Svenningsen, Ina K; Ruland, Cornelia M

2014-01-01

Web-based self-management support systems SMSS, can successfully assist a wide range of patients with information and self-management support. O or as a stand-alone service, are e-messages. This study describes how one component of a multi component SMSS, an e-message service, in which patients with breast cancer could direct questions to nurses, physicians or social workers at the hospital where they were being treated, had an influence on safety and continuity of care. Ninety-one dialogues consisting of 284 messages were analysed. The communications between patients and the healthcare team revealed that the e-messages service served as a means for quality assurance of information, for double-checking and for coordination of care. We give examples of how an e-mail service may improve patients' knowledge in a process of taking control over their own care - increasingly important in a time of growing complexity and specialization in healthcare. It remains to be tested whether an e-message service can improve continuity of care and prevent or mitigate medical mishaps.

Use of Qualitative Methods in Published Health Services and Management Research: A 10-Year Review

PubMed Central

Weiner, Bryan J.; Amick, Halle R.; Lund, Jennifer L.; Lee, Shoou-Yih Daniel; Hoff, Timothy J.

2011-01-01

Over the past 10 years, the field of health services and management research has seen renewed interest in the use of qualitative research methods. This article examines the volume and characteristics of qualitative research articles published in nine major health services and management journals between 1998 and 2008. Qualitative research articles comprise 9% of research articles published in these journals. Although the publication rate of qualitative research articles has not kept pace with that of quantitative research articles, citation analysis suggests that qualitative research articles contribute comparably to the field’s knowledge base. A wide range of policy and management topics has been examined using qualitative methods. Case study designs, interviews, and documentary sources were the most frequently used methods. Half of qualitative research articles provided little or no detail about key aspects the study’s methods. Implications are discussed and recommendations are offered for promoting the publication of qualitative research. PMID:20675353

Managing boundaries in primary care service improvement: a developmental approach to communities of practice.

PubMed

Kislov, Roman; Walshe, Kieran; Harvey, Gill

2012-10-15

Effective implementation of change in healthcare organisations involves multiple professional and organisational groups and is often impeded by professional and organisational boundaries that present relatively impermeable barriers to sharing knowledge and spreading work practices. Informed by the theory of communities of practice (CoPs), this study explored the effects of intra-organisational and inter-organisational boundaries on the implementation of service improvement within and across primary healthcare settings and on the development of multiprofessional and multi-organisational CoPs during this process. The study was conducted within the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Greater Manchester-a collaborative partnership between the University of Manchester and local National Health Service organisations aiming to undertake applied health research and enhance its implementation in clinical practice. It deployed a qualitative embedded case study design, encompassing semistructured interviews, direct observation and documentary analysis, conducted in 2010-2011. The sample included practice doctors, nurses, managers and members of the CLAHRC implementation team. The study showed that in spite of epistemic and status differences, professional boundaries between general practitioners, practice nurses and practice managers co-located in the same practice over a relatively long period of time could be successfully bridged, leading to the formation of multiprofessional CoPs. While knowledge circulated relatively easily within these CoPs, barriers to knowledge sharing emerged at the boundary separating them from other groups existing in the same primary care setting. The strongest boundaries, however, lay between individual general practices, with inter-organisational knowledge sharing and collaboration between them remaining unequally developed across different areas due to historical factors, competition and strong organisational identification. Manipulated emergence of multi-organisational CoPs in the context of primary care may thus be problematic. In cases when manipulated emergence of new CoPs is problematic, boundary issues could be addressed by adopting a developmental perspective on CoPs, which provides an alternative to the analytical and instrumental perspectives previously described in the CoP literature. This perspective implies a pragmatic, situational approach to mapping existing CoPs and their characteristics and potentially modifying them in the process of service improvement through the combination of internal and external facilitation.

Content-based management service for medical videos.

PubMed

Mendi, Engin; Bayrak, Coskun; Cecen, Songul; Ermisoglu, Emre

2013-01-01

Development of health information technology has had a dramatic impact to improve the efficiency and quality of medical care. Developing interoperable health information systems for healthcare providers has the potential to improve the quality and equitability of patient-centered healthcare. In this article, we describe an automated content-based medical video analysis and management service that provides convenience and ease in accessing the relevant medical video content without sequential scanning. The system facilitates effective temporal video segmentation and content-based visual information retrieval that enable a more reliable understanding of medical video content. The system is implemented as a Web- and mobile-based service and has the potential to offer a knowledge-sharing platform for the purpose of efficient medical video content access.

Weight management in Canada: an environmental scan of health services for adults with obesity

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Obesity in Canada is a growing concern, but little is known about the available services for managing obesity in adults. Our objectives were to (a) survey and describe programs dedicated to weight management and (b) evaluate program adherence to established recommendations for care. Methods We conducted an online environmental scan in 2011 to identify adult weight management services throughout Canada. We examined the degree to which programs adhered to the 2006 Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of Obesity in Adults and Children (CCPGO) and the analysis criteria developed by the Association pour la Santé Publique du Québec (ASPQ). Results A total of 83 non-surgical (34 community-based, 42 primary care-based, 7 hospital-based) and 33 surgical programs were identified. All programs encouraged patient self-management. However, few non-surgical programs adhered to the CCPGO recommendations for assessment and intervention, and there was a general lack of screening for eating disorders, depression and other psychiatric diseases across all programs. Concordance with the ASPQ criteria was best among primary care-based programs, but less common in other settings with deficits most frequently revealed in multidisciplinary health assessment/management and physical activity counselling. Conclusions With more than 60% of Canadians overweight or obese, our findings highlight that availability of weight management services is far outstripped by need. Our observation that evidence-based recommendations are applied inconsistently across the country validates the need for knowledge translation of effective health services for managing obesity in adults. PMID:24521300

Beneficial Effects of Two Types of Personal Health Record Services Connected With Electronic Medical Records Within the Hospital Setting.

PubMed

Lee, Jisan; Kim, James G Boram; Jin, Meiling; Ahn, Kiwhan; Kim, Byungjun; Kim, Sukwha; Kim, Jeongeun

2017-11-01

Healthcare consumers must be able to make decisions based on accurate health information. To assist with this, we designed and developed an integrated system connected with electronic medical records in hospitals to ensure delivery of accurate health information. The system-called the Consumer-centered Open Personal Health Record platform-is composed of two services: a portal for users with any disease and a mobile application for users with cleft lip/palate. To assess the benefits of these services, we used a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design, assigning participants to the portal (n = 50) and application (n = 52) groups. Both groups showed significantly increased knowledge, both objective (actual knowledge of health information) and subjective (perceived knowledge of health information), after the intervention. Furthermore, while both groups showed higher information needs satisfaction after the intervention, the application group was significantly more satisfied. Knowledge changes were more affected by participant characteristics in the application group. Our results may be due to the application's provision of specific disease information and a personalized treatment plan based on the participant and other users' data. We recommend that services connected with electronic medical records target specific diseases to provide personalized health management to patients in a hospital setting.

5 CFR 337.303 - Agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Agency responsibilities. 337.303 Section 337.303 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING... competencies or their knowledge, skills, and abilities; and (e) Establish documentation and record keeping...

5 CFR 337.303 - Agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Agency responsibilities. 337.303 Section 337.303 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING... competencies or their knowledge, skills, and abilities; and (e) Establish documentation and record keeping...

5 CFR 337.303 - Agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Agency responsibilities. 337.303 Section 337.303 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING... competencies or their knowledge, skills, and abilities; and (e) Establish documentation and record keeping...

5 CFR 337.303 - Agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Agency responsibilities. 337.303 Section 337.303 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING... competencies or their knowledge, skills, and abilities; and (e) Establish documentation and record keeping...

5 CFR 337.303 - Agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agency responsibilities. 337.303 Section 337.303 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS EXAMINING... competencies or their knowledge, skills, and abilities; and (e) Establish documentation and record keeping...

Knowledge service decision making in business incubators based on the supernetwork model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Liming; Zhang, Haihong; Wu, Wenqing

2017-08-01

As valuable resources for incubating firms, knowledge resources have received gradually increasing attention from all types of business incubators, and business incubators use a variety of knowledge services to stimulate rapid growth in incubating firms. Based on previous research, we generalize the knowledge transfer and knowledge networking services of two main forms of knowledge services and further divide knowledge transfer services into knowledge depth services and knowledge breadth services. Then, we construct the business incubators' knowledge supernetwork model, describe the evolution mechanism among heterogeneous agents and utilize a simulation to explore the performance variance of different business incubators' knowledge services. The simulation results show that knowledge stock increases faster when business incubators are able to provide knowledge services to more incubating firms and that the degree of discrepancy in the knowledge stock increases during the process of knowledge growth. Further, knowledge transfer services lead to greater differences in the knowledge structure, while knowledge networking services lead to smaller differences. Regarding the two types of knowledge transfer services, knowledge depth services are more conducive to knowledge growth than knowledge breadth services, but knowledge depth services lead to greater gaps in knowledge stocks and greater differences in knowledge structures. Overall, it is optimal for business incubators to select a single knowledge service or portfolio strategy based on the amount of time and energy expended on the two types of knowledge services.

Providing and funding breast health services in urban nurse-managed health centers.

PubMed

Tsai, Pei-Yun; Peterman, Beth; Baisch, Mary Jo; Ji, Eun Sun; Zwiers, Kelly

2014-01-01

Nurse-managed health centers (NMHCs) are an innovative health care delivery model that serves as an important point of health care access for populations at risk for disparities in health outcomes. This article describes the process and outcomes of clinical breast health services in two NMHCs located in a large Midwestern city. Findings indicate that client's knowledge about breast health was increased after they received breast health services from NMHC nurses. Significant positive changes in behavior related to the early detection of breast cancer were found in the study. NMHCs, identified for expansion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, offer a unique health care services delivery model that promotes access to care and early identification of breast cancer in very low-income and uninsured women. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-genetic health professionals' attitude towards, knowledge of and skills in discussing and ordering genetic testing for hereditary cancer.

PubMed

Douma, Kirsten F L; Smets, Ellen M A; Allain, Dawn C

2016-04-01

Non-genetic health professionals (NGHPs) have insufficient knowledge of cancer genetics, express educational needs and are unprepared to counsel their patients regarding their genetic test results. So far, it is unclear how NGHPs perceive their own communication skills. This study was undertaken to gain insight in their perceptions, attitudes and knowledge. Two publically accessible databases were used to invite NGHPs providing cancer genetic services to complete a questionnaire. The survey assessed: sociodemographic attributes, experience in ordering hereditary cancer genetic testing, attitude, knowledge, perception of communication skills (e.g. information giving, decision-making) and educational needs. Of all respondents (N = 49, response rate 11%), most have a positive view of their own information giving (mean = 53.91, range 13-65) and decision making skills (64-77% depending on topic). NGHPs feel responsible for enabling disease and treatment related behavior (89-91%). However, 20-30% reported difficulties managing patients' emotions and did not see management of long-term emotions as their responsibility. Correct answers on knowledge questions ranged between 41 and 96%. Higher knowledge was associated with more confidence in NGHPs' own communication skills (r(s) = .33, p = 0.03). Although NGHPs have a positive view of their communication skills, they perceive more difficulties managing emotions. The association between less confidence in communication skills and lower knowledge level suggests awareness of knowledge gaps affects confidence. NGHPs might benefit from education about managing client emotions. Further research using observation of actual counselling consultations is needed to investigate the skills of this specific group of providers.

Developing a New Graduate Program in Healthcare Management: Embracing the Transformation of Healthcare Management Education on a Pathway to Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dominguez, Daniel G.; Garcia, Chris; LaFrance, Kevin G.

2013-01-01

Within a sea change in the structure and process of providing health services, the field of health administration education has moved decisively and concretely from a teaching-centered model of education based on the assumption that knowledge equals competency to a learning-centered model. The learning-centered, or student-centered, model is based…

Development of modelling method selection tool for health services management: from problem structuring methods to modelling and simulation methods.

PubMed

Jun, Gyuchan T; Morris, Zoe; Eldabi, Tillal; Harper, Paul; Naseer, Aisha; Patel, Brijesh; Clarkson, John P

2011-05-19

There is an increasing recognition that modelling and simulation can assist in the process of designing health care policies, strategies and operations. However, the current use is limited and answers to questions such as what methods to use and when remain somewhat underdeveloped. The aim of this study is to provide a mechanism for decision makers in health services planning and management to compare a broad range of modelling and simulation methods so that they can better select and use them or better commission relevant modelling and simulation work. This paper proposes a modelling and simulation method comparison and selection tool developed from a comprehensive literature review, the research team's extensive expertise and inputs from potential users. Twenty-eight different methods were identified, characterised by their relevance to different application areas, project life cycle stages, types of output and levels of insight, and four input resources required (time, money, knowledge and data). The characterisation is presented in matrix forms to allow quick comparison and selection. This paper also highlights significant knowledge gaps in the existing literature when assessing the applicability of particular approaches to health services management, where modelling and simulation skills are scarce let alone money and time. A modelling and simulation method comparison and selection tool is developed to assist with the selection of methods appropriate to supporting specific decision making processes. In particular it addresses the issue of which method is most appropriate to which specific health services management problem, what the user might expect to be obtained from the method, and what is required to use the method. In summary, we believe the tool adds value to the scarce existing literature on methods comparison and selection.

An exploration of the longer-term impacts of community participation in rural health services design.

PubMed

Farmer, Jane; Currie, Margaret; Kenny, Amanda; Munoz, Sarah-Anne

2015-09-01

This article explores what happened, over the longer term, after a community participation exercise to design future rural service delivery models, and considers perceptions of why more follow-up actions did or did not happen. The study, which took place in 2014, revisits three Scottish communities that engaged in a community participation research method (2008-2010) intended to design rural health services. Interviews were conducted with 22 citizens, healthcare practitioners, managers and policymakers all of whom were involved in, or knew about, the original project. Only one direct sustained service change was found - introduction of a volunteer first responder scheme in one community. Sustained changes in knowledge were found. The Health Authority that part-funded development of the community participation method, through the original project, had not adopted the new method. Community members tended to attribute lack of further impact to low participation and methods insufficiently attuned to the social nuances of very small rural communities. Managers tended to blame insufficient embedding in the healthcare system and issues around power over service change and budgets. In the absence of convincing formal community governance mechanisms for health issues, rural health practitioners tended to act as conduits between citizens and the Health Authority. The study provides new knowledge about what happens after community participation and highlights a need for more exploration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of general health workers in leprosy control activities at public health facilities in Amhara and Oromia States, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Abeje, Tadiye; Negera, Edessa; Kebede, Eshetu; Hailu, Tsegaye; Hassen, Ismaile; Lema, Tsehainesh; Yamuah, Lawrence; Shiguti, Birru; Fenta, Melkamu; Negasa, Megersa; Beyene, Demissew; Bobosha, Kidist; Aseffa, Abraham

2016-04-07

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease of public health importance and one of the leading causes of permanent physical disability. Nevertheless, the drop in prevalence following multidrug therapy has resulted in the neglect of leprosy. The annual incidence of leprosy has remained the same in Ethiopia since decades with more than 76% of the reported new cases coming from Oromia and Amhara Regional States. This study was aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and skill of general health workers in leprosy control activities at public health facilities in Oromia and Amhara Regional States. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2011 to February 2012 at different public health facilities in selected eight zones in Oromia and Amhara Regional States. A multistage sampling method was used to obtain representative samples. High and low endemic zones for leprosy were included in the study in both regional states. Data were collected from general health workers through a structured self-administered questionnaire and at on-site assessment of their performance. Baseline socio-demographic data, health workers' attitude towards leprosy and their knowledge and skill in the management of leprosy were assessed. Bloom's cut off point was used to describe the knowledge and practical skills of the respondents while Likert's scale was used for attitude assessment. A total of 601 general health workers responsible for leprosy control activities at public health facilities were included in knowledge and attitude assessment and 83 of them were subjected to practical evaluation, with on-site observation of how they handle leprosy patients. These included medical doctors (4%), health officers and nurses with Bachelor degree in Science (27%), clinical nurses with diploma (66%) and health assistants (2.8%). The median age of the respondents was 26.0 years and females made up of 45%. Generally the knowledge and skills of the respondents were found to be poor while attitude towards leprosy was positive for the majority of the respondents. The result showed that 519 (86.3%) had poor knowledge. Overall 155 (25.8%) of the respondents had positive attitude towards leprosy while 205 (34.1%) had intermediate (mixed) attitude and 241 (40.1%) had negative attitude to the disease. Among 83 respondents assessed for diagnosis of leprosy only 15(18.0%) diagnosed leprosy correctly. Variation in knowledge and attitude indicated a significant difference (p < 0.05) among different health institutions, professions, gender, in-service training and years of experience. The current finding underlines that although leprosy control activities are integrated to the general health services in the country, the knowledge and skills of leprosy diagnosis, treatment and management by health workers was unsatisfactory. Hence, attention should be given to develop training strategies that can improve health worker knowledge and promote better leprosy management at public health facilities. This could be achieved through pre-service and in-service training and giving adequate emphasis to leprosy related practical work and continuous follow- up.

Use of Satellite SAR Data for Seismic Risk Management: Results from the Pre-Operational ASI-SIGRIS Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salvi, Stefano; Vignoli, Stefano; Zoffoli, Simona; Bosi, Vittorio

2010-12-01

The scope of the SIGRIS pilot project is the development of an infrastructure to provide value-added information services for the seismic risk management, assuring a close integration between ground-based and satellite Earth Observation data. The project is presently in the demonstration phase, and various information products are constantly generated and disseminated to the main user, the Italian Civil Protection Department. We show some examples of the products generated during the Crisis management of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake in Central Italy. We also show an example of products generated for the Knowledge and Prevention service in support of the seismic hazard assessment in the area of the Straits of Messina.

Exploring the effectiveness of the output-based aid voucher program to increase uptake of gender-based violence recovery services in Kenya: A qualitative evaluation

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Few studies in Africa have explored in detail the ability of output-based aid (OBA) voucher programs to increase access to gender-based violence recovery (GBVR) services. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in 2010 and involved: (i) in-depth interviews (IDIs) with health managers, service providers, voucher management agency (VMA) managers and (ii) focus group discussions (FGDs) with voucher users, voucher non-users, voucher distributors and opinion leaders drawn from five program sites in Kenya. Results The findings showed promising prospects for the uptake of OBA GBVR services among target population. However, a number of factors affect the uptake of the services. These include lack of general awareness of the GBVR services vouchers, lack of understanding of the benefit package, immediate financial needs of survivors, as well as stigma and cultural beliefs that undermine reporting of cases or seeking essential medical services. Moreover, accreditation of only hospitals to offer GBVR services undermines access to the services in rural areas. Poor responsiveness from law enforcement agencies and fear of reprisal from perpetrators also undermine treatment options and access to medical services. Low provider knowledge on GBVR services and lack of supplies also affect effective provision and management of GBVR services. Conclusions The above findings suggest that there is a need to build the capacity of health care providers and police officers, strengthen the community strategy component of the OBA program to promote the GBVR services voucher, and conduct widespread community education programs aimed at prevention, ensuring survivors know how and where to access services and addressing stigma and cultural barriers. PMID:22691436

Supporting interoperability of collaborative networks through engineering of a service-based Mediation Information System (MISE 2.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benaben, Frederick; Mu, Wenxin; Boissel-Dallier, Nicolas; Barthe-Delanoe, Anne-Marie; Zribi, Sarah; Pingaud, Herve

2015-08-01

The Mediation Information System Engineering project is currently finishing its second iteration (MISE 2.0). The main objective of this scientific project is to provide any emerging collaborative situation with methods and tools to deploy a Mediation Information System (MIS). MISE 2.0 aims at defining and designing a service-based platform, dedicated to initiating and supporting the interoperability of collaborative situations among potential partners. This MISE 2.0 platform implements a model-driven engineering approach to the design of a service-oriented MIS dedicated to supporting the collaborative situation. This approach is structured in three layers, each providing their own key innovative points: (i) the gathering of individual and collaborative knowledge to provide appropriate collaborative business behaviour (key point: knowledge management, including semantics, exploitation and capitalisation), (ii) deployment of a mediation information system able to computerise the previously deduced collaborative processes (key point: the automatic generation of collaborative workflows, including connection with existing devices or services) (iii) the management of the agility of the obtained collaborative network of organisations (key point: supervision of collaborative situations and relevant exploitation of the gathered data). MISE covers business issues (through BPM), technical issues (through an SOA) and agility issues of collaborative situations (through EDA).

Innovation in user-centered skills and performance improvement for sustainable complex service systems.

PubMed

Karwowski, Waldemar; Ahram, Tareq Z

2012-01-01

In order to leverage individual and organizational learning and to remain competitive in current turbulent markets it is important for employees, managers, planners and leaders to perform at high levels over time. Employee competence and skills are extremely important matters in view of the general shortage of talent and the mobility of employees with talent. Two factors emerged to have the greatest impact on the competitiveness of complex service systems: improving managerial and employee's knowledge attainment for skills, and improving the training and development of the workforce. This paper introduces the knowledge-based user-centered service design approach for sustainable skill and performance improvement in education, design and modeling of the next generation of complex service systems. The rest of the paper cover topics in human factors and sustainable business process modeling for the service industry, and illustrates the user-centered service system development cycle with the integration of systems engineering concepts in service systems. A roadmap for designing service systems of the future is discussed. The framework introduced in this paper is based on key user-centered design principles and systems engineering applications to support service competitiveness.

Tools of the trade: Improving nurses' ability to access and evaluate research.

PubMed

Sleutel, Martha R; Bullion, John W; Sullivan, Ronnie

2018-03-01

To evaluate the effect of a manager-required RN competency on staff nurses' perceived knowledge, ability and frequency of information-seeking activities. Basing clinical practice on research and standards of care is essential to delivering appropriate care with optimal outcomes. Nurses' information-seeking abilities are critical for acquiring evidence-based answers to aid clinical decision-making, yet nurses under-utilize library resources and report barriers. A unit manager sought to test the effect of an innovative competency for acquiring and appraising evidence for practice. This longitudinal descriptive study evaluated 28 nurses before and after a 1-hr class, as well as 5 months later. The class covered library information services and the basics of critiquing research articles. Nurses had statistically significant improvements in four of five items measuring knowledge/ability and four of five items measuring frequency of information-seeking activities. At 5 months, most knowledge/ability items increased. There was no effect of nurse characteristics on outcomes. A required competency improved nurses' knowledge, ability and frequency of acquiring and appraising evidence with a single 1-hr class and a hands-on practice activity. Unit managers can have great impact on nurses' use of evidence for practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Provider perceptions of knowledge exchange and communication in a multisite family health team

PubMed Central

Slater, Morgan; Nicholas, Emily; Leung, Fok-Han; Lofters, Aisha

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective To describe providers’ self-reported knowledge and use of family health team (FHT) services and to explore attitudes and perspectives about communication issues among health care professionals active within a large multisite FHT. Design Electronic questionnaire. Setting A multisite FHT in Toronto, Ont. Participants Health care professionals active within the FHT (N = 90). Main outcome measures The survey captured demographic characteristics, including the respondents’ roles and experience; knowledge about services available within the FHT; use of services; and perceived communication issues within the FHT. Results Forty-six health care professionals participated (51% response rate). While respondents were highly aware of the clinical resources and services offered at their own site of practice (95% agreed or strongly agreed), only 54% were aware of services offered at other sites within the FHT. Internal referrals for certain specialty services were high (ie, methadone management, obstetric care, intrauterine device insertion, and psychiatry), but less than 50% of other referrals (ie, sports medicine, joint injections, or tropical medicine) were to physicians within the FHT, despite physicians within the FHT offering services in these areas of expertise. Only 60% of respondents believed that patients had equal access to all of the services within the FHT, and 42% agreed or strongly agreed that patients were unlikely to travel between sites to access services. Roughly one-quarter of respondents believed that physicians were unlikely to refer patients to another site within the FHT to receive health care services. Most respondents agreed that the geographic distribution of the sites negatively affected communication within the FHT (68% agreed or strongly agreed). Conclusion Geographic dispersion of team members in a multisite FHT had a negative effect on provider knowledge of available services, perceived patient access to services, and communication within the team. As most FHTs are spread across multiple locations, finding ways to improve communication among team members will be key to maximizing the effectiveness of the patient care provided by these team-based models.

A pilot study of distributed knowledge management and clinical decision support in the cloud.

PubMed

Dixon, Brian E; Simonaitis, Linas; Goldberg, Howard S; Paterno, Marilyn D; Schaeffer, Molly; Hongsermeier, Tonya; Wright, Adam; Middleton, Blackford

2013-09-01

Implement and perform pilot testing of web-based clinical decision support services using a novel framework for creating and managing clinical knowledge in a distributed fashion using the cloud. The pilot sought to (1) develop and test connectivity to an external clinical decision support (CDS) service, (2) assess the exchange of data to and knowledge from the external CDS service, and (3) capture lessons to guide expansion to more practice sites and users. The Clinical Decision Support Consortium created a repository of shared CDS knowledge for managing hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease in a community cloud hosted by Partners HealthCare. A limited data set for primary care patients at a separate health system was securely transmitted to a CDS rules engine hosted in the cloud. Preventive care reminders triggered by the limited data set were returned for display to clinician end users for review and display. During a pilot study, we (1) monitored connectivity and system performance, (2) studied the exchange of data and decision support reminders between the two health systems, and (3) captured lessons. During the six month pilot study, there were 1339 patient encounters in which information was successfully exchanged. Preventive care reminders were displayed during 57% of patient visits, most often reminding physicians to monitor blood pressure for hypertensive patients (29%) and order eye exams for patients with diabetes (28%). Lessons learned were grouped into five themes: performance, governance, semantic interoperability, ongoing adjustments, and usability. Remote, asynchronous cloud-based decision support performed reasonably well, although issues concerning governance, semantic interoperability, and usability remain key challenges for successful adoption and use of cloud-based CDS that will require collaboration between biomedical informatics and computer science disciplines. Decision support in the cloud is feasible and may be a reasonable path toward achieving better support of clinical decision-making across the widest range of health care providers. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effect of an educational Inpatient Diabetes Management Program on medical resident knowledge and measures of glycemic control: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Desimone, Marisa E; Blank, Gary E; Virji, Mohamed; Donihi, Amy; DiNardo, Monica; Simak, Deborah M; Buranosky, Raquel; Korytkowski, Mary T

2012-01-01

To investigate the effectiveness of an Inpatient Diabetes Management Program (IDMP) on physician knowledge and inpatient glycemic control. Residents assigned to General Internal Medicine inpatient services were randomized to receive the IDMP (IDMP group) or usual education only (non-IDMP group). Both groups received an overview of inpatient diabetes management in conjunction with reminders of existing order sets on the hospital Web site. The IDMP group received print copies of the program and access to an electronic version for a personal digital assistant (PDA). A Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT) was administered at baseline and at the end of the 1-month rotation. The frequency of hyperglycemia among patients under surveillance by each group was compared by using capillary blood glucose values and a dispersion index of glycemic variability. IDMP users completed a questionnaire related to the program. Twenty-two residents participated (11 in the IDMP group and 11 in the non-IDMP group). Overall Diabetes Knowledge Test scores improved in both groups (IDMP: 69% ± 1.7% versus 83% ± 2.1%, P = .003; non-IDMP: 76% ± 1.2% versus 84% ± 1.4%, P = .02). The percentage of correct responses for management of corticosteroid-associated hyperglycemia (P = .004) and preoperative glycemic management (P = .006) improved in only the IDMP group. The frequency of hyperglycemia (blood glucose level >180 mg/dL) and the dispersion index (5.3 ± 7.6 versus 3.7 ± 5.6; P = .2) were similar between the 2 groups. An IDMP was effective at improving physician knowledge for managing hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients treated with corticosteroids or in preparation for surgical procedures. Educational programs directed at improving overall health care provider knowledge for inpatient glycemic management may be beneficial; however, improvements in knowledge do not necessarily result in improved glycemic outcomes.

NASE 2015: Implementation of a Management Quality System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ros, Rosa Maria; García, Beatriz; Santa Maria, Delia

2015-08-01

ISO 29990:2010, Learning services for non-formal education and training - Basic requirements for service providers, proposes enhance transparency and allow comparison on a worldwide basis of learning services, offering a single alternative backed by international consensus to the huge variety of national service and management standards which now exists in the field of non-formal learning. The objective of ISO 29990:2010 is to provide a generic model for quality professional practice and performance, and a common reference for learning service providers and their clients in the design, development and delivery of non-formal education, training and development.NASE project, which was born as a consequence of the implementation of IAU-10 Years Strategic Plan and it is in agreement with the proposal to increase the interest and efforts of IAU on schools before the university and constitutes good objective for the implementation of ISO 29990-2010.Taking into account the main objectives of the Strategic Plan, it is possible to remark that NASE acts on all the education levels, and had, during the past 5 years a big impact because Ministries of Education, Universities and Planetariums are involved. After 5 years NASE organized more than 60 courses in about 20 countries distributed in America, Africa, Asia and Europe. In many countries local governments changed their curriculum according NASE course contents (i.e. Nicaragua, Argentina and Honduras).The knowledge obtained by teachers is evaluated by the department of education of the local government or universities who participated. NASE acts as part of the Professional formation of Professors in Science and in this sense is a Program directed to the Tertiary and University Education.After 5 years of development, we present the implementation of a Quality Management System, according to ISO 29990:2010, devoted to Learning services for non-formal education and training. Basic requirements for service providers, and show that an Educational Program as NASE can also rich the international management standard levels’, demonstrating that knowledge is a factor of economic growing in the World.

InWiM: knowledge management for insurance medicine.

PubMed

Bleuer, Juerg P; Bösch, Kurt; Ludwig, Christian A

2008-01-01

Suva (Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund) is the most important carrier of obligatory accident insurance in Switzerland. Its services not only comprise insurance but also prevention, case management and rehabilitation. Suva's medical division supports doctors in stationary and ambulatory care with comprehensive case management and with conciliar advice. Two Suva clinics provide stationary rehabilitation. Medicine in general, including insurance medicine, faces the problem of a diversity of opinions about the facts of a case. One of the reasons is a diversity of knowledge. This is the reason why Suva initiated a knowledge management project called InWiM. "InWiM" is the acronym for "Integrierte Wissensbasen der Medizin" which can be translated as "Integrated Knowledge Bases in Medicine". The project is part of an ISO 9001 certification program and comprises the definition and documentation of all processes in the field of knowledge management as well as the development of the underlying ITC infrastructure. The knowledge representation model used for the ICT implementation considers knowledge as a multidimensional network of interlinked units of information. In contrast to the hyperlink technology in the World Wide Web, links between items are bidirectional: the target knows the source of the link. Links are therefore called cross-links. The model allows annotation for the narrative description of the nature of the units of information (e.g. documents) and the cross-links as well. Information retrieval is achieved by means of a full implementation of the MeSH Index, the thesaurus of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM). As far as the authors are aware, InWiM is currently the only implementation worldwide - with the exception of the NLM and its national representatives - which supports all MeSH features for in-house retrieval.

Foundation Level Training. Trainer's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Human Services, Oklahoma City. Developmental Disabilities Services Div.

This trainer's manual was developed to provide a consistent knowledge and skill base (i.e., a "foundation") for all individuals employed in programs funded by Oklahoma's Developmental Disabilities Services Division. They include van drivers, recreation workers, residential staff, administrators, case managers, secretarial/clerical staff,…

The rare and undiagnosed diseases diagnostic service - application of massively parallel sequencing in a state-wide clinical service.

PubMed

Baynam, Gareth; Pachter, Nicholas; McKenzie, Fiona; Townshend, Sharon; Slee, Jennie; Kiraly-Borri, Cathy; Vasudevan, Anand; Hawkins, Anne; Broley, Stephanie; Schofield, Lyn; Verhoef, Hedwig; Walker, Caroline E; Molster, Caron; Blackwell, Jenefer M; Jamieson, Sarra; Tang, Dave; Lassmann, Timo; Mina, Kym; Beilby, John; Davis, Mark; Laing, Nigel; Murphy, Lesley; Weeramanthri, Tarun; Dawkins, Hugh; Goldblatt, Jack

2016-06-11

The Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases Diagnostic Service (RUDDS) refers to a genomic diagnostic platform operating within the Western Australian Government clinical services delivered through Genetic Services of Western Australia (GSWA). GSWA has provided a state-wide service for clinical genetic care for 28 years and it serves a population of 2.5 million people across a geographical area of 2.5milion Km(2). Within this context, GSWA has established a clinically integrated genomic diagnostic platform in partnership with other public health system managers and service providers, including but not limited to the Office of Population Health Genomics, Diagnostic Genomics (PathWest Laboratories) and with executive level support from the Department of Health. Herein we describe report presents the components of this service that are most relevant to the heterogeneity of paediatric clinical genetic care. Briefly the platform : i) offers multiple options including non-genetic testing; monogenic and genomic (targeted in silico filtered and whole exome) analysis; and matchmaking; ii) is delivered in a patient-centric manner that is resonant with the patient journey, it has multiple points for entry, exit and re-entry to allow people access to information they can use, when they want to receive it; iii) is synchronous with precision phenotyping methods; iv) captures new knowledge, including multiple expert review; v) is integrated with current translational genomic research activities and best practice; and vi) is designed for flexibility for interactive generation of, and integration with, clinical research for diagnostics, community engagement, policy and models of care. The RUDDS has been established as part of routine clinical genetic services and is thus sustainable, equitably managed and seeks to translate new knowledge into efficient diagnostics and improved health for the whole community.

Marginal Lands: Concept, Assessment and Management

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

Kang, Shujiang; Post, Wilfred M; West, Tristram O.

2013-01-01

Marginal lands have received wide attention for their potential to improve food security and support bioenergy production. However, environmental, ecosystem service, and sustainability concerns have been widely raised over the use of marginal land. Knowledge of the extent, location, and quality of marginal lands as well as their assessment and management are limited and diverse. This paper provides a review of the historical development of marginal concept, its application and assessment. Limitations and priority research needs of marginal land assessment and management were discussed.

Leading change: 1--identifying the issue.

PubMed

Kerridge, Joanna

To enable sustainable change, nurses need to take the lead in managing it. Recent national initiatives have emphasised the importance of frontline staff in service improvement. The ability to influence and manage change has been identified as an essential skill for delivering new models of care. This article is the first in a three-part series designed to help nurses at all levels develop the knowledge and skills they will need to initiate and manage change. This article focuses on identifying what needs to be changed and why.

Contribution of local knowledge to understand socio-hydrological dynamics. Examples from a study in Senegal river valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruckmann, Laurent

2017-04-01

In developing countries many watersheds are low monitored. However, rivers and its floodplains provides ecosystem services to societies, especially for agriculture, grazing and fishing. This uses of rivers and floodplains offer to communities an important local knowledge about hydrological dynamics. This knowledge can be useful to researchers studying ecological or hydrological processes. This presentation aims to discuss and present the interest of using qualitative data from surveys and interviews to understand relations between society and hydrology in floodplain from developing countries, but also to understand changes in hydrological dynamics. This communication is based on a PhD thesis held on from 2012 and 2016, that analyzes socio-ecological changes in the floodplain of the Senegal river floodplain following thirty years of transboundary water management. The results of this work along Senegal river valley suggest that the use of social data and qualitative study are beneficial in understanding the hydrological dynamics in two dimensions. First, it established the importance of perception of hydrological dynamics, particularly floods, on local water management and socio-agricultural trajectories. This perception of people is strictly derived from ecosystems services provided by river and its floodplain. Second, surveys have enlightened new questions concerning the hydrology of the river that are often cited by people, like a decrease of flood water fertility. This type of socio-hydrological study, combining hydrological and qualitative data, has great potential for guiding water management policies. Using local knowledge in their analyzes, researchers also legitimize river users, who are for the most part forgotten by water policies.

Outreach pharmacy service in old age homes: a Hong Kong experience.

PubMed

Lau, Wai-Man; Chan, Kit; Yung, Tsz-Ho; Lee, Anna See-Wing

2003-06-01

To explore drug-related problems in old age homes in Hong Kong through outreach pharmacy service. A standard form was used by outreach pharmacists to identify drug-related problems at old age homes. Homes were selected through random sampling, voluntary participation or adverse selection. Initial observation and assessment were performed in the first and second weeks. Appropriate advice and recommendations were given upon assessment and supplemented by a written report. Educational talks were provided to staff of the homes in addition to other drug information materials. At week 7 to 9, evaluations were carried out. Eighty-five homes were assessed and identified to have problems in the drug management system. These problems could generally be classified into physical storage (8.8%), quality of storage (19.2%), drug administration system (13.3%), documentation (16.4%), and drug knowledge of staff of homes (42.2%). Quality of drug storage was the most common problem found, followed by documentation and drug knowledge (73%, 50% and 44% of points assessed with problems, respectively). Apart from lack of drug knowledge and unawareness of potential risks by staff, minimal professional standards unmet may be fundamentally related to lack of professional input and inadequacy in legislation. Most homes demonstrated significant improvements upon simple interventions, from a majority of homes with more than 10 problems to a majority with less than 5 problems. Diverse problems in drug management are common in old age homes, which warrants attention and professional inputs. Simple interventions and education by pharmacists are shown to be effective in improving the quality of drug management and hence care to residents. While future financing of old age home service can be reviewed within the social context to provide incentives for improvement, review of regulatory policy with enforcement may be more fundamental and effective in upholding the service standard.

Knowledge management in dementia care networks: a qualitative analysis of successful information and support strategies for people with dementia living at home and their family caregivers.

PubMed

Heinrich, S; Laporte Uribe, F; Roes, M; Hoffmann, W; Thyrian, J R; Wolf-Ostermann, K; Holle, B

2016-02-01

Stakeholders involved in community dementia support services often work on their own and without coordination with other services. These circumstances can result in a lack of information and support for people with dementia and their family caregivers at home. To increase the coordination between existing support services, so-called 'Dementia Care Networks' (DCNs) have been established. Most of the tasks that are performed in DCNs are based on communication strategies. Therefore, knowledge management (KM) is a key process in these networks. However, few studies have focused on this topic. This study attempted to evaluate KM strategies in DCNs across Germany as part of the DemNet-D study. A qualitative interview study design was used. Qualitative data were collected during single and group interviews with key persons associated with thirteen DCNs. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed, and a structured content analysis was conducted. The framework for the analysis was derived from a KM model. Information dissemination strategies for people with dementia and their informal caregivers based on actively established contacts appear to be more successful than passive strategies. General practitioners often play a key role as external gatekeepers in initiating contact between a network and a person affected by dementia. In this context, case managers can help integrate external stakeholders, such as general practitioners or pharmacists, into DCNs using different KM strategies. The systematic development of common objectives under an agency-neutral leadership seems to be an important aspect of successful KM within DCNs. The findings reported here can help DCNs optimize their KM strategies for generating tailored information and support services for people with dementia living at home and their family caregivers. In particular, the identified potential knowledge distribution barriers and facilitators will be of practical use to DCN stakeholders. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spaceflight Operations Services Grid Prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradford, Robert N.; Mehrotra, Piyush; Lisotta, Anthony

2004-01-01

NASA over the years has developed many types of technologies and conducted various types of science resulting in numerous variations of operations, data and applications. For example, operations range from deep space projects managed by JPL, Saturn and Shuttle operations managed from JSC and KSC, ISS science operations managed from MSFC and numerous low earth orbit satellites managed from GSFC that are varied and intrinsically different but require many of the same types of services to fulfill their missions. Also, large data sets (databases) of Shuttle flight data, solar system projects and earth observing data exist which because of their varied and sometimes outdated technologies are not and have not been fully examined for additional information and knowledge. Many of the applications/systems supporting operational services e.g. voice, video, telemetry and commanding, are outdated and obsolete. The vast amounts of data are located in various formats, at various locations and range over many years. The ability to conduct unified space operations, access disparate data sets and to develop systems and services that can provide operational services does not currently exist in any useful form. In addition, adding new services to existing operations is generally expensive and with the current budget constraints not feasible on any broad level of implementation. To understand these services a discussion of each one follows. The Spaceflight User-based Services are those services required to conduct space flight operations. Grid Services are those Grid services that will be used to overcome, through middleware software, some or all the problems that currently exists. In addition, Network Services will be discussed briefly. Network Services are crucial to any type of remedy and are evolving adequately to support any technology currently in development.

Incorporating reproductive management of beef heifers into a veterinary practice.

PubMed

Poock, Scott E; Payne, Craig A

2013-11-01

Veterinarians play an important role in reproductive management of dairy herds across the United States; however, in many cases, their involvement in reproductive management of beef herds has been limited. The reasons for this vary; however, there are ways for veterinarians to become more actively involved in reproductive management of US beef herds. Veterinarians can have an impact on producers' profits by implementing their skills and knowledge to beef heifer development programs. This article provides an overview of the services veterinarians can provide to beef cattle producers that pertain to reproductive management of replacement beef heifers. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Globus Identity, Access, and Data Management: Platform Services for Collaborative Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ananthakrishnan, R.; Foster, I.; Wagner, R.

2016-12-01

Globus is software-as-a-service for research data management, developed at, and operated by, the University of Chicago. Globus, accessible at www.globus.org, provides high speed, secure file transfer; file sharing directly from existing storage systems; and data publication to institutional repositories. 40,000 registered users have used Globus to transfer tens of billions of files totaling hundreds of petabytes between more than 10,000 storage systems within campuses and national laboratories in the US and internationally. Web, command line, and REST interfaces support both interactive use and integration into applications and infrastructures. An important component of the Globus system is its foundational identity and access management (IAM) platform service, Globus Auth. Both Globus research data management and other applications use Globus Auth for brokering authentication and authorization interactions between end-users, identity providers, resource servers (services), and a range of clients, including web, mobile, and desktop applications, and other services. Compliant with important standards such as OAuth, OpenID, and SAML, Globus Auth provides mechanisms required for an extensible, integrated ecosystem of services and clients for the research and education community. It underpins projects such as the US National Science Foundation's XSEDE system, NCAR's Research Data Archive, and the DOE Systems Biology Knowledge Base. Current work is extending Globus services to be compliant with FEDRAMP standards for security assessment, authorization, and monitoring for cloud services. We will present Globus IAM solutions and give examples of Globus use in various projects for federated access to resources. We will also describe how Globus Auth and Globus research data management capabilities enable rapid development and low-cost operations of secure data sharing platforms that leverage Globus services and integrate them with local policy and security.

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) for preventive management of COPD patients.

PubMed

Velickovski, Filip; Ceccaroni, Luigi; Roca, Josep; Burgos, Felip; Galdiz, Juan B; Marina, Nuria; Lluch-Ariet, Magí

2014-11-28

The use of information and communication technologies to manage chronic diseases allows the application of integrated care pathways, and the optimization and standardization of care processes. Decision support tools can assist in the adherence to best-practice medicine in critical decision points during the execution of a care pathway. The objectives are to design, develop, and assess a clinical decision support system (CDSS) offering a suite of services for the early detection and assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which can be easily integrated into a healthcare providers' work-flow. The software architecture model for the CDSS, interoperable clinical-knowledge representation, and inference engine were designed and implemented to form a base CDSS framework. The CDSS functionalities were iteratively developed through requirement-adjustment/development/validation cycles using enterprise-grade software-engineering methodologies and technologies. Within each cycle, clinical-knowledge acquisition was performed by a health-informatics engineer and a clinical-expert team. A suite of decision-support web services for (i) COPD early detection and diagnosis, (ii) spirometry quality-control support, (iii) patient stratification, was deployed in a secured environment on-line. The CDSS diagnostic performance was assessed using a validation set of 323 cases with 90% specificity, and 96% sensitivity. Web services were integrated in existing health information system platforms. Specialized decision support can be offered as a complementary service to existing policies of integrated care for chronic-disease management. The CDSS was able to issue recommendations that have a high degree of accuracy to support COPD case-finding. Integration into healthcare providers' work-flow can be achieved seamlessly through the use of a modular design and service-oriented architecture that connect to existing health information systems.

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) for preventive management of COPD patients

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The use of information and communication technologies to manage chronic diseases allows the application of integrated care pathways, and the optimization and standardization of care processes. Decision support tools can assist in the adherence to best-practice medicine in critical decision points during the execution of a care pathway. Objectives The objectives are to design, develop, and assess a clinical decision support system (CDSS) offering a suite of services for the early detection and assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which can be easily integrated into a healthcare providers' work-flow. Methods The software architecture model for the CDSS, interoperable clinical-knowledge representation, and inference engine were designed and implemented to form a base CDSS framework. The CDSS functionalities were iteratively developed through requirement-adjustment/development/validation cycles using enterprise-grade software-engineering methodologies and technologies. Within each cycle, clinical-knowledge acquisition was performed by a health-informatics engineer and a clinical-expert team. Results A suite of decision-support web services for (i) COPD early detection and diagnosis, (ii) spirometry quality-control support, (iii) patient stratification, was deployed in a secured environment on-line. The CDSS diagnostic performance was assessed using a validation set of 323 cases with 90% specificity, and 96% sensitivity. Web services were integrated in existing health information system platforms. Conclusions Specialized decision support can be offered as a complementary service to existing policies of integrated care for chronic-disease management. The CDSS was able to issue recommendations that have a high degree of accuracy to support COPD case-finding. Integration into healthcare providers' work-flow can be achieved seamlessly through the use of a modular design and service-oriented architecture that connect to existing health information systems. PMID:25471545

Preparedness of Tanzanian health facilities for outpatient primary care of hypertension and diabetes: a cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Peck, Robert; Mghamba, Janneth; Vanobberghen, Fiona; Kavishe, Bazil; Rugarabamu, Vivian; Smeeth, Liam; Hayes, Richard; Grosskurth, Heiner; Kapiga, Saidi

2014-05-01

Historically, health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have mainly managed acute, infectious diseases. Few data exist for the preparedness of African health facilities to handle the growing epidemic of chronic, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). We assessed the burden of NCDs in health facilities in northwestern Tanzania and investigated the strengths of the health system and areas for improvement with regard to primary care management of selected NCDs. Between November, 2012, and May, 2013, we undertook a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 24 public and not-for profit health facilities in urban and rural Tanzania (four hospitals, eight health centres, and 12 dispensaries). We did structured interviews of facility managers, inspected resources, and administered self-completed questionnaires to 335 health-care workers. We focused on hypertension, diabetes, and HIV (for comparison). Our key study outcomes related to service provision, availability of guidelines and supplies, management and training systems, and preparedness of human resources. Of adult outpatient visits to hospitals, 58% were for chronic diseases compared with 20% at health centres, and 13% at dispensaries. In many facilities, guidelines, diagnostic equipment, and fi rst-line drug therapy for the primary care of NCDs were inadequate, and management, training, and reporting systems were weak. Services for HIV accounted for most chronic disease visits and seemed stronger than did services for NCDs. Ten (42%) facilities had guidelines for HIV whereas three (13%) facilities did for NCDs. 261 (78%) health workers showed fair knowledge of HIV, whereas 198 (59%) did for hypertension and 187 (56%) did for diabetes. Generally, health systems were weaker in lower-level facilities. Front-line health-care workers (such as non-medical-doctor clinicians and nurses) did not have knowledge and experience of NCDs. For example, only 74 (49%) of 150 nurses had at least fair knowledge of diabetes care compared with 85 (57%) of 150 for hypertension and 119 (79%) of 150 for HIV, and only 31 (21%) of 150 had seen more than fi ve patients with diabetes in the past 3 months compared with 50 (33%) of 150 for hypertension and 111 (74%) of 150 for HIV. Most outpatient services for NCDs in Tanzania are provided at hospitals, despite present policies stating that health centres and dispensaries should provide such services. We identifi ed crucial weaknesses (and strengths) in health systems that should be considered to improve primary care for NCDs in Africa and identified ways that HIV programmes could serve as a model and structural platform for these improvements.

A feasibility study of mobile phone text messaging to support education and management of type 2 diabetes in Iraq.

PubMed

Haddad, Nazar S; Istepanian, Robert; Philip, Nada; Khazaal, Faris A K; Hamdan, Thamer A; Pickles, Timothy; Amso, Nazar; Gregory, John W

2014-07-01

We undertook a feasibility study to evaluate feasibility and utility of short message services (SMSs) to support Iraqi adults with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Fifty patients from a teaching hospital clinic in Basrah in the first year after diagnosis were recruited to receive weekly SMSs relating to diabetes self-management over 29 weeks. Numbers of messages received, acceptability, cost, effect on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and diabetes knowledge were documented. Forty-two patients completed the study, receiving an average 22 of 28 messages. Mean knowledge score rose from 8.6 (SD 1.5) at baseline to 9.9 (SD 1.4) 6 months after receipt of SMSs (P=0.002). Baseline and 6-month knowledge scores correlated (r=0.297, P=0.049). Mean baseline HbA1c was 79 mmol/mol (SD 14 mmol/mol) (9.3% [SD 1.3%]) and decreased to 70 mmol/mol (SD 13 mmol/mol) (8.6% [SD 1.2%]) (P=0.001) 6 months after the SMS intervention. Baseline and 6-month values were correlated (r=0.898, P=0.001). Age, gender, and educational level showed no association with changes in HbA1c or knowledge score. Changes in knowledge score were correlated with postintervention HbA1c (r=-0.341, P=0.027). All patients were satisfied with text messages and wished the service to be continued after the study. The cost of SMSs was €0.065 per message. This study demonstrates SMSs are acceptable, cost-effective, and feasible in supporting diabetes care in the challenging, resource-poor environment of modern-day Iraq. This study is the first in Iraq to demonstrate similar benefits of this technology on diabetes education and management to those seen from its use in better-resourced parts of the world. A randomized controlled trial is needed to assess precise benefits on self-care and knowledge.

Customer service: developing a new mindset for today's instant gratification society.

PubMed

Stockburger, W T

1998-01-01

Today's society expects and demands immediate service, results and access to information. Can those of us in leadership positions say that the service we provide is equal to or exceeds what our customers expect? How can we redesign our services so they are better than those we currently provide? Some people look to advances in technology as one means to improve services and access to information, but this should not be the only means. If we are to develop a philosophy of exceptional service, we must develop a vision of those services. We must gain an understanding of our customers, plus a knowledge of products, the availability of resources and any industry constraints. In healthcare, we must look to leadership to achieve our goals. A goal of exceptional customer service must be communicated to all levels of service providers from management. Top-down action by management--leadership by example--is critical. Leadership must gain the trust of both customers and employees by actively listening to both verbal and nonverbal comments at all points of service. Without an understanding of our customers' needs, it won't be possible to deliver services at or above their expectations.

Reducing Health Cost: Health Informatics and Knowledge Management as a Business and Communication Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyampoh-Vidogah, Regina; Moreton, Robert; Sallah, David

Health informatics has the potential to improve the quality and provision of care while reducing the cost of health care delivery. However, health informatics is often falsely regarded as synonymous with information management (IM). This chapter (i) provides a clear definition and characteristic benefits of health informatics and information management in the context of health care delivery, (ii) identifies and explains the difference between health informatics (HI) and managing knowledge (KM) in relation to informatics business strategy and (iii) elaborates the role of information communication technology (ICT) KM environment. This Chapter further examines how KM can be used to improve health service informatics costs, and identifies the factors that could affect its implementation and explains some of the reasons driving the development of electronic health record systems. This will assist in avoiding higher costs and errors, while promoting the continued industrialisation of KM delivery across health care communities.

Management of pharmaceutical services in the Brazilian primary health care

PubMed Central

Gerlack, Letícia Farias; Karnikowski, Margô Gomes de Oliveira; Areda, Camila Alves; Galato, Dayani; de Oliveira, Aline Gomes; Álvares, Juliana; Leite, Silvana Nair; Costa, Ediná Alves; Guibu, Ione Aquemi; Soeiro, Orlando Mario; Costa, Karen Sarmento; Guerra, Augusto Afonso; Acurcio, Francisco de Assis

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To identify limiting factors in the management of pharmaceutical services in the primary health care provided by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). METHODS This study was based on the data from the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos no Brasil (PNAUM – National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), and it was conducted by interviews with professionals responsible for pharmaceutical services in Brazilian cities, in 2015. To identify the management limiting factors, we considered the organizational, operational, and sustainability indicators of the management. For the analyses, we included the weights and structure of analysis plan for complex samples. The results were expressed by frequencies and measures of central tendency with 95% confidence interval, considering the Brazilian geographic regions. RESULTS We identified the following limiting factors: lack of pharmaceutical services in the Municipal Health Secretariat organization chart (24%) and in the health plan (18%); lack of participation of managers in the Health Board and the absence of reference to this topic in the agenda of meetings (58.4%); lack of financial autonomy (61.5%) and lack of knowledge on the available values (81.7%); lack of adoption of operational procedures (about 50%) for selection, scheduling, and acquisition; and the fact that most professionals evaluate the organization of pharmaceutical services as good and great (58.8%), despite the worrisome indicators. CONCLUSIONS Pharmaceutical services management is currently supported by a legal and political framework that should guide and contribute to improve the pharmaceutical services in the Brazilian Unified Health System primary health care. However, there is a mismatch between the goals established by these guidelines and what is actually happening. PMID:29160449

Management of pharmaceutical services in the Brazilian primary health care.

PubMed

Gerlack, Letícia Farias; Karnikowski, Margô Gomes de Oliveira; Areda, Camila Alves; Galato, Dayani; Oliveira, Aline Gomes de; Álvares, Juliana; Leite, Silvana Nair; Costa, Ediná Alves; Guibu, Ione Aquemi; Soeiro, Orlando Mario; Costa, Karen Sarmento; Guerra, Augusto Afonso; Acurcio, Francisco de Assis

2017-11-13

To identify limiting factors in the management of pharmaceutical services in the primary health care provided by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). This study was based on the data from the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos no Brasil (PNAUM - National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), and it was conducted by interviews with professionals responsible for pharmaceutical services in Brazilian cities, in 2015. To identify the management limiting factors, we considered the organizational, operational, and sustainability indicators of the management. For the analyses, we included the weights and structure of analysis plan for complex samples. The results were expressed by frequencies and measures of central tendency with 95% confidence interval, considering the Brazilian geographic regions. We identified the following limiting factors: lack of pharmaceutical services in the Municipal Health Secretariat organization chart (24%) and in the health plan (18%); lack of participation of managers in the Health Board and the absence of reference to this topic in the agenda of meetings (58.4%); lack of financial autonomy (61.5%) and lack of knowledge on the available values (81.7%); lack of adoption of operational procedures (about 50%) for selection, scheduling, and acquisition; and the fact that most professionals evaluate the organization of pharmaceutical services as good and great (58.8%), despite the worrisome indicators. Pharmaceutical services management is currently supported by a legal and political framework that should guide and contribute to improve the pharmaceutical services in the Brazilian Unified Health System primary health care. However, there is a mismatch between the goals established by these guidelines and what is actually happening.

Does a voucher program improve reproductive health service delivery and access in Kenya?

PubMed

Njuki, Rebecca; Abuya, Timothy; Kimani, James; Kanya, Lucy; Korongo, Allan; Mukanya, Collins; Bracke, Piet; Bellows, Ben; Warren, Charlotte E

2015-05-23

Current assessments on Output-Based Aid (OBA) programs have paid limited attention to the experiences and perceptions of the healthcare providers and facility managers. This study examines the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of healthcare providers and facility managers in the Kenya reproductive health output-based approach voucher program. A total of 69 in-depth interviews with healthcare providers and facility managers in 30 voucher accredited facilities were conducted. The study hypothesized that a voucher program would be associated with improvements in reproductive health service provision. Data were transcribed and analyzed by adopting a thematic framework analysis approach. A combination of inductive and deductive analysis was conducted based on previous research and project documents. Facility managers and providers viewed the RH-OBA program as a feasible system for increasing service utilization and improving quality of care. Perceived benefits of the program included stimulation of competition between facilities and capital investment in most facilities. Awareness of family planning (FP) and gender-based violence (GBV) recovery services voucher, however, remained lower than the maternal health voucher service. Relations between the voucher management agency and accredited facilities as well as existing health systems challenges affect program functions. Public and private sector healthcare providers and facility managers perceive value in the voucher program as a healthcare financing model. They recognize that it has the potential to significantly increase demand for reproductive health services, improve quality of care and reduce inequities in the use of reproductive health services. To improve program functioning going forward, there is need to ensure the benefit package and criteria for beneficiary identification are well understood and that the public facilities are permitted greater autonomy to utilize revenue generated from the voucher program.

Knowledge of HIV-related disabilities and challenges in accessing care: Qualitative research from Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

Zuurmond, Maria; Ferrand, Rashida; Kuper, Hannah

2017-01-01

Introduction While the rapid expansion in antiretroviral therapy access in low and middle income countries has resulted in dramatic declines in mortality rates, many people living with HIV face new or worsening experiences of disability. As nearly 1 in 20 adults are living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa–many of whom are likely to develop disabling sequelae from long-term infection, co-morbidities and side effects of their treatment–understanding the availability and accessibility of services to address HIV-related disabilities is of vital importance. The aim of this study thus is to explore knowledge of HIV-related disabilities amongst stakeholders working in the fields of HIV and disability and factors impacting uptake and provision of interventions for preventing, treating or managing HIV-related disabilities. Methods In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten stakeholders based in Harare, Zimbabwe, who were working in the fields of either disability or HIV. Stakeholders were identified through a priori stakeholder analysis. Thematic Analysis, complemented by constant comparison as described in Grounded Theory, was used to analyse findings. Results All key informants reported some level of knowledge of HIV-related disability, mostly from observations made in their line of work. However, they reported no interventions or policies were in place specifically to address HIV-related disability. While referrals between HIV and rehabilitation providers were not uncommon, no formal mechanisms had been established for collaborating on prevention, identification and management. Additional barriers to accessing and providing services to address HIV-related disabilities included: the availability of resources, including trained professionals, supplies and equipment in both the HIV and rehabilitation sectors; lack of disability-inclusive adaptations, particularly in HIV services; heavy centralization of available services in urban areas, without accessible, affordable transportation links; and attitudes and understanding among service providers and people living with HIV-related disabilities. Conclusions As people living with HIV are surviving longer, HIV-related disabilities will become a major source of disability globally, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where infection is endemic. Preventing, treating and managing HIV-related disabilities must become a key component of both HIV response efforts and rehabilitation strategies. PMID:28793316

Opportunity for change in the future roles for the health library and information professional: meeting the challenges in NHS Scotland.

PubMed

Maclean, Gerry

2006-12-01

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the Special Health Board responsible for supporting best practice in education, training and development for all staff groups within NHS Scotland. As part of its remit, the Knowledge Services Group within NES is responsible for the e-Library, a national electronic resource providing and supporting access to the evidence base. The Knowledge Services Group also supports the national development of library services to NHS Scotland. This article aims to provide a reflective overview of some recent challenges within the health library and information field in Scotland, and the positive role opportunities these have afforded. The information was gathered through extensive professional interaction with staff across the sector over the first year of establishing the new role of Librarian Staff Development Manager. New roles have emerged for health library and information professionals generally; for example, in response to new technology or new user groups. The development of the NHS Scotland e-Library provides examples of role development that emerges symbiotically from core skills applied to a new situation or applied in an innovative way. Role development among health library and information professionals operating at the local service level can be both reactive and proactive. Working together, the partnership between the national Knowledge Services Group and local library and knowledge services for NHS Scotland has resulted in the emergence of additional new roles, extending the role portfolio of the local professional (for example, the Librarian-Tutor role) and supported by other national infrastructures (for example, the competency framework initiative).

77 FR 65937 - Advisory Council to the Internal Revenue Service; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-31

... Continuing to Balance Compliance and Tax Enforcement, Streamling the Audit Process, Managing Knowledge in the Issue Practice Groups and International Practice Networks, How Lien Withdrawal Processing should be made...) (Form 1040), Increase BMF Electronic Filing, Guidance Respecting Obligations of Tax Practitioner Under...

A knowledge management platform for infrastructure performance modeling

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-05-10

The ITS/JPO Evaluation Program is requesting ITS costs information in order to update the ITS Costs database with current data and account for new/emerging services and technologies. If you have ITS Costs on recent ITS projects, or if you have ITS co...

Higher Educational Consortia Organization: Functional Structures of Administration and Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lepchenske, George L.

The administrative and functional organization of higher education consortia are discussed. The need for cooperation between individual institutions has been established; one lone institution cannot encompass all knowledge generated. The rapid growth of consortia has generated extensive services, funding sources, developmental activities,…

Interoperability in Personalized Adaptive Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aroyo, Lora; Dolog, Peter; Houben, Geert-Jan; Kravcik, Milos; Naeve, Ambjorn; Nilsson, Mikael; Wild, Fridolin

2006-01-01

Personalized adaptive learning requires semantic-based and context-aware systems to manage the Web knowledge efficiently as well as to achieve semantic interoperability between heterogeneous information resources and services. The technological and conceptual differences can be bridged either by means of standards or via approaches based on the…

Personalizing Knowledge Delivery Services for Emerging Knowledge Processes (EKPs): A Conceptual Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Majchrzak, Ann; Chellappa, Ramnath K.; Cooper, Lynne P.; Hars, Alexander

2003-01-01

The contents include: 1) What do most KMS in use today assume?; 2) Assumptions are violated when KMS is used by EKP workers - Why?; 3) Current State of KMS for EKPs are inadequate; 4) What would an "adequate" KMS for EKPs look like?; 5) "User-as-Consumer" Analogue: Ecommerce/Eem ployee Services; 6) Why is an ideal KMS for EKPs hard to achieve?; 7) So, what type of KMS design would work?; 8) Human-Based KMS for EKP - Proposal Call Managers at R&DLAB; 9) Proposal Call Managers (PCMs); 10) Specific PCM tasks; 11) Why is a R&DLAB PCM a human metaphor for a KMS for EKP?; 12) Data Collection; 13) Finding #1; 14) Finding #2; 15) Finding #3; 16) Factors affecting How/when; 17) Finding #4; 18) Finding #5; 19) Implication#l for a KMS for EKP: From System to Service; 20) Implication #2: From technology or human-centric to Mixed Mode; 21) Implication #3: From Simple User Profiles to Dynamic Delivery Profiles; 22) Implication #4: Maintaining a trustworthy environment; 23) Implication #5: Constructing a dynamic delivery profile; 24) Implications for Research: Model; and 25) Example Research Qs on KMS Support for EKPs.

New ecological knowledge and practices for society and sustainability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, Erica; Baron, Jill S.; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Sarukhan, Jose; Persic, Ana; Arico, Salvatore

2007-01-01

As attributes of the Earth's ecosystems shift in the face of human impact and sustainability of ecosystem services becomes less certain, one important tool at the disposal of the scientific community and other groups is a blueprint for understanding, evaluating, and communicating the value of ecological services. The blueprint presented here is based on (1) an examination of the ecological and societal trade-offs accompanying any given action, (2) revised methods of communication, and (3) coordination of actions at many different scales. The Mexican National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) is a good example of a demand-driven “bridging institution” between academia, government, and civil society, and it works to collect and convert scientific information into information for policy, management, and conservation. Intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are well placed to facilitate such coordination at the international level, through their work with member states. Through collaboration with the constituencies of such organizations as the Ecological Society of America, the blueprint described below has the potential to become an important tool for assessing and managing threats to ecosystem services that are essential to life.

Fall Prevention Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Community Stakeholders and Older Adults

PubMed Central

Laing, Sharon S.; Silver, Ilene F.; York, Sally; Phelan, Elizabeth A.

2011-01-01

We assessed knowledge, attitude, and provision of recommended fall prevention (FP) practices by employees of senior-serving organization and participation in FP practices by at-risk elders. The Washington State Department of Health administered structured telephone surveys to 50 employees and 101 elders in Washington State. Only 38% of employees felt “very knowledgeable” about FP, and a majority of their organizations did not regularly offer FP services. Almost half (48%) of seniors sustained a fall within the past 12 months; however, one-third perceived falling to be among their least important health concerns, and most had minimal working knowledge of proven FP practices. Seniors who perceived avoiding falls as important to their well-being were more likely to participate in practices about which they had the least knowledge (risk assessment, medication management). Increased awareness and availability of FP services might help engage older adults in FP practices and reduce the adverse effects of falls. PMID:21915377

An infrastructure for ontology-based information systems in biomedicine: RICORDO case study.

PubMed

Wimalaratne, Sarala M; Grenon, Pierre; Hoehndorf, Robert; Gkoutos, Georgios V; de Bono, Bernard

2012-02-01

The article presents an infrastructure for supporting the semantic interoperability of biomedical resources based on the management (storing and inference-based querying) of their ontology-based annotations. This infrastructure consists of: (i) a repository to store and query ontology-based annotations; (ii) a knowledge base server with an inference engine to support the storage of and reasoning over ontologies used in the annotation of resources; (iii) a set of applications and services allowing interaction with the integrated repository and knowledge base. The infrastructure is being prototyped and developed and evaluated by the RICORDO project in support of the knowledge management of biomedical resources, including physiology and pharmacology models and associated clinical data. The RICORDO toolkit and its source code are freely available from http://ricordo.eu/relevant-resources. sarala@ebi.ac.uk.

Bringing the ecosystem services concept into marine management decisions, supporting ecosystems-based management.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tweddle, J. F.; Byg, A.; Davies, I.; Gubbins, M.; Irvine, K.; Kafas, A.; Kenter, J.; MacDonald, A.; Murray, R. B. O.; Potts, T.; Slater, A. M.; Wright, K.; Scott, B. E.

2016-02-01

The marine environment is under increasing use, putting pressure on marine ecosystems and increasing competition for space. New activities (e.g. renewable energy developments), evolving marine policies (e.g. implementation of marine protected areas), and climate change may drive changes in biodiversity and resulting ecosystem services (ES) that society and business utilise from coastal and marine systems. A process is needed that integrates ecological assessment of changes with stakeholder perceptions and valuation of ES, whilst balancing ease of application with the ability to deal with complex social-economic-ecological issues. The project "Cooperative participatory assessment of the impact of renewable technology on ecosystem services: CORPORATES" involved natural and social scientists, law and policy experts, and marine managers, with the aim of promoting more integrated decision making using ES concepts in marine management. CORPORATES developed a process to bring ES concepts into stakeholders' awareness. The interactive process, involving 2 workshops, employs interludes of knowledge exchange by experts on ecological processes underpinning ES and on law and policy. These enable mapping of benefits linked to activities, participatory system modelling, and deliberation of policy impacts on different sectors. The workshops were attended by industry representatives, regulatory/advisory partners, and other stakeholders (NGOs, SMEs, recreationalists, local government). Mixed sector groups produced new insights into links between activities and ES, and highlighted cross-sector concerns. Here we present the aspects of the process that successfully built shared understanding between industry and stakeholders of inter-linkages and interactions between ES, benefits, activities, and economic and cultural values. These methods provide an ES-based decision-support model for exchanging societal-ecological knowledge and providing stakeholder interaction in marine planning, supporting ecosystem-based management.

Bringing the ecosystem services concept into marine management decisions, supporting ecosystems-based management.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tweddle, J. F.; Byg, A.; Davies, I.; Gubbins, M.; Irvine, K.; Kafas, A.; Kenter, J.; MacDonald, A.; Murray, R. B. O.; Potts, T.; Slater, A. M.; Wright, K.; Scott, B. E.

2016-12-01

The marine environment is under increasing use, putting pressure on marine ecosystems and increasing competition for space. New activities (e.g. renewable energy developments), evolving marine policies (e.g. implementation of marine protected areas), and climate change may drive changes in biodiversity and resulting ecosystem services (ES) that society and business utilise from coastal and marine systems. A process is needed that integrates ecological assessment of changes with stakeholder perceptions and valuation of ES, whilst balancing ease of application with the ability to deal with complex social-economic-ecological issues. The project "Cooperative participatory assessment of the impact of renewable technology on ecosystem services: CORPORATES" involved natural and social scientists, law and policy experts, and marine managers, with the aim of promoting more integrated decision making using ES concepts in marine management. CORPORATES developed a process to bring ES concepts into stakeholders' awareness. The interactive process, involving 2 workshops, employs interludes of knowledge exchange by experts on ecological processes underpinning ES and on law and policy. These enable mapping of benefits linked to activities, participatory system modelling, and deliberation of policy impacts on different sectors. The workshops were attended by industry representatives, regulatory/advisory partners, and other stakeholders (NGOs, SMEs, recreationalists, local government). Mixed sector groups produced new insights into links between activities and ES, and highlighted cross-sector concerns. Here we present the aspects of the process that successfully built shared understanding between industry and stakeholders of inter-linkages and interactions between ES, benefits, activities, and economic and cultural values. These methods provide an ES-based decision-support model for exchanging societal-ecological knowledge and providing stakeholder interaction in marine planning, supporting ecosystem-based management.

Knowledge about tuberculosis transmission and prevention and perceptions of health service utilization among index cases and contacts in Brazil: Understanding losses in the latent tuberculosis cascade of care.

PubMed

Salame, Flavia Matos; Ferreira, Márcia Danielle; Belo, Marcia Teresa; Teixeira, Eleny Guimarães; Cordeiro-Santos, Marcelo; Ximenes, Ricardo Arraes; de Albuquerque, Maria de Fátima Militão; Hill, Philip C; Menzies, Dick; Trajman, Anete

2017-01-01

Tuberculosis contacts are candidates for active and latent tuberculosis infection screening and eventual treatment. However, many losses occur in the different steps of the contacts' cascade of care. Reasons for this are poorly understood. To describe the different steps where losses in the contact cascade occur and to explore knowledge and attitudes regarding tuberculosis transmission/prevention and perceptions about tuberculosis services in order to understand the reasons for losses from the tuberculosis service users' perspective. We collected routine data from the index case and contact registry books and from patients' records to build the cascade of care of contacts in 12 health facilities in three Brazilian cities with high tuberculosis incidence rates. During a knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey, trained interviewers administered a semi-structured questionnaire to 138 index cases and 98 contacts. Most of the losses in the cascade occurred in the first two steps (contact identification, 43% and tuberculin skin testing placement, 91% of the identified contacts). Among KAP-interviewed contacts, 67% knew how tuberculosis is transmitted, 87% knew its key symptoms and 81% declared they would take preventive therapy if prescribed. Among KAP-interviewed index cases, 67% knew they could spread tuberculosis, 70% feared for the health of their families and 88% would like their family to be evaluated in the same services. Only a small proportion of contacts are evaluated for active and latent tuberculosis, despite their-and their index cases'-reasonable knowledge, positive attitudes towards prevention and satisfaction with tuberculosis services. In these services, education of service users would not be a sufficient solution. Healthcare workers' and managers' perspective, not explored in this study, may bring more light to this subject.

Development and Implementation of a Pharmacist-Managed Clinical Pharmacogenetics Service

PubMed Central

Crews, Kristine R.; Cross, Shane J.; McCormick, John N.; Baker, Donald K.; Molinelli, Alejandro R.; Mullins, Richard; Relling, Mary V.; Hoffman, James M.

2011-01-01

Purpose The development and implementation of a pharmacist-managed Clinical Pharmacogenetics service is described. Summary Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a well-accepted role of the pharmacist. Pharmacogenetics, the study of genetic factors that influence the variability in drug response among patients, is a rapidly evolving discipline that integrates knowledge of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics with modern advances in genetic testing. There is growing evidence for the clinical utility of pharmacogenetics, and pharmacists can play an essential role in the thoughtful application of pharmacogenetics to patient care. A pharmacist-managed Clinical Pharmacogenetics service was designed and implemented. The goal of the service is to provide clinical pharmacogenetic testing for gene products important to the pharmacodynamics of medications used in our patients. The service is modeled after and integrated with an already established Clinical Pharmacokinetics service. All clinical pharmacogenetic test results are first reported to one of the pharmacists, who reviews the result and provides a written consult. The consult includes an interpretation of the result and recommendations for any indicated changes to therapy. In 2009, 136 clinical pharmacogenetic tests were performed, consisting of 66 TPMT tests, 65 CYP2D6 tests, and 5 UGT1A1 tests. Our service has been met with positive clinician feedback. Conclusion Our experience demonstrates the feasibility of the design and function of a pharmacist-managed Clinical Pharmacogenetics service at an academic specialty hospital. The successful implementation of this service highlights the leadership role that pharmacists can take in moving pharmacogenetics from research to patient care, thereby potentially improving patient outcomes. PMID:21200062

The Thai-Australian Health Alliance: developing health management capacity and sustainability for primary health care services.

PubMed

Briggs, D S; Tejativaddhana, P; Cruickshank, M; Fraser, J; Campbell, S

2010-11-01

There have been recent calls for a renewed worldwide focus on primary health care. The Thai-Australian Health Alliance addresses this call by developing health care management capability in primary health care professionals in rural Thailand. This paper describes the history and current activities of the Thai-Australian Health Alliance and its approaches to developing health care management capacity for primary care services through international collaborations in research, education and training over a sustained time period. The Alliance's approach is described herein as a distributed network of practices with access to shared knowledge through collaboration. Its research and education approaches involve action research, multi-methods projects, and evaluative studies in the context of workshops and field studies. WHO principles underpin this approach, with countries sharing practical experiences and outcomes, encouraging leadership and management resource networks, creating clearing houses/knowledge centres, and harmonising and aligning partners with their country's health systems. Various evaluations of the Alliance's activities have demonstrated that a capacity building approach that aligns researchers, educators and health practitioners in comparative and reflective activities can be effective in transferring knowledge and skills among a collaboration's partners. Project participants, including primary health care practitioners, health policy makers and academics embraced the need to acquire management skills to sustain primary care units. Participants believe that the approaches described herein were crucial to developing the management skills needed of health care professionals for rural and remote primary health care. The implementation of this initiative was challenged by pre-existing low opinions of the importance of the management role in health care, but with time the Alliance's activities highlighted for all the importance of health care management. Acceptance of its activities and goals are evidenced by the establishment of a Centre of Leadership Expertise in Health Management and the endorsement of the Phitsanulok Declaration by more than 470 primary health care practitioners, academics and policy makers. Problems with the primary health care delivery system in rural Thailand continue, but the Alliance has successfully implemented a cross cultural strategic collaboration through a continuity of activities to augment practice management capacities in primary care practices.

New Water Management Institutions in Mexico’s ‘New Culture of Water’: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges for Effective Use of Climate Knowledge and Climate Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilder, M.; Varady, R. G.; Pineda Pablos, N.; Browning-Aiken, A.; Diaz Caravantes, R.; Garfin, G.

2007-05-01

Since 1992, Mexico has developed a new set of water management institutions to usher in a ‘new culture of water’ that focuses on decentralized governance and formalized participation of local water users. Reforms to the national water legislation in April 2004 regionalized the governance of water and highlighted the importance of river basin councils as a mechanism for integrated management of major watersheds across Mexico. As a result of the dramatic national water policy reforms, water service delivery in Mexico has been decentralized to the state and municipal level, resulting in a critical new role for municipal governments charged with this important function. A network of river basin councils accompanied and sub-basin councils has been developed to undertake watershed planning. Decentralization and local participation policies embody numerous significant goals and promises, including greater efficiency, more financial accountability, fostering the beginnings of a sense of local stewardship of precious resources, and enhanced environmental sustainability. This paper examines the implications of municipalized water services and emerging river basin councils for utilization of climate knowledge and climate science. We analyze whether these changes open new windows of opportunity for meaningful use of climate science (e.g., forecasts; models). How effectively are municipal water managers and river basin councils utilizing climate knowledge and climate science, and for what purposes? Are there ways to improve the fit between the needs of water managers and river basin councils and the science that is currently available? What is the role of local participation in water policy making in urban settings and river basin councils? The study found overall that the promises and potential for effective utilization of climate science/knowledge to enhance sustainability exists, but is not yet being adequately realized. Binational efforts to develop climate science and information-sharing mechanisms across the Sonora/Arizona border and to work with local communities and stakeholders to improve the fit between science and social stakeholders’ needs should help realize the potential offered by Mexico’s emerging water management institutions and enhance sustainable policy making.

Family Communication, Risk Perception and Cancer Knowledge of Young Adults from BRCA1/2 Families: a Systematic Review.

PubMed

Young, Alison L; Butow, Phyllis N; Vetsch, Janine; Quinn, Veronica F; Patenaude, Andrea F; Tucker, Katherine M; Wakefield, Claire E

2017-12-01

Understanding challenges in familial communication of cancer risk has informed genetic service delivery. Parent-child interactions have received considerable attention, but few studies focus on young adulthood experiences within BRCA1/2 families. Young adults are approaching, or at a life stage where awareness of hereditary cancer risk is vital for informed choice of risk management options. This review assesses family communication, risk perception and cancer knowledge held by 18-40 year old individuals who have a parent with a BRCA1/2 gene mutation or carry the gene mutation themselves. Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria. One utilized a 'mixed methods' methodology and the remaining used a qualitative approach. Findings were synthesized into themes and reported narratively. In general, parents are communicating openly about genetic risk with young adult offspring, but there is evidence that some young adults are withholding information from their parents about their own test results. Risk perception is influenced by a family history of cancer, childbearing plans and health providers' advice. Misconceptions about genetic risk appear to be common and gaps in hereditary cancer knowledge are evident. It is unclear whether incorrect knowledge was passed from parents to offspring. Health providers need to provide developmentally appropriate services for emerging adults (18-25 years old), with particular support in navigating through risk management options.

Gaps in governance: protective mechanisms used by nurse leaders when policy and practice are misaligned.

PubMed

Knight, Kaye M; Kenny, Amanda; Endacott, Ruth

2015-04-09

Due to large geographical distances, the telephone is central to enabling rural Australian communities to access care from their local health service. While there is a history of rural nurses providing care via the telephone, it has been a highly controversial practice that is not routinely documented and little is known about how the practice is governed. The lack of knowledge regarding governance extends to the role of Directors of Nursing as clinical leaders charged with the responsibility of ensuring practice safety, quality, regulation and risk management. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical governance processes related to managing telephone presentations, and to explore Directors of Nursing perceptions of processes and clinical practices related to the management of telephone presentations to health services in rural Victoria, Australia. Qualitative documentary analysis and semi structured interviews were used in the study to examine the content of health service policies and explore the perceptions of Directors of Nursing in eight rural health services regarding policy content and enactment when people telephone rural health services for care. Participants were purposively selected for their knowledge and leadership role in governance processes and clinical practice. Data from the interviews were analysed using framework analysis. The process of analysis resulted in the identification of five themes. The majority of policies reviewed provided little guidance for managing telephone presentations. The Directors of Nursing perceived policy content and enactment to be largely inadequate. When organisational structures failed to provide appropriate governance for the context, the Directors of Nursing engaged in protective mechanisms to support rural nurses who manage telephone presentations. Rural Directors of Nursing employed intuitive behaviours to protect rural nurses practicing within a clinical governance context that is inadequate for the complexities of the environment. Protective mechanisms provided indicators of clinical leadership and governance effectiveness, which may assist rural nurse leaders to strengthen quality and safe care by unlocking the potential of intuitive behaviours. Kanter's theory of structural power provides a way of conceptualising these protective mechanisms, illustrating how rural nurse leaders enact power.

'Big Data' Collaboration: Exploring, Recording and Sharing Enterprise Knowledge

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

Sukumar, Sreenivas R; Ferrell, Regina Kay

2013-01-01

As data sources and data size proliferate, knowledge discovery from "Big Data" is starting to pose several challenges. In this paper, we address a specific challenge in the practice of enterprise knowledge management while extracting actionable nuggets from diverse data sources of seemingly-related information. In particular, we address the challenge of archiving knowledge gained through collaboration, dissemination and visualization as part of the data analysis, inference and decision-making lifecycle. We motivate the implementation of an enterprise data-discovery and knowledge recorder tool, called SEEKER based on real world case-study. We demonstrate SEEKER capturing schema and data-element relationships, tracking the data elementsmore » of value based on the queries and the analytical artifacts that are being created by analysts as they use the data. We show how the tool serves as digital record of institutional domain knowledge and a documentation for the evolution of data elements, queries and schemas over time. As a knowledge management service, a tool like SEEKER saves enterprise resources and time by avoiding analytic silos, expediting the process of multi-source data integration and intelligently documenting discoveries from fellow analysts.« less

Optimal control of soybean aphid in the presence of natural enemies and the implied value of their ecosystem services.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Swinton, Scott M

2012-04-15

By suppressing pest populations, natural enemies provide an important ecosystem service that maintains the stability of agricultural ecosystems systems and potentially mitigates producers' pest control costs. Integrating natural control services into decisions about pesticide-based control has the potential to significantly improve the economic efficiency of pesticide use, with socially desirable outcomes. Two gaps have hindered the incorporation of natural enemies into pest management decision rules: (1) insufficient knowledge of pest and predator population dynamics and (2) lack of a decision framework for the economic tradeoffs among pest control options. Using a new intra-seasonal, dynamic bioeconomic optimization model, this study assesses how predation by natural enemies contributes to profit-maximizing pest management strategies. The model is applied to the management of the invasive soybean aphid, the most significant serious insect threat to soybean production in North America. The resulting lower bound estimate of the value of natural pest control ecosystem services was estimated at $84 million for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota in 2005. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of an Elective Course on Pharmacy Students’ Attitudes, Beliefs, and Competency Regarding Medicare Part D

PubMed Central

Patel, Rajul A.; Thai, Huong K.; Phou, Christine M.; Walberg, Mark P.; Woelfel, Joseph A.; Carr-Lopez, Sian M.; Chan, Emily K.

2012-01-01

Objective. To determine the impact of an elective course on pharmacy students’ perceptions, knowledge, and confidence regarding Medicare Part D, medication therapy management (MTM), and immunizations. Design. Thirty-three pharmacy students were enrolled in a Medicare Part D elective course that included both classroom instruction and experiential training. Assessment. Students’ self-reported confidence in and knowledge of Part D significantly improved upon course completion. End-of-course student perceptions about the relative importance of various aspects of MTM interventions and their confidence in performing MTM services significantly improved from those at the beginning of the course. Students’ confidence in performing immunizations also increased significantly from the start of the course. Conclusion. A classroom course covering Medicare Part D with an experiential requirement serving beneficiaries can improve students’ attitudes and knowledge about Medicare Part D and their confidence in providing related services to beneficiaries in the community. PMID:22761532

State of the State at APPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medlin, E. Lander

2013-01-01

This article reports that since its founding in 1914, APPA has become a premier association serving its diverse membership of international educational institutions in all areas of facilities management. APPA's programs, products, and services are designed to equip facilities professionals with the technical knowledge and necessary…

5 CFR 301.302 - Overseas appointing procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Overseas appointing procedures. 301.302 Section 301.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS OVERSEAS... employees for local hire appointments in the overseas area is made on the basis of the ability, knowledge...

5 CFR 301.302 - Overseas appointing procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Overseas appointing procedures. 301.302 Section 301.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS OVERSEAS... employees for local hire appointments in the overseas area is made on the basis of the ability, knowledge...

5 CFR 301.302 - Overseas appointing procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Overseas appointing procedures. 301.302 Section 301.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS OVERSEAS... employees for local hire appointments in the overseas area is made on the basis of the ability, knowledge...

5 CFR 301.302 - Overseas appointing procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Overseas appointing procedures. 301.302 Section 301.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS OVERSEAS... employees for local hire appointments in the overseas area is made on the basis of the ability, knowledge...

5 CFR 301.302 - Overseas appointing procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Overseas appointing procedures. 301.302 Section 301.302 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS OVERSEAS... employees for local hire appointments in the overseas area is made on the basis of the ability, knowledge...

UWR/MSAA demonstration of coordinated human-services transportation models - phase II : phased implementation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-12-01

This report presents the results of a 16-month project for system development and design of a model for a Travel Management Coordination Center (TMCC) using ITS capabilities. The system was designed as a tool to facilitate the exchange of knowledge a...

5 CFR 551.204 - Nonexemption of certain employees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

....204 Section 551.204 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS... period of time on FLSA exemption status) or § 551.212 (Foreign exemption criteria)) because they do not..., technical skills and knowledge that can be acquired only through prolonged job training and experience, such...

Semantic-Based Knowledge Management in E-Government: Modeling Attention for Proactive Information Delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samiotis, Konstantinos; Stojanovic, Nenad

E-government has become almost synonymous with a consumer-led revolution of government services inspired and made possible by the Internet. With technology being the least of the worries for government organizations nowadays, attention is shifting towards managing complexity as one of the basic antecedents of operational and decision-making inefficiency. Complexity has been traditionally preoccupying public administrations and owes its origins to several sources. Among them we encounter primarily the cross-functional nature and the degree of legal structuring of administrative work. Both of them have strong reliance to the underlying process and information infrastructure of public organizations. Managing public administration work thus implies managing its processes and information. Knowledge management (KM) and business process reengineering (BPR) have been deployed already by private organizations with success for the same purposes and certainly comprise improvement practices that are worthwhile investigating. Our contribution through this paper is on the utilization of KM for the e-government.

A cluster-randomized controlled knowledge translation feasibility study in Alberta community pharmacies using the PARiHS framework: study protocol.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Meagen M; Tsuyuki, Ross T; Houle, Sherilyn Kd

2015-01-01

Despite evidence of benefit for pharmacist involvement in chronic disease management, the provision of these services in community pharmacy has been suboptimal. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework suggests that for knowledge translation to be effective, there must be evidence of benefit, a context conducive to implementation, and facilitation to support uptake. We hypothesize that while the evidence and context components of this framework are satisfied, that uptake into practice has been insufficient because of a lack of facilitation. This protocol describes the rationale and methods of a feasibility study to test a facilitated pharmacy practice intervention based on the PARiHS framework, to assist community pharmacists in increasing the number of formal and documented medication management services completed for patients with diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. A cluster-randomized before-after design will compare ten pharmacies from within a single organization, with the unit of randomization being the pharmacy. Pharmacies will be randomized to facilitated intervention based on the PARiHS framework or usual practice. The Alberta Context Tool will be used to establish the context of practice in each pharmacy. Pharmacies randomized to the intervention will receive task-focused facilitation from an external facilitator, with the goal of developing alternative team processes to allow the greater provision of medication management services for patients with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The primary outcome will be a process evaluation of the needs of community pharmacies to provide more clinical services, the acceptability and uptake of modifications made, and the willingness of pharmacies to participate. Secondary outcomes will include the change in the number of formal and documented medication management services in the aforementioned chronic conditions provided 6 months before, versus after, the intervention between the two groups, and identification of feasible quantitative outcomes for evaluating the effect of the intervention on patient care outcomes. To date, the study has identified and enrolled the ten pharmacies required and initiated the intervention process. This study will be the first to examine the role of facilitation in pharmacy practice, with the goal of scalable and sustainable practice change. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02191111.

Self-management support interventions that are clinically linked and technology enabled: can they successfully prevent and treat diabetes?

PubMed

Kaufman, Neal D; Woodley, Paula D Patnoe

2011-05-01

Patients with diabetes need a complex set of services and supports. The challenge of integrating these services into the diabetes regimen can be successfully overcome through self-management support interventions that are clinically linked and technology enabled: self-management support because patients need help mastering the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors so necessary for good outcomes; interventions because comprehensive theory-based, evidence-proven, long-term, longitudinal interventions work better than direct-to-consumer or nonplanned health promotion approaches; clinically linked because patients are more likely to adopt new behaviors when the approach is in the context of a trusted therapeutic relationship and within an effective medical care system; and technology enabled because capitalizing on the amazing power of information technology leads to the delivery of cost-effective, scalable, engaging solutions that prevent and manage diabetes. © 2011 Diabetes Technology Society.

How do primary health care teams learn to integrate intimate partner violence (IPV) management? A realist evaluation protocol.

PubMed

Goicolea, Isabel; Vives-Cases, Carmen; San Sebastian, Miguel; Marchal, Bruno; Kegels, Guy; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

2013-03-23

Despite the existence of ample literature dealing, on the one hand, with the integration of innovations within health systems and team learning, and, on the other hand, with different aspects of the detection and management of intimate partner violence (IPV) within healthcare facilities, research that explores how health innovations that go beyond biomedical issues-such as IPV management-get integrated into health systems, and that focuses on healthcare teams' learning processes is, to the best of our knowledge, very scarce if not absent. This realist evaluation protocol aims to ascertain: why, how, and under what circumstances primary healthcare teams engage (if at all) in a learning process to integrate IPV management in their practices; and why, how, and under what circumstances team learning processes lead to the development of organizational culture and values regarding IPV management, and the delivery of IPV management services. This study will be conducted in Spain using a multiple-case study design. Data will be collected from selected cases (primary healthcare teams) through different methods: individual and group interviews, routinely collected statistical data, documentary review, and observation. Cases will be purposively selected in order to enable testing the initial middle-range theory (MRT). After in-depth exploration of a limited number of cases, additional cases will be chosen for their ability to contribute to refining the emerging MRT to explain how primary healthcare learn to integrate intimate partner violence management. Evaluations of health sector responses to IPV are scarce, and even fewer focus on why, how, and when the healthcare services integrate IPV management. There is a consensus that healthcare professionals and healthcare teams play a key role in this integration, and that training is important in order to realize changes. However, little is known about team learning of IPV management, both in terms of how to trigger such learning and how team learning is connected with changes in organizational culture and values, and in service delivery. This realist evaluation protocol aims to contribute to this knowledge by conducting this project in a country, Spain, where great endeavours have been made towards the integration of IPV management within the health system.

Uneven-aged silviculture and management in the eastern United States: Proceedings of an In-Service Workshop; Morgantown, West Virginia; July 15-17, 1975

Treesearch

Warren T. Doolittle; A. P. Mustain; Carter B. Gibbs; David. A. Marquis; Barton M. Blum; Carl H. Tubbs; W. B. Leak; S. F. Gingrich; H. Clay Smith; Paul S. DeBald; LaMont G. Engle; Robert E. Phares

1975-01-01

The workshop, summarized in this Proceedings, represented a joint effort by personnel from Research, National Forest System, and State and Private Forestry, to review the state-of-the-art knowledge about the applicability of uneven-aged silviculture and management in the eastern United States. One major objective of this review was to develop a much better mutual...

An exploratory analysis of behavioral health care use within families.

PubMed

Lave, Judith R; Peele, Pamela B; Xu, Ying; Scholle, Sarah H; Pincus, Harold Alan

2002-06-01

The authors studied enrollees in employer-sponsored managed health plans to determine the extent of multiple behavioral health consumers within families, use of behavioral health services by employees who have another family member using such services, congruence of diagnoses between two family members using behavioral health services, and the effect on covered charge per behavioral health consumer when other family members use behavioral health services. Claims data from 911 plans sold or managed by a single managed behavioral health care company were examined. The plans provided coverage for 724,789 employees and covered about 1.7 million lives. Family members of employees were identified by the relationship codes on the claims. Service utilization rates were calculated for employees overall and for employees who had spouses or children who used behavioral health services. Mean and median covered charges were determined and were examined by number and type of consumers in the family. The use of behavioral health services was greater among employees whose children or spouses used behavioral health services. Utilization rates varied by the child's or spouse's diagnoses. More than 50 percent of male employees whose children received treatment for a depressive disorder also received such treatment. Congruence of diagnoses within families was noted. Covered charges per person generally increased with the number of family members who used behavioral health services. Greater knowledge about patterns of use of behavioral health services within families may help in improving access to care and developing more effective family interventions.

Management of change through force field analysis.

PubMed

Baulcomb, Jean Sandra

2003-07-01

Today's NHS is rapidly changing, placing more emphasis on the managerial responsibilities of ward managers. Managing change is seen as being skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge to reflect new knowledge and insights. Defining core concepts is often difficult and requires the drawing on models/theories of change for guidance. Guidance from Lewin's (1951) force field analysis demonstrates the complexities of the change process and how driving and resisting forces were incorporated within the planning and implementation phases. Findings outline the benefits of a small scale change for staff, patients and the organization when successfully used to introduce a change of shift pattern within a progressively busy haematology day unit, in order to meet service demands without additional funding. Conclusions have been drawn in relation to the process and recommendations for practice made to further enhance care delivery within the unit.

Evaluation of American Indian Health Service Training in Pain Management and Opioid Substance Use Disorder.

PubMed

Katzman, Joanna G; Fore, Chris; Bhatt, Snehal; Greenberg, Nina; Griffin Salvador, Julie; Comerci, George C; Camarata, Christopher; Marr, Lisa; Monette, Rebecca; Arora, Sanjeev; Bradford, Andrea; Taylor, Denise; Dillow, Jenny; Karol, Susan

2016-08-01

We examined the benefits of a collaboration between the Indian Health Service and an academic medical center to address the high rates of unintentional drug overdose in American Indians/Alaska Natives. In January 2015, the Indian Health Service became the first federal agency to mandate training in pain and opioid substance use disorder for all prescribing clinicians. More than 1300 Indian Health Service clinicians were trained in 7 possible 5-hour courses specific to pain and addiction. We noted positive changes in pre- and postcourse knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes as well as thematic responses showing the trainings to be comprehensive, interactive, and convenient.

Through the eyes of the Informationist: Identifying information needs of the Breast Imaging Service at a tertiary medical center specializing in cancer.

PubMed

DeRosa, Antonio P; Gibson, Donna S; Morris, Elizabeth A

2017-09-01

The information services offered by Embedded Librarians over the years have led to the more modern-and domain knowledge-specific-role of the Informationist. A 10-point questionnaire was developed and used to interview 12 attending physicians and three fellows chosen at random. The participants are either on the research track (n = 3) or the clinical track (n = 9). A two-part schematic was also created to capture more detailed feedback about the information needs and information-seeking behavior of clinicians regarding patient care (clinical) and research activities. Bibliographic management tool use and time-related factors were also captured in the interviews and written schematics. The role of the Informationist is an emerging, yet valuable one to assigned clinical groups. Clinician's knowledge-base, current awareness, productivity, and evidence-based care can be improved by use of Informationist services.

Service Users' Involvement and Engagement in Interprofessional Care.

PubMed

Kaini, B K

2016-01-01

Interprofessional care is joint working between health care professionals by pooling their skills, knowledge and expertise, to make joint decisions and learn from each other for the benefits of service users and healthcare professionals. Service users involvement is considered as one of the important aspects of planning, management and decision making process in the delivery of health care to service users. Service users' involvement is not the same as public involvement and partnership arrangements in health care. The active involvement and engagement of service users in health care positively contributes to improve quality of care, to promote better health and to shape the future of health services. Service users are always at the centre of health care professionals' values, work ethics and roles. Moreover, service users centred interprofessional team collaboration is very important to deliver effective health services.

Improving management of small natural features on private lands by negotiating the science-policy boundary for Maine vernal pools.

PubMed

Calhoun, Aram J K; Jansujwicz, Jessica S; Bell, Kathleen P; Hunter, Malcolm L

2014-07-29

Vernal pools are far more important for providing ecosystem services than one would predict based on their small size. However, prevailing resource-management strategies are not effectively conserving pools and other small natural features on private lands. Solutions are complicated by tensions between private property and societal rights, uncertainties over resource location and function, diverse stakeholders, and fragmented regulatory authority. The development and testing of new conservation approaches that link scientific knowledge, stakeholder decision-making, and conservation outcomes are important responses to this conservation dilemma. Drawing from a 15-y history of vernal pool conservation efforts in Maine, we describe the coevolution of pool conservation and research approaches, focusing on how research-based knowledge was produced and used in support of management decisions. As management shifted from reactive, top-down approaches to proactive and flexible approaches, research shifted from an ecology-focused program to an interdisciplinary program based on social-ecological systems. The most effective strategies for linking scientific knowledge with action changed as the decision-makers, knowledge needs, and context for vernal pool management advanced. Interactions among stakeholders increased the extent to which knowledge was coproduced and shifted the objective of stakeholder engagement from outreach to research collaboration and development of innovative conservation approaches. New conservation strategies were possible because of the flexible, solutions-oriented collaborations and trust between scientists and decision-makers (fostered over 15 y) and interdisciplinary, engaged research. Solutions to the dilemma of conserving small natural features on private lands, and analogous sustainability science challenges, will benefit from repeated negotiations of the science-policy boundary.

The role of primary health care in patient education for diabetes control.

PubMed

Koura, M R; Khairy, A E; Abdel-Aal, N M; Mohamed, H F; Amin, G A; Sabra, A Y

2001-01-01

The major components of diabetes management are dietary therapy, exercise and drug treatment. Therefore, education of people with diabetes is the cornerstone of management. The aim of the present work was to study the role of primary health care (PHC) in patient education for diabetes control in Alexandria. Accordingly, the knowledge and perception concerning diabetes and its management of all 88 PHC physicians and 104 nurses working in the two rural health centers and two randomly chosen urban health centers of Alexandria governorate were assessed by pre-designed self-administered questionnaire. All diabetic patients over 20 years of age attending the study health facilities over a period of two months were assessed for their knowledge and attitude concerning diabetes and self-management and asked about their degree of satisfaction with the provided PHC services by a pre-designed interview questionnaire. They amounted to 560 diabetic patients. The results revealed that the PHC physicians had sufficient knowledge about causes and complications of the disease, but insufficient knowledge about diagnosis and management, as only 10.2% & 4.5% of the physicians recognized the importance of regular exercise and patient education for diabetes management. Some misconceptions and false beliefs were observed among PHC nurses, as many of them considered diabetes a contagious disease or primarily caused by stress; that liver failure, hearing impairment and splenomegaly are among the complications of diabetes and that young age and immunodeficiency disorders are among the risk factors for developing diabetes. Moreover, most of them believed that the amount of carbohydrates given to diabetic patients should be reduced or even completely restricted; that vitamins are essential for all diabetic patients and that hot-water bottles are good for providing warmth to the diabetic feet. They also disagreed on the use of artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes. Most of the diabetic patients had poor knowledge about diabetes and its management (85.7%) and a negative attitude towards self-management (61.6%) and only 23.6% of them were satisfied with the services provided by the PHC facilities for diabetes control. They were mainly dissatisfied with the role of PHC physicians in patient education. Some misconceptions and false beliefs were also recognized among diabetic patients. Many of them considered diabetes a contagious disease or primarily caused by stress. They didn't know the importance of regular exercise in diabetes control. They also believed in the efficacy of herbal therapy in diabetes control; that vitamins are essential for all people with diabetes; that water intake should be decreased when passing large amounts of urine, that anti-diabetic drugs should be stopped during associated illnesses and that patients on insulin treatment can't be shifted to oral drugs. Moreover, they believed that the amount of carbohydrates in diet should be reduced or even restricted and that the amount of proteins should not be reduced. They also refused the use of artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes. Thus, it may be concluded that there is a serious gap in the provision of basic educational services to the majority of diabetic patients attending PHC facilities in Alexandria.

Management of medical care, a fundamental tool for resident doctors.

PubMed

Fajardo-Ortiz, Guillermo; Robledo, Héctor

2018-01-01

In the area of medical education, and particularly in our country, medical residencies are the best educational programs for a graduated physicians; however, when young medical doctors begin a residence at hospitals, they hardly poses knowledge about the way medical services work as well as the processes they involve, which directly affects the fulfillment of their tasks, their process of learning and more importantly, it interferes in the services provided by the hospital. Therefore, it is imperative to immerse residents in the management of medical care and let them know that its main function is to harmoniously articulate every medical-administrative process related to patients as well as human, material and financial resources. One of the main goals is to achieve the fulfillment of the hospital's mission and vision with operational efficiency and humanism. This path will help physicians to make the best decisions, as well as achieving an adequate management of resources always remembering that quality in medical services and patient's safety are important. Copyright: © 2018 Permanyer.

Portrait of rural emergency departments in Québec and utilization of the provincial emergency department management Guide: cross sectional survey.

PubMed

Fleet, Richard; Poitras, Julien; Archambault, Patrick; Tounkara, Fatoumata Korika; Chauny, Jean-Marc; Ouimet, Mathieu; Gauthier, Josée; Dupuis, Gilles; Tanguay, Alain; Lévesque, Jean-Frédéric; Simard-Racine, Geneviève; Haggerty, Jeannie; Légaré, France

2015-12-23

Rural emergency departments (EDs) constitute crucial safety nets for the 20% of Canadians who live in rural areas. Pilot data suggests that the province of Québec appears to provide more comprehensive access to services than do other provinces. A difference that may be attributable to provincial policy/guidelines "the provincial ED management Guide". The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of rural EDs in Québec and utilization of the provincial ED management Guide. We selected EDs offering 24/7 medical coverage, with hospitalization beds, located in rural or small towns. We collected data via telephone, paper, and online surveys with rural ED/hospital staff. Data were also collected from Québec's Ministry of Health databases and from Statistics Canada. We computed descriptive statistics, ANOVA and t-tests were used to examine the relationship between ED census, services and inter-facility transfer requirements. A total of 23 of Québec's 26 rural EDs (88%) consented to participate in the study. The mean annual ED visits was 18 813 (Standard Deviation = 6 151). Thirty one percent of ED physicians were recent graduates with fewer than 5 years of experience. Only 6 % had residency training or certification in emergency medicine. Teams have good local access (24/7) to diagnostic equipment such as CT scanner (74%), intensive unit care (78%) and general surgical services (78%), but limited access to other consultants. Sixty one percent of participants have reported good knowledge of the provincial ED management Guide, but only 23% of them have used the guidelines. Furthermore, more than 40% of EDs were more than 300 km from levels 1 to 2 trauma centers, and only 30% had air transport access. Rural EDs in Québec are staffed by relatively new graduates working as solo physicians in well-resourced and moderately busy (by rural standards) EDs. The provincial ED management Guide may have contributed to this model of service attribution. However, the majority of rural ED staff report limited knowledge or use of the provincial ED management Guide and increased efforts at disseminating this Guide are warranted.

The formation, elements of success, and challenges in managing a critical care program: part II.

PubMed

St Andre, Arthur

2015-05-01

Leaders of critical care services require knowledge and skills not typically acquired during their medical education and training. Leaders possess personality characteristics and evolve and adopt behaviors and knowledge in addition to those useful in the care of patients and rounding with an ICU team. Successful leaders have impeccable integrity, possess a service mentality, are decisive, and speak the truth consistently and accurately. Effective leaders are thoughtful listeners, introspective, develop a range of relationships, and nurture others. They understand group psychology, observe, analyze assumptions, decide, and improve the system of care and the performance of their team members. A leader learns to facilely adapt to circumstance, generate new ideas, and be a catalyst of change. Those most successful further their education as a leader and learn when and where to seek mentorship. Leaders understand their organization and its operational complexities. Leaders learn to participate and knowledgeably contribute to the fiscal aspects of income, expense, budget, and contracts from an institutional and department perspective. Clinician compensation must be commensurate with expectations and be written to motivate and make clear duties that are clinical and nonclinical. A leader understands and plans to address the evolving challenges facing healthcare, especially resource constraints, the emotions and requirements of managing the end of life, the complexities of competing demands and motivations, the bureaucracy of healthcare practice, and reimbursement. Responsibilities to manage and evolve must be met with intelligence, sensitivity, and equanimity.

Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) Application: Improving Web Service to Defense Acquisition Visibility Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

and Knowledge Management (IC3K), Madeira , Portugal. Girvan, M., & Newman, M. E. J. (2002). Community structure in social and biological networks...Trident Warrior 08 exercise. In KDIR, Madeira , Portugal, INSTICC Press. Zhao, Y., Gallup, S.P., & MacKinnon, D.J. (2010). Towards real-time program

Construction alternatives for free-standing facilities.

PubMed

Brown, G

1990-01-01

Many hospitals are exploring free-standing facilities as an option for providing more efficient imaging services. Mr. Brown discusses the pros and cons of an emerging building technology, manufactured construction, in which building and site preparation are done simultaneously. He presents the criteria managers should use to make a knowledgeable decision.

A Management Strategy for the Improvement of Private Universities Lecturers' Professional Competences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suhaemi, Mimin Emi; Aedi, Nur

2015-01-01

Lecturers are professional educators and scientists whose main job is to transform, develop, and disseminate knowledge, technology, and art through education, research and community services. As professionals, in Indonesia, lecturers are expected to possess pedagogic, personal, social, and professional competences. However, in reality, the…

Stimulating Divergent Thinking in Junior High Career Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ranke, Charlotte; Champoux, Ellen M.

1981-01-01

Describes a middle school career-oriented teaching unit with emphasis on teaching for divergent thinking. The unit provides hands-on opportunities for eighth-grade students to explore careers using the knowledge and skills developed in their home economics class. The careers are restaurant management, hospitality service, and interior design. (CT)

Cataloging as a Customer Service: Applying Knowledge to Technology Tools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konovalov, Yuri

1999-01-01

Discusses the increase in significance and importance of cataloging and authority control in the online environment of libraries to help improve both precision and recall of searches. Highlights include the inadequacies of keyword searching; corporate library experiences; and library management with foreign library branches and foreign language…

Executive Vice President's Report on the "State of the State" at APPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medlin, E. Lander

2012-01-01

Since its founding in 1914, APPA has become a premier association serving its diverse membership of international educational institutions in all areas of facilities management. APPA's programs, products, and services are designed to equip facilities professionals with the technical knowledge and necessary administrative acumen to fulfill their…

Creating Open Source Conversation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheehan, Kate

2009-01-01

Darien Library, where the author serves as head of knowledge and learning services, launched a new website on September 1, 2008. The website is built with Drupal, an open source content management system (CMS). In this article, the author describes how she and her colleagues overhauled the library's website to provide an open source content…

The alfalfa yield gap: A review of the evidence

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Knowledge of feasibly attainable crop yields is needed for many purposes, from field-scale management to national policy decisions. For alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), the most widely used estimates of yield in the US are whole-farm reports from the National Agriculture Statistics Service, which are b...

A spatial analysis of cultural ecosystem service valuation by regional stakeholders in Florida: a coastal application of the social values for ecosystem services (SolVES) tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coffin, Alisa W.; Swett, Robert A.; Cole, Zachary D.

2012-01-01

Livelihoods and lifestyles of people throughout the world depend on essential goods and services provided by marine and coastal ecosystems. However, as societal demand increases and available ocean and coastal space diminish, better methods are needed to spatially and temporally allocate ocean and coastal activities such as shipping, energy production, tourism, and fishing. While economic valuation is an important mechanism for doing so, cultural ecosystem services often do not lend themselves to this method. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey are working collaboratively with the Florida Sea Grant College Program to map nonmonetary values of cultural ecosystem services for a pilot area (Sarasota Bay) in the Gulf of Mexico. The research seeks to close knowledge gaps about the attitudes and perceptions, or nonmonetary values, held by coastal residents toward cultural ecosystem services, and to adapt related, terrestrial-based research methods to a coastal setting. A critical goal is to integrate research results with coastal and marine spatial planning applications, thus making them relevant to coastal planners and managers in their daily efforts to sustainably manage coastal resources. Using information about the attitudes and preferences of people toward places and uses in the landscape, collected from value and preference surveys, the USGS SolVES 2.0 tool will provide quantitative models to relate social values, or perceived nonmonetary values, assigned to locations by survey respondents with the underlying environmental characteristics of those same locations. Project results will increase scientific and geographic knowledge of how Sarasota Bay residents value their area’s cultural ecosystem services.

Balkanized research in ecological engineering revealed by a bibliometric analysis of earthworms and ecosystem services.

PubMed

Blouin, Manuel; Sery, Nicolas; Cluzeau, Daniel; Brun, Jean-Jacques; Bédécarrats, Alain

2013-08-01

Energy crisis, climate changes, and biodiversity losses have reinforced the drive for more ecologically-based approaches for environmental management. Such approaches are characterized by the use of organisms rather than energy-consuming technologies. Although earthworms are believed to be potentially useful organisms for managing ecosystem services, there is actually no quantification of such a trend in literature. This bibliometric analysis aimed to measure the evolution of the association of "earthworms" and other terms such as ecosystem services (primary production, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, soil structure, and pollution remediation), "ecological engineering" or "biodiversity," to assess their convergence or divergence through time. In this aim, we calculated the similarity index, an indicator of the paradigmatic proximity defined in applied epistemology, for each year between 1900 and 2009. We documented the scientific fields and the geographical origins of the studies, as well as the land uses, and compare these characteristics with a 25 years old review on earthworm management. The association of earthworm related keywords with ecosystem services related keywords was increasing with time, reflecting the growing interest in earthworm use in biodiversity and ecosystem services management. Conversely, no significant increase in the association between earthworms and disciplines such as ecological engineering or restoration ecology was observed. This demonstrated that general ecologically-based approaches have yet to emerge and that there is little exchange of knowledge, methods or concepts among balkanized application realms. Nevertheless, there is a strong need for crossing the frontiers between fields of application and for developing an umbrella discipline to provide a framework for the use of organisms to manage ecosystem services.

Quality of nutrition services in primary health care facilities: Implications for integrating nutrition into the health system in Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Saha, Kuntal Kumar; Chowdhury, Ashfaqul Haq; Garnett, Sarah P.; Arifeen, Shams El; Menon, Purnima

2017-01-01

Background In 2011, the Bangladesh Government introduced the National Nutrition Services (NNS) by leveraging the existing health infrastructure to deliver nutrition services to pregnant woman and children. This study examined the quality of nutrition services provided during antenatal care (ANC) and management of sick children younger than five years. Methods Service delivery quality was assessed across three dimensions; structural readiness, process and outcome. Structural readiness was assessed by observing the presence of equipment, guidelines and register/reporting forms in ANC rooms and consulting areas for sick children at 37 primary healthcare facilities in 12 sub-districts. In addition, the training and knowledge relevant to nutrition service delivery of 95 healthcare providers was determined. The process of nutrition service delivery was assessed by observing 381 ANC visits and 826 sick children consultations. Satisfaction with the service was the outcome and was determined by interviewing 541 mothers/caregivers of sick children. Results Structural readiness to provide nutrition services was higher for ANC compared to management of sick children; 73% of ANC rooms had >5 of the 13 essential items while only 13% of the designated areas for management of sick children had >5 of the 13 essential items. One in five (19%) healthcare providers had received nutrition training through the NNS. Delivery of the nutrition services was poor: <30% of women received all four key antenatal nutrition services, 25% of sick children had their weight checked against a growth-chart and <1% had their height measured. Nevertheless, most mothers/caregivers rated their satisfaction of the service above average. Conclusions Strengthening the provision of equipment and increasing the coverage of training are imperative to improve nutrition services. Inherent barriers to implementing nutrition services in primary health care, especially high caseloads during the management of sick under-five children, should be considered to identify alternative and appropriate service delivery platforms before nationwide scale up. PMID:28542530

Does compliance make a facility safe?

PubMed

Pearson, Susan

2013-04-01

'Every defect is a treasure, if the company can uncover its cause and work to prevent it across the corporation' - Kiichiro Toyoda, founder, Toyota. This quote, as true in healthcare as it in the manufacturing sphere, set the tone for discussion at a recent Dublin conference, which examined the thorny issue of whether compliance is really enough to ensure safety. Focusing especially on water safety, the event aimed to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing between Irish and UK healthcare professionals, including technical services managers, infection control staff, quality and risk personnel, support service managers, hospital directors, and CEOs. Susan Pearson BSc, a freelance journalist and communications consultant specialising in medicine and the environment, reports.

The journey toward shared governance: the lived experience of nurse managers and staff nurses.

PubMed

Ott, Joyce; Ross, Carl

2014-09-01

The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experience of nurse managers and staff nurses in shared governance. Shared governance refers to systems and services aligned in partnership. The information gained by studying the lived experience of nurse managers and staff nurses in shared governance is valuable for providing knowledge of empowerment. A qualitative design was used. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview using five questions with 11 Registered Nurses. Data were analysed through thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from data analysis. Nurse managers identified the journey of patient satisfaction; journey of empowerment; journey of self-management and journey of wellness. Staff nurses identified the journey of development and implementation of best practice; journey to provide quality patient care, journey to a new culture of nursing; and journey of a variety of challenges. This study supports the idea that collaboration between nurse managers and staff nurses develops a journey toward shared governance. Nursing management can use findings to empower nurses to collaborate with nurse managers toward best practice. This adds to current knowledge that partnership of nurse managers and staff nurses, supports and encourages ownership in shared governance. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Patient access to healthcare services and optimisation of self-management for ethnic minority populations living with diabetes: a systematic review.

PubMed

Wilson, Charlotte; Alam, Rahul; Latif, Saima; Knighting, Katherine; Williamson, Susan; Beaver, Kinta

2012-01-01

A higher risk of diabetes mellitus in South Asian and Black African populations combined with lower reported access and self-management-related health outcomes informed the aims of this study. Our aims were to synthesise and evaluate evidence relating to patient self-management and access to healthcare services for ethnic minority groups living with diabetes. A comprehensive search strategy was developed capturing a full range of study types from 1995-2010, including relevant hand-searched literature pre-dating 1995. Systematic database searches of MEDLINE, Cochrane, DARE, HTA and NHSEED, the British Nursing Index, CAB abstracts, EMBASE, Global Health, Health Management Information Consortium and PsychInfo were conducted, yielding 21,288 abstracts. Following search strategy refinement and the application of review eligibility criteria; 11 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), 18 qualitative studies and 18 quantitative studies were evaluated and principal results extracted. Results suggest that self-management practices are in need of targeted intervention in terms of patients' knowledge and understanding of their illness, inadequacy of information and language and communication difficulties arising from cultural differences. Access to health-care is similarly hindered by a lack of cultural sensitivity in service provision and under use of clinic-based interpreters and community-based services. Recommendations for practice and subsequent intervention primarily rest at the service level but key barriers at patient and provider levels are also identified. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Managing boundaries in primary care service improvement: A developmental approach to communities of practice

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Effective implementation of change in healthcare organisations involves multiple professional and organisational groups and is often impeded by professional and organisational boundaries that present relatively impermeable barriers to sharing knowledge and spreading work practices. Informed by the theory of communities of practice (CoPs), this study explored the effects of intra-organisational and inter-organisational boundaries on the implementation of service improvement within and across primary healthcare settings and on the development of multiprofessional and multi-organisational CoPs during this process. Methods The study was conducted within the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Greater Manchester—a collaborative partnership between the University of Manchester and local National Health Service organisations aiming to undertake applied health research and enhance its implementation in clinical practice. It deployed a qualitative embedded case study design, encompassing semistructured interviews, direct observation and documentary analysis, conducted in 2010–2011. The sample included practice doctors, nurses, managers and members of the CLAHRC implementation team. Findings The study showed that in spite of epistemic and status differences, professional boundaries between general practitioners, practice nurses and practice managers co-located in the same practice over a relatively long period of time could be successfully bridged, leading to the formation of multiprofessional CoPs. While knowledge circulated relatively easily within these CoPs, barriers to knowledge sharing emerged at the boundary separating them from other groups existing in the same primary care setting. The strongest boundaries, however, lay between individual general practices, with inter-organisational knowledge sharing and collaboration between them remaining unequally developed across different areas due to historical factors, competition and strong organisational identification. Manipulated emergence of multi-organisational CoPs in the context of primary care may thus be problematic. Conclusions In cases when manipulated emergence of new CoPs is problematic, boundary issues could be addressed by adopting a developmental perspective on CoPs, which provides an alternative to the analytical and instrumental perspectives previously described in the CoP literature. This perspective implies a pragmatic, situational approach to mapping existing CoPs and their characteristics and potentially modifying them in the process of service improvement through the combination of internal and external facilitation. PMID:23068016

Knowledge, attitudes and management skills of medical practitioners regarding weight management.

PubMed

Mkhatshwa, Vangile B; Ogunbanjo, Gboyega A; Mabuza, Langalibalele H

2016-11-29

Overweight and obesity have become a global problem. Health professionals are poorly prepared in weight management, which has an effect on their attitudes and management skills with regard to overweight and obese patients.Aim and setting: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and management skills of medical practitioners regarding weight management at Odi District Hospital, Gauteng Province, South Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 48 medical practitioners at Odi Hospital between 01 October and 31 October 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge, attitudes and management skills in weight management. The SPSS® statistical software (Version 22) was used for data analysis. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. Fifty medical practitioners were recruited, 48 consented to participate and 28 (58.3%) were male. Their categories were community service doctors (3), medical officers (21), registrars (22) and others (2). Thirty-seven (77.1%) never received training in weight management (p < 0.001). Thirty-two (66.7%) regarded weight management as not confined to a dietician (p < 0.001) and 27 (56.2%) regarded weight management as usually unsuccessful (p = 0.004). Forty-seven (97.9%) provided lifestyle modifications and 43 (89.6%) involved the patient's family in weight management (p < 0.001). More non-registrars [14 (77.8%)] than registrars [8 (38.1%)] measured the body mass index (BMI) routinely (p = 0.013). Few medical practitioners received training in weight management. They regarded weight management as usually unsuccessful and lacked confidence in the same owing to lack of training. They provided lifestyle modifications and involved the patient's family in weight management. Non-registrars measured the BMI routinely. There is a need for training in weight management at undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

The sanitary conditions of food service establishments and food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers in bahir dar town.

PubMed

Kibret, Mulugeta; Abera, Bayeh

2012-03-01

Lack of basic infrastructure, poor knowledge of hygiene and practices in food service establishments can contribute to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. The aims of this study were to investigate the food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers and to assess the sanitary conditions of food service establishments in Bahir Dar town. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bahir Dar in May 2011 and data were collected using questionnaire and observation checklist on employees' knowledge of food hygiene and their practices as well on sanitary conditions of the food service establishments The median age of the food handlers was 22 years and among the 455 subjects 99 (21.8%) have had food hygiene training. Sixty six percent of the establishments had flush toilets whereas 5.9% of the establishment had no toilet. Only 149 (33.6%) of the establishments had a proper solid waste collection receptacle and there was statistically significant association between the sanitary conditions and license status of the establishments (p=0.01). Most of all, knowledge gap in food hygiene and handling practice was observed. In addition, there was statistically significant difference between trained (professional) handlers and non-trained handlers with regard to food hygiene practices (p<0.05). While more than 50% of the handlers prepare meals ahead of the peak selling time, more than 50% of the left over was poorly managed. This study revealed poor sanitary conditions and poor food hygiene practices of handlers. Educational programs targeted at improving the attitude of food handlers and licensing and regular inspections have been recommended.

The role of the internet on patient knowledge management, education, and decision-making.

PubMed

Ilic, Dragan

2010-01-01

E-health encompasses a broad range of health disciplines that use the Internet and associated technologies to deliver information and health services. Traditionally, patients have relied on the healthcare professional to provide relevant medical information to inform decision making on diagnosis and therapy. Patient education in the past has consisted of independently collated health information, disseminated predominantly in written and video formats. Greater accessibility to the Internet has provides a novel method for patients to access health information and play a greater role in decisions ultimately affecting their health. However, patients' ability to access, understand, and integrate this knowledge with their healthcare professional influences the extent to which such technologies are effective. This article provides an overview of the impact of the Internet on patient knowledge management, education, and its subsequent impact upon the medical decision-making process between the patient and clinician.

Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental management of deep-seabed mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Jennifer T.; Levin, Lisa A.; Carson, Richard T.

2017-03-01

Accelerated exploration of minerals in the deep sea over the past decade has raised the likelihood that commercial mining of the deep seabed will commence in the near future. Environmental concerns create a growing urgency for development of environmental regulations under commercial exploitation. Here, we consider an ecosystem services approach to the environmental policy and management of deep-sea mineral resources. Ecosystem services link the environment and human well-being, and can help improve sustainability and stewardship of the deep sea by providing a quantitative basis for decision-making. This paper briefly reviews ecosystem services provided by habitats targeted for deep-seabed mining (hydrothermal vents, seamounts, nodule provinces, and phosphate-rich margins), and presents practical steps to incorporate ecosystem services into deep-seabed mining regulation. The linkages and translation between ecosystem structure, ecological function (including supporting services), and ecosystem services are highlighted as generating human benefits. We consider criteria for identifying which ecosystem services are vulnerable to potential mining impacts, the role of ecological functions in providing ecosystem services, development of ecosystem service indicators, valuation of ecosystem services, and implementation of ecosystem services concepts. The first three steps put ecosystem services into a deep-seabed mining context; the last two steps help to incorporate ecosystem services into a management and decision-making framework. Phases of environmental planning discussed in the context of ecosystem services include conducting strategic environmental assessments, collecting baseline data, monitoring, establishing marine protected areas, assessing cumulative impacts, identifying thresholds and triggers, and creating an environmental damage compensation regime. We also identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to operationalize ecosystem services concepts in deep-seabed mining regulation and propose potential tools to fill them.

Management of health care services for flood victims: the case of the shelter at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University Central Thailand.

PubMed

Buajaroen, Hathaichanok

2013-08-01

In Central Thailand basic health care services were affected by a natural disaster in the form of a flood situation. Flood Relief Operations Centers were established from the crisis. Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University and including the faculty of nursing volunteered to care for those affected and assist in re-establishing a functioning health care system. The aim of this study was to make explicit knowledge of concept, lesson learned, and the process of management for re-establishing a health care service system at a flood victims at Relief Operations Center, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University. We used a qualitative design with mixed methods. This involved in-depth interviews, focus group, observational participation and non-observational participation. Key informants included university administrators, instructors, leaders of flood victims and the flood victims. Data was collected during October-December, 2010. Data were analysed using content analysis and compared matrix. We found that the concept and principle of health care services management were community based and involved home care and field hospital services. We had prepared a management system that placed emphasise on a community based approach and holistic caring such as 24h Nursing Clinic Home, visits with family, a referral system, field hospital. The core of management was to achieve integrated instruction started from nursing students were practiced skills as Health promotion and nursing techniques practicum. Rules were established regarding the health care service system. The outcomes of Health Care Service at the Flood Relief Operations Center were direct and sincere help without conditions, administrations concerned and volunteer nursing students instructors, University Officer have sympathetic and charitable with flood victims and environment. Copyright © 2013 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of medication therapy management service combined with a national PharmaCloud system for polypharmacy patients.

PubMed

Chen, Chang-Ming; Kuo, Li-Na; Cheng, Kuei-Ju; Shen, Wan-Chen; Bai, Kuan-Jen; Wang, Chih-Chi; Chiang, Yi-Chun; Chen, Hsiang-Yin

2016-10-01

This study evaluated a medication therapy management service using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Administration's PharmaCloud system in a medical center in Taiwan. The new PharmaCloud System, launched in 2013, links a complete list of prescribed and dispensed medication from different hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies for all insured patients. The study included patients with polypharmacy (≥5 drugs) at a medication therapy management service from March 2013 to March 2014. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect patients' baseline data and record patients' knowledge, attitudes, and practice scores before and after the service intervention. Phone follow-ups for practice and adherence scores on medication use were performed after 3 months. There were 152 patients recruited in the study. Scores for medication use attitudes and practice significantly increased after the service (attitudes: 40.06 ± 0.26 to 43.07 ± 0.19, p <0.001; practice: 33.42 ± 0.30 to 40.37 ± 0.30, p <0.001). The scores for medication adherence also increased from 3.02 ± 0.07 to 3.92 ± 0.02 (p <0.001). The PharmaCloud system facilitates accurate and efficient medication reconciliation for pharmacists in the medication therapy management service. The model improved patients' attitudes and practice of the rational use of medications and adherence with medications. Further studies are warranted to evaluate human resources, executing costs, and the cost-benefit ratio of this medication therapy management service with the PharmaCloud system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single-entry models (SEMs) for scheduled services: Towards a roadmap for the implementation of recommended practices.

PubMed

Lopatina, Elena; Damani, Zaheed; Bohm, Eric; Noseworthy, Tom W; Conner-Spady, Barbara; MacKean, Gail; Simpson, Chris S; Marshall, Deborah A

2017-09-01

Long waiting times for elective services continue to be a challenging issue. Single-entry models (SEMs) are used to increase access to and flow through the healthcare system. This paper provides a roadmap for healthcare decision-makers, managers, physicians, and researchers to guide implementation and management of successful and sustainable SEMs. The roadmap was informed by an inductive qualitative synthesis of the findings from a deliberative process (a symposium on SEMs, with clinicians, researchers, senior policy-makers, healthcare managers, and patient representatives) and focus groups with the symposium participants. SEMs are a promising strategy to improve the management of referrals and represent one approach to reduce waiting times. The SEMs roadmap outlines current knowledge about SEMs and critical success factors for SEMs' implementation and management. This SEM roadmap is intended to help clinicians, decision-makers, managers, and researchers interested in developing new or strengthening existing SEMs. We consider this roadmap to be a living document that will continue to evolve as we learn more about implementing and managing sustainable SEMs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Survey of Australian Nurses' Knowledge of Pressure Injury/Pressure Ulcer Management.

PubMed

Lawrence, Petra; Fulbrook, Paul; Miles, Sandra

2015-01-01

Management of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (PUs) is an essential aspect of nursing practice that requires knowledge of risk assessment, prevention, identification, and treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to assess nurses' knowledge of PU management in order to identify knowledge gaps. The study setting was a large Australian health service district employing more than 10,000 nurses in full and part-time roles. A proportional (by facility) and stratified (by nursing grade) sample of 10% of the district population was targeted. Eight hundred twenty-seven participants completed the survey. Most participants had more than 5 years of experience as professional nurses. Cross-sectional survey. A modified version of the Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test, comprising 49 true/false questions, was used. A cutoff score of 90% of participants answering an item correctly was used to gauge "adequate" knowledge level. An opportunity to participate in the research was advertised throughout the different facilities in the district by strategically placed posters, computer screen savers, and e-mails. Most data were collected online, with some collected manually using paper-based questionnaires. All data were collected between April and November 2012. Twenty-six questions (53%) were answered correctly by 90% or more of participants, and 6 questions were answered correctly by 50% or less, identifying important knowledge deficits. The mean Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test score was 79%; 15 nurses (1.8%) achieved a score of 90% or more, and more than 90% achieved scores more than 70%. There were small but significant positive effects of years of nursing experience and level of nursing grade on the knowledge scores. Our results identified deficits in PU knowledge and areas where nurses would benefit from focused education strategies.

Incentive regulation and performance measurement of the Portuguese solid waste management services.

PubMed

Marques, Rui Cunha; Simões, Pedro

2009-03-01

Measuring the performance of solid waste management services usually uncovers very high potential for gains in efficiency and productivity. This circumstance occurs, naturally, due to the fact that these services are outside the market and because they are subjected to various market failures in their organizational framework. The aim of this study was to examine the Portuguese regulatory model and to measure the performance of the Portuguese solid waste management services in order to identify the major reforms carried out and their outcomes. As a first objective, the sunshine regulatory approach adopted in Portugal, in which performance comparison and its public discussion are the main tools, was investigated. The second objective was to compute the efficiency of the Portuguese solid waste management services by means of the non-parametric technique of data envelopment analysis (DEA), evaluating the Portuguese regulatory model and the existing market structure, as well as the influence of the operational environment on efficiency. The benchmarking frontier technique of DEA is particularly useful in the efficiency measurement of public utilities, in which knowledge of the production function is relatively scarce. Several DEA models were used and they all depicted significant inefficiency. The study also proved that efficiency did not depend on ownership (public or private) and that there was no difference in efficiency between the players, irrespective of whether they were regulated or not.

Water Resources and Sustainable Agriculture in 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asrar, G.

2008-05-01

Global agriculture faces some unique challenges and opportunities for the rest of this century. The need for food, feed and fiber will continues to grow as the world population continue to increase in the future. Agricultural ecosystems are also expected to be the source of a significant portion of renewable energy and fuels around the world, without further compromising the integrity of the natural resources base. How can agriculture continue to provide these services to meet the growing needs of world population while sustaining the integrity of agricultural ecosystems and natural resources, the very foundation it depends on? In the last century, scientific discoveries and technological innovations in agriculture resulted in significant increase in food, feed and fiber production globally, while the total amount of water, energy, fertilizers and other input used to achieve this growth remained the same or even decreased significantly in some parts of the world. Scientific and technical advances in understanding global and regional water and energy cycles, water resources management, soil and water conservation practices, weather prediction, plant breeding and biotechnology, and information and communication technologies contributed to this tremendous achievement. The projected increase in global population, urbanization, and changing lifestyles will continue the pressure on both agriculture and other managed and natural ecosystems to provide necessary goods and services for the rest of this century. To meet these challenges, we must obtain the requisite scientific and technical advances in the functioning of Earth's water, energy, carbon and biogeochemical cycles. We also need to apply the knowledge we gain and technologies we develop in assessing Earth's ecosystems' conditions, and their management and stewardship. In agricultural ecosystems, management of soil and water quality and quantity together with development of new varieties of plants based on advances in genomic, genetics, breeding and applied biotechnologies are a key to our ability to address these challenges. We must also continue to develop agronomic practices that sustain the integrity of natural resources and conserve energy on one-hand while maximizing agricultural production per unit area of land on the other hand. This will require managing agricultural ecosystems for their multiple functions and services together, instead of looking at each function/service in isolation. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the scientific and technical knowledge required for sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems and associated natural resources. We will describe the soil, water and energy research needs/priorities in agriculture. We will also provide some examples of recent accomplishments and future directions in developing decision support tools for assessing the impacts of weather and climate variations and change, and their risk to agricultural ecosystems. We will then focus on opportunities and challenges associated with measurement, monitoring and modeling of soil moisture and its use in management and operation of agricultural ecosystems. The overall intent of this presentation is to stimulate some discussion on future directions and priorities for soil, water and energy research in agricultural ecosystems, and how the knowledge we gain from this research can be conveyed to the users for risk assessment, decision making, and multi-service ecosystem management purposes.

Leveraging technology and staffing in developing a new liaison program.

PubMed

Williams, Jeff; McCrillis, Aileen; McGowan, Richard; Nicholson, Joey; Surkis, Alisa; Thompson, Holly; Vieira, Dorice

2014-01-01

With nearly all library resources and services delivered digitally, librarians working for the New York University Health Sciences Library struggled with maintaining awareness of changing user needs, understanding barriers faced in using library resources and services, and determining knowledge management challenges across the organization. A liaison program was created to provide opportunities for librarians to meaningfully engage with users. The program was directed toward a subset of high-priority user groups to provide focused engagement with these users. Responsibility for providing routine reference service was reduced for liaison librarians to provide maximum time to engage with their assigned user communities.

DataHub: Knowledge-based data management for data discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handley, Thomas H.; Li, Y. Philip

1993-08-01

Currently available database technology is largely designed for business data-processing applications, and seems inadequate for scientific applications. The research described in this paper, the DataHub, will address the issues associated with this shortfall in technology utilization and development. The DataHub development is addressing the key issues in scientific data management of scientific database models and resource sharing in a geographically distributed, multi-disciplinary, science research environment. Thus, the DataHub will be a server between the data suppliers and data consumers to facilitate data exchanges, to assist science data analysis, and to provide as systematic approach for science data management. More specifically, the DataHub's objectives are to provide support for (1) exploratory data analysis (i.e., data driven analysis); (2) data transformations; (3) data semantics capture and usage; analysis-related knowledge capture and usage; and (5) data discovery, ingestion, and extraction. Applying technologies that vary from deductive databases, semantic data models, data discovery, knowledge representation and inferencing, exploratory data analysis techniques and modern man-machine interfaces, DataHub will provide a prototype, integrated environement to support research scientists' needs in multiple disciplines (i.e. oceanography, geology, and atmospheric) while addressing the more general science data management issues. Additionally, the DataHub will provide data management services to exploratory data analysis applications such as LinkWinds and NCSA's XIMAGE.

Lean management systems: creating a culture of continuous quality improvement.

PubMed

Clark, David M; Silvester, Kate; Knowles, Simon

2013-08-01

This is the first in a series of articles describing the application of Lean management systems to Laboratory Medicine. Lean is the term used to describe a principle-based continuous quality improvement (CQI) management system based on the Toyota production system (TPS) that has been evolving for over 70 years. Its origins go back much further and are heavily influenced by the work of W Edwards Deming and the scientific method that forms the basis of most quality management systems. Lean has two fundamental elements--a systematic approach to process improvement by removing waste in order to maximise value for the end-user of the service and a commitment to respect, challenge and develop the people who work within the service to create a culture of continuous improvement. Lean principles have been applied to a growing number of Healthcare systems throughout the world to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of services for patients and a number of laboratories from all the pathology disciplines have used Lean to shorten turnaround times, improve quality (reduce errors) and improve productivity. Increasingly, models used to plan and implement large scale change in healthcare systems, including the National Health Service (NHS) change model, have evidence-based improvement methodologies (such as Lean CQI) as a core component. Consequently, a working knowledge of improvement methodology will be a core skill for Pathologists involved in leadership and management.

Ecosystem services driven by the diversity of soil biota - understanding and management in agriculture - The Biodiversa SoilMan-Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potthoff, Martin; Pérès, Guénola; Taylor, Astrid; Schrader, Stefan; Landa, Blanca; Nicolai, Annegret; Sandor, Mignon; Öptik, Maarja; Gema, Guzmán; Bergmann, Holger; Cluzeau, Daniel; Banse, Martin; Bengtsson, Jan; Guernion, Muriel; Zaller, Johann; Roslin, Tomas; Scheu, Stefan; Gómez Calero, José Alfonso

2017-04-01

Soil biota diversity is ensuring primary production in terrestrial ecosystems and agricultural productivity. Water and nutrient cycling, soil formation and aggregation, decomposition and carbon sequestration as well as control of pest organisms are important functions in soil that are driven by biota and biota interactions. In agricultural systems these functions support and regulate ecosystem services directed to agricultural production and agricultural sustainability. A main goal of future cropping systems will be to maintain or raise agricultural productivity while keeping production sustainable in spite of increasing food demands and ongoing soil degradation caused by inappropriate soil management practices. Farm based tools that farmers use to engineer soils for plant production depend as soil management factors on decisions by farmers, which are triggered by regional traditions, knowledge and also by agriculture policies as a governance impact. However, biological impacts on soil fertility and soil health are often neglected or overseen when planning and shaping soil management in annual cropping systems or perennial systems like vineyards. In order to get progress in conservation farming and in agricultural sustainability not only knowledge creation is in need, but also a clash of perspectives has to be overcome within the societies (generals public, farmers associations, NGOs) The talk will present the conception of the recently startet SoilMan-project and summaries selected results from current and recent European research projects.