Retrospective review of Contura HDR breast cases to improve our standardized procedure

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

Iftimia, Ileana, E-mail: Ileana.n.iftimia@lahey.org; Cirino, Eileen T.; Ladd, Ron

2013-07-01

To retrospectively review our first 20 Contura high dose rate breast cases to improve and refine our standardized procedure and checklists. We prepared in advance checklists for all steps, developed an in-house Excel spreadsheet for second checking the plan, and generated a procedure for efficient contouring and a set of optimization constraints to meet the dose volume histogram criteria. Templates were created in our treatment planning system for structures, isodose levels, optimization constraints, and plan report. This study reviews our first 20 high dose rate Contura breast treatment plans. We followed our standardized procedure for contouring, planning, and second checking.more » The established dose volume histogram criteria were successfully met for all plans. For the cases studied here, the balloon-skin and balloon-ribs distances ranged between 5 and 43 mm and 1 and 33 mm, respectively; air{sub s}eroma volume/PTV{sub E}val volume≤5.5% (allowed≤10%); asymmetry<1.2 mm (goal≤2 mm); PTV{sub E}val V90%≥97.6%; PTV{sub E}val V95%≥94.9%; skin max dose≤98%Rx; ribs max dose≤137%Rx; V150%≤29.8 cc; V200%≤7.8 cc; the total dwell time range was 225.4 to 401.9 seconds; and the second check agreement was within 3%. Based on this analysis, more appropriate ranges for the total dwell time and balloon diameter tolerance were found. Three major problems were encountered: balloon migration toward the skin for small balloon-to-skin distances, lumen obstruction, and length change for the flexible balloon. Solutions were found for these issues and our standardized procedure and checklists were updated accordingly. Based on our review of these cases, the use of checklists resulted in consistent results, indicating good coverage for the target without sacrificing the critical structures. This review helped us to refine our standardized procedure and update our checklists.« less

Relay selection in energy harvesting cooperative networks with rateless codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Kaiyan; Wang, Fei

2018-04-01

This paper investigates the relay selection in energy harvesting cooperative networks, where the relays harvests energy from the radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted by a source, and the optimal relay is selected and uses the harvested energy to assist the information transmission from the source to its destination. Both source and the selected relay transmit information using rateless code, which allows the destination recover original information after collecting codes bits marginally surpass the entropy of original information. In order to improve transmission performance and efficiently utilize the harvested power, the optimal relay is selected. The optimization problem are formulated to maximize the achievable information rates of the system. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed relay selection scheme outperform other strategies.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGISTS AND AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ENDOCRINOLOGY PROTOCOL FOR STANDARDIZED PRODUCTION OF CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES, ALGORITHMS, AND CHECKLISTS - 2017 UPDATE.

PubMed

Mechanick, Jeffrey I; Pessah-Pollack, Rachel; Camacho, Pauline; Correa, Ricardo; Figaro, M Kathleen; Garber, Jeffrey R; Jasim, Sina; Pantalone, Kevin M; Trence, Dace; Upala, Sikarin

2017-08-01

Clinical practice guideline (CPG), clinical practice algorithm (CPA), and clinical checklist (CC, collectively CPGAC) development is a high priority of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and American College of Endocrinology (ACE). This 2017 update in CPG development consists of (1) a paradigm change wherein first, environmental scans identify important clinical issues and needs, second, CPA construction focuses on these clinical issues and needs, and third, CPG provide CPA node/edge-specific scientific substantiation and appended CC; (2) inclusion of new technical semantic and numerical descriptors for evidence types, subjective factors, and qualifiers; and (3) incorporation of patient-centered care components such as economics and transcultural adaptations, as well as implementation, validation, and evaluation strategies. This third point highlights the dominating factors of personal finances, governmental influences, and third-party payer dictates on CPGAC implementation, which ultimately impact CPGAC development. The AACE/ACE guidelines for the CPGAC program is a successful and ongoing iterative exercise to optimize endocrine care in a changing and challenging healthcare environment. AACE = American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists ACC = American College of Cardiology ACE = American College of Endocrinology ASeRT = ACE Scientific Referencing Team BEL = best evidence level CC = clinical checklist CPA = clinical practice algorithm CPG = clinical practice guideline CPGAC = clinical practice guideline, algorithm, and checklist EBM = evidence-based medicine EHR = electronic health record EL = evidence level G4GAC = Guidelines for Guidelines, Algorithms, and Checklists GAC = guidelines, algorithms, and checklists HCP = healthcare professional(s) POEMS = patient-oriented evidence that matters PRCT = prospective randomized controlled trial.

Your P.A.D. Checklist

MedlinePlus

... TOTAL CHOLESTEROL Desirable : less than 200 mg/dL Borderline High: 200 – 239 mg/dL High : 240 mg/ ... mg/dL Near Optimal : 100 –129 mg/dL Borderline High : 130 –159 mg/dL High : 160 –189 ...

Validation of the "early detection Primary Care Checklist" in an Italian community help-seeking sample: The "checklist per la Valutazione dell'Esordio Psicotico".

PubMed

Pelizza, Lorenzo; Raballo, Andrea; Semrov, Enrico; Chiri, Luigi Rocco; Azzali, Silvia; Scazza, Ilaria; Garlassi, Sara; Paterlini, Federica; Fontana, Francesca; Favazzo, Rosanna; Pensieri, Luana; Fabiani, Michela; Cioncolini, Leonardo; Pupo, Simona

2017-07-26

To establish the concordant validity of the "Checklist per la Valutazione dell'Esordio Psicotico" (CVEP) in an Italian help-seeking population. The CVEP is the Italian adaptation of the "early detection Primary Care Checklist," a 20-item tool specifically designed to assist primary care practitioners in identifying young people in the early stages of psychosis. The checklist was completed by the referring practitioners of 168 young people referred to the "Reggio Emilia At Risk Mental States" Project, an early detection infrastructure developed under the aegis of the Regional Project on Early Detection of Psychosis in the Reggio Emilia Department of Mental Health. The concordant validity of the CVEP was established by comparing screen results with the outcome of the "Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States" (CAARMS), a gold standard assessment for identifying young people who may be at risk of developing psychosis. The simple checklist as originally conceived had excellent sensitivity (98%), but lower specificity (58%). Using only a CVEP total score of 20 or above as cut-off, the tool showed a slightly lower sensitivity (93%) with a substantial improvement in specificity (87%). Simple cross-tabulations of the individual CVEP item scores against CAARMS outcome to identify the more discriminant item in terms of sensitivity and specificity were carried out. In comparison to other, much longer, screening tools, the CVEP performed well to identify young people in the early stages of psychosis. Therefore, the CVEP is well suited to optimize appropriate referrals to specialist services, building on the skills and knowledge already available in primary care settings. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The German version of the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 to identify children with a risk of autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Limberg, Katharina; Gruber, Karolin; Noterdaeme, Michele

2017-04-01

A long delay between the first registered symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and a final diagnosis has been reported. The reasons for this are the spare use of specialized autism instruments, missing clinical expertise, and the late referral to specialized centers in primary care. Previous studies recommending the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 for screening have requested additional research. A total of 183 children aged 25-71 months participated in this study. The Child Behavior Checklist scales of 80 children with autism spectrum disorder were compared with 103 children diagnosed with other psychiatric disorders. In the logistic regression analysis, the Withdrawn and Pervasive Developmental Problems Child Behavior Checklist scales with a significant predictive value of risk for an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis were identified. The optimal cutoff points T = 64.5 on the Pervasive Developmental Problems scale (area under the curve = 0.781, sensitivity = 0.83, specificity = 0.60, positive predictive value = 0.62, negative predictive value = 0.82, odds ratio = 7) and T = 60.5 on the Withdrawn scale (area under the curve = 0.809, sensitivity = 0.88, specificity = 0.63, positive predictive value = 0.65, negative predictive value = 0.87, odds ratio = 12) were evaluated in the receiver operating characteristics analysis. The present study confirms the utility of the German version of the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 as a level 1 screening tool to identify children with a risk of autism spectrum disorder; however, a risk of over-identifying should be considered. The Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 can complement the pediatric examination as a quick and cost-effective questionnaire.

A Previsit Screening Checklist Improves Teamwork and Access to Preventive Services in a Medical Home Serving Low-Income Adolescent and Young Adult Patients.

PubMed

Allende-Richter, Sophie H; Johnson, Sydney T; Maloyan, Mariam; Glidden, Patricia; Rice, Kerrilynn; Epee-Bounya, Alexandra

2018-06-01

Publicly insured adolescents and young adults experience significant obstacles in accessing primary care services. As a result, they often present to their medical appointments with multiple unmet needs, adding time and complexity to the visit. The goal of this project was to optimize team work and access to primary care services among publicly insured adolescents and young adults attending an urban primary care clinic, using a previsit screening checklist to identify patient needs and delegate tasks within a care team to coordinate access to health services at the time of the visit. We conducted an interventional quality improvement initiative in a PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle format; 291 patients, 13 to 25 years old were included in the study over an 8-months period. The majority of patients were receptive to the previsit screening checklist; 85% of services requested were provided; nonclinician staff felt more involved in patient care; and providers' satisfaction increased.

Quality and safety in pediatric anesthesia: how can guidelines, checklists, and initiatives improve the outcome?

PubMed

Hagerman, Nancy S; Varughese, Anna M; Kurth, C Dean

2014-06-01

Cognitive aids are tangible or intangible instruments that guide users in decision-making and in the completion of a complex series of tasks. Common examples include mnemonics, checklists, and algorithms. Cognitive aids constitute very effective approaches to achieve well tolerated, high quality healthcare because they promote highly reliable processes that reduce the likelihood of failure. This review describes recent advances in quality improvement for pediatric anesthesiology with emphasis on application of cognitive aids to impact patient safety and outcomes. Quality improvement encourages the examination of systems to create stable processes and ultimately high-value care. Quality improvement initiatives in pediatric anesthesiology have been shown to improve outcomes and the delivery of efficient and effective care at many institutions. The use of checklists, in particular, improves adherence to evidence-based care in crisis situations, decreases catheter-associated bloodstream infections, reduces blood product utilization, and improves communication during the patient handoff process. Use of this simple tool has been associated with decreased morbidity, fewer medical errors, improved provider satisfaction, and decreased mortality in nonanesthesia disciplines as well. Successful quality improvement initiatives utilize cognitive aids such as checklists and have been shown to optimize pediatric patient experience and anesthesia outcomes and reduce perioperative complications.

Practitioners' opinions on Food and Nutrition Care Indicators in assisted living facilities for older adults.

PubMed

Chao, Shirley Y; Dwyer, Johanna T; Houser, Robert F; Tennstedt, Sharon; Jacques, Paul

2008-09-01

This study assessed the utility of the 57-indicator Food and Nutrition Care Indicators Checklist for assessing food and nutrition services in assisted-living facilities for older adults among registered dietitians (RDs). They were members of two American Dietetic Association practice groups focusing on aging and long-term care and were also employed in assisted-living facilities. The 1,281 respondents rated the importance of each checklist item and provided their views on the role of assisted-living facilities and their level of agreement with statements regarding the importance of residents' autonomy for making food choices and their ability to make wise dietary choices. Registered dietitians practicing in assisted-living facilities considered all of the domains on food and nutrition quality indicators on the Food and Nutrition Care Indicators Checklist to be highly important (92% of dining room environment items, 83% of foodservice operations, 92% of general nutrition, and 89% of therapeutic nutrition items). They preferred a service style that included both health and amenities, as did national health and aging experts. Registered dietitians should work with other professionals to further validate the checklist, promote its use, and establish optimal service models for food and nutrition services in assisted-living facilities for older adults.

Spreadsheet Design: An Optimal Checklist for Accountants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Jeffrey N.; Tufte, David; Christensen, David

2009-01-01

Just as good grammar, punctuation, style, and content organization are important to well-written documents, basic fundamentals of spreadsheet design are essential to clear communication. In fact, the very principles of good writing should be integrated into spreadsheet workpaper design and organization. The unique contributions of this paper are…

Posttraumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth Among Low-Income Mothers who Survived Hurricane Katrina

PubMed Central

Lowe, Sarah R.; Manove, Emily E.; Rhodes, Jean E.

2013-01-01

Objective The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) after Hurricane Katrina, and the role of demographics, pre-disaster psychological distress, hurricane-related stressors, and psychological resources (optimism and purpose) in predicting each. Method Participants were 334 low-income mothers (82.0% non-Hispanic Black) living in the New Orleans area prior to Hurricane Katrina, who completed surveys in the year prior to the hurricane (T1), and one and three years thereafter (T2 and T3). Results Higher T2 and T3 PTS full-scale and symptom cluster subscales (intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal) were significantly associated with higher T3 PTG, and participants who surpassed the clinical cut-off for probable PTSD at both T2 and T3 had significantly higher PTG than those who never surpassed the clinical cut-off. Older and non-Hispanic Black participants, as well as those who experienced a greater number of hurricane-related stressors and bereavement, reported significantly greater T3 PTS and PTG. Participants with lower T2 optimism reported significantly greater T3 intrusive symptoms, whereas those with higher T1 and T2 purpose reported significantly greater T3 PTG. Conclusions Based on the results, we suggest practices and policies that identify disaster survivors at greater risk for PTS, as well as longitudinal investigations of reciprocal and mediational relationships between psychological resources, PTS, and PTG. PMID:23750467

Posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth among low-income mothers who survived Hurricane Katrina.

PubMed

Lowe, Sarah R; Manove, Emily E; Rhodes, Jean E

2013-10-01

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) after Hurricane Katrina, and the role of demographics, predisaster psychological distress, hurricane-related stressors, and psychological resources (optimism and purpose) in predicting each. Participants were 334 low-income mothers (82.0% non-Hispanic Black) living in the New Orleans area prior to Hurricane Katrina, who completed surveys in the year prior to the hurricane (T1 [Time 1]) and 1 and 3 years thereafter (T2 and T3). Higher T2 and T3 PTS full-scale and symptom cluster subscales (Intrusion, Avoidance, and Hyperarousal) were significantly associated with higher T3 PTG, and participants who surpassed the clinical cutoff for probable posttraumatic stress disorder at both T2 and T3 had significantly higher PTG than those who never surpassed the clinical cutoff. Older and non-Hispanic Black participants, as well as those who experienced a greater number of hurricane-related stressors and bereavement, reported significantly greater T3 PTS and PTG. Participants with lower T2 optimism reported significantly greater T3 intrusive symptoms, whereas those with higher T1 and T2 purpose reported significantly greater T3 PTG. Based on the results, we suggest practices and policies with which to identify disaster survivors at greater risk for PTS, as well as longitudinal investigations of reciprocal and mediational relationships between psychological resources, PTS, and PTG. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Nutritional needs in the professional practice of swimming: a review

PubMed Central

Domínguez, Raúl; Jesús-Sánchez-Oliver, Antonio; Cuenca, Eduardo; Jodra, Pablo; Fernandes da Silva, Sandro; Mata-Ordóñez, Fernando

2017-01-01

[Purpose] Swimming requires developing a high aerobic and anaerobic capacity for strength and technical efficiency. The purpose of this study was to establish the nutritional requirements and dietary strategies that can optimize swimming performance. [Methods] Several related studies retrieved from the databases, Dialnet, Elsevier, Medline, Pubmed, and Web of Science, through keyword search strategies were reviewed. [Results] The recommended carbohydrate intake ranges between 6-10-12 g/kg/d, protein 2 g/kg/d, and fat should surpass 20-25% of the daily intake. [Conclusion] Performance can be optimized with a hydration plan, as well as adequate periodization of supplements, such as caffeine, creatine, sodium bicarbonate, B-alanine, beetroot juice, Vitamin D, bovine colostrum, and HMB. PMID:29370667

CFD research, parallel computation and aerodynamic optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, James S.

1995-01-01

Over five years of research in Computational Fluid Dynamics and its applications are covered in this report. Using CFD as an established tool, aerodynamic optimization on parallel architectures is explored. The objective of this work is to provide better tools to vehicle designers. Submarine design requires accurate force and moment calculations in flow with thick boundary layers and large separated vortices. Low noise production is critical, so flow into the propulsor region must be predicted accurately. The High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) has been the subject of recent work. This vehicle is to be a passenger vehicle with the capability of cutting overseas flight times by more than half. A successful design must surpass the performance of comparable planes. Fuel economy, other operational costs, environmental impact, and range must all be improved substantially. For all these reasons, improved design tools are required, and these tools must eventually integrate optimization, external aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, heat transfer and other disciplines.

Checklist for Excellence in Science Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ediger, Marlow

2016-01-01

Science teachers need to evaluate their lessons and units of study, frequently, to stay abreast of recommended trends in the curriculum. Self evaluation is involved here. A quality science program must be implemented in order to assist learners to achieve as optimally as possible. Which guidelines should then serve in self evaluation?

Minimum information about a single amplified genome (MISAG) and a metagenome-assembled genome (MIMAG) of bacteria and archaea

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

Bowers, Robert M.; Kyrpides, Nikos C.; Stepanauskas, Ramunas

The number of genomes from uncultivated microbes will soon surpass the number of isolate genomes in public databases (Hugenholtz, Skarshewski, & Parks, 2016). Technological advancements in high-throughput sequencing and assembly, including single-cell genomics and the computational extraction of genomes from metagenomes (GFMs), are largely responsible. Here we propose community standards for reporting the Minimum Information about a Single-Cell Genome (MIxS-SCG) and Minimum Information about Genomes extracted From Metagenomes (MIxS-GFM) specific for Bacteria and Archaea. The standards have been developed in the context of the International Genomics Standards Consortium (GSC) community (Field et al., 2014) and can be viewed as amore » supplement to other GSC checklists including the Minimum Information about a Genome Sequence (MIGS), Minimum information about a Metagenomic Sequence(s) (MIMS) (Field et al., 2008) and Minimum Information about a Marker Gene Sequence (MIMARKS) (P. Yilmaz et al., 2011). Community-wide acceptance of MIxS-SCG and MIxS-GFM for Bacteria and Archaea will enable broad comparative analyses of genomes from the majority of taxa that remain uncultivated, improving our understanding of microbial function, ecology, and evolution.« less

Performance Analysis of a Semiactive Suspension System with Particle Swarm Optimization and Fuzzy Logic Control

PubMed Central

Qazi, Abroon Jamal; de Silva, Clarence W.

2014-01-01

This paper uses a quarter model of an automobile having passive and semiactive suspension systems to develop a scheme for an optimal suspension controller. Semi-active suspension is preferred over passive and active suspensions with regard to optimum performance within the constraints of weight and operational cost. A fuzzy logic controller is incorporated into the semi-active suspension system. It is able to handle nonlinearities through the use of heuristic rules. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied to determine the optimal gain parameters for the fuzzy logic controller, while maintaining within the normalized ranges of the controller inputs and output. The performance of resulting optimized system is compared with different systems that use various control algorithms, including a conventional passive system, choice options of feedback signals, and damping coefficient limits. Also, the optimized semi-active suspension system is evaluated for its performance in relation to variation in payload. Furthermore, the systems are compared with respect to the attributes of road handling and ride comfort. In all the simulation studies it is found that the optimized fuzzy logic controller surpasses the other types of control. PMID:24574868

The performance implications of pharmacy information system at the university teaching hospitals of Shiraz, Iran: Cluster approach

PubMed Central

Bayati, Saeede; Bastani, Peivand; Sagheb, Zahra Mahmoodzade; Jamalabadi, Sara; Samadbeik, Mahnaz

2017-01-01

Pharmacy information system (PIS) is becoming vital in assisting pharmacists to do their responsibilities. The aim of this study was to identify the current PIS implications in teaching hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Science. This cross-sectional study was conducted in teaching hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Science over the year 2016. Data were collected by observing the PIS as well as interviewing its users based on the researcher-made checklist. The checklist was prepared based on reviewing the Persian and English literature and its content validity was approved by the experts. To determine the reliability of the checklist, inter-rater reliability was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS16, and hospitals were clustered using SK-means method. In this study, the least conformity to the standards was shown in smart clinical features (4.54%), pharmaceutical companies' relationship (32.6%), and optimization of drug therapy (34.6%). In contrast, the highest conformity to the standards was shown in reporting capabilities (77.3%) and entry information and input (70.4%). Medication stock checking and optimization of drug therapy were effective features that have made a distinction between hospitals and lead to 95% variance between clusters. Based on the results, the current PIS design pays less attention to clinical features. Besides, clinical information for pharmacists and outside organization relationship were not provided by the current system. Thus, emphasis should be placed on the implementation of corrective actions to eliminate the current system's deficiencies. PMID:29184843

Accuracy of Assessment of Eligibility for Early Medical Abortion by Community Health Workers in Ethiopia, India and South Africa.

PubMed

Johnston, Heidi Bart; Ganatra, Bela; Nguyen, My Huong; Habib, Ndema; Afework, Mesganaw Fantahun; Harries, Jane; Iyengar, Kirti; Moodley, Jennifer; Lema, Hailu Yeneneh; Constant, Deborah; Sen, Swapnaleen

2016-01-01

To assess the accuracy of assessment of eligibility for early medical abortion by community health workers using a simple checklist toolkit. Diagnostic accuracy study. Ethiopia, India and South Africa. Two hundred seventeen women in Ethiopia, 258 in India and 236 in South Africa were enrolled into the study. A checklist toolkit to determine eligibility for early medical abortion was validated by comparing results of clinician and community health worker assessment of eligibility using the checklist toolkit with the reference standard exam. Accuracy was over 90% and the negative likelihood ratio <0.1 at all three sites when used by clinician assessors. Positive likelihood ratios were 4.3 in Ethiopia, 5.8 in India and 6.3 in South Africa. When used by community health workers the overall accuracy of the toolkit was 92% in Ethiopia, 80% in India and 77% in South Africa negative likelihood ratios were 0.08 in Ethiopia, 0.25 in India and 0.22 in South Africa and positive likelihood ratios were 5.9 in Ethiopia and 2.0 in India and South Africa. The checklist toolkit, as used by clinicians, was excellent at ruling out participants who were not eligible, and moderately effective at ruling in participants who were eligible for medical abortion. Results were promising when used by community health workers particularly in Ethiopia where they had more prior experience with use of diagnostic aids and longer professional training. The checklist toolkit assessments resulted in some participants being wrongly assessed as eligible for medical abortion which is an area of concern. Further research is needed to streamline the components of the tool, explore optimal duration and content of training for community health workers, and test feasibility and acceptability.

A case management tool for occupational health nurses: development, testing, and application.

PubMed

Mannon, J A; Conrad, K M; Blue, C L; Muran, S

1994-08-01

1. Case management is a process of coordinating an individual client's health care services to achieve optimal, quality care delivered in a cost effective manner. The case manager establishes a provider network, recommends treatment plans that assure quality and efficacy while controlling costs, monitors outcomes, and maintains a strong communication link among all the parties. 2. Through development of audit tools such as the one presented in this article, occupational health nurses can document case management activities and provide employers with measurable outcomes. 3. The Case Management Activity Checklist was tested using data from 61 firefighters' musculoskeletal injury cases. 4. The activities on the checklist are a step by step process: case identification/case disposition; assessment; return to work plan; resource identification; collaborative communication; and evaluation.

The Effect of an Electronic Checklist on Critical Care Provider Workload, Errors, and Performance.

PubMed

Thongprayoon, Charat; Harrison, Andrew M; O'Horo, John C; Berrios, Ronaldo A Sevilla; Pickering, Brian W; Herasevich, Vitaly

2016-03-01

The strategy used to improve effective checklist use in intensive care unit (ICU) setting is essential for checklist success. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that an electronic checklist could reduce ICU provider workload, errors, and time to checklist completion, as compared to a paper checklist. This was a simulation-based study conducted at an academic tertiary hospital. All participants completed checklists for 6 ICU patients: 3 using an electronic checklist and 3 using an identical paper checklist. In both scenarios, participants had full access to the existing electronic medical record system. The outcomes measured were workload (defined using the National Aeronautics and Space Association task load index [NASA-TLX]), the number of checklist errors, and time to checklist completion. Two independent clinician reviewers, blinded to participant results, served as the reference standard for checklist error calculation. Twenty-one ICU providers participated in this study. This resulted in the generation of 63 simulated electronic checklists and 63 simulated paper checklists. The median NASA-TLX score was 39 for the electronic checklist and 50 for the paper checklist (P = .005). The median number of checklist errors for the electronic checklist was 5, while the median number of checklist errors for the paper checklist was 8 (P = .003). The time to checklist completion was not significantly different between the 2 checklist formats (P = .76). The electronic checklist significantly reduced provider workload and errors without any measurable difference in the amount of time required for checklist completion. This demonstrates that electronic checklists are feasible and desirable in the ICU setting. © The Author(s) 2014.

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

PubMed

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

2010-12-15

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

Photogrammetric measurement to one part in a million

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Clive S.

1992-03-01

Industrial photogrammetric measurement to accuracies of 1 part in 1,000,000 of the size of the object is discussed. Network design concepts are reviewed, especially with regard both to the relationships between the first- and second-order design phases and to minimization of the influences of uncompensated systematic error. Photogrammetric system aspects are also briefly touched upon. The network optimization process for the measurement of a large compact range reflector is described and results of successive alignment surveys of this structure are summarized. These photogrammetric measurements yielded three dimensional (3D) coordinate accuracies surpassing one part in a million.

Fiber-optics implementation of an asymmetric phase-covariant quantum cloner.

PubMed

Bartůsková, Lucie; Dusek, Miloslav; Cernoch, Antonín; Soubusta, Jan; Fiurásek, Jaromír

2007-09-21

We present the experimental realization of optimal symmetric and asymmetric phase-covariant 1-->2 cloning of qubit states using fiber optics. The state of each qubit is encoded into a single photon which can propagate through two optical fibers. The operation of our device is based on one- and two-photon interference. We have demonstrated the creation of two copies for a wide range of qubit states from the equator of the Bloch sphere. The measured fidelities of both copies are close to the theoretical values and they surpass the theoretical maximum obtainable with the universal cloner.

Realization of an ultrathin acoustic lens for subwavelength focusing in the megasonic range.

PubMed

Hyun, Jaeyub; Kim, Yong Tae; Doh, Il; Ahn, Bongyoung; Baik, Kyungmin; Kim, Se-Hwa

2018-06-14

In this study, we report the first experimental realization of an ultrathin (0.14λ, λ = 1.482 mm means wavelength at 1 MHz in the water medium) subwavelength focusing acoustic lens that can surpass the Rayleigh diffraction limit (0.61λ/NA, NA means numerical aperture). It is termed a Super-Oscillatory Acoustic Lens (SOAL), and it operates in the megasonic range. The SOAL represents an interesting feature allowing the achievement of subwavelength focusing without the need to operate in close proximity to the object to be imaged. The optimal layout of the SOAL is obtained by utilizing a systematic design approach, referred to here as topology optimization. To this end, the optimization formulation is newly defined. The optimized SOAL is fabricated using a photo-etching process and its subwavelength focusing performance is verified experimentally via an acoustic intensity measurement system. From these measurements, we found that the proposed optimized SOAL can achieve superior focusing features with a Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) of ~0.40λ/NA ≃ 0.84 mm (for our SOAL, NA = 0.707) with the transmission efficiency of 26.5%.

Urban and Education Disparity for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Taiwan Birth Cohort Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lung, For-Wey; Chiang, Tung-Liang; Lin, Shio-Jean; Shu, Bih-Ching

2017-01-01

This study aimed to determine the optimal cut-off for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening in 66-month-old children, and to explore the distribution of ASD screening and diagnosis in Taiwan. The Taiwan Birth Cohort Study dataset was used (N = 20,095). The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) cut-off point of 13/14 was considered…

Comparison of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders Screening Test and Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers: Which Is the Better Predictor of Autism in Toddlers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fessenden, Vanessa Marie

2013-01-01

Early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has significant impact on children and families. Early intervention optimizes long-term diagnosis for children with ASD. Unfortunately, many children with ASD are not diagnosed until after age three and often receive services from a local school district rather than through early…

Optimizing Cationic and Neutral Lipids for Efficient Gene Delivery at High Serum Content

PubMed Central

Majzoub, Ramsey N.; Hwu, Yeu-kuang; Liang, Keng S.; Leal, Cecília; Safinya, Cyrus R.

2014-01-01

Background Cationic liposome (CL)-DNA complexes are promising gene delivery vectors with potential applications in gene therapy. A key challenge in creating CL-DNA complexes for applications is that their transfection efficiency (TE) is adversely affected by serum. In particular, little is known about the effects of high serum contents on TE even though this may provide design guidelines for applications in vivo. Methods We prepared CL-DNA complexes in which we varied the neutral lipid (DOPC, glycerol-monooleate (GMO), cholesterol), the headgroup charge and chemical structure of the cationic lipid, and the ratio of neutral to cationic lipid; we then measured the TE of these complexes as a function of serum content and assessed their cytotoxicity. We tested selected formulations in two human cancer cell lines (M21/melanoma and PC-3/prostate cancer). Results In the absence of serum, all CL-DNA complexes of custom-synthesized multivalent lipids show high TE. Certain combinations of multivalent lipids and neutral lipids, such as MVL5(5+)/GMO-DNA complexes or complexes based on the dendritic-headgroup lipid TMVLG3(8+) exhibited high TE both in the absence and presence of serum. Although their TE still dropped to a small extent in the presence of serum, it reached or surpassed that of benchmark commercial transfection reagents, in particular at high serum content. Conclusions Two-component vectors (one multivalent cationic lipid and one neutral lipid) can rival or surpass benchmark reagents at low and high serum contents (up to 50%, v/v). We suggest guidelines for optimizing the serum resistance of CL-DNA complexes based on a given cationic lipid. PMID:24753287

Using dental care resources optimally: quality-efficiency trade-offs in a competitive private market.

PubMed

Prasad, Banuru Muralidhara; Varatharajan, D

2011-01-01

Modern lifestyle changes led to increased dental care needs in India. Consequently, there has been a sharp rise in dentist numbers. Karnataka state alone produces 2,500 dentists annually, who are engaged in the non-government sector owing to inadequate public sector opportunities. This article aims to assess Karnataka private dental clinic quality and efficiency. Dentists were interviewed using a close-ended, structured interview schedule and their clinics were assessed using a checklist adopted from guidelines for providing machinery and equipment under the National Oral Health Care Programme (NOHCP). Dental "hotel" and clinical quality were scored based on this checklist. Clinical quality was "excellent" in 12 per cent of clinics and poor in 49 per cent. Clinics with better infrastructure charged higher price (p < 0.05). Multi-chair clinics charging fixed rates were high (81 per cent). According to 59.5 per cent of dentists, competition did not improve quality while 27 per cent felt that competition increased price, not quality. About 30.9 per cent of the poor quality clinics, 41 per cent average quality clinics and 26 per cent good quality clinics were technically efficient. The multi chair clinics offered better quality at higher prices and single chair clinics provided poorer quality at lower prices. In other words, they had a sub-optimal price-quality mix. Therefore, there is a need to regulate price and quality in all clinics to arrive at an optimal price-quality mix so that clients are not overburdened financially even while receiving good quality dental care. The article advocates that resources are used optimally as a way to achieve value for money and to achieve break-even points thereby providing quality care in a competitive market. Factors that influence dental practitioner behaviour are evaluated.

Discrimination of binary coherent states using a homodyne detector and a photon number resolving detector

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

Wittmann, Christoffer; Sych, Denis; Leuchs, Gerd

2010-06-15

We investigate quantum measurement strategies capable of discriminating two coherent states probabilistically with significantly smaller error probabilities than can be obtained using nonprobabilistic state discrimination. We apply a postselection strategy to the measurement data of a homodyne detector as well as a photon number resolving detector in order to lower the error probability. We compare the two different receivers with an optimal intermediate measurement scheme where the error rate is minimized for a fixed rate of inconclusive results. The photon number resolving (PNR) receiver is experimentally demonstrated and compared to an experimental realization of a homodyne receiver with postselection. Inmore » the comparison, it becomes clear that the performance of the PNR receiver surpasses the performance of the homodyne receiver, which we prove to be optimal within any Gaussian operations and conditional dynamics.« less

Human Visual Search Does Not Maximize the Post-Saccadic Probability of Identifying Targets

PubMed Central

Morvan, Camille; Maloney, Laurence T.

2012-01-01

Researchers have conjectured that eye movements during visual search are selected to minimize the number of saccades. The optimal Bayesian eye movement strategy minimizing saccades does not simply direct the eye to whichever location is judged most likely to contain the target but makes use of the entire retina as an information gathering device during each fixation. Here we show that human observers do not minimize the expected number of saccades in planning saccades in a simple visual search task composed of three tokens. In this task, the optimal eye movement strategy varied, depending on the spacing between tokens (in the first experiment) or the size of tokens (in the second experiment), and changed abruptly once the separation or size surpassed a critical value. None of our observers changed strategy as a function of separation or size. Human performance fell far short of ideal, both qualitatively and quantitatively. PMID:22319428

Apparent diffusion coefficient in the analysis of prostate cancer: determination of optimal b-value pair to differentiate normal from malignant tissue.

PubMed

Adubeiro, Nuno; Nogueira, Maria Luísa; Nunes, Rita G; Ferreira, Hugo Alexandre; Ribeiro, Eduardo; La Fuente, José Maria Ferreira

Determining optimal b-value pair for differentiation between normal and prostate cancer (PCa) tissues. Forty-three patients with diagnosis or PCa symptoms were included. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was estimated using minimum and maximum b-values of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 500s/mm2 and 500, 800, 1100, 1400, 1700 and 2000s/mm2, respectively. Diagnostic performances were evaluated when Area-under-the-curve (AUC)>95%. 15 of the 35 b-values pair surpassed this AUC threshold. The pair (50, 2000s/mm2) provided the highest AUC (96%) with ADC cutoff 0.89×10- 3 mm 2 /s, sensitivity 95.5%, specificity 93.2% and accuracy 94.4%. The best b-value pair was b=50, 2000s/mm2. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Baseline estimation in flame's spectra by using neural networks and robust statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garces, Hugo; Arias, Luis; Rojas, Alejandro

2014-09-01

This work presents a baseline estimation method in flame spectra based on artificial intelligence structure as a neural network, combining robust statistics with multivariate analysis to automatically discriminate measured wavelengths belonging to continuous feature for model adaptation, surpassing restriction of measuring target baseline for training. The main contributions of this paper are: to analyze a flame spectra database computing Jolliffe statistics from Principal Components Analysis detecting wavelengths not correlated with most of the measured data corresponding to baseline; to systematically determine the optimal number of neurons in hidden layers based on Akaike's Final Prediction Error; to estimate baseline in full wavelength range sampling measured spectra; and to train an artificial intelligence structure as a Neural Network which allows to generalize the relation between measured and baseline spectra. The main application of our research is to compute total radiation with baseline information, allowing to diagnose combustion process state for optimization in early stages.

NCI at Frederick Surpasses Feds Feed Families Goal | Poster

Cancer.gov

The 2016 Feds Feed Families campaign recently concluded, with the numbers released earlier this week. A grand total of 33,447 pounds of food were donated in less than three months, surpassing the goal of 28,000 pounds.

Going digital: a checklist in preparing for hospital-wide electronic medical record implementation and digital transformation.

PubMed

Scott, Ian A; Sullivan, Clair; Staib, Andrew

2018-05-24

Objective In an era of rapid digitisation of Australian hospitals, practical guidance is needed in how to successfully implement electronic medical records (EMRs) as both a technical innovation and a major transformative change in clinical care. The aim of the present study was to develop a checklist that clearly and comprehensively defines the steps that best prepare hospitals for EMR implementation and digital transformation. Methods The checklist was developed using a formal methodological framework comprised of: literature reviews of relevant issues; an interactive workshop involving a multidisciplinary group of digital leads from Queensland hospitals; a draft document based on literature and workshop proceedings; and a review and feedback from senior clinical leads. Results The final checklist comprised 19 questions, 13 related to EMR implementation and six to digital transformation. Questions related to the former included organisational considerations (leadership, governance, change leaders, implementation plan), technical considerations (vendor choice, information technology and project management teams, system and hardware alignment with clinician workflows, interoperability with legacy systems) and training (user training, post-go-live contingency plans, roll-out sequence, staff support at point of care). Questions related to digital transformation included cultural considerations (clinically focused vision statement and communication strategy, readiness for change surveys), management of digital disruption syndromes and plans for further improvement in patient care (post-go-live optimisation of digital system, quality and benefit evaluation, ongoing digital innovation). Conclusion This evidence-based, field-tested checklist provides guidance to hospitals planning EMR implementation and separates readiness for EMR from readiness for digital transformation. What is known about the topic? Many hospitals throughout Australia have implemented, or are planning to implement, hospital wide electronic medical records (EMRs) with varying degrees of functionality. Few hospitals have implemented a complete end-to-end digital system with the ability to bring about major transformation in clinical care. Although the many challenges in implementing EMRs have been well documented, they have not been incorporated into an evidence-based, field-tested checklist that can practically assist hospitals in preparing for EMR implementation as both a technical innovation and a vehicle for major digital transformation of care. What does this paper add? This paper outlines a 19-question checklist that was developed using a formal methodological framework comprising literature review of relevant issues, proceedings from an interactive workshop involving a multidisciplinary group of digital leads from hospitals throughout Queensland, including three hospitals undertaking EMR implementation and one hospital with complete end-to-end EMR, and review of a draft checklist by senior clinical leads within a statewide digital healthcare improvement network. The checklist distinguishes between issues pertaining to EMR as a technical innovation and EMR as a vehicle for digital transformation of patient care. What are the implications for practitioners? Successful implementation of a hospital-wide EMR requires senior managers, clinical leads, information technology teams and project management teams to fully address key operational and strategic issues. Using an issues checklist may help prevent any one issue being inadvertently overlooked or underemphasised in the planning and implementation stages, and ensure the EMR is fully adopted and optimally used by clinician users in an ongoing digital transformation of care.

Optimized quantum sensing with a single electron spin using real-time adaptive measurements.

PubMed

Bonato, C; Blok, M S; Dinani, H T; Berry, D W; Markham, M L; Twitchen, D J; Hanson, R

2016-03-01

Quantum sensors based on single solid-state spins promise a unique combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The key challenge in sensing is to achieve minimum estimation uncertainty within a given time and with high dynamic range. Adaptive strategies have been proposed to achieve optimal performance, but their implementation in solid-state systems has been hindered by the demanding experimental requirements. Here, we realize adaptive d.c. sensing by combining single-shot readout of an electron spin in diamond with fast feedback. By adapting the spin readout basis in real time based on previous outcomes, we demonstrate a sensitivity in Ramsey interferometry surpassing the standard measurement limit. Furthermore, we find by simulations and experiments that adaptive protocols offer a distinctive advantage over the best known non-adaptive protocols when overhead and limited estimation time are taken into account. Using an optimized adaptive protocol we achieve a magnetic field sensitivity of 6.1 ± 1.7 nT Hz(-1/2) over a wide range of 1.78 mT. These results open up a new class of experiments for solid-state sensors in which real-time knowledge of the measurement history is exploited to obtain optimal performance.

Optimized quantum sensing with a single electron spin using real-time adaptive measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, C.; Blok, M. S.; Dinani, H. T.; Berry, D. W.; Markham, M. L.; Twitchen, D. J.; Hanson, R.

2016-03-01

Quantum sensors based on single solid-state spins promise a unique combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The key challenge in sensing is to achieve minimum estimation uncertainty within a given time and with high dynamic range. Adaptive strategies have been proposed to achieve optimal performance, but their implementation in solid-state systems has been hindered by the demanding experimental requirements. Here, we realize adaptive d.c. sensing by combining single-shot readout of an electron spin in diamond with fast feedback. By adapting the spin readout basis in real time based on previous outcomes, we demonstrate a sensitivity in Ramsey interferometry surpassing the standard measurement limit. Furthermore, we find by simulations and experiments that adaptive protocols offer a distinctive advantage over the best known non-adaptive protocols when overhead and limited estimation time are taken into account. Using an optimized adaptive protocol we achieve a magnetic field sensitivity of 6.1 ± 1.7 nT Hz-1/2 over a wide range of 1.78 mT. These results open up a new class of experiments for solid-state sensors in which real-time knowledge of the measurement history is exploited to obtain optimal performance.

Detection of Oil Chestnuts Infected by Blue Mold Using Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Combined with Artificial Neural Networks.

PubMed

Feng, Lei; Zhu, Susu; Lin, Fucheng; Su, Zhenzhu; Yuan, Kangpei; Zhao, Yiying; He, Yong; Zhang, Chu

2018-06-15

Mildew damage is a major reason for chestnut poor quality and yield loss. In this study, a near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system in the 874⁻1734 nm spectral range was applied to detect the mildew damage to chestnuts caused by blue mold. Principal component analysis (PCA) scored images were firstly employed to qualitatively and intuitively distinguish moldy chestnuts from healthy chestnuts. Spectral data were extracted from the hyperspectral images. A successive projections algorithm (SPA) was used to select 12 optimal wavelengths. Artificial neural networks, including back propagation neural network (BPNN), evolutionary neural network (ENN), extreme learning machine (ELM), general regression neural network (GRNN) and radial basis neural network (RBNN) were used to build models using the full spectra and optimal wavelengths to distinguish moldy chestnuts. BPNN and ENN models using full spectra and optimal wavelengths obtained satisfactory performances, with classification accuracies all surpassing 99%. The results indicate the potential for the rapid and non-destructive detection of moldy chestnuts by hyperspectral imaging, which would help to develop online detection system for healthy and blue mold infected chestnuts.

Patient safety in phlebology: The ACP Phlebology Safety Checklist.

PubMed

Collares, Felipe Birchal; Sonde, Mehru; Harper, Kenneth; Armitage, Michael; Neuhardt, Diana L; Fronek, Helane S

2018-05-01

Objectives To assess the current use of safety checklists among the American College of Phlebology (ACP) members and their interest in implementing a checklist supported by the ACP on their clinical practices; and to develop a phlebology safety checklist. Method Online surveys were sent to ACP members, and a phlebology safety checklist was developed by a multispecialty team through the ACP Leadership Academy. Results Forty-seven percent of respondents are using a safety checklist in their practices; 23% think that a phlebology safety checklist would interfere or disrupt workflow; 79% answered that a phlebology safety checklist could improve procedure outcomes or prevent complications; and 85% would be interested in implementing a phlebology safety checklist approved by the ACP. Conclusion A phlebology safety checklist was developed with the intent to increase awareness on patient safety and improve outcome in phlebology practice.

Meaningful use and good catches: More appropriate metrics for checklist effectiveness.

PubMed

Putnam, Luke R; Anderson, Kathryn T; Diffley, Michael B; Hildebrandt, Aubrey A; Caldwell, Kelly M; Minzenmayer, Andrew N; Covey, Sarah E; Kawaguchi, Akemi L; Lally, Kevin P; Tsao, KuoJen

2016-12-01

The benefit of utilizing surgical safety checklists has been recently questioned. We evaluated our checklist performance after implementing a program that includes checklist-related good catches. Multifaceted interventions aimed at the preincision checklist and 5 prospective audits were conducted from 2011-2015. We documented adherence to the checklist (verbalization of each checkpoint), fidelity (meaningful performance of each checkpoint), and good catches (events with the potential to cause the patient harm but that were prevented from occurring). Good catches were divided into quality improvement-based categories (processes, medication, safety, communication, and equipment). A total of 1,346 checklist performances were observed (range, 144-373/yr). Adherence to the preincision checklist improved from 30% to 95% (P < .001), while adherence to the preinduction and debriefing checklists decreased (71% to 56%, P = .002) and remained unchanged (76%), respectively. Preincision fidelity decreased from 86% to 76% (P = .012). Good catches were identified during 16% of preincision checklist performances; process issues were most common (32%) followed by issues of medication administration (30%) and safety (22%). Implementation of a systematic checklist program resulted in significant and sustainable improvement in performance. Meaningful use and associated good catches may be more appropriate metric than actual patient harm for measuring checklist effectiveness. Although not previously described, checklist-related good catches represent an unknown benefit of checklists. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Economics of Third-Party Central Heating Plants to Supply the Army

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

Third-Party Gas-Fired Boiler Economics 52 APPENDIX C: Third-Party Gas Turbine Cogeneration Economics ( PURPA ) 58 APPENDIX D: Government Gas Turbine...Turbine Cogeneration Economics (Installation and PURPA Purchase) 76 APPENDIX G: Checklist for Identifying Optimal Third-Party Projects and Bidders 82...of scale 37 4 Relative costs of thermal energy from third-party cogeneration plants (@ 4C/kWh PURPA payment) 38 5 Comparison of life-cycle costs for

Conditions for excellence in teaching in medical education: The Frankfurt Model to ensure quality in teaching and learning.

PubMed

Giesler, Marianne; Karsten, Gudrun; Ochsendorf, Falk; Breckwoldt, Jan

2017-01-01

Background: There is general consensus that the organizational and administrative aspects of academic study programs exert an important influence on teaching and learning. Despite this, no comprehensive framework currently exists to describe the conditions that affect the quality of teaching and learning in medical education. The aim of this paper is to systematically and comprehensively identify these factors to offer academic administrators and decision makers interested in improving teaching a theory-based and, to an extent, empirically founded framework on the basis of which improvements in teaching quality can be identified and implemented. Method: Primarily, the issue was addressed by combining a theory-driven deductive approach with an experience based, "best evidence" one during the course of two workshops held by the GMA Committee on Personnel and Organizational Development in Academic Teaching (POiL) in Munich (2013) and Frankfurt (2014). Two models describing the conditions relevant to teaching and learning (Euler/Hahn and Rindermann) were critically appraised and synthesized into a new third model. Practical examples of teaching strategies that promote or hinder learning were compiled and added to the categories of this model and, to the extent possible, supported with empirical evidence. Based on this, a checklist with recommendations for optimizing general academic conditions was formulated. Results: The Frankfurt Model of conditions to ensure Quality in Teaching and Learning covers six categories: organizational structure/medical school culture, regulatory frameworks, curricular requirements, time constraints, material and personnel resources, and qualification of teaching staff. These categories have been supplemented by the interests, motives and abilities of the actual teachers and students in this particular setting. The categories of this model provide the structure for a checklist in which recommendations for optimizing teaching are given. Conclusions: The checklist derived from the Frankfurt Model for ensuring quality in teaching and learning can be used for quality assurance and to improve the conditions under which teaching and learning take place in medical schools.

A writer's guide to education scholarship: Qualitative education scholarship (part 2).

PubMed

Chan, Teresa M; Ting, Daniel K; Hall, Andrew Koch; Murnaghan, Aleisha; Thoma, Brent; McEwen, Jill; Yarris, Lalena M

2018-03-01

Education scholarship can be conducted using a variety of methods, from quantitative experiments to qualitative studies. Qualitative methods are less commonly used in emergency medicine (EM) education research but are well-suited to explore complex educational problems and generate hypotheses. We aimed to review the literature to provide resources to guide educators who wish to conduct qualitative research in EM education. We conducted a scoping review to outline: 1) a list of journals that regularly publish qualitative educational papers; 2) an aggregate set of quality markers for qualitative educational research and scholarship; and 3) a list of quality checklists for qualitative educational research and scholarship. We found nine journals that have published more than one qualitative educational research paper in EM. From the literature, we identified 39 quality markers that were grouped into 10 themes: Initial Grounding Work (preparation, background); Goals, Problem Statement, or Question; Methods (general considerations); Sampling Techniques; Data Collection Techniques; Data Interpretation and Theory Generation; Measures to Optimize Rigour and Trustworthiness; Relevance to the Field; Evidence of Reflective Practice; Dissemination and Reporting. Lastly, five quality checklists were found for guiding educators in reporting their qualitative work. Many problems that EM educators face are well-suited to exploration using qualitative methods. The results of our scoping review provide publication venues, quality indicators, and checklists that may be useful to EM educators embarking on qualitative projects.

Performance comparison of optical interference cancellation system architectures.

PubMed

Lu, Maddie; Chang, Matt; Deng, Yanhua; Prucnal, Paul R

2013-04-10

The performance of three optics-based interference cancellation systems are compared and contrasted with each other, and with traditional electronic techniques for interference cancellation. The comparison is based on a set of common performance metrics that we have developed for this purpose. It is shown that thorough evaluation of our optical approaches takes into account the traditional notions of depth of cancellation and dynamic range, along with notions of link loss and uniformity of cancellation. Our evaluation shows that our use of optical components affords performance that surpasses traditional electronic approaches, and that the optimal choice for an optical interference canceller requires taking into account the performance metrics discussed in this paper.

Against the integrative turn in bioethics: burdens of understanding.

PubMed

Savić, Lovro; Ivanković, Viktor

2018-06-01

The advocates of Integrative Bioethics have insisted that this recently emerging project aspires to become a new stage of bioethical development, surpassing both biomedically oriented bioethics and global bioethics. We claim in this paper that if the project wants to successfully replace the two existing paradigms, it at least needs to properly address and surmount the lack of common moral vocabulary problem. This problem points to a semantic incommensurability due to cross-language communication in moral terms. This paper proceeds as follows. In the first part, we provide an overview of Integrative Bioethics and its conceptual building blocks: mutlidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity. In the second part, we disclose the problem of semantic incommensurability. The third part gives an overview of various positions on the understanding of interdisciplinarity and integration in interdisciplinary communication, and corresponding attempts at solving the lack of common moral vocabulary problem. Here we lean mostly on Holbrook's three theses regarding the character of interdisciplinary communication. Finally, in the fourth part, we discuss a particular bioethical case-that of euthanasia-to demonstrate the challenge semantic incommensurability poses to dialogues in Integrative Bioethics. We conclude that Integrative Bioethics does not offer a methodological toolset that would warrant optimism in its advocates' predictions of surpassing current modes of doing bioethics. Since Integrative Bioethics leaves controversial methodological questions unresolved on almost all counts and shows no attempts at overcoming the critical stumbling points, we argue for its rejection.

Performance characteristics of the PTSD Checklist in retired firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center disaster.

PubMed

Chiu, Sydney; Webber, Mayris P; Zeig-Owens, Rachel; Gustave, Jackson; Lee, Roy; Kelly, Kerry J; Rizzotto, Linda; McWilliams, Rita; Schorr, John K; North, Carol S; Prezant, David J

2011-05-01

Since the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks on September 11, 2001, the Fire Department, City of New York Monitoring Program has provided physical and mental health screening services to rescue/recovery workers. This study evaluated performance of the self-report PTSD Checklist (PCL) as a screening tool for risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in firefighters who worked at Ground Zero, compared with the interviewer-administered Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). From December 2005 to July 2007, all retired firefighter enrollees completed the PCL and DIS on the same day. Sensitivity, specificity, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and Youden index (J) were used to assess properties of the PCL and to identify an optimum cutoff score. Six percent of 1,915 retired male firefighters were diagnosed with PTSD using the DIS to assess DSM-IV criteria. Depending on the PCL cutoff, the prevalence of elevated risk relative to DSM-IV criteria varied from 16% to 22%. Youden index identified an optimal cutoff score of 39, in contrast with the frequently recommended cutoff of 44. At 39, PCL sensitivity was 0.85, specificity was 0.82, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.91 relative to DIS PTSD diagnosis. This is the first study to validate the PCL in retired firefighters and determine the optimal cutoff score to maximize opportunities for PTSD diagnosis and treatment.

Implementing a pediatric surgical safety checklist in the OR and beyond.

PubMed

Norton, Elizabeth K; Rangel, Shawn J

2010-07-01

An international study about implementation of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist showed that use of the checklist reduced complication and death rates in adult surgical patients. Clinicians at Children's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts, modified the Surgical Safety Checklist for pediatric populations. We pilot tested the Pediatric Surgical Safety Checklist and created a large checklist poster for each OR to allow the entire surgical team to view the checklist simultaneously and to promote shared responsibility for conducting the time out. Results of the pilot test showed improvements in teamwork, communication, and adherence to process measures. Parallel efforts were made in other areas of the hospital where invasive procedures are performed. Compliance with the checklist at our facility has been good, and team members have expressed satisfaction with the flow and content of the checklist. Copyright (c) 2010 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A survey to identify barriers of implementing an antibiotic checklist.

PubMed

van Daalen, F V; Geerlings, S E; Prins, J M; Hulscher, M E J L

2016-04-01

A checklist is an effective implementation tool, but addressing barriers that might impact on the effectiveness of its use is crucial. In this paper, we explore barriers to the uptake of an antibiotic checklist that aims to improve antibiotic use in daily hospital care. We performed an online questionnaire survey among medical specialists and residents with various professional backgrounds from nine Dutch hospitals. The questionnaire consisted of 23 statements on anticipated barriers hindering the uptake of the checklist. Furthermore, it gave the possibility to add comments. We included 219 completed questionnaires (122 medical specialists and 97 residents) in our descriptive analysis. The top six anticipated barriers included: (1) lack of expectation of improvement of antibiotic use, (2) lack of expected patients' satisfaction by checklist use, (3) lack of feasibility of the checklist, (4) negative previous experiences with other checklists, (5) the complexity of the antibiotic checklist and (6) lack of nurses' expectation of checklist use. Remarkably, 553 comments were made, mostly (436) about the content of the checklist. These insights can be used to improve the specific content of the checklist and to develop an implementation strategy that addresses the identified barriers.

Comparing the accuracy of performing digital and paper checklists using a feedback package during normal workload conditions in simulated flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rantz, William Gene

This study examined whether pilots completed airplane digital or paper checklists more accurately when they received post-flight graphic and verbal feedback. Participants were 6 college student pilots with instrument rating. The task consisted of flying flight patterns using a Frasca 241 Flight Training Device which emulates a Cirrus SR20 aircraft. The main dependent variable was the number of checklist items completed correctly per flight. An alternating treatment, multiple baseline design across pairs with reversal, was used. During baseline, the average percent of correctly completed items per flight varied considerably across participants, ranging from 13% to 57% for traditional paper checklists and ranging from 11% to 67% for digital checklists. Checklist performance increased to an average of 90% for paper checklist and an average of 89% for digital checklists after participants were given feedback and praise, and continued to improve to an average of nearly 100% for paper checklists and an average of 99% for digital checklists after the feedback and praise were removed. A slight decrement in performance was observed during a post-experiment probe between 60--90 days. Visual inspection and statistical analysis of the data suggest that paper checklist accuracy does not differ significantly from digital checklist accuracy. The results suggest that graphic feedback and praise can be used to increase the extent to which pilots use both digital and paper checklists accurately during normal workload conditions.

New contraceptive eligibility checklists for provision of combined oral contraceptives and depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate in community-based programmes.

PubMed Central

Stang, A.; Schwingl, P.; Rivera, R.

2000-01-01

Community-based services (CBS) have long used checklists to determine eligibility for contraceptive method use, in particular for combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and the 3-month injectable contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA). As safety information changes, however, checklists can quickly become outdated. Inconsistent checklists and eligibility criteria often cause uneven access to contraceptives. In 1996, WHO produced updated eligibility criteria for the use of all contraceptive methods. Based on these criteria, new checklists for COCs and DMPA were developed. This article describes the new checklists and their development. Several rounds of expert review produced checklists that were correct, comprehensible and consistent with the eligibility requirements. Nevertheless, field-testing of the checklists revealed that approximately half (48%) of the respondents felt that one or more questions still needed greater comprehensibility. These findings indicated the need for a checklist guide. In March 2000, WHO convened a meeting of experts to review the medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use. The article reflects also the resulting updated checklist. PMID:10994285

Human factors of flight-deck checklists: The normal checklist

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degani, Asaf; Wiener, Earl L.

1991-01-01

Although the aircraft checklist has long been regarded as the foundation of pilot standardization and cockpit safety, it has escaped the scrutiny of the human factors profession. The improper use, or the non-use, of the normal checklist by flight crews is often cited as the probable cause or at least a contributing factor to aircraft accidents. An attempt is made to analyze the normal checklist, its functions, format, design, length, usage, and the limitations of the humans who must interact with it. The development of the checklist from the certification of a new model to its delivery and use by the customer are discussed. The influence of the government, particularly the FAA Principle Operations Inspector, the manufacturer's philosophy, the airline's culture, and the end user, the pilot, influence the ultimate design and usage of this device. The effects of airline mergers and acquisitions on checklist usage and design are noted. In addition, the interaction between production pressures and checklist usage and checklist management are addressed. Finally, a list of design guidelines for normal checklists is provided.

Checklists change communication about key elements of patient care.

PubMed

Newkirk, Michelle; Pamplin, Jeremy C; Kuwamoto, Roderick; Allen, David A; Chung, Kevin K

2012-08-01

Combat casualty care is distributed across professions and echelons of care. Communication within it is fragmented, inconsistent, and prone to failure. Daily checklists used during intensive care unit (ICU) rounds have been shown to improve compliance with evidence-based practices, enhance communication, promote consistency of care, and improve outcomes. Checklists are criticized because it is difficult to establish a causal link between them and their effect on outcomes. We investigated how checklists used during ICU rounds affect communication. We conducted this project in two military ICUs (burn and surgical/trauma). Checklists contained up to 21 questions grouped according to patient population. We recorded which checklist items were discussed during rounds before and after implementation of a "must address" checklist and compared the frequency of discussing items before checklist prompting. Patient discussions addressed more checklist items before prompting at the end of the 2-week evaluation compared with the 2-week preimplementation period (surgical trauma ICU, 36% vs. 77%, p < 0.0001; burn ICU, 47% vs. 72 %, p < 0.001). Most items were addressed more frequently in both ICUs after implementation. Key items such as central line removal, reduction of laboratory testing, medication reconciliation, medication interactions, bowel movements, sedation holidays, breathing trials, and lung protective ventilation showed significant improvements. Checklists modify communication patterns. Improved communication facilitated by checklists may be one mechanism behind their effectiveness. Checklists are powerful tools that can rapidly alter patient care delivery. Implementing checklists could facilitate the rapid dissemination of clinical practice changes, improve communication between echelons of care and between individuals involved in patient care, and reduce missed information.

Design of minimum multiplier fractional order differentiator based on lattice wave digital filter.

PubMed

Barsainya, Richa; Rawat, Tarun Kumar; Kumar, Manjeet

2017-01-01

In this paper, a novel design of fractional order differentiator (FOD) based on lattice wave digital filter (LWDF) is proposed which requires minimum number of multiplier for its structural realization. Firstly, the FOD design problem is formulated as an optimization problem using the transfer function of lattice wave digital filter. Then, three optimization algorithms, namely, genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) are applied to determine the optimal LWDF coefficients. The realization of FOD using LWD structure increases the design accuracy, as only N number of coefficients are to be optimized for Nth order FOD. Finally, two design examples of 3rd and 5th order lattice wave digital fractional order differentiator (LWDFOD) are demonstrated to justify the design accuracy. The performance analysis of the proposed design is carried out based on magnitude response, absolute magnitude error (dB), root mean square (RMS) magnitude error, arithmetic complexity, convergence profile and computation time. Simulation results are attained to show the comparison of the proposed LWDFOD with the published works and it is observed that an improvement of 29% is obtained in the proposed design. The proposed LWDFOD approximates the ideal FOD and surpasses the existing ones reasonably well in mid and high frequency range, thereby making the proposed LWDFOD a promising technique for the design of digital FODs. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Checklists and Monitoring in the Cockpit: Why Crucial Defenses Sometimes Fail

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dismukes, R. Key; Berman, Ben

2010-01-01

Checklists and monitoring are two essential defenses against equipment failures and pilot errors. Problems with checklist use and pilots failures to monitor adequately have a long history in aviation accidents. This study was conducted to explore why checklists and monitoring sometimes fail to catch errors and equipment malfunctions as intended. Flight crew procedures were observed from the cockpit jumpseat during normal airline operations in order to: 1) collect data on monitoring and checklist use in cockpit operations in typical flight conditions; 2) provide a plausible cognitive account of why deviations from formal checklist and monitoring procedures sometimes occur; 3) lay a foundation for identifying ways to reduce vulnerability to inadvertent checklist and monitoring errors; 4) compare checklist and monitoring execution in normal flights with performance issues uncovered in accident investigations; and 5) suggest ways to improve the effectiveness of checklists and monitoring. Cognitive explanations for deviations from prescribed procedures are provided, along with suggestions for countermeasures for vulnerability to error.

The Development and Implementation of Cognitive Aids for Critical Events in Pediatric Anesthesia: The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia Critical Events Checklists.

PubMed

Clebone, Anna; Burian, Barbara K; Watkins, Scott C; Gálvez, Jorge A; Lockman, Justin L; Heitmiller, Eugenie S

2017-03-01

Cognitive aids such as checklists are commonly used in modern operating rooms for routine processes, and the use of such aids may be even more important during critical events. The Quality and Safety Committee of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) has developed a set of critical-event checklists and cognitive aids designed for 3 purposes: (1) as a repository of the latest evidence-based and expert opinion-based information to guide response and management of critical events, (2) as a source of just-in-time information during critical events, and (3) as a method to facilitate a shared understanding of required actions among team members during a critical event. Committee members, who represented children's hospitals from across the nation, used the recent literature and established guidelines (where available) and incorporated the expertise of colleagues at their institutions to develop these checklists, which included relevant factors to consider and steps to take in response to critical events. Human factors principles were incorporated to enhance checklist usability, facilitate error-free accomplishment, and ensure a common approach to checklist layout, formatting, structure, and design.The checklists were made available in multiple formats: a PDF version for easy printing, a mobile application, and at some institutions, a Web-based application using the anesthesia information management system. After the checklists were created, training commenced, and plans for validation were begun. User training is essential for successful implementation and should ideally include explanation of the organization of the checklists; familiarization of users with the layout, structure, and formatting of the checklists; coaching in how to use the checklists in a team environment; reviewing of the items; and simulation of checklist use. Because of the rare and unpredictable nature of critical events, clinical trials that use crisis checklists are difficult to conduct; however, recent and future simulation studies with adult checklists provide a promising avenue for future validation of the SPA checklists. This article will review the developmental steps in producing the SPA crisis checklists, including creation of content, incorporation of human factors elements, and validation in simulation. Critical-events checklists have the potential to improve patient care during emergency events, and it is hoped that incorporating the elements presented in this article will aid in successful implementation of these essential cognitive aids.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Statutory Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The RCRA Statutory Checklist which follows includes the statutory provisions listed on the original State Legislation Checklist, which States completed as part of the Base Program authorization, and the HSWA Statutory Checklist.

Using a Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety to Evaluate a Hospital-wide Daily Chlorhexidine Bathing Intervention.

PubMed

Caya, Teresa; Musuuza, Jackson; Yanke, Eric; Schmitz, Michelle; Anderson, Brooke; Carayon, Pascale; Safdar, Nasia

2015-01-01

We undertook a systems engineering approach to evaluate housewide implementation of daily chlorhexidine bathing. We performed direct observations of the bathing process and conducted provider and patient surveys. The main outcome was compliance with bathing using a checklist. Fifty-seven percent of baths had full compliance with the chlorhexidine bathing protocol. Additional time was the main barrier. Institutions undertaking daily chlorhexidine bathing should perform a rigorous assessment of implementation to optimize the benefits of this intervention.

Just-in-Time Training for High-Risk Low-Volume Therapies: An Approach to Ensure Patient Safety.

PubMed

Helman, Stephanie; Lisanti, Amy Jo; Adams, Ann; Field, Cynthia; Davis, Katherine Finn

2016-01-01

High-risk low-volume therapies are those therapies that are practiced infrequently and yet carry an increased risk to patients because of their complexity. Staff nurses are required to competently manage these therapies to treat patients' unique needs and optimize outcomes; however, maintaining competence is challenging. This article describes implementation of Just-in-Time Training, which requires validation of minimum competency of bedside nurses managing high-risk low-volume therapies through direct observation of a return-demonstration competency checklist.

Development and Optimization of a Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectrometer to Measure Nanoscale Defects in Solids and Borane Cage Molecules in Aqueous Nitrate Solutions

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

will be accomplished by the day prior to the sample transfer operation. i. The radiation hood lab bench tops where radioactive material will be...source container to a sample container in a single syringe transfer. (All other non- radioactive solutions will have been previously added to this... radioactive spill. 4. Procedure Checklist: a. Setup □ Tape down plastic liner and locate absorbent □ Lay out sample container holder, sample

Shifts happened…time to optimize your practice!

PubMed

Washington, Greg

2010-11-01

The 21st century opened with economic shifts the likes of which were not experienced for over half a century. The effects of these shifts require facial surgery specialists to conduct an objective audit of their business to not only survive but thrive in the new economic environment. This article discusses specific steps and provides checklists for practitioners in cosmetic surgery related to strategy, auditing, budgeting, marketing, and innovating to grow a successful practice. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of clinically discriminating, evidence-based checklist items on the reliability of scores from an Internal Medicine residency OSCE.

PubMed

Daniels, Vijay J; Bordage, Georges; Gierl, Mark J; Yudkowsky, Rachel

2014-10-01

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used worldwide for summative examinations but often lack acceptable reliability. Research has shown that reliability of scores increases if OSCE checklists for medical students include only clinically relevant items. Also, checklists are often missing evidence-based items that high-achieving learners are more likely to use. The purpose of this study was to determine if limiting checklist items to clinically discriminating items and/or adding missing evidence-based items improved score reliability in an Internal Medicine residency OSCE. Six internists reviewed the traditional checklists of four OSCE stations classifying items as clinically discriminating or non-discriminating. Two independent reviewers augmented checklists with missing evidence-based items. We used generalizability theory to calculate overall reliability of faculty observer checklist scores from 45 first and second-year residents and predict how many 10-item stations would be required to reach a Phi coefficient of 0.8. Removing clinically non-discriminating items from the traditional checklist did not affect the number of stations (15) required to reach a Phi of 0.8 with 10 items. Focusing the checklist on only evidence-based clinically discriminating items increased test score reliability, needing 11 stations instead of 15 to reach 0.8; adding missing evidence-based clinically discriminating items to the traditional checklist modestly improved reliability (needing 14 instead of 15 stations). Checklists composed of evidence-based clinically discriminating items improved the reliability of checklist scores and reduced the number of stations needed for acceptable reliability. Educators should give preference to evidence-based items over non-evidence-based items when developing OSCE checklists.

Five years' experience with a customized electronic checklist for radiation therapy planning quality assurance in a multicampus institution.

PubMed

Berry, Sean L; Tierney, Kevin P; Elguindi, Sharif; Mechalakos, James G

2017-12-24

An electronic checklist has been designed with the intention of reducing errors while minimizing user effort in completing the checklist. We analyze the clinical use and evolution of the checklist over the past 5 years and review data in an incident learning system (ILS) to investigate whether it has contributed to an improvement in patient safety. The checklist is written as a standalone HTML application using VBScript. User selection of pertinent demographic details limits the display of checklist items only to those necessary for the particular clinical scenario. Ten common clinical scenarios were used to illustrate the difference between the maximum possible number of checklist items available in the code versus the number displayed to the user at any one time. An ILS database of errors and near misses was reviewed to evaluate whether the checklist influenced the occurrence of reported events. Over 5 years, the number of checklist items available in the code nearly doubled, whereas the number displayed to the user at any one time stayed constant. Events reported in our ILS related to the beam energy used with pacemakers, projection of anatomy on digitally reconstructed radiographs, orthogonality of setup fields, and field extension beyond match lines, did not recur after the items were added to the checklist. Other events related to bolus documentation and breakpoints continued to be reported. Our checklist is adaptable to the introduction of new technologies, transitions between planning systems, and to errors and near misses recorded in the ILS. The electronic format allows us to restrict user display to a small, relevant, subset of possible checklist items, limiting the planner effort needed to review and complete the checklist. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Optimizing suicide and trespass prevention on railways: a problem-solving model from the RESTRAIL project.

PubMed

Havârneanu, Grigore M; Burkhardt, Jean-Marie; Silla, Anne

2017-12-01

Suicides and trespassing accidents result in more than 3800 fatalities in Europe, representing 88% of all fatalities occurring within the EU railway system. This paper presents a problem-solving model, which consists of a multistep approach structuring the analysis of a suicide or trespass-related problem on the railways. First, we present the method used to design, evaluate and improve the problem-solving model. Then we describe the model in detail: it comprises six steps with several subsequent actions, and each action is approached through a checklist of prompting questions and possible answers. At the end, we discuss the added value of this model for decision makers and its usability in the selection of optimal prevention measures.

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

Krueger, Jens; Micikevicius, Paulius; Williams, Samuel

Reverse Time Migration (RTM) is one of the main approaches in the seismic processing industry for imaging the subsurface structure of the Earth. While RTM provides qualitative advantages over its predecessors, it has a high computational cost warranting implementation on HPC architectures. We focus on three progressively more complex kernels extracted from RTM: for isotropic (ISO), vertical transverse isotropic (VTI) and tilted transverse isotropic (TTI) media. In this work, we examine performance optimization of forward wave modeling, which describes the computational kernels used in RTM, on emerging multi- and manycore processors and introduce a novel common subexpression elimination optimization formore » TTI kernels. We compare attained performance and energy efficiency in both the single-node and distributed memory environments in order to satisfy industry’s demands for fidelity, performance, and energy efficiency. Moreover, we discuss the interplay between architecture (chip and system) and optimizations (both on-node computation) highlighting the importance of NUMA-aware approaches to MPI communication. Ultimately, our results show we can improve CPU energy efficiency by more than 10× on Magny Cours nodes while acceleration via multiple GPUs can surpass the energy-efficient Intel Sandy Bridge by as much as 3.6×.« less

Evaluation of a countrywide implementation of the world health organisation surgical safety checklist in Madagascar

PubMed Central

White, Michelle C.; Baxter, Linden S.; Close, Kristin L.; Ravelojaona, Vaonandianina A.; Rakotoarison, Hasiniaina N.; Bruno, Emily; Herbert, Alison; Andean, Vanessa; Callahan, James; Andriamanjato, Hery H.; Shrime, Mark G.

2018-01-01

Background The 2009 World Health Organisation (WHO) surgical safety checklist significantly reduces surgical mortality and morbidity (up to 47%). Yet in 2016, only 25% of East African anesthetists regularly use the checklist. Nationwide implementation of the checklist is reported in high-income countries, but in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) reports of successful implementations are sparse, limited to single institutions and require intensive support. Since checklist use leads to the biggest improvements in outcomes in LMICs, methods of wide-scale implementation are needed. We hypothesized that, using a three-day course, successful wide-scale implementation of the checklist could be achieved, as measured by at least 50% compliance with six basic safety processes at three to four months. We also aimed to determine predictors for checklist utilization. Materials and methods Using a blended educational implementation strategy based on prior pilot studies we designed a three-day dynamic educational course to facilitate widespread implementation of the WHO checklist. The course utilized lectures, film, small group breakouts, participant feedback and simulation to teach the knowledge, skills and behavior changes needed to implement the checklist. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and local hospital leadership, the course was delivered to 427 multi-disciplinary staff at 21 hospitals located in 19 of 22 regions of Madagascar between September 2015 and March 2016. We evaluated implementation at three to four months using questionnaires (with a 5-point Likert scale) and focus groups. Multivariate linear regression was used to test predictors of checklist utilization. Results At three to four months, 65% of respondents reported always using the checklist, with another 13% using it in part. Participant’s years in practice, hospital size, or surgical volume did not predict checklist use. Checklist use was associated with counting instruments (p< 0.05), but not with verifying: patient identity, difficult intubation risk, risk of blood loss, prophylactic antibiotic administration, or counting needles and sponges. Conclusion Use of a multi-disciplinary three-day course for checklist implementation resulted in 78% of participants using the checklist, at three months; and an increase in counting surgical instruments. Successful checklist implementation was not predicted by participant length of medical service, hospital size or surgical volume. If reproducible in other countries, widespread implementation in LMICs becomes a realistic possibility. PMID:29401465

Evaluation of a countrywide implementation of the world health organisation surgical safety checklist in Madagascar.

PubMed

White, Michelle C; Baxter, Linden S; Close, Kristin L; Ravelojaona, Vaonandianina A; Rakotoarison, Hasiniaina N; Bruno, Emily; Herbert, Alison; Andean, Vanessa; Callahan, James; Andriamanjato, Hery H; Shrime, Mark G

2018-01-01

The 2009 World Health Organisation (WHO) surgical safety checklist significantly reduces surgical mortality and morbidity (up to 47%). Yet in 2016, only 25% of East African anesthetists regularly use the checklist. Nationwide implementation of the checklist is reported in high-income countries, but in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) reports of successful implementations are sparse, limited to single institutions and require intensive support. Since checklist use leads to the biggest improvements in outcomes in LMICs, methods of wide-scale implementation are needed. We hypothesized that, using a three-day course, successful wide-scale implementation of the checklist could be achieved, as measured by at least 50% compliance with six basic safety processes at three to four months. We also aimed to determine predictors for checklist utilization. Using a blended educational implementation strategy based on prior pilot studies we designed a three-day dynamic educational course to facilitate widespread implementation of the WHO checklist. The course utilized lectures, film, small group breakouts, participant feedback and simulation to teach the knowledge, skills and behavior changes needed to implement the checklist. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and local hospital leadership, the course was delivered to 427 multi-disciplinary staff at 21 hospitals located in 19 of 22 regions of Madagascar between September 2015 and March 2016. We evaluated implementation at three to four months using questionnaires (with a 5-point Likert scale) and focus groups. Multivariate linear regression was used to test predictors of checklist utilization. At three to four months, 65% of respondents reported always using the checklist, with another 13% using it in part. Participant's years in practice, hospital size, or surgical volume did not predict checklist use. Checklist use was associated with counting instruments (p< 0.05), but not with verifying: patient identity, difficult intubation risk, risk of blood loss, prophylactic antibiotic administration, or counting needles and sponges. Use of a multi-disciplinary three-day course for checklist implementation resulted in 78% of participants using the checklist, at three months; and an increase in counting surgical instruments. Successful checklist implementation was not predicted by participant length of medical service, hospital size or surgical volume. If reproducible in other countries, widespread implementation in LMICs becomes a realistic possibility.

The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: explanation and elaboration

PubMed Central

Liberati, Alessandro; Altman, Douglas G; Tetzlaff, Jennifer; Mulrow, Cynthia; Gøtzsche, Peter C; Ioannidis, John P A; Clarke, Mike; Devereaux, P J; Kleijnen, Jos; Moher, David

2009-01-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are essential to summarise evidence relating to efficacy and safety of healthcare interventions accurately and reliably. The clarity and transparency of these reports, however, are not optimal. Poor reporting of systematic reviews diminishes their value to clinicians, policy makers, and other users. Since the development of the QUOROM (quality of reporting of meta-analysis) statement—a reporting guideline published in 1999—there have been several conceptual, methodological, and practical advances regarding the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Also, reviews of published systematic reviews have found that key information about these studies is often poorly reported. Realising these issues, an international group that included experienced authors and methodologists developed PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) as an evolution of the original QUOROM guideline for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of evaluations of health care interventions. The PRISMA statement consists of a 27-item checklist and a four-phase flow diagram. The checklist includes items deemed essential for transparent reporting of a systematic review. In this explanation and elaboration document, we explain the meaning and rationale for each checklist item. For each item, we include an example of good reporting and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies and methodological literature. The PRISMA statement, this document, and the associated website (www.prisma-statement.org/) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PMID:19622552

Path integral learning of multidimensional movement trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

André, João; Santos, Cristina; Costa, Lino

2013-10-01

This paper explores the use of Path Integral Methods, particularly several variants of the recent Path Integral Policy Improvement (PI2) algorithm in multidimensional movement parametrized policy learning. We rely on Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs) to codify discrete and rhythmic trajectories, and apply the PI2-CMA and PIBB methods in the learning of optimal policy parameters, according to different cost functions that inherently encode movement objectives. Additionally we merge both of these variants and propose the PIBB-CMA algorithm, comparing all of them with the vanilla version of PI2. From the obtained results we conclude that PIBB-CMA surpasses all other methods in terms of convergence speed and iterative final cost, which leads to an increased interest in its application to more complex robotic problems.

Physical Biology of the Materials-Microorganism Interface.

PubMed

Sakimoto, Kelsey K; Kornienko, Nikolay; Cestellos-Blanco, Stefano; Lim, Jongwoo; Liu, Chong; Yang, Peidong

2018-02-14

Future solar-to-chemical production will rely upon a deep understanding of the material-microorganism interface. Hybrid technologies, which combine inorganic semiconductor light harvesters with biological catalysis to transform light, air, and water into chemicals, already demonstrate a wide product scope and energy efficiencies surpassing that of natural photosynthesis. But optimization to economic competitiveness and fundamental curiosity beg for answers to two basic questions: (1) how do materials transfer energy and charge to microorganisms, and (2) how do we design for bio- and chemocompatibility between these seemingly unnatural partners? This Perspective highlights the state-of-the-art and outlines future research paths to inform the cadre of spectroscopists, electrochemists, bioinorganic chemists, material scientists, and biologists who will ultimately solve these mysteries.

Special Consolidated Checklists for Land Disposal Restrictions (unchanged since 1992)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist consolidates LDR rules from the first rule promulgated on November 7, 1986 through June 30, 1992, including the Third Third Scheduled wastes (i.e., from Revision Checklist 34 through Revision Checklist 106, 57 FR 28628, June 26, 1992).

Reductions in invasive device use and care costs after institution of a daily safety checklist in a pediatric critical care unit.

PubMed

Tarrago, Rod; Nowak, Jeffrey E; Leonard, Christopher S; Payne, Nathaniel R

2014-06-01

In the critical care unit, complexity of care can contribute to both medical errors and increased costs, particularly when clinicians are forced to rely on memory. Checklists can be used to improve safety and reduce cost. A number of omission-related adverse events in 2010 prompted the development of a checklist to reduce the possibility of similar future events. The PICU Safety Checklist was implemented in the pediatric ICU (PICU) at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. During a 21-month period, the checklist was used to prompt the care team to address quality and safety items during rounds. The initial checklist was paper, with two subsequent versions being incorporated into the electronic medical record (EMR). The daily safety checklist was successfully implemented in the PICU. Work-flow improvements based on regular multidisciplinary feedback led to more consistent use of the checklist. Improvements on all quality and safety metrics were identified, including invasive device use, medication costs, antibiotic and laboratory test use, and compliance with standards of care. Staff satisfaction rates were > 80% for safety, communication, and collaboration. By using a daily safety checklist in the pediatric critical care unit, we improved quality and safety, as well as the collaborative culture among all clinicians. Incorporating the checklist into the EMR improved compliance and accountability, ensuring its application to all patients. Clinicians now often individually address many checklist items outside the formal rounding process, indicating that the checklist content has become part of their usual practice. A successful implementation showing tangible clinical improvements can lead to interest and adoption in other clinical areas within the institution.

A meta-model for computer executable dynamic clinical safety checklists.

PubMed

Nan, Shan; Van Gorp, Pieter; Lu, Xudong; Kaymak, Uzay; Korsten, Hendrikus; Vdovjak, Richard; Duan, Huilong

2017-12-12

Safety checklist is a type of cognitive tool enforcing short term memory of medical workers with the purpose of reducing medical errors caused by overlook and ignorance. To facilitate the daily use of safety checklists, computerized systems embedded in the clinical workflow and adapted to patient-context are increasingly developed. However, the current hard-coded approach of implementing checklists in these systems increase the cognitive efforts of clinical experts and coding efforts for informaticists. This is due to the lack of a formal representation format that is both understandable by clinical experts and executable by computer programs. We developed a dynamic checklist meta-model with a three-step approach. Dynamic checklist modeling requirements were extracted by performing a domain analysis. Then, existing modeling approaches and tools were investigated with the purpose of reusing these languages. Finally, the meta-model was developed by eliciting domain concepts and their hierarchies. The feasibility of using the meta-model was validated by two case studies. The meta-model was mapped to specific modeling languages according to the requirements of hospitals. Using the proposed meta-model, a comprehensive coronary artery bypass graft peri-operative checklist set and a percutaneous coronary intervention peri-operative checklist set have been developed in a Dutch hospital and a Chinese hospital, respectively. The result shows that it is feasible to use the meta-model to facilitate the modeling and execution of dynamic checklists. We proposed a novel meta-model for the dynamic checklist with the purpose of facilitating creating dynamic checklists. The meta-model is a framework of reusing existing modeling languages and tools to model dynamic checklists. The feasibility of using the meta-model is validated by implementing a use case in the system.

Process Improvement in Thoracic Donor Organ Procurement: Implementation of a Donor Assessment Checklist.

PubMed

Loor, Gabriel; Shumway, Sara J; McCurry, Kenneth R; Keshavamurthy, Suresh; Hussain, Syed; Weide, Garry D; Spratt, John R; Al Salihi, Mazin; Koch, Colleen G

2016-12-01

Donor organs are often procured by junior staff in stressful, unfamiliar environments where a single adverse event can be catastrophic. A formalized checklist focused on preprocedural processes related to thoracic donor organ procurement could improve detection and prevention of near miss events. A checklist was developed centered on patient identifiers, organ compatibility and quality, and team readiness. It went through five cycles of feedback and revision using a panel of expert procurement surgeons. Educational in-service sessions were held on the use of the checklist as well as best organ assessment practices. Near miss events before the survey were tallied by retrospective review of 20 procurements, and near misses after checklist implementation were prospectively recorded. We implemented the checklist for 40 donor lung and heart procurements: 20 from Cleveland Clinic and 20 from the University of Minnesota. A final survey assessment was used to determine ease of use. Nine near miss events were reported in 20 procurements before use of the checklist. Thirty-one near miss events of 40 organ procurements were identified and potentially prevented by the checklist. Eighty-seven percent of fellows found the checklist to be unobtrusive to work flow, and 100% believed its use should be mandatory. Mortality was the same before and after implementation of the checklist despite increased patient volumes. Implementation of a simple checklist for use during thoracic organ procurement uncovered a substantial number of near miss events. A preprocedural checklist for all thoracic organ transplants in the United States and abroad is feasible and would likely reduce adverse events. Copyright © 2016 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Axiomatic Design of a Framework for the Comprehensive Optimization of Patient Flows in Hospitals

PubMed Central

Matt, Dominik T.

2017-01-01

Lean Management and Six Sigma are nowadays applied not only to the manufacturing industry but also to service industry and public administration. The manifold variables affecting the Health Care system minimize the effect of a narrow Lean intervention. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss a comprehensive, system-based approach to achieve a factual holistic optimization of patient flows. This paper debates the efficacy of Lean principles applied to the optimization of patient flows and related activities, structures, and resources, developing a theoretical framework based on the principles of the Axiomatic Design. The demand for patient-oriented and efficient health services leads to use these methodologies to improve hospital processes. In the framework, patients with similar characteristics are clustered in families to achieve homogeneous flows through the value stream. An optimization checklist is outlined as the result of the mapping between Functional Requirements and Design Parameters, with the right sequence of the steps to optimize the patient flow according to the principles of Axiomatic Design. The Axiomatic Design-based top-down implementation of Health Care evidence, according to Lean principles, results in a holistic optimization of hospital patient flows, by reducing the complexity of the system. PMID:29065578

Axiomatic Design of a Framework for the Comprehensive Optimization of Patient Flows in Hospitals.

PubMed

Arcidiacono, Gabriele; Matt, Dominik T; Rauch, Erwin

2017-01-01

Lean Management and Six Sigma are nowadays applied not only to the manufacturing industry but also to service industry and public administration. The manifold variables affecting the Health Care system minimize the effect of a narrow Lean intervention. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss a comprehensive, system-based approach to achieve a factual holistic optimization of patient flows. This paper debates the efficacy of Lean principles applied to the optimization of patient flows and related activities, structures, and resources, developing a theoretical framework based on the principles of the Axiomatic Design. The demand for patient-oriented and efficient health services leads to use these methodologies to improve hospital processes. In the framework, patients with similar characteristics are clustered in families to achieve homogeneous flows through the value stream. An optimization checklist is outlined as the result of the mapping between Functional Requirements and Design Parameters, with the right sequence of the steps to optimize the patient flow according to the principles of Axiomatic Design. The Axiomatic Design-based top-down implementation of Health Care evidence, according to Lean principles, results in a holistic optimization of hospital patient flows, by reducing the complexity of the system.

Axiomatic Design of a Framework for the Comprehensive Optimization of Patient Flows in Hospitals

PubMed

Arcidiacono, Gabriele; Matt, Dominik T.; Rauch, Erwin

2017-01-01

Lean Management and Six Sigma are nowadays applied not only to the manufacturing industry but also to service industry and public administration. The manifold variables affecting the Health Care system minimize the effect of a narrow Lean intervention. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss a comprehensive, system-based approach to achieve a factual holistic optimization of patient flows. This paper debates the efficacy of Lean principles applied to the optimization of patient flows and related activities, structures, and resources, developing a theoretical framework based on the principles of the Axiomatic Design. The demand for patient-oriented and efficient health services leads to use these methodologies to improve hospital processes. In the framework, patients with similar characteristics are clustered in families to achieve homogeneous flows through the value stream. An optimization checklist is outlined as the result of the mapping between Functional Requirements and Design Parameters, with the right sequence of the steps to optimize the patient flow according to the principles of Axiomatic Design. The Axiomatic Design-based top-down implementation of Health Care evidence, according to Lean principles, results in a holistic optimization of hospital patient flows, by reducing the complexity of the system. © 2017 Gabriele Arcidiacono et al.

The Value of a Checklist for Child Abuse in Out-of-Hours Primary Care: To Screen or Not to Screen.

PubMed

Schouten, Maartje Cm; van Stel, Henk F; Verheij, Theo Jm; Houben, Michiel L; Russel, Ingrid Mb; Nieuwenhuis, Edward Es; van de Putte, Elise M

2017-01-01

To assess the diagnostic value of the screening instrument SPUTOVAMO-R2 (checklist, 5 questions) for child abuse at Out-of-hours Primary Care locations (OPC), by comparing the test outcome with information from Child Protection Services (CPS). Secondary, to determine whether reducing the length of the checklist compromises diagnostic value. All children (<18 years) attending one of the participating OPCs in the region of Utrecht, the Netherlands, in a year time, were included. The checklist is an obligatory field in the electronic patient file. CPS provided data on all checklist positives and a sample of 5500 checklist negatives (dataset). The checklist outcome was compared with a report to CPS in 10 months follow up after the OPC visit. The checklist was filled in for 50671 children; 108 (0.2%) checklists were positive. Within the dataset, 61 children were reported to CPS, with emotional neglect as the most frequent type of abuse (32.8%). The positive predictive value (PPV) of the checklist for child abuse was 8.3 (95% CI 3.9-15.2). The negative predictive value (NPV) was 99.1 (98.8-99.3), with 52 false negatives. When the length of the checklist was reduced to two questions closely related to the medical process (SPUTOVAMO-R3), the PPV was 9.1 (3.7-17.8) and the NPV 99.1 (98.7-99.3). These two questions are on the injury in relation to the history, and the interaction between child and parents. The checklist SPUTOVAMO-R2 has a low detection rate of child abuse within the OPC setting, and a high false positive rate. Therefore, we recommend to use the shortened checklist only as a tool to increase the awareness of child abuse and not as a diagnostic instrument.

The Value of a Checklist for Child Abuse in Out-of-Hours Primary Care: To Screen or Not to Screen

PubMed Central

van Stel, Henk F.; Verheij, Theo JM; Houben, Michiel L.; Russel, Ingrid MB; Nieuwenhuis, Edward ES; van de Putte, Elise M.

2017-01-01

Objectives To assess the diagnostic value of the screening instrument SPUTOVAMO-R2 (checklist, 5 questions) for child abuse at Out-of-hours Primary Care locations (OPC), by comparing the test outcome with information from Child Protection Services (CPS). Secondary, to determine whether reducing the length of the checklist compromises diagnostic value. Methods All children (<18 years) attending one of the participating OPCs in the region of Utrecht, the Netherlands, in a year time, were included. The checklist is an obligatory field in the electronic patient file. CPS provided data on all checklist positives and a sample of 5500 checklist negatives (dataset). The checklist outcome was compared with a report to CPS in 10 months follow up after the OPC visit. Results The checklist was filled in for 50671 children; 108 (0.2%) checklists were positive. Within the dataset, 61 children were reported to CPS, with emotional neglect as the most frequent type of abuse (32.8%). The positive predictive value (PPV) of the checklist for child abuse was 8.3 (95% CI 3.9–15.2). The negative predictive value (NPV) was 99.1 (98.8–99.3), with 52 false negatives. When the length of the checklist was reduced to two questions closely related to the medical process (SPUTOVAMO-R3), the PPV was 9.1 (3.7–17.8) and the NPV 99.1 (98.7–99.3). These two questions are on the injury in relation to the history, and the interaction between child and parents. Conclusions The checklist SPUTOVAMO-R2 has a low detection rate of child abuse within the OPC setting, and a high false positive rate. Therefore, we recommend to use the shortened checklist only as a tool to increase the awareness of child abuse and not as a diagnostic instrument. PMID:28045904

The effect of a performance-based intra-procedural checklist on a simulated emergency laparoscopic task in novice surgeons.

PubMed

El Boghdady, Michael; Tang, Benjie; Alijani, Afshin

2017-05-01

Surgical checklists are in use as means to reduce errors. Checklists are infrequently applied during emergency situations in surgery. We aimed to study the effect of a simple self-administered performance-based checklist on the laparoscopic task when applied during an emergency-simulated scenario. The aviation checklist for unexpected situations is commonly used for simulated training of pilots to handle emergency during flights. This checklist was adopted for use as a standardised-performance-based checklist during emergency surgical tasks. Thirty consented laparoscopic novices were exposed unexpectedly to a bleeding vessel in a laparoscopic virtual reality simulator as an emergency scenario. The task consisted of using laparoscopic clips to achieve haemostasis. Subjects were randomly allocated into two equal groups; those using the checklist that was applied once every 20 s (checklist group) and those without (control group). The checklist group performed significantly better in 5 out of 7 technical factors when compared to the control group: right instrument path length (m), median (IQR) 1.44 [1.22] versus 2.06 [1.70] (p = 0.029), right instrument angular path (degree) 312.10 (269.44 versus 541.80 [455.16] (p = 0.014), left instrument path length (m) 1.20 [0.60] versus 2.08 [2.02] (p = 0.004), and left instrument angular path (degree) 277.62 [132.11] versus 385.88 [428.42] (p = 0.017). The checklist group committed significantly fewer number of errors in the application of haemostatic clips, 3 versus 28 (p = 0.006). Although statistically not significant, total blood loss (lit) decreased in the checklist group from 0.83 [1.23] to 0.78 [0.28] (p = 0.724) and total time (sec) from 186.51 [145.69] to 125.14 [101.46] (p = 0.165). The performance-based intra-procedural checklist significantly enhanced the surgical task performance of novices in an emergency-simulated scenario.

Incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Australasian intensive care units: use of a consensus-developed clinical surveillance checklist in a multisite prospective audit

PubMed Central

Elliott, Doug; Elliott, Rosalind; Burrell, Anthony; Harrigan, Peter; Murgo, Margherita; Rolls, Kaye; Sibbritt, David

2015-01-01

Objectives With disagreements on diagnostic criteria for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) hampering efforts to monitor incidence and implement preventative strategies, the study objectives were to develop a checklist for clinical surveillance of VAP, and conduct an audit in Australian/New Zealand intensive care units (ICUs) using the checklist. Setting Online survey software was used for checklist development. The prospective audit using the checklist was conducted in 10 ICUs in Australia and New Zealand. Participants Checklist development was conducted with members of a bi-national professional society for critical care physicians using a modified Delphi technique and survey. A 30-day audit of adult patients mechanically ventilated for >72 h. Primary and secondary outcome measures Presence of items on the screening checklist; physician diagnosis of VAP, clinical characteristics, investigations, treatments and patient outcome. Results A VAP checklist was developed with five items: decreasing gas exchange, sputum changes, chest X-ray infiltrates, inflammatory response, microbial growth. Of the 169 participants, 17% (n=29) demonstrated characteristics of VAP using the checklist. A similar proportion had an independent physician diagnosis (n=30), but in a different patient subset (only 17% of cases were identified by both methods). The VAP rate per 1000 mechanical ventilator days for the checklist and clinician diagnosis was 25.9 and 26.7, respectively. The item ‘inflammatory response’ was most associated with the first episode of physician-diagnosed VAP. Conclusions VAP rates using the checklist and physician diagnosis were similar to ranges reported internationally and in Australia. Of note, different patients were identified with VAP by the checklist and physicians. While the checklist items may assist in identifying patients at risk of developing VAP, and demonstrates synergy with the recently developed Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, decision-making processes by physicians when diagnosing VAP requires further exploration. PMID:26515685

A Checklist Intervention to Assess Resident Diagnostic Knee and Shoulder Arthroscopic Efficiency.

PubMed

Nwachukwu, Benedict; Gaudiani, Michael; Hammann-Scala, Jennifer; Ranawat, Anil

The purpose of this investigation was to apply an arthroscopic shoulder and knee checklist in the evaluation of orthopedic resident arthroscopic skill efficiency and to demonstrate the use of a surgical checklist for assessing resident surgical efficiency over the course of a surgical rotation. Orthopedic surgery residents rotating on the sports medicine service at our institution between 2011 and 2015 were enrolled in this study. Residents were administered a shoulder and knee arthroscopy assessment tool at the beginning and end of their 6-week rotation. The assessment tools consisted of checklist items for knee and shoulder arthroscopy skills. Residents were timed while performing these checklist tasks. The primary outcome measure was resident improvement as a function of time to completion for the checklist items, and the intervention was participation in a 6-week resident rotation with weekly arthroscopy didactics, cadaver simulator work, and operating room experience. A paired t test was used to compare means. Mean time to checklist completion during week 1 among study participants for the knee checklist was 787.4 seconds for the knee checklist and 484.4 seconds at the end of the rotation. Mean time to checklist completion during week 1 among study participants for the shoulder checklist was 1655.3 seconds and 832.7 seconds for the shoulder checklist at the end of the rotation. Mean improvement in time to completion was 303 seconds (p = 0.0006, SD = 209s) and 822.6 seconds (p = 0.00008, SD = 525.2s) for the arthroscopic knee and shoulder assessments, respectively. An arthroscopic checklist is 1 method to evaluate and assess resident efficiency and improvement during surgical training. Among residents participating in this study, we found statistically significant improvements in time for arthroscopic task completion. II. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validity and reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 Checklist for children with and without motor impairments.

PubMed

Schoemaker, Marina M; Niemeijer, Anuschka S; Flapper, Boudien C T; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C M

2012-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 Checklist (MABC-2). Teachers completed the Checklist for 383 children (age range 5-8y; mean age 6y 9mo; 190 males; 193 females) and the parents of 130 of these children completed the Developmental Disorder Coordination Questionnaire 2007 (DCDQ'07). All children were assessed with the MABC-2 Test. The internal consistency of the 30 items of the Checklist was determined to measure reliability. Construct validity was investigated using factor analysis and discriminative validity was assessed by comparing the scores of children with and without movement difficulties. Concurrent validity was measured by calculating correlations between the Checklist, Test, and the DCDQ'07. Incremental validity was assessed to determine whether the Checklist was a better predictor of motor impairment than the DCDQ'07. Sensitivity and specificity were investigated using the MABC-2 Test as reference standard (cut-off 15th centile). The Checklist items measure the same construct. Six factors were obtained after factor analysis. This implies that a broad range of functional activities can be assessed with the Checklist, which renders the Checklist useful for assessing criterion B of the diagnostic criteria for DCD. The mean Checklist scores for children with and without motor impairments significantly differed (p<0.001). The scores for the Checklist/Test and DCDQ'07 were significantly correlated (r(S) =-0.38 and p<0.001, and r(S) =-0.36 and p<0.001, respectively). The Checklist better predicted motor impairment than the DCDQ'07. Overall, the sensitivity was low (41%) and the specificity was acceptable (88%). The Checklist meets standards for validity and reliability. © The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2012 Mac Keith Press.

A challenge-response endoscopic sinus surgery specific checklist as an add-on to standard surgical checklist: an evaluation of potential safety and quality improvement issues.

PubMed

Sommer, Doron D; Arbab-Tafti, Sadaf; Farrokhyar, Forough; Tewfik, Marc; Vescan, Allan; Witterick, Ian J; Rotenberg, Brian; Chandra, Rakesh; Weitzel, Erik K; Wright, Erin; Ramakrishna, Jayant

2018-02-27

The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate the impact of an aviation-style challenge and response sinus surgery-specific checklist on potential safety and equipment issues during sinus surgery at a tertiary academic health center. The secondary goal was to assess the potential impact of use of the checklist on surgical times during, before, and after surgery. This initiative is designed to be utilized in conjunction with the "standard" World Health Organization (WHO) surgical checklist. Although endoscopic sinus surgery is generally considered a safe procedure, avoidable complications and potential safety concerns continue to occur. The WHO surgical checklist does not directly address certain surgery-specific issues, which may be of particular relevance for endoscopic sinus surgery. This prospective observational pilot study monitored compliance with and compared the occurrence of safety and equipment issues before and after implementation of the checklist. Forty-seven consecutive endoscopic surgeries were audited; the first 8 without the checklist and the following 39 with the checklist. The checklist was compiled by evaluating the patient journey, utilizing the available literature, expert consensus, and finally reevaluation with audit type cases. The final checklist was developed with all relevant stakeholders involved in a Delphi method. Implementing this specific surgical checklist in 39 cases at our institution, allowed us to identify and rectify 35 separate instances of potentially unsafe, improper or inefficient preoperative setup. These incidents included issues with labeling of topical vasoconstrictor or injectable anesthetics (3, 7.7%) and availability, function and/or position of video monitors (2, 5.1%), endoscope (6, 15.4%), microdebrider (6, 15.4%), bipolar cautery (6, 15.4%), and suctions (12, 30.8%). The design and integration of this checklist for endoscopic sinus surgery, has helped improve efficiency and patient safety in the operating room setting. © 2018 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

A Feminist Family Therapist Behavior Checklist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaney, Sita E.; Piercy, Fred P.

1988-01-01

Developed Feminist Family Therapist Behavior Checklist to identify feminist family therapy skills. Used checklist to rate family therapy sessions of 60 therapists in variety of settings. Checklist discriminated between self-reported feminists and nonfeminists, between men and women, and between expert categorizations of feminist and nonfeminist…

42 CFR 37.95 - Specifications for performing spirometry examinations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... examinations must include the following: (1) Pre-test checklist. A short Spirometry Pre-Test Checklist (Form... spirometry examinations electronically with content as specified in § 37.96(b), pre-test screening checklists... spirometry examinations, pre-test checklists, and standardized respiratory assessment results in electronic...

CHECKLIST OF DIATOMS FROM THE LAURENTIAN GREAT LAKES

EPA Science Inventory

An updated diatom checklist for the Great Lakes is provided. The present checklist supplants the preliminary checklist published in The Journal for Great Lakes Research in 1978 and effectively represents a 20-year update. A series of procedures were used in this update which incl...

Implementation of safety checklists in surgery: a realist synthesis of evidence.

PubMed

Gillespie, Brigid M; Marshall, Andrea

2015-09-28

The aim of this review is to present a realist synthesis of the evidence of implementation interventions to improve adherence to the use of safety checklists in surgery. Surgical safety checklists have been shown to improve teamwork and patient safety in the operating room. Yet, despite the benefits associated with their use, universal implementation of and compliance with these checklists has been inconsistent. An overview of the literature from 2008 is examined in relation to checklist implementation, compliance, and sustainability. Pawson's and Rycroft-Malone's realist synthesis methodology was used to explain the interaction between context, mechanism, and outcome. This approach incorporated the following: defining the scope of the review, searching and appraising the evidence, extracting and synthesising the findings, and disseminating, implementing, and evaluating the evidence. We identified two theories a priori that explained contextual nuances associated with implementation and evaluation of checklists in surgery: the Normalisation Process Theory and Responsive Regulation Theory. We identified four a priori propositions: (1) Checklist protocols that are prospectively tailored to the context are more likely to be used and sustained in practice, (2) Fidelity and sustainability is increased when checklist protocols can be seamlessly integrated into daily professional practice, (3) Routine embedding of checklist protocols in practice is influenced by factors that promote or inhibit clinicians' participation, and (4) Regulation reinforcement mechanisms that are more contextually responsive should lead to greater compliance in using checklist protocols. The final explanatory model suggests that the sustained use of surgical checklists is discipline-specific and is more likely to occur when medical staff are actively engaged and leading the process of implementation. Involving clinicians in tailoring the checklist to better fit their context of practice and giving them the opportunity to reflect and evaluate the implementation intervention enables greater participation and ownership of the process. A major limitation in the surgical checklist literature is the lack of robust descriptions of intervention methods and implementation strategies. Despite this, two consequential findings have emerged through this realist synthesis: First, the sustained use of surgical checklists is discipline-specific and is more successful when physicians are actively engaged and leading implementation. Second, involving clinicians in tailoring the checklist to their context and encouraging them to reflect on and evaluate the implementation process enables greater participation and ownership.

Checklist for Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sills, Angelyn C.

1995-01-01

Describes a straightforward, workable strategy that involves a teacher checklist and short individual or student group conferences, with the goal of academic or behavioral improvements. Teachers can easily tick off marks on the checklist and return the form to the counselor; additionally, students can easily understand the format of the checklist.…

Intranet Effectiveness: A Public Relations Paper-and-Pencil Checklist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murgolo-Poore, Marie E.; Pitt, Leyland F.; Ewing, Michael T.

2002-01-01

Describes a process directed at developing a simple paper-and-pencil checklist to assess Intranet effectiveness. Discusses the checklist purification procedure, and attempts to establish reliability and validity for the list. Concludes by identifying managerial applications of the checklist, recognizing the limitations of the approach, and…

Quality of diabetes care worldwide and feasibility of implementation of the Alphabet Strategy: GAIA project (Global Alphabet Strategy Implementation Audit).

PubMed

Lee, James D; Saravanan, Ponnusamy; Varadhan, Lakshminarayanan; Morrissey, John R; Patel, Vinod

2014-10-11

The Alphabet Strategy (AS) is a diabetes care checklist ensuring "important, simple things are done right all the time." Current audits of diabetes care in developed countries reveal wide variations in quality with performance of care processes frequently sub-optimal. This study had three components:• an audit to assess diabetes care quality worldwide,• a questionnaire study seeking opinions on the merits of the AS,• a pilot study to assess the practicality of implementation of the AS in a low socioeconomic setting. Audit data was collected from 52 centres across 32 countries. Data from 4537 patients were converted to Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF) scores to enable inter-centre comparison. These were compared to each country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Total Health Expenditure percentage per capita (THE%). The opinions of diabetes patients and healthcare professionals from the diabetes care team at each of these centres were sought through a structured questionnaire. A retrospective audit on 100 randomly selected case notes was conducted prior to AS implementation in a diabetes outpatient clinic in India, followed by a prospective audit after four months to assess its impact on care quality. QOF scores showed wide variation across the centres (mean 49.0, range 10.2-90.1). Although there was a positive relationship between GDP and THE% to QOF scores, there were exceptions. 91% of healthcare professionals felt the AS approach was practical. Patients found the checklist to be a useful education tool. Significant improvements in several aspects of care as well as 36% improvement in QOF score were seen following implementation. International centres observed large variations in care quality, with standards frequently sub-optimal. 71% of health care professionals would consider adopting the AS in their daily practice. Implementation in a low resource country resulted in significant improvements in some aspects of diabetes care. The AS checklist for diabetes care is a freely available in the public domain encompassing patient education, care plans, and educational resources for healthcare professionals including summary guidelines. The AS may provide a unique approach in delivering high quality diabetes care in countries with limited resources.

Evaluation and Customization of WHO Safety Checklist for Patient Safety in Otorhinolaryngology.

PubMed

Dabholkar, Yogesh; Velankar, Haritosh; Suryanarayan, Sneha; Dabholkar, Twinkle Y; Saberwal, Akanksha A; Verma, Bhavika

2018-03-01

The WHO has designed a safe surgery checklist to enhance communication and awareness of patient safety during surgery and to minimise complications. WHO recommends that the check-list be evaluated and customised by end users as a tool to promote safe surgery. The aim of present study was to evaluate the impact of WHO safety checklist on patient safety awareness in otorhinolaryngology and to customise it for the speciality. A prospective structured questionnaire based study was done in ENT operating room for duration of 1 month each for cases, before and after implementation of safe surgery checklist. The feedback from respondents (surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists) was used to arrive at a customised checklist for otolaryngology as per WHO guidelines. The checklist significantly improved team member's awareness of patient's identity (from 17 to 86%) and each other's identity and roles (from 46 to 94%) and improved team communication (from 73 to 92%) in operation theatre. There was a significant improvement in preoperative check of equipment and critical events were discussed more frequently. The checklist could be effectively customised to suit otolaryngology needs as per WHO guidelines. The modified checklist needs to be validated by otolaryngology associations. We conclude from our study that the WHO Surgical safety check-list has a favourable impact on patient safety awareness, team-work and communication of operating team and can be customised for otolaryngology setting.

Paramedic Checklists do not Accurately Identify Post-ictal or Hypoglycaemic Patients Suitable for Discharge at the Scene.

PubMed

Tohira, Hideo; Fatovich, Daniel; Williams, Teresa A; Bremner, Alexandra; Arendts, Glenn; Rogers, Ian R; Celenza, Antonio; Mountain, David; Cameron, Peter; Sprivulis, Peter; Ahern, Tony; Finn, Judith

2016-06-01

The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy and safety of two pre-defined checklists to identify prehospital post-ictal or hypoglycemic patients who could be discharged at the scene. A retrospective cohort study of lower acuity, adult patients attended by paramedics in 2013, and who were either post-ictal or hypoglycemic, was conducted. Two self-care pathway assessment checklists (one each for post-ictal and hypoglycemia) designed as clinical decision tools for paramedics to identify patients suitable for discharge at the scene were used. The intention of the checklists was to provide paramedics with justification to not transport a patient if all checklist criteria were met. Actual patient destination (emergency department [ED] or discharge at the scene) and subsequent events (eg, ambulance requests) were compared between patients who did and did not fulfill the checklists. The performance of the checklists against the destination determined by paramedics was also assessed. Totals of 629 post-ictal and 609 hypoglycemic patients were identified. Of these, 91 (14.5%) and 37 (6.1%) patients fulfilled the respective checklist. Among those who fulfilled the checklist, 25 (27.5%) post-ictal and 18 (48.6%) hypoglycemic patients were discharged at the scene, and 21 (23.1%) and seven (18.9%) were admitted to hospital after ED assessment. Amongst post-ictal patients, those fulfilling the checklist had more subsequent ambulance requests (P=.01) and ED attendances with seizure-related conditions (P=.04) within three days than those who did not. Amongst hypoglycemic patients, there were no significant differences in subsequent events between those who did and did not meet the criteria. Paramedics discharged five times more hypoglycemic patients at the scene than the checklist predicted with no significant differences in the rate of subsequent events. Four deaths (0.66%) occurred within seven days in the hypoglycemic cohort, and none of them were attributed directly to hypoglycemia. The checklists did not accurately identify patients suitable for discharge at the scene within the Emergency Medical Service. Patients who fulfilled the post-ictal checklist made more subsequent health care service requests within three days than those who did not. Both checklists showed similar occurrence of subsequent events to paramedics' decision, but the hypoglycemia checklist identified fewer patients who could be discharged at the scene than paramedics actually discharged. Reliance on these checklists may increase transportations to ED and delay initiation of appropriate treatment at a hospital. Tohira H , Fatovich D , Williams TA , Bremner A , Arendts G , Rogers IR , Celenza A , Mountain D , Cameron P , Sprivulis P , Ahern T , Finn J . Paramedic checklists do not accurately identify post-ictal or hypoglycaemic patients suitable for discharge at the scene. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(3):282-293.

Design Challenges in Converting a Paper Checklist to Digital Format for Dynamic Medical Settings

PubMed Central

Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Rosen, Brett J.; Kulp, Leah J.; Marsic, Ivan; Burd, Randall S.

2016-01-01

We describe a mobile digital checklist that we designed and developed for trauma resuscitation—a dynamic, fast-paced medical process of treating severely injured patients. The checklist design was informed by our analysis of user interactions with a paper checklist that was introduced to improve team performance during resuscitations. The design process followed an iterative approach and involved several medical experts. We discuss design challenges in converting a paper checklist to its digital counterpart, as well as our approaches for addressing those challenges. While we show that using a digital checklist during a fast-paced medical event is feasible, we also recognize several design constraints, including limited display size, difficulties in entering notes about the medical process and patient, and difficulties in replicating user experience with paper checklists. PMID:28480116

Health and Safety Checklist for Early Care and Education Programs to Assess Key National Health and Safety Standards.

PubMed

Alkon, Abbey; Rose, Roberta; Wolff, Mimi; Kotch, Jonathan B; Aronson, Susan S

2016-01-01

The project aims were to (1) develop an observational Health and Safety Checklist to assess health and safety practices and conditions in early care and education (ECE) programs using Stepping Stones To Caring For Our Children, 3rd Edition national standards, (2) pilot test the Checklist, completed by nurse child care health consultants, to assess feasibility, ease of completion, objectivity, validity, and reliability, and (3) revise the Checklist based on the qualitative and quantitative results of the pilot study. The observable national health and safety standards were identified and then rated by health, safety, and child care experts using a Delphi technique to validate the standards as essential to prevent harm and promote health. Then, child care health consultants recruited ECE centers and pilot tested the 124-item Checklist. The pilot study was conducted in Arizona, California and North Carolina. The psychometric properties of the Checklist were assessed. The 37 participating ECE centers had 2627 children from ethnically-diverse backgrounds and primarily low-income families. The child care health consultants found the Checklist easy to complete, objective, and useful for planning health and safety interventions. The Checklist had content and face validity, inter-rater reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity. Based on the child care health consultant feedback and psychometric properties of the Checklist, the Checklist was revised and re-written at an 8th grade literacy level. The Health and Safety Checklist provides a standardized instrument of observable, selected national standards to assess the quality of health and safety in ECE centers.

Barriers to implementing the World Health Organization's Trauma Care Checklist: A Canadian single-center experience.

PubMed

Nolan, Brodie; Zakirova, Rimma; Bridge, Jennifer; Nathens, Avery B

2014-11-01

Management of trauma patients is difficult because of their complexity and acuity. In an effort to improve patient care and reduce morbidity and mortality, the World Health Organization developed a trauma care checklist. Local stakeholder input led to a modified 16-item version that was subsequently piloted. Our study highlights the barriers and challenges associated with implementing this checklist at our hospital. The checklist was piloted over a 6-month period at St. Michael's Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center in Toronto, Canada. At the end of the pilot phase, individual, semistructured interviews were held with trauma team leaders and nursing staff regarding their experiences with the checklist. Axial coding was used to create a typology of attitudes and barriers toward the checklist, and then, vertical coding was used to further explore each identified barrier. Checklist compliance was assessed for the first 7 months. Checklist compliance throughout the pilot phase was 78%. Eight key barriers to implementing the checklist were identified as follows: perceived lack of time for the use of the checklist in critically ill patients, unclear roles, no memory trigger, no one to enforce completion, not understanding its importance or purpose, difficulty finding physicians at the end of resuscitation, staff/trainee changes, and professional hierarchy. The World Health Organization Trauma Care Checklist was a well-received tool; however, consideration of barriers to the implementation and staff adoption must be done for successful integration, with special attention to its use in critically ill patients. Therapeutic/care management, level V.

The effectiveness of an intensive care quick reference checklist manual--a randomized simulation-based trial.

PubMed

Just, Katja S; Hubrich, Svenja; Schmidtke, Daniel; Scheifes, Andrea; Gerbershagen, Mark U; Wappler, Frank; Grensemann, Joern

2015-04-01

We aimed to test the effectiveness of checklists for emergency procedures on medical staff performance in intensive care crises. This is a prospective single-center randomized trial in a high-fidelity simulation center modeling an intensive care unit (ICU) in a tertiary care hospital in Germany. Teams consisted of 1 ICU resident and 2 ICU nurses (in total, n = 48). All completed 4 crisis scenarios, in which they were randomized to use checklists or to perform without any aid. In 2 of the scenarios, checklists could be used immediately (type 1 scenarios); and for the remaining, some further steps, for example, confirming diagnosis, were required first (type 2 scenarios). Outcome measurements were number of predefined items and time to completion of more than 50% and more than 75% of steps, respectively. When using checklists, participants initiated items faster and more completely according to appropriate treatment guidelines (9 vs 7 items with and without checklists, P < .05). Benefit of checklists was better in type 2 scenarios than in type 1 scenarios (2 vs 1 additional item, P < .05). In type 2 scenarios, time to complete 50% and 75% of items was faster with the use of checklists (P < .005). Use of checklists in ICU crises has a benefit on the completion of critical treatment steps. Within the type 2 scenarios, items were fulfilled faster with checklists. The implementation of checklists for intensive care crises is a promising approach that may improve patients' care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Introducing radiology report checklists among residents: adherence rates when suggesting versus requiring their use and early experience in improving accuracy.

PubMed

Powell, Daniel K; Lin, Eaton; Silberzweig, James E; Kagetsu, Nolan J

2014-03-01

To retrospectively compare resident adherence to checklist-style structured reporting for maxillofacial computed tomography (CT) from the emergency department (when required vs. suggested between two programs). To compare radiology resident reporting accuracy before and after introduction of the structured report and assess its ability to decrease the rate of undetected pathology. We introduced a reporting checklist for maxillofacial CT into our dictation software without specific training, requiring it at one program and suggesting it at another. We quantified usage among residents and compared reporting accuracy, before and after counting and categorizing faculty addenda. There was no significant change in resident accuracy in the first few months, with residents acting as their own controls (directly comparing performance with and without the checklist). Adherence to the checklist at program A (where it originated and was required) was 85% of reports compared to 9% of reports at program B (where it was suggested). When using program B as a secondary control, there was no significant difference in resident accuracy with or without using the checklist (comparing different residents using the checklist to those not using the checklist). Our results suggest that there is no automatic value of checklists for improving radiology resident reporting accuracy. They also suggest the importance of focused training, checklist flexibility, and a period of adjustment to a new reporting style. Mandatory checklists were readily adopted by residents but not when simply suggested. Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing an English Language Textbook Evaluation Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukundan, Jayakaran; Hajimohammadi, Reza; Nimehchisalem, Vahid

2011-01-01

The paper describes the considerations that were taken into account in the development of a tentative English language textbook evaluation checklist. A brief review of the related literature precedes the crucial issues that should be considered in developing checklists. In the light of the previous evaluation checklists the developers created a…

Consolidated Checklist for C8 Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 268

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This Consolidated Checklist corresponds to the 40 CFR Part 268, published on July 1, 2002, and as amended by the following final rules: 67 FR 48393, July 24, 2002 (Revision Checklist 200); and 67 FR 62618, October 7, 2002 (Revision Checklist 201).

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Action Kit. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

This kit contains materials to assist a school indoor air quality (IAQ) coordinator in conducting a school IAQ program. The kit contains the following: IAQ coordinator's guide; IAQ coordinator forms; IAQ backgrounder; teacher's classroom checklist; administrative staff checklist; health officer/school nurse checklist; ventilation checklist and…

A feedback intervention to increase digital and paper checklist performance in technically advanced aircraft simulation.

PubMed

Rantz, William G; Van Houten, Ron

2011-01-01

This study examined whether pilots operating a flight simulator completed digital or paper flight checklists more accurately after receiving postflight graphic and verbal feedback. The dependent variable was the number of checklist items completed correctly per flight. Following treatment, checklist completion with paper and digital checklists increased from 38% and 39%, respectively, to nearly 100% and remained close to 100% after feedback and praise for improvement were withdrawn. Performance was maintained at or near 100% during follow-up probes.

Patient Safety in Interventional Radiology: A CIRSE IR Checklist

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

Lee, M. J., E-mail: mlee@rcsi.ie; Fanelli, F.; Haage, P.

2012-04-15

Interventional radiology (IR) is an invasive speciality with the potential for complications as with other invasive specialities. The World Health Organization (WHO) produced a surgical safety checklist to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with surgery. The Cardiovascular and Interventional Society of Europe (CIRSE) set up a task force to produce a checklist for IR. Use of the checklist will, we hope, reduce the incidence of complications after IR procedures. It has been modified from the WHO surgical safety checklist and the RAD PASS from Holland.

Surgical checklists: A detailed review of their emergence, development, and relevance to neurosurgical practice

PubMed Central

McConnell, Douglas J.; Fargen, Kyle M.; Mocco, J

2012-01-01

In the fall of 1999, the Institute of Medicine released “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” a sobering report on the safety of the American healthcare industry. This work and others like it have ushered in an era where the science of quality assurance has quickly become an integral facet of the practice of medicine. One critical component of this new era is the development, application, and refinement of checklists. In a few short years, the checklist has evolved from being perceived as an assault on the practitioner’ integrity to being welcomed as an important tool in reducing complications and preventing medical errors. In an effort to further expand the neurosurgical community's acceptance of surgical checklists, we review the rationale behind checklists, discuss the history of medical and surgical checklists, and remark upon the future of checklists within our field. PMID:22347672

40 CFR 53.9 - Conditions of designation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... continue to do so only so long as updates of the Product Manufacturing Checklist set forth in subpart E of this part are submitted annually. In the event that an annual Checklist update is not received by EPA within 12 months of the date of the last such submitted Checklist or Checklist update, EPA shall notify...

40 CFR 53.9 - Conditions of designation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... FEM may continue to do so only so long as updates of the Product Manufacturing Checklist set forth in subpart E of this part are submitted annually. In the event that an annual Checklist update is not received by EPA within 12 months of the date of the last such submitted Checklist or Checklist update, EPA...

40 CFR 53.9 - Conditions of designation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... FEM may continue to do so only so long as updates of the Product Manufacturing Checklist set forth in subpart E of this part are submitted annually. In the event that an annual Checklist update is not received by EPA within 12 months of the date of the last such submitted Checklist or Checklist update, EPA...

A Feedback Intervention to Increase Digital and Paper Checklist Performance in Technically Advanced Aircraft Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rantz, William G.; Van Houten, Ron

2011-01-01

This study examined whether pilots operating a flight simulator completed digital or paper flight checklists more accurately after receiving postflight graphic and verbal feedback. The dependent variable was the number of checklist items completed correctly per flight. Following treatment, checklist completion with paper and digital checklists…

Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Mental Health Services Checklist: Supporting MSHS Mental Health Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Academy for Educational Development, 2006

2006-01-01

This is a checklist of suggested systems, policies and procedures for supporting Mental Health and wellness services within Migrant & Seasonal Head Start programs. This checklist was developed in accordance with the Head Start Program Performance Standards and represents a comprehensive best practice model. In this checklist you will find…

Urban and Education Disparity for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Taiwan Birth Cohort Study.

PubMed

Lung, For-Wey; Chiang, Tung-Liang; Lin, Shio-Jean; Shu, Bih-Ching

2017-03-01

This study aimed to determine the optimal cut-off for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening in 66-month-old children, and to explore the distribution of ASD screening and diagnosis in Taiwan. The Taiwan Birth Cohort Study dataset was used (N = 20,095). The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) cut-off point of 13/14 was considered optimal for screening of children at 66 months. More children were diagnosed with ASD in urban areas. Parents of children diagnosed with ASD had a higher level of education, but parents of children with a lower level of education were screened as being at higher risk of ASD. Urban disparity and parental level of education effected parental awareness of the illness and the rate of ASD diagnosis.

Competency checklists for strabismus surgery and retinopathy of prematurity examination.

PubMed

McClatchey, Scott K; Lane, R Gary; Kubis, Kenneth C; Boisvert, Chantal

2012-02-01

To evaluate two checklist tools that are designed to guide, document, and assess resident training in strabismus surgery and examination of infants at risk for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). A panel of staff surgeons from several teaching institutions evaluated the checklists and provided constructive feedback. All former residents who had been trained via the use of these checklist tools were asked to take self-assessment surveys on competency in strabismus surgery and ROP examination. A Likert 5-point scale was used for all evaluations, with 1 being the lowest rating and 5 the highest rating. Six experts in strabismus and seven in ROP rated the checklists. Their comments were used to revise the checklists, which were sent to the same group for reevaluation. The mean Likert score for the final checklists was 4.9 of 5.0 for both checklists. Of 16 former residents, 9 responded to the self-assessments with a mean overall score of 4.1 (of 5.0) for strabismus surgery and 3.9 for ROP examination. These checklist tools can be used to assess the quality of a resident's training and experience in these specific ophthalmology skills. They are complementary to other curriculum and assessment tools and can serve to organize the educational experience while ensuring a uniformity of training. Published by Mosby, Inc.

Checklists in the operating room: Help or hurdle? A qualitative study on health workers' experiences

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Checklists have been used extensively as a cognitive aid in aviation; now, they are being introduced in many areas of medicine. Although few would dispute the positive effects of checklists, little is known about the process of introducing this tool into the health care environment. In 2008, a pre-induction checklist was implemented in our anaesthetic department; in this study, we explored the nurses' and physicians' acceptance and experiences with this checklist. Method Focus group interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of checklist users (nurses and physicians) from the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in a tertiary teaching hospital. The interviews were analysed qualitatively using systematic text condensation. Results Users reported that checklist use could divert attention away from the patient and that it influenced workflow and doctor-nurse cooperation. They described senior consultants as both sceptical and supportive; a head physician with a positive attitude was considered crucial for successful implementation. The checklist improved confidence in unfamiliar contexts and was used in some situations for which it was not intended. It also revealed insufficient equipment standardisation. Conclusion Our findings suggest several issues and actions that may be important to consider during checklist use and implementation. PMID:21171967

Checklists for the Assessment of Correct Inhalation Therapy.

PubMed

Knipel, V; Schwarz, S; Magnet, F S; Storre, J H; Criée, C P; Windisch, W

2017-02-01

Introduction  For the long-term treatment of obstructive lung diseases inhalation therapy with drugs being delivered directly to the lungs as an aerosol has become the method of choice. However, patient-related mistakes in inhalation techniques are frequent and recognized to be associated with reduced disease control. Since the assessment of patient-mistakes in inhalation has yet not been standardized, the present study was aimed at developing checklists for the assessment of correct inhalation. Methods  Checklists were developed in German by an expert panel of pneumologists and professionally translated into English following back-translation procedures. The checklists comparably assessed three major steps of inhalation: 1) inhalation preparation, 2) inhalation routine, and 3) closure of inhalation. Results  Checklists for eight frequently used inhalers were developed: Aerolizer, Breezhaler, Diskus (Accuhaler), metered-dose inhaler, Handihaler, Novolizer, Respimat, Turbohaler. Each checklist consists of ten items: three for inhalation preparation, six for inhalation routine, and one for closure of inhalation. Discussion  Standardized checklists for frequently used inhalers are available in German and English. These checklists can be used for clinical routines or for clinical trials. All checklists can be downloaded free of charge for non-profit application from the homepage of the German Airway League (Deutsche Atemwegsliga e. V.): www.atemwegsliga.de. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Requirements for the design and implementation of checklists for surgical processes.

PubMed

Verdaasdonk, E G G; Stassen, L P S; Widhiasmara, P P; Dankelman, J

2009-04-01

The use of checklists is a promising strategy for improving patient safety in all types of surgical processes inside and outside the operating room. This article aims to provide requirements and implementation of checklists for surgical processes. The literature on checklist use in the operating room was reviewed based on research using Medline, Pubmed, and Google Scholar. Although all the studies showed positive effects and important benefits such as improved team cohesion, improved awareness of safety issues, and reduction of errors, their number still is limited. The motivation of team members is considered essential for compliance. Currently, no general guidelines exist for checklist design in the surgical field. Based on the authors' experiences and on guidelines used in the aviation industry, requirements for the checklist design are proposed. The design depends on the checklist purpose, philosophy, and method chosen. The methods consist of the "call-do-response" approach," the "do-verify" approach, or a combination of both. The advantages and disadvantages of paper versus electronic solutions are discussed. Furthermore, a step-by-step strategy of how to implement a checklist in the clinical situation is suggested. The use of structured checklists in surgical processes is most likely to be effective because it standardizes human performance and ensures that procedures are followed correctly instead of relying on human memory alone. Several studies present promising and positive first results, providing a solid basis for further investigation. Future research should focus on the effect of various checklist designs and strategies to ensure maximal compliance.

A checklist is associated with increased quality of reporting preclinical biomedical research: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Olonisakin, Tolani F.; Pribis, John P.; Zupetic, Jill; Yoon, Joo Heung; Holleran, Kyle M.; Jeong, Kwonho; Shaikh, Nader; Rubio, Doris M.; Lee, Janet S.

2017-01-01

Irreproducibility of preclinical biomedical research has gained recent attention. It is suggested that requiring authors to complete a checklist at the time of manuscript submission would improve the quality and transparency of scientific reporting, and ultimately enhance reproducibility. Whether a checklist enhances quality and transparency in reporting preclinical animal studies, however, has not been empirically studied. Here we searched two highly cited life science journals, one that requires a checklist at submission (Nature) and one that does not (Cell), to identify in vivo animal studies. After screening 943 articles, a total of 80 articles were identified in 2013 (pre-checklist) and 2015 (post-checklist), and included for the detailed evaluation of reporting methodological and analytical information. We compared the quality of reporting preclinical animal studies between the two journals, accounting for differences between journals and changes over time in reporting. We find that reporting of randomization, blinding, and sample-size estimation significantly improved when comparing Nature to Cell from 2013 to 2015, likely due to implementation of a checklist. Specifically, improvement in reporting of the three methodological information was at least three times greater when a mandatory checklist was implemented than when it was not. Reporting the sex of animals and the number of independent experiments performed also improved from 2013 to 2015, likely from factors not related to a checklist. Our study demonstrates that completing a checklist at manuscript submission is associated with improved reporting of key methodological information in preclinical animal studies. PMID:28902887

A Call to Digital Health Practitioners: New Guidelines Can Help Improve the Quality of Digital Health Evidence

PubMed Central

Agarwal, Smisha; Lefevre, Amnesty E

2017-01-01

Background Despite the rapid proliferation of health interventions that employ digital tools, the evidence on the effectiveness of such approaches remains insufficient and of variable quality. To address gaps in the comprehensiveness and quality of reporting on the effectiveness of digital programs, the mHealth Technical Evidence Review Group (mTERG), convened by the World Health Organization, proposed the mHealth Evidence Reporting and Assessment (mERA) checklist to address existing gaps in the comprehensiveness and quality of reporting on the effectiveness of digital health programs. Objective We present an overview of the mERA checklist and encourage researchers working in the digital health space to use the mERA checklist for reporting their research. Methods The development of the mERA checklist consisted of convening an expert group to recommend an appropriate approach, convening a global expert review panel for checklist development, and pilot-testing the checklist. Results The mERA checklist consists of 16 core mHealth items that define what the mHealth intervention is (content), where it is being implemented (context), and how it was implemented (technical features). Additionally, a 29-item methodology checklist guides authors on reporting critical aspects of the research methodology employed in the study. We recommend that the core mERA checklist is used in conjunction with an appropriate study-design specific checklist. Conclusions The mERA checklist aims to assist authors in reporting on digital health research, guide reviewers and policymakers in synthesizing evidence, and guide journal editors in assessing the completeness in reporting on digital health studies. An increase in transparent and rigorous reporting can help identify gaps in the conduct of research and understand the effects of digital health interventions as a field of inquiry. PMID:28986340

Changes in safety climate and teamwork in the operating room after implementation of a revised WHO checklist: a prospective interventional study.

PubMed

Erestam, Sofia; Haglind, Eva; Bock, David; Andersson, Annette Erichsen; Angenete, Eva

2017-01-01

Inter-professional teamwork in the operating room is important for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) checklist was introduced to improve intraoperative teamwork. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety climate in a Swedish operating room setting before and after an intervention, using a revised version of the WHO checklist to improve teamwork. This study is a single center prospective interventional study. Participants were personnel working in operating room teams including surgeons, anesthesiologists, scrub nurses, nurse anaesthetists and nurse assistants. The study started with pre-interventional observations of the WHO checklist use followed by education on safety climate, the WHO checklist, and non-technical skills in the operating room. Thereafter a revised version of the WHO checklist was introduced. Post-interventional observations regarding the performance of the WHO checklist were carried out. The Safety Attitude Questionnaire was used to assess safety climate at baseline and post-intervention. At baseline we discovered a need for improved teamwork and communication. The participants considered teamwork to be important for patient safety, but had different perceptions of good teamwork between professions. The intervention, a revised version of the WHO checklist, did not affect teamwork climate. Adherence to the revision of the checklist was insufficient, dominated by a lack of structure. There was no significant change in teamwork climate by use of the revised WHO checklist, which may be due to insufficient implementation, as a lack of adherence to the WHO checklist was detected. We found deficiencies in teamwork and communication. Further studies exploring how to improve safety climate are needed. NCT02329691.

Developing and Testing a Checklist to Enhance Quality in Ethics Consultation

PubMed Central

Flicker, Lauren Sydney; Rose, Susannah L.; Eves, Margot M.; Flamm, Anne Lederman; Sanghani, Ruchi; Smith, Martin L.

2015-01-01

Checklists have been used to improve quality in many industries, including healthcare. The use of checklists, however, has not been extensively evaluated in clinical ethics consultation. This article seeks to fill this gap by exploring the efficacy of using a checklist in ethics consultation, as tested by an empirical investigation of the use of the checklist at a large academic medical system (Cleveland Clinic). The specific aims of this project are as follows: (1) to improve the quality of ethics consultations by providing reminders to ethics consultants about process steps that are important for most patient-centered ethics consultations, (2) to create consistency in the ethics consultation process across the medical system, and (3) to establish an effective educational tool for trainers and trainees in clinical ethics consultation. The checklist was developed after a thorough literature review and an iterative process of revising and testing by a group of experienced ethics consultants. To pilot test the checklist, it was distributed to 46 ethics professionals. After a six-month pilot period in which ethics professionals used the checklist during their clinical activities, a survey was distributed to all of those who used the checklist. The 10-item survey examined consultants' perceptions regarding the three aims listed above. Of the 25 survey respondents, 11 self-reported as experts in ethics consultation, nine perceived themselves to have mid-level expertise, and five self-reported as novices. The majority (68 percent) of all respondents, regardless of expertise, believed that the checklist could be a “helpful” or “very helpful” tool in the consultation process generally. Novices were more likely than experts to believe that the checklist would be useful in conducting consultations. The limitations of this study include: reduced generalizability given that this project was conducted at one medical system, utilized a small sample size, and used self-reported quality outcome measures. Despite these limitations, to the authors' knowledge this is the first investigatation of the use of a checklist systematically to improve quality in ethics consultation. Importantly, our findings shed light on ways this checklist can be used to improve ethics consultation, including its use as an educational tool. The authors hope to test the checklist with consultants in other healthcare systems to explore its usefulness in different healthcare environments. PMID:25517564

The White ceiling heuristic and the underestimation of Asian-American income.

PubMed

Martin, Chris C; Nezlek, John B

2014-01-01

The belief that ethnic majorities dominate ethnic minorities informs research on intergroup processes. This belief can lead to the social heuristic that the ethnic majority sets an upper limit that minority groups cannot surpass, but this possibility has not received much attention. In three studies of perceived income, we examined how this heuristic, which we term the White ceiling heuristic leads people to inaccurately estimate the income of a minority group that surpasses the majority. We found that Asian Americans, whose median income has surpassed White median income for nearly three decades, are still perceived as making less than Whites, with the least accurate estimations being made by people who strongly believe that Whites are privileged. In contrast, income estimates for other minorities were fairly accurate. Thus, perceptions of minorities are shaped both by stereotype content and a heuristic.

Using Checklists in a Gross Anatomy Laboratory Improves Learning Outcomes and Dissection Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofer, Ryan Engebretson; Nikolaus, O. Brant; Pawlina, Wojciech

2011-01-01

Checklists have been widely used in the aviation industry ever since aircraft operations became more complex than any single pilot could reasonably remember. More recently, checklists have found their way into medicine, where cognitive function can be compromised by stress and fatigue. The use of checklists in medical education has rarely been…

Safety for Older Consumers. Home Safety Checklist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.

A home safety checklist geared to the needs of older adults is presented in this document. The beginning of the checklist highlights potential hazards which may need to be checked in more than one area of the home, such as electric cords, smoke detectors, rugs, telephone areas, and emergency exit plans. The rest of the checklist is organized…

A FEEDBACK INTERVENTION TO INCREASE DIGITAL AND PAPER CHECKLIST PERFORMANCE IN TECHNICALLY ADVANCED AIRCRAFT SIMULATION

PubMed Central

Rantz, William G; Van Houten, Ron

2011-01-01

This study examined whether pilots operating a flight simulator completed digital or paper flight checklists more accurately after receiving postflight graphic and verbal feedback. The dependent variable was the number of checklist items completed correctly per flight. Following treatment, checklist completion with paper and digital checklists increased from 38% and 39%, respectively, to nearly 100% and remained close to 100% after feedback and praise for improvement were withdrawn. Performance was maintained at or near 100% during follow-up probes. PMID:21541133

Palliative Care Needs Assessment in the Neuro-ICU: Effect on Family.

PubMed

Creutzfeldt, Claire J; Hanna, Marina G; Cheever, C Sherry; Lele, Abhijit V; Spiekerman, Charles; Engelberg, Ruth A; Curtis, J Randall

2017-10-01

Examine the association of a daily palliative care needs checklist on outcomes for family members of patients discharged from the neurosciences intensive care unit (neuro-ICU). We conducted a prospective, longitudinal cohort study in a single, thirty-bed neuro-ICU in a regional comprehensive stroke and level 1 trauma center. One of two neuro-ICU services that admit patients to the same ICU on alternating days used a palliative care needs checklist during morning work rounds. Between March and October, 2015, surveys were mailed to family members of patients discharged from the neuro-ICU. Nearly half of surveys (n = 91, 48.1%) were returned at a median of 4.7 months. At the time of survey completion, mean Modified rankin scale score (mRS) of neuro-ICU patients was 3.1 (SD 2). Overall ratings of quality of care were relatively high (82.2 on a 0-100 scale) with 32% of family members meeting screening criteria for depressive syndrome. The primary outcome measuring family satisfaction, consisting of eight items from the Family Satisfaction in the ICU questionnaire, did not differ significantly between families of patients from either ICU service nor did family ratings of depression (PHQ-8) and post-traumatic stress (PCL-17). Among families of patients discharged from the neuro-ICU, the daily use of a palliative care needs checklist had no measurable effect on family satisfaction scores or long-term psychological outcomes. Further research is needed to identify optimal interventions to meet the palliative care needs specific to family members of patients treated in the neuro-ICU.

The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration

PubMed Central

Liberati, Alessandro; Altman, Douglas G.; Tetzlaff, Jennifer; Mulrow, Cynthia; Gøtzsche, Peter C.; Ioannidis, John P. A.; Clarke, Mike; Devereaux, P. J.; Kleijnen, Jos; Moher, David

2009-01-01

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are essential to summarize evidence relating to efficacy and safety of health care interventions accurately and reliably. The clarity and transparency of these reports, however, is not optimal. Poor reporting of systematic reviews diminishes their value to clinicians, policy makers, and other users. Since the development of the QUOROM (QUality Of Reporting Of Meta-analysis) Statement—a reporting guideline published in 1999—there have been several conceptual, methodological, and practical advances regarding the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Also, reviews of published systematic reviews have found that key information about these studies is often poorly reported. Realizing these issues, an international group that included experienced authors and methodologists developed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) as an evolution of the original QUOROM guideline for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of evaluations of health care interventions. The PRISMA Statement consists of a 27-item checklist and a four-phase flow diagram. The checklist includes items deemed essential for transparent reporting of a systematic review. In this Explanation and Elaboration document, we explain the meaning and rationale for each checklist item. For each item, we include an example of good reporting and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies and methodological literature. The PRISMA Statement, this document, and the associated Web site (http://www.prisma-statement.org/) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PMID:19621070

Improving the preoperative care of patients with femoral neck fractures through the development and implementation of a checklist.

PubMed

Agha, Riaz; Edison, Eric; Fowler, Alexander

2014-01-01

The incidence of femoral neck fractures (FNFs) is expected to rise with life expectancy. It is important to improve the safety of these patients whilst under the care of orthopaedic teams. This study aimed to increase the performance of vital preoperative tasks in patients admitted for femoral neck fracture operations by producing and implementing a checklist as an aide memoir. The checklist was designed primarily for use by senior house officers (SHOs) admitting patients from the emergency department. A list of 12 preoperative tasks was identified. A baseline audit of 10 random patients showed that the mean proportion of the 12 tasks completed was 53% (range 25% - 83%). A survey of 14 nurses and surgeons found that the majority of respondents agreed that there was a problem with the performance of most of the tasks. The tasks were incorporated into a checklist which was refined in three plan-do-study-act cycles and introduced into the femoral neck fracture pathway. In the week following the introduction of the checklist, 77% of the checklist tasks were completed, 24% more than at the baseline audit (53%). In week 3, the completion of checklist tasks rose to 88% and to 95% in week 4. In conclusion, a simple checklist can markedly improve the performance and recording of preoperative tasks by SHOs. We recommend the wider adoption of the new checklist to be produced as a sticker for patients' medical records. Further study is required to ascertain the effect of the checklist on clinical outcomes.

Barriers to the implementation of checklists in the office-based procedural setting.

PubMed

Shapiro, Fred E; Fernando, Rohesh J; Urman, Richard D

2014-01-01

Patient safety is critical for the patients, providers, and risk managers in the office-based procedural setting, and the same standard of care should be maintained regardless of the healthcare environment. Checklists may improve patient safety and potentially decrease risk. This study explored utilization of checklists in the office-based setting and the potential barriers to their implementation. A cross-sectional prospective study was performed by using a 19-question anonymous survey designed with REDCap®. Medical providers including physicians and nurses from 25 different offices that performed procedures participated, and 38 individual responses were included in the study. Only 50% of offices surveyed use safety checklists in their practice. Only 34% had checklists or equivalent protocol for emergencies such as anaphylaxis or failed airway. As many as 23.7% of respondents indicated that they encountered barriers to implementing checklists. The top barriers identified in the study were no incentive to use a checklist (77.8%), no mandate from a local or federal regulatory agency (44.4%), being too time consuming (33.3%), and lack of training (33.3%). Reasons identified that would encourage providers to use checklists included a clear mandate (36.8%) and evidence-based research (26.3%). Checklists are not being universally utilized in the office-based setting. There are barriers preventing their successful implementation. Risk managers may be able to improve patient safety and decrease risk by encouraging practitioners, possibly through incentives, to use customizable safety checklists. © 2014 American Society for Healthcare Risk Management of the American Hospital Association.

Evaluating Checklist Use in Companion Animal Wellness Visits in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital: A Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Nappier, Michael T; Corrigan, Virginia K; Bartl-Wilson, Lara E; Freeman, Mark; Werre, Stephen; Tempel, Eric

2017-01-01

The number of companion animal wellness visits in private practice has been decreasing, and one important factor cited is the lack of effective communication between veterinarians and pet owners regarding the importance of preventive care. Checklists have been widely used in many fields and are especially useful in areas where a complex task must be completed with multiple small steps, or when cognitive fatigue is evident. The use of checklists in veterinary medical education has not yet been thoroughly evaluated as a potential strategy to improve communication with pet owners regarding preventive care. The authors explored whether the use of a checklist based on the American Animal Hospital Association/American Veterinary Medical Association canine and feline preventive care guidelines would benefit senior veterinary students in accomplishing more complete canine and feline wellness visits. A group of students using provided checklists was compared to a control group of students who did not use checklists on the basis of their medical record notes from the visits. The students using the checklists were routinely more complete in several areas of a wellness visit vs. those who did not use the checklists. However, neither group of students routinely discussed follow-up care recommendations such as frequency or timing of follow-up visits. The study authors recommend considering checklist use for teaching and implementing wellness in companion animal primary care veterinary clinical teaching settings.

A Safety Checklist: Know Your Candidates!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Ken

2003-01-01

Explains the benefits and strengths of having safety checklists in science laboratories. Presents a checklist that reflects important components of safety that address many situations in school laboratories. (NB)

Checklists for powder inhaler technique: a review and recommendations.

PubMed

Basheti, Iman A; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia Z; Armour, Carol L; Reddel, Helen K

2014-07-01

Turbuhaler and Diskus are commonly used powder inhaler devices for patients with respiratory disease. Their effectiveness is limited in part by a patient's ability to use them correctly. This has led to numerous studies being conducted over the last decade to assess the correct use of these devices by patients and health care professionals. These studies have generally used device-specific checklists to assess technique, this being the most feasible and accessible method for assessment. However, divergence between the checklists and scoring systems for the same device in different studies makes direct comparison of results difficult and at times inappropriate. Little evidence is available to assess the relative importance of different criteria; however, brief patient training based on specific inhaler technique checklists leads to significant improvement in asthma outcomes. This paper reviews common checklists and scoring systems used for Turbuhaler and Diskus, discusses the problem of heterogeneity between different checklists, and finally recommends suitable checklists and scoring systems for these devices based on the literature and previous findings. Only when similar checklists are used across different research studies will accurate comparisons and meta-analysis be possible. Copyright © 2014 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Use of the WHO surgical safety checklist in trauma and orthopaedic patients.

PubMed

Sewell, Mathew; Adebibe, Miriam; Jayakumar, Prakash; Jowett, Charlie; Kong, Kin; Vemulapalli, Krishna; Levack, Brian

2011-06-01

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends routine use of a surgical safety checklist prior to all surgical operations. The aim of this study was to prospectively audit checklist use in orthopaedic patients before and after implementation of an educational programme designed to increase use and correlate this with early complications, mortality and staff perceptions. Data was collected on 480 patients before the educational program and 485 patients after. Pre-training checklist use was 7.9%. The rates of early complications and mortality were 8.5% and 1.9%, respectively. Forty-seven percent thought the checklist improved team communication. Following an educational program, checklist use significantly increased to 96.9% (RR12.2; 95% CI 9.0-16.6). The rate of early complications and mortality was 7.6% (RR 0.89; 95% CI 0.58-1.37) and 1.6% (RR 0.88; 95% CI 0.34-2.26), respectively. Seventy-seven percent thought the checklist improved team communication. Checklist use was not associated with a significant reduction in early complications and mortality in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery. Education programs can significantly increase accurate use and staff perceptions following implementation.

Shortcuts to adiabaticity by counterdiabatic driving for trapped-ion displacement in phase space

PubMed Central

An, Shuoming; Lv, Dingshun; del Campo, Adolfo; Kim, Kihwan

2016-01-01

The application of adiabatic protocols in quantum technologies is severely limited by environmental sources of noise and decoherence. Shortcuts to adiabaticity by counterdiabatic driving constitute a powerful alternative that speed up time-evolution while mimicking adiabatic dynamics. Here we report the experimental implementation of counterdiabatic driving in a continuous variable system, a shortcut to the adiabatic transport of a trapped ion in phase space. The resulting dynamics is equivalent to a ‘fast-motion video' of the adiabatic trajectory. The robustness of this protocol is shown to surpass that of competing schemes based on classical local controls and Fourier optimization methods. Our results demonstrate that shortcuts to adiabaticity provide a robust speedup of quantum protocols of wide applicability in quantum technologies. PMID:27669897

Detection of proteolytic activity by covalent tethering of fluorogenic substrates in zymogram gels.

PubMed

Deshmukh, Ameya A; Weist, Jessica L; Leight, Jennifer L

2018-05-01

Current zymographic techniques detect only a subset of known proteases due to the limited number of native proteins that have been optimized for incorporation into polyacrylamide gels. To address this limitation, we have developed a technique to covalently incorporate fluorescently labeled, protease-sensitive peptides using an azido-PEG3-maleimide crosslinker. Peptides incorporated into gels enabled measurement of MMP-2, -9, -14, and bacterial collagenase. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that use of peptide functionalized gels could surpass detection limits of current techniques. Finally, electrophoresis of conditioned media from cultured cells resulted in the appearance of several proteolytic bands, some of which were undetectable by gelatin zymography. Taken together, these results demonstrate that covalent incorporation of fluorescent substrates can greatly expand the library of detectable proteases using zymographic techniques.

Exploring the limits of ultrafast polymerase chain reaction using liquid for thermal heat exchange: A proof of principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maltezos, George; Johnston, Matthew; Taganov, Konstantin; Srichantaratsamee, Chutatip; Gorman, John; Baltimore, David; Chantratita, Wasun; Scherer, Axel

2010-12-01

Thermal ramp rate is a major limiting factor in using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for routine diagnostics. We explored the limits of speed by using liquid for thermal exchange rather than metal as in traditional devices, and by testing different polymerases. In a clinical setting, our system equaled or surpassed state-of-the-art devices for accuracy in amplifying DNA/RNA of avian influenza, cytomegalovirus, and human immunodeficiency virus. Using Thermococcus kodakaraensis polymerase and optimizing both electrical and chemical systems, we obtained an accurate, 35 cycle amplification of an 85-base pair fragment of E. coli O157:H7 Shiga toxin gene in as little as 94.1 s, a significant improvement over a typical 1 h PCR amplification.

Checklist content on a standardized patient assessment: an ex post facto review.

PubMed

Boulet, John R; van Zanten, Marta; de Champlain, André; Hawkins, Richard E; Peitzman, Steven J

2008-03-01

While checklists are often used to score standardized patient based clinical assessments, little research has focused on issues related to their development or the level of agreement with respect to the importance of specific items. Five physicians independently reviewed checklists from 11 simulation scenarios that were part of the former Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduate's Clinical Skills Assessment and classified the clinical appropriateness of each of the checklist items. Approximately 78% of the original checklist items were judged to be needed, or indicated, given the presenting complaint and the purpose of the assessment. Rater agreement was relatively poor with pairwise associations (Kappa coefficient) ranging from 0.09 to 0.29. However, when only consensus indicated items were included, there was little change in examinee scores, including their reliability over encounters. Although most checklist items in this sample were judged to be appropriate, some could potentially be eliminated, thereby minimizing the scoring burden placed on the standardized patients. Periodic review of checklist items, concentrating on their clinical importance, is warranted.

The Image Gently pediatric digital radiography safety checklist: tools for improving pediatric radiography.

PubMed

John, Susan D; Moore, Quentin T; Herrmann, Tracy; Don, Steven; Powers, Kevin; Smith, Susan N; Morrison, Greg; Charkot, Ellen; Mills, Thalia T; Rutz, Lois; Goske, Marilyn J

2013-10-01

Transition from film-screen to digital radiography requires changes in radiographic technique and workflow processes to ensure that the minimum radiation exposure is used while maintaining diagnostic image quality. Checklists have been demonstrated to be useful tools for decreasing errors and improving safety in several areas, including commercial aviation and surgical procedures. The Image Gently campaign, through a competitive grant from the FDA, developed a checklist for technologists to use during the performance of digital radiography in pediatric patients. The checklist outlines the critical steps in digital radiography workflow, with an emphasis on steps that affect radiation exposure and image quality. The checklist and its accompanying implementation manual and practice quality improvement project are open source and downloadable at www.imagegently.org. The authors describe the process of developing and testing the checklist and offer suggestions for using the checklist to minimize radiation exposure to children during radiography. Copyright © 2013 American College of Radiology. All rights reserved.

Benchmarking image fusion system design parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell, Christopher L.

2013-06-01

A clear and absolute method for discriminating between image fusion algorithm performances is presented. This method can effectively be used to assist in the design and modeling of image fusion systems. Specifically, it is postulated that quantifying human task performance using image fusion should be benchmarked to whether the fusion algorithm, at a minimum, retained the performance benefit achievable by each independent spectral band being fused. The established benchmark would then clearly represent the threshold that a fusion system should surpass to be considered beneficial to a particular task. A genetic algorithm is employed to characterize the fused system parameters using a Matlab® implementation of NVThermIP as the objective function. By setting the problem up as a mixed-integer constraint optimization problem, one can effectively look backwards through the image acquisition process: optimizing fused system parameters by minimizing the difference between modeled task difficulty measure and the benchmark task difficulty measure. The results of an identification perception experiment are presented, where human observers were asked to identify a standard set of military targets, and used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the benchmarking process.

Fusing face-verification algorithms and humans.

PubMed

O'Toole, Alice J; Abdi, Hervé; Jiang, Fang; Phillips, P Jonathon

2007-10-01

It has been demonstrated recently that state-of-the-art face-recognition algorithms can surpass human accuracy at matching faces over changes in illumination. The ranking of algorithms and humans by accuracy, however, does not provide information about whether algorithms and humans perform the task comparably or whether algorithms and humans can be fused to improve performance. In this paper, we fused humans and algorithms using partial least square regression (PLSR). In the first experiment, we applied PLSR to face-pair similarity scores generated by seven algorithms participating in the Face Recognition Grand Challenge. The PLSR produced an optimal weighting of the similarity scores, which we tested for generality with a jackknife procedure. Fusing the algorithms' similarity scores using the optimal weights produced a twofold reduction of error rate over the most accurate algorithm. Next, human-subject-generated similarity scores were added to the PLSR analysis. Fusing humans and algorithms increased the performance to near-perfect classification accuracy. These results are discussed in terms of maximizing face-verification accuracy with hybrid systems consisting of multiple algorithms and humans.

Feature Vector Construction Method for IRIS Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odinokikh, G.; Fartukov, A.; Korobkin, M.; Yoo, J.

2017-05-01

One of the basic stages of iris recognition pipeline is iris feature vector construction procedure. The procedure represents the extraction of iris texture information relevant to its subsequent comparison. Thorough investigation of feature vectors obtained from iris showed that not all the vector elements are equally relevant. There are two characteristics which determine the vector element utility: fragility and discriminability. Conventional iris feature extraction methods consider the concept of fragility as the feature vector instability without respect to the nature of such instability appearance. This work separates sources of the instability into natural and encodinginduced which helps deeply investigate each source of instability independently. According to the separation concept, a novel approach of iris feature vector construction is proposed. The approach consists of two steps: iris feature extraction using Gabor filtering with optimal parameters and quantization with separated preliminary optimized fragility thresholds. The proposed method has been tested on two different datasets of iris images captured under changing environmental conditions. The testing results show that the proposed method surpasses all the methods considered as a prior art by recognition accuracy on both datasets.

Towards information-optimal simulation of partial differential equations.

PubMed

Leike, Reimar H; Enßlin, Torsten A

2018-03-01

Most simulation schemes for partial differential equations (PDEs) focus on minimizing a simple error norm of a discretized version of a field. This paper takes a fundamentally different approach; the discretized field is interpreted as data providing information about a real physical field that is unknown. This information is sought to be conserved by the scheme as the field evolves in time. Such an information theoretic approach to simulation was pursued before by information field dynamics (IFD). In this paper we work out the theory of IFD for nonlinear PDEs in a noiseless Gaussian approximation. The result is an action that can be minimized to obtain an information-optimal simulation scheme. It can be brought into a closed form using field operators to calculate the appearing Gaussian integrals. The resulting simulation schemes are tested numerically in two instances for the Burgers equation. Their accuracy surpasses finite-difference schemes on the same resolution. The IFD scheme, however, has to be correctly informed on the subgrid correlation structure. In certain limiting cases we recover well-known simulation schemes like spectral Fourier-Galerkin methods. We discuss implications of the approximations made.

The White Ceiling Heuristic and the Underestimation of Asian-American Income

PubMed Central

Martin, Chris C.; Nezlek, John B.

2014-01-01

The belief that ethnic majorities dominate ethnic minorities informs research on intergroup processes. This belief can lead to the social heuristic that the ethnic majority sets an upper limit that minority groups cannot surpass, but this possibility has not received much attention. In three studies of perceived income, we examined how this heuristic, which we term the White ceiling heuristic leads people to inaccurately estimate the income of a minority group that surpasses the majority. We found that Asian Americans, whose median income has surpassed White median income for nearly three decades, are still perceived as making less than Whites, with the least accurate estimations being made by people who strongly believe that Whites are privileged. In contrast, income estimates for other minorities were fairly accurate. Thus, perceptions of minorities are shaped both by stereotype content and a heuristic. PMID:25268366

Cerebral Palsy Checklist: Babies & Preschoolers (Birth to age 5)

MedlinePlus

... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Cerebral Palsy Checklist: Babies & Preschoolers KidsHealth / For Parents / Cerebral Palsy Checklist: Babies & Preschoolers What's in this article? Step ...

Family Child Care Health and Safety Checklist: A Packet for Family Child Care Providers [with Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kendrick, Abby Shapiro; Gravell, Joanne

This checklist and accompanying video are designed to help family child care providers assess the health and safety of the child care home. The checklist includes suggestions for conducting the self-evaluation and for creating a safer, healthier home environment. The areas of the checklist are: your home, out of bounds areas, gates and guards,…

Implementation of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in an Ethiopian Referral Hospital

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist has a growing evidence base to support its role in improving perioperative safety, although its impact is likely to be directly related to the effectiveness of its implementation. There remains a paucity of documented experience from low-resource settings on Checklist implementation approaches. We report an implementation strategy in a public referral hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, based on consultation, local leadership, formal introduction, and supported supervision with subsequent audit and feedback. Methods Planning, implementation and assessment took place from December 2011 to December 2012. The planning phase, from December 2011 until April 2012, involved a multidisciplinary consultative approach using local leaders, volunteer clinicians, and staff from non-governmental organisations, to draw up a locally agreed and appropriate Checklist. Implementation in April 2012 involved formal teaching and discussion, simulation sessions and role play, with supportive supervision following implementation. Assessment was performed using completed Checklist analysis and staff satisfaction questionnaires at one month and further Checklist analysis combined with semi-structured interviews in December 2012. Results and discussion Checklist compliance rates were 83% for general anaesthetics at one month after implementation, with an overall compliance rate of 65% at eight months. There was a decrease in Checklist compliance over the period of the study to less than 20% by the end of the study period. The ‘Sign out’ section was reported as being the most difficult section of the Checklist to complete, and was missed completely in 21% of cases. The most commonly missed single item was the team introduction at the start of each case. However, we report high staff satisfaction with the Checklist and enthusiasm for its continued use. Conclusion We report a detailed implementation strategy for introducing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist to a low-resource setting. We show that this approach can lead to high completion rates and high staff satisfaction, albeit with a drop in completion rates over time. We argue that maximal benefit of the Surgical Safety Checklist is likely to be when it engenders a conversation around patient safety within a department, and when there is local ownership of this process. PMID:24678854

A Call to Digital Health Practitioners: New Guidelines Can Help Improve the Quality of Digital Health Evidence.

PubMed

Agarwal, Smisha; Lefevre, Amnesty E; Labrique, Alain B

2017-10-06

Despite the rapid proliferation of health interventions that employ digital tools, the evidence on the effectiveness of such approaches remains insufficient and of variable quality. To address gaps in the comprehensiveness and quality of reporting on the effectiveness of digital programs, the mHealth Technical Evidence Review Group (mTERG), convened by the World Health Organization, proposed the mHealth Evidence Reporting and Assessment (mERA) checklist to address existing gaps in the comprehensiveness and quality of reporting on the effectiveness of digital health programs. We present an overview of the mERA checklist and encourage researchers working in the digital health space to use the mERA checklist for reporting their research. The development of the mERA checklist consisted of convening an expert group to recommend an appropriate approach, convening a global expert review panel for checklist development, and pilot-testing the checklist. The mERA checklist consists of 16 core mHealth items that define what the mHealth intervention is (content), where it is being implemented (context), and how it was implemented (technical features). Additionally, a 29-item methodology checklist guides authors on reporting critical aspects of the research methodology employed in the study. We recommend that the core mERA checklist is used in conjunction with an appropriate study-design specific checklist. The mERA checklist aims to assist authors in reporting on digital health research, guide reviewers and policymakers in synthesizing evidence, and guide journal editors in assessing the completeness in reporting on digital health studies. An increase in transparent and rigorous reporting can help identify gaps in the conduct of research and understand the effects of digital health interventions as a field of inquiry. ©Smisha Agarwal, Amnesty E Lefevre, Alain B Labrique. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 06.10.2017.

Person-centered endoscopy safety checklist: Development, implementation, and evaluation

PubMed Central

Dubois, Hanna; Schmidt, Peter T; Creutzfeldt, Johan; Bergenmar, Mia

2017-01-01

AIM To describe the development and implementation of a person-centered endoscopy safety checklist and to evaluate the effects of a “checklist intervention”. METHODS The checklist, based on previously published safety checklists, was developed and locally adapted, taking patient safety aspects into consideration and using a person-centered approach. This novel checklist was introduced to the staff of an endoscopy unit at a Stockholm University Hospital during half-day seminars and team training sessions. Structured observations of the endoscopy team’s performance were conducted before and after the introduction of the checklist. In addition, questionnaires focusing on patient participation, collaboration climate, and patient safety issues were collected from patients and staff. RESULTS A person-centered safety checklist was developed and introduced by a multi-professional group in the endoscopy unit. A statistically significant increase in accurate patient identity verification by the physicians was noted (from 0% at baseline to 87% after 10 mo, P < 0.001), and remained high among nurses (93% at baseline vs 96% after 10 mo, P = nonsignificant). Observations indicated that the professional staff made frequent attempts to use the checklist, but compliance was suboptimal: All items in the observed nurse-led “summaries” were included in 56% of these interactions, and physicians participated by directly facing the patient in 50% of the interactions. On the questionnaires administered to the staff, items regarding collaboration and the importance of patient participation were rated more highly after the introduction of the checklist, but this did not result in statistical significance (P = 0.07/P = 0.08). The patients rated almost all items as very high both before and after the introduction of the checklist; hence, no statistical difference was noted. CONCLUSION The intervention led to increased patient identity verification by physicians - a patient safety improvement. Clear evidence of enhanced person-centeredness or team work was not found. PMID:29358869

Cerebral Palsy Checklist: Teens & Young Adult (13 to 21)

MedlinePlus

... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Cerebral Palsy Checklist: Teens & Young Adults KidsHealth / For Parents / Cerebral Palsy Checklist: Teens & Young Adults What's in this article? ...

Participatory design of a preliminary safety checklist for general practice

PubMed Central

Bowie, Paul; Ferguson, Julie; MacLeod, Marion; Kennedy, Susan; de Wet, Carl; McNab, Duncan; Kelly, Moya; McKay, John; Atkinson, Sarah

2015-01-01

Background The use of checklists to minimise errors is well established in high reliability, safety-critical industries. In health care there is growing interest in checklists to standardise checking processes and ensure task completion, and so provide further systemic defences against error and patient harm. However, in UK general practice there is limited experience of safety checklist use. Aim To identify workplace hazards that impact on safety, health and wellbeing, and performance, and codesign a standardised checklist process. Design and setting Application of mixed methods to identify system hazards in Scottish general practices and develop a safety checklist based on human factors design principles. Method A multiprofessional ‘expert’ group (n = 7) and experienced front-line GPs, nurses, and practice managers (n = 18) identified system hazards and developed and validated a preliminary checklist using a combination of literature review, documentation review, consensus building workshops using a mini-Delphi process, and completion of content validity index exercise. Results A prototype safety checklist was developed and validated consisting of six safety domains (for example, medicines management), 22 sub-categories (for example, emergency drug supplies) and 78 related items (for example, stock balancing, secure drug storage, and cold chain temperature recording). Conclusion Hazards in the general practice work system were prioritised that can potentially impact on the safety, health and wellbeing of patients, GP team members, and practice performance, and a necessary safety checklist prototype was designed. However, checklist efficacy in improving safety processes and outcomes is dependent on user commitment, and support from leaders and promotional champions. Although further usability development and testing is necessary, the concept should be of interest in the UK and internationally. PMID:25918338

[Proposal and preliminary validation of a check-list for the assessment of occupational exposure to repetitive movements of the upper lims].

PubMed

Colombini, D; Occhipinti, E; Cairoli, S; Baracco, A

2000-01-01

Over the last few years the Authors developed and implemented, a specific check-list for a "rapid" assessment of occupational exposure to repetitive movements and exertion of the upper limbs, after verifying the lack of such a tool which also had to be coherent with the latest data in the specialized literature. The check-list model and the relevant application procedures are presented and discussed. The check-list was applied by trained factory technicians in 46 different working tasks where the OCRA method previously proposed by the Authors was also applied by independent observers. Since 46 pairs of observation data were available (OCRA index and check-list score) it was possible to verify, via parametric and nonparametric statistical tests, the level of association between the two variables and to find the best simple regression function (exponential in this case) of the OCRA index from the check-list score. By means of this function, which was highly significant (R2 = 0.98, p < 0.0000), the values of the check-list score which better corresponded to the critical values (for exposure assessment) of the OCRA index looked for. The following correspondance values between OCRA Index and check-list were then established with a view to classifying exposure levels. The check-list "critical" scores were established considering the need for obtaining, in borderline cases, a potential effect of overestimation of the exposure level. On the basis of practical application experience and the preliminary validation results, recommendations are made and the caution needed in the use of the check-list is suggested.

A Family-Centered Rounds Checklist, Family Engagement, and Patient Safety: A Randomized Trial

PubMed Central

Jacobsohn, Gwen C.; Rajamanickam, Victoria P.; Carayon, Pascale; Kelly, Michelle M.; Wetterneck, Tosha B.; Rathouz, Paul J.; Brown, Roger L.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Family-centered rounds (FCRs) have become standard of care, despite the limited evaluation of FCRs’ benefits or interventions to support high-quality FCR delivery. This work examines the impact of the FCR checklist intervention, a checklist and associated provider training, on performance of FCR elements, family engagement, and patient safety. METHODS: This cluster randomized trial involved 298 families. Two hospital services were randomized to use the checklist; 2 others delivered usual care. We evaluated the performance of 8 FCR checklist elements and family engagement from 673 pre- and postintervention FCR videos and assessed the safety climate with the Children’s Hospital Safety Climate Questionnaire. Random effects regression models were used to assess intervention impact. RESULTS: The intervention significantly increased the number of FCR checklist elements performed (β = 1.2, P < .001). Intervention rounds were significantly more likely to include asking the family (odds ratio [OR] = 2.43, P < .05) or health care team (OR = 4.28, P = .002) for questions and reading back orders (OR = 12.43, P < .001). Intervention families’ engagement and reports of safety climate were no different from usual care. However, performance of specific checklist elements was associated with changes in these outcomes. For example, order read-back was associated with significantly more family engagement. Asking families for questions was associated with significantly better ratings of staff’s communication openness and safety of handoffs and transitions. CONCLUSIONS: The performance of FCR checklist elements was enhanced by checklist implementation and associated with changes in family engagement and more positive perceptions of safety climate. Implementing the checklist improves delivery of FCRs, impacting quality and safety of care. PMID:28557720

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Best Supportive Care Checklist among Clinicians.

PubMed

Boucher, Nathan A; Nicolla, Jonathan; Ogunseitan, Adeboye; Kessler, Elizabeth R; Ritchie, Christine S; Zafar, Yousuf Y

2018-04-23

Best supportive care (BSC) is often not standardized across sites, consistent with best evidence, or sufficiently described. We developed a consensus-based checklist to document BSC delivery, including symptom management, decision making, and care planning. We hypothesized that BSC can be feasibly documented with this checklist consistent with consolidated standards of reporting trials. To determine feasibility/acceptability of a BSC checklist among clinicians. To test feasibility of a BSC checklist in standard care, we enrolled a sample of clinicians treating patients with advanced cancer at four centers. Clinicians were asked to complete the checklist at eligible patient encounters. We surveyed enrollees regarding checklist use generating descriptive statistics and frequencies. We surveyed 15 clinicians and 9 advanced practice providers. Mean age was 41 (SD = 7.9). Mean years since fellowship for physicians was 7.2 (SD = 4.5). Represented specialties are medical oncology (n = 8), gynecologic oncology (n = 4), palliative care (n = 2), and other (n = 1). For "overall impact on your delivery of supportive/palliative care," 40% noted improved impact with using BSC. For "overall impact on your documentation of supportive/palliative care," 46% noted improvement. Impact on "frequency of comprehensive symptom assessment" was noted to be "increased" by 33% of providers. None noted decreased frequency or worsening impact on any measure with use of BSC. Regarding feasibility of integrating the checklist into workflow, 73% agreed/strongly agreed that checklists could be easily integrated, 73% saw value in integration, and 80% found it easy to use. Clinicians viewed the BSC checklist favorably illustrating proof of concept, minor workflow impact, and potential of benefit to patients.

Checklists in Neurosurgery to Decrease Preventable Medical Errors: A Review

PubMed Central

Enchev, Yavor

2015-01-01

Neurosurgery represents a zero tolerance environment for medical errors, especially preventable ones like all types of wrong site surgery, complications due to the incorrect positioning of patients for neurosurgical interventions and complications due to failure of the devices required for the specific procedure. Following the excellent and encouraging results of the safety checklists in intensive care medicine and in other surgical areas, the checklist was naturally introduced in neurosurgery. To date, the reported world experience with neurosurgical checklists is limited to 15 series with fewer than 20,000 cases in various neurosurgical areas. The purpose of this review was to study the reported neurosurgical checklists according to the following parameters: year of publication; country of origin; area of neurosurgery; type of neurosurgical procedure-elective or emergency; person in charge of the checklist completion; participants involved in completion; whether they prevented incorrect site surgery; whether they prevented complications due to incorrect positioning of the patients for neurosurgical interventions; whether they prevented complications due to failure of the devices required for the specific procedure; their specific aims; educational preparation and training; the time needed for checklist completion; study duration and phases; number of cases included; barriers to implementation; efforts to implementation; team appreciation; and safety outcomes. Based on this analysis, it could be concluded that neurosurgical checklists represent an efficient, reliable, cost-effective and time-saving tool for increasing patient safety and elevating the neurosurgeons’ self-confidence. Every neurosurgical department must develop its own neurosurgical checklist or adopt and modify an existing one according to its specific features and needs in an attempt to establish or develop its safety culture. The world, continental, regional and national neurosurgical societies could promote safety checklists and their benefits. PMID:26740891

A novel briefing checklist at shift handoff in an emergency department improves situational awareness and safety event identification.

PubMed

Mullan, Paul C; Macias, Charles G; Hsu, Deborah; Alam, Sartaj; Patel, Binita

2015-04-01

Emergency department (ED) shift handoffs are sources of potential medical error, delays in care, and medicolegal liabilities. Few handoff studies exist in the ED literature. We aimed to describe the implementation of a standardized checklist for improving situational awareness during physician handoffs in a pediatric ED. This is a descriptive observational study in a large academic pediatric ED. Checklists were evaluated for rates of use, completion, and identification of potential safety events. We defined a complete checklist as 80% or more of items checked.  A user perception survey was used. After 1 year, all checklist users (residents, fellows, faculty, and charge nurses with ED experience before and after checklist implementation) were anonymously surveyed to assess the checklist's usability, perceived contributions to Institute of Medicine quality domains, and situational awareness. The electronically administered survey used Likert frequency scales. Of 732 handoffs, 98% used the checklist, and 89% were complete. A mean of 1.7 potential safety events were identified per handoff. The most frequent potential safety events were identification of intensive care unit-level patients in the ED (48%), equipment problems (46%), staffing issues (21%), and intensive care unit-level patients in transport (16%). Eighty-one subjects (88%) responded to the survey. The users agreed that the checklist promoted better communication, safety, efficiency, effective care, and situational awareness. The Physician Active Shift Signout in the Emergency Department briefing checklist was used often and at a high completion rate, frequently identifying potential safety events. The users found that it improved the quality of care and team communication. Future studies on outcomes and processes are needed.

How do performance-based financing programmes measure quality of care? A descriptive analysis of 68 quality checklists from 28 low- and middle-income countries

PubMed Central

Josephson, Erik; Gergen, Jessica; Coe, Martha; Ski, Samantha; Madhavan, Supriya; Bauhoff, Sebastian

2017-01-01

Abstract This paper seeks to systematically describe the length and content of quality checklists used in performance-based financing programmes, their similarities and differences, and how checklists have evolved over time. We compiled a list of supply-side, health facility-based performance-based financing (PBF) programmes in low- and lower middle-income countries based on a document review. We then solicited PBF manuals and quality checklists from implementers and donors of these PBF mechanisms. We entered each indicator from each quality checklist into a database verbatim in English, and translated into English from French where appropriate, and categorized each indicator according to the Donabedian framework and an author-derived categorization. We extracted 8,490 quality indicators from 68 quality checklists across 32 PBF implementations in 28 countries. On average, checklists contained 125 indicators; within the same program, checklists tend to grow as they are updated. Using the Donabedian framework, 80% of indicators were structure-type, 19% process-type, and less than 1% outcome-type. The author-derived categorization showed that 57% of indicators relate to availability of resources, 24% to managing the facility and 17% assess knowledge and effort. There is a high degree of similarity in a narrow set of indicators used in checklists for common service types such as maternal, neonatal and child health. We conclude that performance-based financing offers an appealing approach to targeting specific quality shortfalls and advancing toward the Sustainable Development Goals of high quality coverage. Currently most indicators focus on structural issues and resource availability. There is scope to rationalize and evolve the quality checklists of these programs to help achieve national and global goals to improve quality of care. PMID:28549142

Mixed methods study on the use of and attitudes towards safety checklists in interventional radiology.

PubMed

Munn, Zachary; Giles, Kristy; Aromataris, Edoardo; Deakin, Anita; Schultz, Timothy; Mandel, Catherine; Peters, Micah Dj; Maddern, Guy; Pearson, Alan; Runciman, William

2018-02-01

The use of safety checklists in interventional radiology is an intervention aimed at reducing mortality and morbidity. Currently there is little known about their practical use in Australian radiology departments. The primary aim of this mixed methods study was to evaluate how safety checklists (SC) are used and completed in radiology departments within Australian hospitals, and attitudes towards their use as described by Australian radiologists. A mixed methods approach employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques was used for this study. Direct observations of checklist use during radiological procedures were performed to determine compliance. Medical records were also audited to investigate whether there was any discrepancy between practice (actual care measured by direct observation) and documentation (documented care measured by an audit of records). A focus group with Australian radiologists was conducted to determine attitudes towards the use of checklists. Among the four participating radiology departments, overall observed mean completion of the components of the checklist was 38%. The checklist items most commonly observed to be addressed by the operating theatre staff as noted during observations were correct patient (80%) and procedure (60%). Findings from the direct observations conflicted with the medical record audit, where there was a higher percentage of completion (64% completion) in comparison to the 38% observed. The focus group participants spoke of barriers to the use of checklists, including the culture of radiology departments. This is the first study of safety checklist use in radiology within Australia. Overall completion was low across the sites included in this study. Compliance data collected from observations differed markedly from reported compliance in medical records. There remain significant barriers to the proper use of safety checklists in Australian radiology departments. © 2017 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

An embedded checklist in the Anesthesia Information Management System improves pre-anaesthetic induction setup: a randomised controlled trial in a simulation setting.

PubMed

Wetmore, Douglas; Goldberg, Andrew; Gandhi, Nishant; Spivack, John; McCormick, Patrick; DeMaria, Samuel

2016-10-01

Anaesthesiologists work in a high stress, high consequence environment in which missed steps in preparation may lead to medical errors and potential patient harm. The pre-anaesthetic induction period has been identified as a time in which medical errors can occur. The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation has developed a Pre-Anesthetic Induction Patient Safety (PIPS) checklist. We conducted this study to test the effectiveness of this checklist, when embedded in our institutional Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS), on resident performance in a simulated environment. Using a randomised, controlled, observer-blinded design, we compared performance of anaesthesiology residents in a simulated operating room under production pressure using a checklist in completing a thorough pre-anaesthetic induction evaluation and setup with that of residents with no checklist. The checklist was embedded in the simulated operating room's electronic medical record. Data for 38 anaesthesiology residents shows a statistically significant difference in performance in pre-anaesthetic setup and evaluation as scored by blinded raters (maximum score 22 points), with the checklist group performing better by 7.8 points (p<0.01). The effects of gender and year of residency on total score were not significant. Simulation duration (time to anaesthetic agent administration) was increased significantly by the use of the checklist. Required use of a pre-induction checklist improves anaesthesiology resident performance in a simulated environment. The PIPS checklist as an integrated part of a departmental AIMS warrant further investigation as a quality measure. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

14 CFR 431.39 - Mission rules, procedures, contingency plans, and checklists.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... mission rules, procedures, checklists, emergency plans, and contingency abort plans, if any, that ensure..., procedures, checklists, emergency plans, and contingency abort plans must be contained in a safety directive...

14 CFR 431.39 - Mission rules, procedures, contingency plans, and checklists.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... mission rules, procedures, checklists, emergency plans, and contingency abort plans, if any, that ensure..., procedures, checklists, emergency plans, and contingency abort plans must be contained in a safety directive...

14 CFR 431.39 - Mission rules, procedures, contingency plans, and checklists.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... mission rules, procedures, checklists, emergency plans, and contingency abort plans, if any, that ensure..., procedures, checklists, emergency plans, and contingency abort plans must be contained in a safety directive...

Un-Alerted Smoke and Fire: Checklist Content and Intended Crew Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burian, Barbara K.

2015-01-01

An in-flight smoke or fire event is an emergency unlike almost any other. The early cues for un-alerted conditions, such as air conditioning smoke or fire, are often ambiguous and elusive. The checklists crews use for these conditions must help them respond quickly and effectively and must guide their decisions. Ten years ago an industry committee developed a template to guide the content of Part 121 checklists for un-alerted smoke and fire events. This template is based upon a new philosophy about how crews should use the checklists and respond to the events. To determine the degree to which current un-alerted checklists of in-flight smoke or fire comply or are consistent with the guidance outlined in the template, I collected and analysed checklists from North American air carriers.

Assessing validity of observational intervention studies - the Benchmarking Controlled Trials.

PubMed

Malmivaara, Antti

2016-09-01

Benchmarking Controlled Trial (BCT) is a concept which covers all observational studies aiming to assess impact of interventions or health care system features to patients and populations. To create and pilot test a checklist for appraising methodological validity of a BCT. The checklist was created by extracting the most essential elements from the comprehensive set of criteria in the previous paper on BCTs. Also checklists and scientific papers on observational studies and respective systematic reviews were utilized. Ten BCTs published in the Lancet and in the New England Journal of Medicine were used to assess feasibility of the created checklist. The appraised studies seem to have several methodological limitations, some of which could be avoided in planning, conducting and reporting phases of the studies. The checklist can be used for planning, conducting, reporting, reviewing, and critical reading of observational intervention studies. However, the piloted checklist should be validated in further studies. Key messages Benchmarking Controlled Trial (BCT) is a concept which covers all observational studies aiming to assess impact of interventions or health care system features to patients and populations. This paper presents a checklist for appraising methodological validity of BCTs and pilot-tests the checklist with ten BCTs published in leading medical journals. The appraised studies seem to have several methodological limitations, some of which could be avoided in planning, conducting and reporting phases of the studies. The checklist can be used for planning, conducting, reporting, reviewing, and critical reading of observational intervention studies.

Implementing the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist: lessons from a global collaboration

PubMed Central

Perry, WRG; Bagheri Nejad, S; Tuomisto, K; Kara, N; Roos, N; Dilip, TR; Hirschhorn, LR; Larizgoitia, I; Semrau, K; Mathai, M; Dhingra-Kumar, N

2017-01-01

The WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) was developed to ensure the delivery of essential maternal and perinatal care practices around the time of childbirth. A research collaboration was subsequently established to explore factors that influence use of the Checklist in a range of settings around the world. This analysis article presents an overview of the WHO SCC Collaboration and the lessons garnered from implementing the Checklist across a diverse range of settings. Project leads from each collaboration site were asked to distribute two surveys. The first was given to end users, and the second to implementation teams to describe their respective experiences using the Checklist. A total of 134 end users and 38 implementation teams responded to the surveys, from 19 countries across all levels of income. End users were willing to adopt the SCC and found it easy to use. Training and the provision of supervision while using the Checklist, alongside leadership engagement and local ownership, were important factors which helped facilitate initial implementation and successful uptake of the Checklist. Teams identified several challenges, but more importantly successfully implemented the WHO SCC. A critical step in all settings was the adaptation of the Checklist to reflect local context and national protocols and standards. These findings were invaluable in developing the final version of the WHO SCC and its associated implementation guide. Our experience will provide useful insights for any institution wishing to implement the Checklist. PMID:29082003

Using checklists in a gross anatomy laboratory improves learning outcomes and dissection quality.

PubMed

Hofer, Ryan Engebretson; Nikolaus, O Brant; Pawlina, Wojciech

2011-01-01

Checklists have been widely used in the aviation industry ever since aircraft operations became more complex than any single pilot could reasonably remember. More recently, checklists have found their way into medicine, where cognitive function can be compromised by stress and fatigue. The use of checklists in medical education has rarely been reported, especially in the basic sciences. We explored whether the use of a checklist in the gross anatomy laboratory would improve learning outcomes, dissection quality, and students' satisfaction in the first-year Human Structure didactic block at Mayo Medical School. During the second half of a seven-week anatomy course, dissection teams were each day given a hardcopy checklist of the structures to be identified during that day's dissection. The first half of the course was considered the control, as students did not receive any checklists to utilize during dissection. The measured outcomes were scored on four practice practical examinations and four dissection quality assessments, two each from the first half (control) and second half of the course. A student satisfaction survey was distributed at the end of the course. Examination and dissection scores were analyzed for correlations between practice practical examination score and checklist use. Our data suggest that a daily hardcopy list of anatomical structures for active use in the gross anatomy laboratory increases practice practical examination scores and dissection quality. Students recommend the use of these checklists in future anatomy courses. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Anatomists.

Impact of Checklist Use on Wellness and Post-Elective Surgery Appointments in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

PubMed

Ruch-Gallie, Rebecca; Weir, Heather; Kogan, Lori R

Cognitive functioning is often compromised with increasing levels of stress and fatigue, both of which are often experienced by veterinarians. Many high-stress fields have implemented checklists to reduce human error. The use of these checklists has been shown to improve the quality of medical care, including adherence to evidence-based best practices and improvement of patient safety. Although it has been recognized that veterinary medicine would likely demonstrate similar benefits, there have been no published studies to date evaluating the use of checklists for improving quality of care in veterinary medicine. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of checklists during wellness and post-elective surgery appointments conducted by fourth-year veterinary students within their Community Practice rotation at a US veterinary teaching hospital. Students were randomly assigned to one of two groups: those who were specifically asked to use the provided checklists during appointments, and those who were not asked to use the checklists but had them available. Two individuals blinded to the study reviewed the tapes of all appointments in each study group to determine the amount and type of medical information offered by veterinary students. Students who were specifically asked to use the checklists provided significantly more information to owners, with the exception of keeping the incision clean. Results indicate the use of checklists helps students provide more complete information to their clients, thereby potentially enhancing animal care.

Analysis of reliability of professor recommendation letters based on concordance with self-introduction letter.

PubMed

Kim, Sang Hyun

2013-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the concordance between a checklist's categories of professor recommendation letters and characteristics of the self-introduction letter. Checklists of professor recommendation letters were analyzed and classified into cognitive, social, and affective domains. Simple correlation was performed to determine whether the characteristics of the checklists were concordant with those of the self-introduction letter. The difference in ratings of the checklists by pass or fail grades was analyzed by independent sample t-test. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether a pass or fail grade was influenced by ratings on the checklists. The Cronbach alpha value of the checklists was 0.854. Initiative, as an affective domain, in the professor's recommendation letter was highly ranked among the six checklist categories. Self-directed learning in the self-introduction letter was influenced by a pass or fail grade by logistic regression analysis (p<0.05). Successful applicants received higher ratings than those who failed in every checklist category, particularly in problem-solving ability, communication skills, initiative, and morality (p<0.05). There was a strong correlation between cognitive and affective characteristics in the professor recommendation letters and the sum of all characteristics in the self-introduction letter.

Inter-rater reliability of an observation-based ergonomics assessment checklist for office workers.

PubMed

Pereira, Michelle Jessica; Straker, Leon Melville; Comans, Tracy Anne; Johnston, Venerina

2016-12-01

To establish the inter-rater reliability of an observation-based ergonomics assessment checklist for computer workers. A 37-item (38-item if a laptop was part of the workstation) comprehensive observational ergonomics assessment checklist comparable to government guidelines and up to date with empirical evidence was developed. Two trained practitioners assessed full-time office workers performing their usual computer-based work and evaluated the suitability of workstations used. Practitioners assessed each participant consecutively. The order of assessors was randomised, and the second assessor was blinded to the findings of the first. Unadjusted kappa coefficients between the raters were obtained for the overall checklist and subsections that were formed from question-items relevant to specific workstation equipment. Twenty-seven office workers were recruited. The inter-rater reliability between two trained practitioners achieved moderate to good reliability for all except one checklist component. This checklist has mostly moderate to good reliability between two trained practitioners. Practitioner Summary: This reliable ergonomics assessment checklist for computer workers was designed using accessible government guidelines and supplemented with up-to-date evidence. Employers in Queensland (Australia) can fulfil legislative requirements by using this reliable checklist to identify and subsequently address potential risk factors for work-related injury to provide a safe working environment.

Salivary gland degeneration and vitellogenesis in the ixodid tick Amblyomma hebraeum: Surpassing a critical weight is the prerequisite and detachment from the host is the trigger.

PubMed

Friesen, Kevin J; Kaufman, W Reuben

2009-10-01

The normal engorged body weight of female ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) is about 100x the unfed weight. Virgin female Amblyomma hebraeum normally do not feed beyond 10x the unfed weight. However, about 10-20% of a population of virgins will feed to perhaps 20x the unfed weight, but not much beyond that. In A. hebraeum, when females surpass about 10x the unfed weight, the following changes in physiology occur if they are removed from the host: (a) they will not reattach if given the opportunity, (b) their salivary glands (SGs) will undergo autolysis within 4 days if they are mated or 8 days if they are virgin, and (c) egg maturation and oviposition will occur in due course. Mated or virgin female ticks removed from the host below about 10x the unfed weight do not experience the latter changes (Kaufman, W.R., Lomas, L., 1996. 'Male Factors' in ticks: their role in feeding and egg development. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 30, 191-198). In 1984 we named this transitional weight, the 'critical weight' (CW). Its absolute value is probably a species-specific characteristic (Kaufman, W.R., 2007. Gluttony and sex in female ixodid ticks: how do they compare to other blood-sucking arthropods? Journal of Insect Physiology 53, 264-273). Although mated females tend to engorge within a day of surpassing the CW, virgin females surpassing the CW can remain attached to the host for at least several weeks more. It is not known whether the physiological changes in the SGs and ovaries listed above occur in those large virgins that remain attached, although we suppose that this would be maladaptive. Instead, we hypothesize in this study that surpassing the CW is only a prerequisite for inducing these changes, and that detachment is the actual trigger. We support our hypothesis by demonstrating that large virgins, remaining attached to a host for 8 days, did not undergo SG degeneration nor complete egg maturation during the attachment period. Those changes occurred only within 8 days following detachment. So some type of sensory information associated with attachment to the host, and still undefined, inhibits expression of the physiological changes hitherto associated merely with surpassing the CW.

Special Consolidated Checklists for Toxicity Characteristics Revisions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist consolidates the changes to the Federal code addressed by the Toxicity Characteristic (TC) Rule [55 FR 11798; March 29, 1990; Revision Checklist 74] and subsequent revisions which have occurred through December 31, 2002.

Checklist for clinical readiness published

Cancer.gov

Scientists from NCI, together with collaborators from outside academic centers, have developed a checklist of criteria to evaluate the readiness of complex molecular tests that will guide decisions made during clinical trials. The checklist focuses on tes

High-fidelity teleportation beyond the no-cloning limit and entanglement swapping for continuous variables.

PubMed

Takei, Nobuyuki; Yonezawa, Hidehiro; Aoki, Takao; Furusawa, Akira

2005-06-10

We experimentally demonstrate continuous-variable quantum teleportation beyond the no-cloning limit. We teleport a coherent state and achieve the fidelity of 0.70 +/- 0.02 that surpasses the no-cloning limit of 2/3. Surpassing the limit is necessary to transfer the nonclassicality of an input quantum state. By using our high-fidelity teleporter, we demonstrate entanglement swapping, namely, teleportation of quantum entanglement, as an example of transfer of nonclassicality.

Lesson 6: Using the Checklist to Work through System Requirements

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Lesson 6 describes how these same requirements are presented in the CROMERR System Checklist (which was introduced in Lesson 4). You may want to refer to the checklist as you step through this lesson.

Special Consolidated Checklists for Organic Air Emission Standards

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist consolidates changes made to the Federal code by the December 6, 1994 final rule regarding Subpart CC standards [(59 FR 62896); Revision Checklist 154] and subsequent revisions which have occurred through December 31, 2002.

Checklists for 45/90 Preliminary Technical Screen

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We use checklists to ensure that the application is ready for in depth review, as required by FIFRA. Applicants can use them to help ensure their applications are complete. You may submit the checklist with the application.

A treatment goal checklist for people with personality disorder.

PubMed

Wood, Katherine; McMurran, Mary

2013-11-01

Agreement between client and therapist on treatment goals has been consistently linked with improved treatment outcomes. Having clear and collaborative goals may be particularly important when working with clients diagnosed with personality disorders who are often difficult to engage and test the boundaries of therapy. This paper outlines the development of a personality disorder treatment goal checklist aimed at helping clients and therapists to identify and prioritize their goals for therapy. The checklist was developed using self-reported problems of the first 90 participants randomized into the psychoeducation and problem solving (PEPS) trial. Problems were coded and categorized into problem areas. The checklist was viewed by two service users who gave suggestions for improvements. The final checklist consists of 161 items in 16 problem areas. The checklist may provide a clinically useful tool for working with this client group. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Human Factors Checklist: Think Human Factors - Focus on the People

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Darcy; Stelges, Katrine; Barth, Timothy; Stambolian, Damon; Henderson, Gena; Dischinger, Charles; Kanki, Barbara; Kramer, Ian

2016-01-01

A quick-look Human Factors (HF) Checklist condenses industry and NASA Agency standards consisting of thousands of requirements into 14 main categories. With support from contractor HF and Safety Practitioners, NASA developed a means to share key HF messages with Design, Engineering, Safety, Project Management, and others. It is often difficult to complete timely assessments due to the large volume of HF information. The HF Checklist evolved over time into a simple way to consider the most important concepts. A wide audience can apply the checklist early in design or through planning phases, even before hardware or processes are finalized or implemented. The checklist is a good place to start to supplement formal HF evaluation. The HF Checklist was based on many Space Shuttle processing experiences and lessons learned. It is now being applied to ground processing of new space vehicles and adjusted for new facilities and systems.

Assessing the weighted multi-objective adaptive surrogate model optimization to derive large-scale reservoir operating rules with sensitivity analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jingwen; Wang, Xu; Liu, Pan; Lei, Xiaohui; Li, Zejun; Gong, Wei; Duan, Qingyun; Wang, Hao

2017-01-01

The optimization of large-scale reservoir system is time-consuming due to its intrinsic characteristics of non-commensurable objectives and high dimensionality. One way to solve the problem is to employ an efficient multi-objective optimization algorithm in the derivation of large-scale reservoir operating rules. In this study, the Weighted Multi-Objective Adaptive Surrogate Model Optimization (WMO-ASMO) algorithm is used. It consists of three steps: (1) simplifying the large-scale reservoir operating rules by the aggregation-decomposition model, (2) identifying the most sensitive parameters through multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) for dimensional reduction, and (3) reducing computational cost and speeding the searching process by WMO-ASMO, embedded with weighted non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (WNSGAII). The intercomparison of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGAII), WNSGAII and WMO-ASMO are conducted in the large-scale reservoir system of Xijiang river basin in China. Results indicate that: (1) WNSGAII surpasses NSGAII in the median of annual power generation, increased by 1.03% (from 523.29 to 528.67 billion kW h), and the median of ecological index, optimized by 3.87% (from 1.879 to 1.809) with 500 simulations, because of the weighted crowding distance and (2) WMO-ASMO outperforms NSGAII and WNSGAII in terms of better solutions (annual power generation (530.032 billion kW h) and ecological index (1.675)) with 1000 simulations and computational time reduced by 25% (from 10 h to 8 h) with 500 simulations. Therefore, the proposed method is proved to be more efficient and could provide better Pareto frontier.

Assessing validity of observational intervention studies – the Benchmarking Controlled Trials

PubMed Central

Malmivaara, Antti

2016-01-01

Abstract Background: Benchmarking Controlled Trial (BCT) is a concept which covers all observational studies aiming to assess impact of interventions or health care system features to patients and populations. Aims: To create and pilot test a checklist for appraising methodological validity of a BCT. Methods: The checklist was created by extracting the most essential elements from the comprehensive set of criteria in the previous paper on BCTs. Also checklists and scientific papers on observational studies and respective systematic reviews were utilized. Ten BCTs published in the Lancet and in the New England Journal of Medicine were used to assess feasibility of the created checklist. Results: The appraised studies seem to have several methodological limitations, some of which could be avoided in planning, conducting and reporting phases of the studies. Conclusions: The checklist can be used for planning, conducting, reporting, reviewing, and critical reading of observational intervention studies. However, the piloted checklist should be validated in further studies.Key messagesBenchmarking Controlled Trial (BCT) is a concept which covers all observational studies aiming to assess impact of interventions or health care system features to patients and populations.This paper presents a checklist for appraising methodological validity of BCTs and pilot-tests the checklist with ten BCTs published in leading medical journals. The appraised studies seem to have several methodological limitations, some of which could be avoided in planning, conducting and reporting phases of the studies.The checklist can be used for planning, conducting, reporting, reviewing, and critical reading of observational intervention studies. PMID:27238631

The GUIDES checklist: development of a tool to improve the successful use of guideline-based computerised clinical decision support.

PubMed

Van de Velde, Stijn; Kunnamo, Ilkka; Roshanov, Pavel; Kortteisto, Tiina; Aertgeerts, Bert; Vandvik, Per Olav; Flottorp, Signe

2018-06-25

Computerised decision support (CDS) based on trustworthy clinical guidelines is a key component of a learning healthcare system. Research shows that the effectiveness of CDS is mixed. Multifaceted context, system, recommendation and implementation factors may potentially affect the success of CDS interventions. This paper describes the development of a checklist that is intended to support professionals to implement CDS successfully. We developed the checklist through an iterative process that involved a systematic review of evidence and frameworks, a synthesis of the success factors identified in the review, feedback from an international expert panel that evaluated the checklist in relation to a list of desirable framework attributes, consultations with patients and healthcare consumers and pilot testing of the checklist. We screened 5347 papers and selected 71 papers with relevant information on success factors for guideline-based CDS. From the selected papers, we developed a 16-factor checklist that is divided in four domains, i.e. the CDS context, content, system and implementation domains. The panel of experts evaluated the checklist positively as an instrument that could support people implementing guideline-based CDS across a wide range of settings globally. Patients and healthcare consumers identified guideline-based CDS as an important quality improvement intervention and perceived the GUIDES checklist as a suitable and useful strategy. The GUIDES checklist can support professionals in considering the factors that affect the success of CDS interventions. It may facilitate a deeper and more accurate understanding of the factors shaping CDS effectiveness. Relying on a structured approach may prevent that important factors are missed.

Sample Federal Facility Land Use Control ROD Checklist and Suggested Language (LUC Checklist)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The LUC Checklist provides direction on describing and documenting land use controls (LUCs) in federal facility actrions under CERCLA in Records of Decision (RODs), remedial designs (RDs), and remedial action work plans (RAWPs).

Development of a Child Abuse Checklist to Evaluate Prehospital Provider Performance.

PubMed

Alphonso, Aimee; Auerbach, Marc; Bechtel, Kirsten; Bilodeau, Kyle; Gawel, Marcie; Koziel, Jeannette; Whitfill, Travis; Tiyyagura, Gunjan Kamdar

2017-01-01

To develop and provide validity evidence for a performance checklist to evaluate the child abuse screening behaviors of prehospital providers. Checklist Development: We developed the first iteration of the checklist after review of the relevant literature and on the basis of the authors' clinical experience. Next, a panel of six content experts participated in three rounds of Delphi review to reach consensus on the final checklist items. Checklist Validation: Twenty-eight emergency medical services (EMS) providers (16 EMT-Basics, 12 EMT-Paramedics) participated in a standardized simulated case of physical child abuse to an infant followed by one-on-one semi-structured qualitative interviews. Three reviewers scored the videotaped performance using the final checklist. Light's kappa and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to assess inter-rater reliability (IRR) and internal consistency, respectively. The correlation of successful child abuse screening with checklist task completion and with participant characteristics were compared using Pearson's chi squared test to gather evidence for construct validity. The Delphi review process resulted in a final checklist that included 24 items classified with trichotomous scoring (done, not done, or not applicable). The overall IRR of the three raters was 0.70 using Light's kappa, indicating substantial agreement. Internal consistency of the checklist was low, with an overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.61. Of 28 participants, only 14 (50%) successfully screened for child abuse in simulation. Participants who successfully screened for child abuse did not differ significantly from those who failed to screen in terms of training level, past experience with child abuse reporting, or self-reported confidence in detecting child abuse (all p > 0.30). Of all 24 tasks, only the task of exposing the infant significantly correlated with successful detection of child abuse (p < 0.05). We developed a child abuse checklist that demonstrated strong content validity and substantial inter-rater reliability, but successful item completion did not correlate with other markers of provider experience. The validated instrument has important potential for training, continuing education, and research for prehospital providers at all levels of training.

Evaluation of cold workplaces: an overview of standards for assessment of cold stress.

PubMed

Holmér, Ingvar

2009-07-01

Many persons world wide are exposed to cold environments, either indoors for example in cold stores, or outdoors. Cold is a hazard to health and may affect safety and performance of work. Basis for the creation of safe and optimal working conditions may be obtained by the application of relevant international standards. ISO 11079 presents a method for evaluation of whole body heat balance. On the basis of climate and activity a required clothing insulation (IREQ) for heat balance is determined. For clothing with known insulation value an exposure time limited is calculated. ISO 11079 also includes criteria for assessment of local cooling. Finger temperatures should not be below 24 degrees C during prolonged exposures or 15 degrees C occasionally. Wind chill temperature indicates the risk of bare skin to freeze for combinations of wind and low temperatures. Special protection of airways is recommended at temperatures below -20 degrees C, in particular during heavy work. Additional standards are available describing evaluation strategies, work place observation checklists and checklist for medical screening. Risks associated with contact with cold surfaces can be evaluated with ISO 13732. The strategy and principles for assessment and prevention of cold stress are reviewed in this paper.

Summary of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) State Authorization Rule Checklist 3006(f)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist is an electronic version of the original document found in the 1986 State Consolidated RCRA Authorization Manual (SCRAM). The checklist has not undergone any formal legal review since publication in the SCRAM.

Appeasing the Dragon: An Analysis of Foreign Military Sales to Taiwan as an Indicator of Chinese Influence on US Foreign Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-26

9 Over the last year, China has surpassed the United States as the largest consumer of GM automobiles with ―[a]utomakers… looking to China to...YUM brands, owner of fast-food chains like KFC and Pizza Hut, reported $1.2 billion in Chinese sales in its most recent quarter, surpassing its...representatives of large and small businesses, farm organizations, trade associations and consumer groups wrote to Clinton telling him that a failure

E-learning optimization: the relative and combined effects of mental practice and modeling on enhanced podcast-based learning-a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Alam, Fahad; Boet, Sylvain; Piquette, Dominique; Lai, Anita; Perkes, Christopher P; LeBlanc, Vicki R

2016-10-01

Enhanced podcasts increase learning, but evidence is lacking on how they should be designed to optimize their effectiveness. This study assessed the impact two learning instructional design methods (mental practice and modeling), either on their own or in combination, for teaching complex cognitive medical content when incorporated into enhanced podcasts. Sixty-three medical students were randomised to one of four versions of an airway management enhanced podcast: (1) control: narrated presentation; (2) modeling: narration with video demonstration of skills; (3) mental practice: narrated presentation with guided mental practice; (4) combined: modeling and mental practice. One week later, students managed a manikin-based simulated airway crisis. Knowledge acquisition was assessed by baseline and retention multiple-choice quizzes. Two blinded raters assessed all videos obtained from simulated crises to measure the students' skills using a key-elements scale, critical error checklist, and the Ottawa global rating scale (GRS). Baseline knowledge was not different between all four groups (p = 0.65). One week later, knowledge retention was significantly higher for (1) both the mental practice and modeling group than the control group (p = 0.01; p = 0.01, respectively) and (2) the combined mental practice and modeling group compared to all other groups (all ps = 0.01). Regarding skills acquisition, the control group significantly under-performed in comparison to all other groups on the key-events scale (all ps ≤ 0.05), the critical error checklist (all ps ≤ 0.05), and the Ottawa GRS (all ps ≤ 0.05). The combination of mental practice and modeling led to greater improvement on the key events checklist (p = 0.01) compared to either strategy alone. However, the combination of the two strategies did not result in any further learning gains on the two other measures of clinical performance (all ps > 0.05). The effectiveness of enhanced podcasts for knowledge retention and clinical skill acquisition is increased with either mental practice or modeling. The combination of mental practice and modeling had synergistic effects on knowledge retention, but conveyed less clear advantages in its application through clinical skills.

A cluster randomized trial for the implementation of an antibiotic checklist based on validated quality indicators: the AB-checklist.

PubMed

van Daalen, Frederike V; Prins, Jan M; Opmeer, Brent C; Boermeester, Marja A; Visser, Caroline E; van Hest, Reinier M; Hulscher, Marlies E J L; Geerlings, Suzanne E

2015-03-19

Recently we developed and validated generic quality indicators that define 'appropriate antibiotic use' in hospitalized adults treated for a (suspected) bacterial infection. Previous studies have shown that with appropriate antibiotic use a reduction of 13% of length of hospital stay can be achieved. Our main objective in this project is to provide hospitals with an antibiotic checklist based on these quality indicators, and to evaluate the introduction of this checklist in terms of (cost-) effectiveness. The checklist applies to hospitalized adults with a suspected bacterial infection for whom antibiotic therapy is initiated, at first via the intravenous route. A stepped wedge study design will be used, comparing outcomes before and after introduction of the checklist in nine hospitals in the Netherlands. At least 810 patients will be included in both the control and the intervention group. The primary endpoint is length of hospital stay. Secondary endpoints are appropriate antibiotic use measured by the quality indicators, admission to and duration of intensive care unit stay, readmission within 30 days, mortality, total antibiotic use, and costs associated with implementation and hospital stay. Differences in numerical endpoints between the two periods will be evaluated with mixed linear models; for dichotomous outcomes generalized estimating equation models will be used. A process evaluation will be performed to evaluate the professionals' compliance with use of the checklist. The key question for the economic evaluation is whether the benefits of the checklist, which include reduced antibiotic use, reduced length of stay and associated costs, justify the costs associated with implementation activities as well as daily use of the checklist. If (cost-) effective, the AB-checklist will provide physicians with a tool to support appropriate antibiotic use in adult hospitalized patients who start with intravenous antibiotics. Dutch trial registry: NTR4872.

An Independent Human Factors Analysis and Evaluation of the Emergency Medical Protocol Checklist for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshburn, Thomas; Whitmore, Mihriban; Ortiz, Rosie; Segal, Michele; Smart, Kieran; Hughes, Catherine

2003-01-01

Emergency medical capabilities aboard the ISS include a Crew Medical Officer (CMO) (not necessarily a physician), and back-up, resuscitation equipment, and a medical checklist. It is essential that CMOs have reliable, usable and informative medical protocols that can be carried out independently in flight. The study evaluates the existing ISS Medical Checklist layout against a checklist updated to reflect a human factors approach to structure and organization. Method: The ISS Medical checklist was divided into non-emergency and emergency sections, and re-organized based on alphabetical and a body systems approach. A desk-top evaluation examined the ability of subjects to navigate to specific medical problems identified as representative of likely non-emergency events. A second evaluation aims to focus on the emergency section of the Medical Checklist, based on the preliminary findings of the first. The final evaluation will use Astronaut CMOs as subjects comparing the original checklist against the updated layout in the task of caring for a "downed crewmember" using a Human Patient Simulator [Medical Education Technologies, Inc.]. Results: Initial results have demonstrated a clear improvement of the re-organized sections to determine the solution to the medical problems. There was no distinct advantage for either alternative, although subjects stated having a preference for the body systems approach. In the second evaluation, subjects will be asked to identify emergency medical conditions, with measures including correct diagnosis, time to completion and solution strategy. The third evaluation will compare the original and fully updated checklists in clinical situations. Conclusions: Initial findings indicate that the ISS Medical Checklist will benefit from a reorganization. The present structure of the checklist has evolved over recent years without systematic testing of crewmember ability to diagnose medical problems. The improvements are expected to enable ISS Crewmembers to more speedily and accurately respond to medical situations on the ISS.

Heuristic Evaluation on Mobile Interfaces: A New Checklist

PubMed Central

Yáñez Gómez, Rosa; Cascado Caballero, Daniel; Sevillano, José-Luis

2014-01-01

The rapid evolution and adoption of mobile devices raise new usability challenges, given their limitations (in screen size, battery life, etc.) as well as the specific requirements of this new interaction. Traditional evaluation techniques need to be adapted in order for these requirements to be met. Heuristic evaluation (HE), an Inspection Method based on evaluation conducted by experts over a real system or prototype, is based on checklists which are desktop-centred and do not adequately detect mobile-specific usability issues. In this paper, we propose a compilation of heuristic evaluation checklists taken from the existing bibliography but readapted to new mobile interfaces. Selecting and rearranging these heuristic guidelines offer a tool which works well not just for evaluation but also as a best-practices checklist. The result is a comprehensive checklist which is experimentally evaluated as a design tool. This experimental evaluation involved two software engineers without any specific knowledge about usability, a group of ten users who compared the usability of a first prototype designed without our heuristics, and a second one after applying the proposed checklist. The results of this experiment show the usefulness of the proposed checklist for avoiding usability gaps even with nontrained developers. PMID:25295300

A checklist to assess the quality of reports on spa therapy and balneotherapy trials was developed using the Delphi consensus method: the SPAC checklist.

PubMed

Kamioka, Hiroharu; Kawamura, Yoichi; Tsutani, Kiichiro; Maeda, Masaharu; Hayasaka, Shinya; Okuizum, Hiroyasu; Okada, Shinpei; Honda, Takuya; Iijima, Yuichi

2013-08-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist of items that describes and measures the quality of reports of interventional trials assessing spa therapy. The Delphi consensus method was used to select the number of items in the checklist. A total of eight individuals participated, including an epidemiologist, a clinical research methodologist, clinical researchers, a medical journalist, and a health fitness programmer. Participants ranked on a 9-point Likert scale whether an item should be included in the checklist. Three rounds of the Delphi method were conducted to achieve consensus. The final checklist contained 19 items, with items related to title, place of implementation (specificity of spa), care provider influence, and additional measures to minimize the potential bias from withdrawals, loss to follow-up, and low treatment adherence. This checklist is simple and quick to complete, and should help clinicians and researchers critically appraise the medical and healthcare literature, reviewers assess the quality of reports included in systematic reviews, and researchers plan interventional trials of spa therapy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Investigation of Diagnostic Accuracy and Confidence Associated with Diagnostic Checklists as Well as Gender Biases in Relation to Mental Disorders.

PubMed

Cwik, Jan C; Papen, Fabienne; Lemke, Jan-Erik; Margraf, Jürgen

2016-01-01

This study examines the utility of checklists in attaining more accurate diagnoses in the context of diagnostic decision-making for mental disorders. The study also aimed to replicate results from a meta-analysis indicating that there is no association between patients' gender and misdiagnoses. To this end, 475 psychotherapists were asked to judge three case vignettes describing patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder. Therapists were randomly assigned to experimental conditions in a 2 (diagnostic method: with using diagnostic checklists vs. without using diagnostic checklists) × 2 (gender: male vs. female case vignettes) between-subjects design. Multinomial logistic and linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between the usage of diagnostic checklists as well as patients' gender and diagnostic decisions. The results showed that when checklists were used, fewer incorrect co-morbid diagnoses were made, but clinicians were less likely to diagnose MDD even when the criteria were met. Additionally, checklists improved therapists' confidence with diagnostic decisions, but were not associated with estimations of patients' characteristics. As expected, there were no significant associations between gender and diagnostic decisions.

Interfacing of differential-capacitive biomimetic hair flow-sensors for optimal sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dagamseh, A. M. K.; Bruinink, C. M.; Wiegerink, R. J.; Lammerink, T. S. J.; Droogendijk, H.; Krijnen, G. J. M.

2013-03-01

Biologically inspired sensor-designs are investigated as a possible path to surpass the performance of more traditionally engineered designs. Inspired by crickets, artificial hair sensors have shown the ability to detect minute flow signals. This paper addresses developments in the design, fabrication, interfacing and characterization of biomimetic hair flow-sensors towards sensitive high-density arrays. Improvement of the electrode design of the hair sensors has resulted in a reduction of the smallest hair movements that can be measured. In comparison to the arrayed hairs-sensor design, the detection-limit was arguably improved at least twelve-fold, down to 1 mm s-1 airflow amplitude at 250 Hz as measured in a bandwidth of 3 kHz. The directivity pattern closely resembles a figure-of-eight. These sensitive hair-sensors open possibilities for high-resolution spatio-temporal flow pattern observations.

76 FR 41799 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-15

... Checklist: Medicaid Eligibility & Enrollment Systems--Advance Planning Document (E&E-APD); Use: Under... Eligibility/Enrollment Systems APD approval assignment. The information requested on the Checklist will be... an Expedited Checklist: Medicaid Eligibility & Enrollment Systems--Advance Planning Document (E& -APD...

Lessons from aviation - the role of checklists in minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

PubMed

Hussain, S; Adams, C; Cleland, A; Jones, P M; Walsh, G; Kiaii, B

2016-01-01

We describe an adverse event during minimally invasive cardiac surgery that resulted in a multi-disciplinary review of intra-operative errors and the creation of a procedural checklist. This checklist aims to prevent errors of omission and communication failures that result in increased morbidity and mortality. We discuss the application of the aviation - led "threats and errors model" to medical practice and the role of checklists and other strategies aimed at reducing medical errors. © The Author(s) 2015.

Planning New Medical Library Buildings: an Annotated Checklist with Selected References

PubMed Central

Martin, Jess A.

1969-01-01

Special attention is paid to several planning essentials for new medical library buildings. These should be covered in the program of requirements that appears as item six on the checklist. The checklist assumes that the decision to build a new medical library has been made and that monies have been allocated for that purpose. References pertaining to the checklist items are provided along with a suggested timetable for achieving each, based on the author's own experiences. PMID:5823509

A randomised controlled trial of cognitive aids for emergency airway equipment preparation in a Paediatric Emergency Department.

PubMed

Long, Elliot; Fitzpatrick, Patrick; Cincotta, Domenic R; Grindlay, Joanne; Barrett, Michael Joseph

2016-01-27

Safety of emergency intubation may be improved by standardising equipment preparation; the efficacy of cognitive aids is unknown. This randomised controlled trial compared no cognitive aid (control) with the use of a checklist or picture template for emergency airway equipment preparation in the Emergency Department of The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Sixty-three participants were recruited, 21 randomised to each group. Equal numbers of nursing, junior medical, and senior medical staff were included in each group. Compared to controls, the checklist or template group had significantly lower equipment omission rates (median 30% IQR 20-40% control, median 10% IQR 5-10 % checklist, median 10% IQR 5-20% template; p < 0.05). The combined omission rate and sizing error rate was lower using a checklist or template (median 35 % IQR 30-45 % control, median 15% IQR 10-20% checklist, median 15% IQR 10-30% template; p < 0.05). The template group had less variation in equipment location compared to checklist or controls. There was no significant difference in preparation time in controls (mean 3 min 14 s sd 56 s) compared to checklist (mean 3 min 46 s sd 1 min 15 s) or template (mean 3 min 6 s sd 49 s; p = 0.06). Template use reduces variation in airway equipment location during preparation foremergency intubation, with an equivalent reduction in equipment omission rate to the use of a checklist. The use of a template for equipment preparation and a checklist for team, patient, and monitoring preparation may provide the best combination of both cognitive aids. The use of a cognitive aid for emergency airway equipment preparation reduces errors of omission. Template utilisation reduces variation in equipment location. Australian and New Zealand Trials Registry (ACTRN12615000541505).

THE EFFECT OF FEEDBACK ON THE ACCURACY OF CHECKLIST COMPLETION DURING INSTRUMENT FLIGHT TRAINING

PubMed Central

Rantz, William G; Dickinson, Alyce M; Sinclair, Gilbert A; Van Houten, Ron

2009-01-01

This study examined whether pilots completed airplane checklists more accurately when they receive postflight graphic and verbal feedback. Participants were 8 college students who are pilots with an instrument rating. The task consisted of flying a designated flight pattern using a personal computer aviation training device (PCATD). The dependent variables were the number of checklist items completed correctly. A multiple baseline design across pairs of participants with withdrawal of treatment was employed in this study. During baseline, participants were given postflight technical feedback. During intervention, participants were given postflight graphic feedback on checklist use and praise for improvements along with technical feedback. The intervention produced near perfect checklist performance, which was maintained following a return to the baseline conditions. PMID:20190914

The influence of perceived parenting styles on socio-emotional development from pre-puberty into puberty.

PubMed

Ong, Min Yee; Eilander, Janna; Saw, Seang Mei; Xie, Yuhuan; Meaney, Michael J; Broekman, Birit F P

2018-01-01

The relative impact of parenting on socio-emotional development of children has rarely been examined in a longitudinal context. This study examined the association between perceived parenting styles and socio-emotional functioning from childhood to adolescence. We hypothesized that optimal parenting associated with improvement in socio-emotional functioning from childhood into early adulthood, especially for those with more behavioral problems in childhood. Children between ages 7 and 9 years were recruited for the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM). Nine years later, 700 out of 1052 subjects were followed up (67%). During childhood, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), while young adults completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Perceived optimal parental care resulted in less internalizing and externalizing problems in early adulthood in comparison to non-optimal parental care styles. Perceived optimal paternal parenting, but not maternal parenting, in interaction with childhood externalizing problems predicted externalizing symptoms in early adulthood. No significant interactions were found between perceived parenting styles and internalizing problems. In conclusion, perceived parental care associates with the quality of socio-emotional development, while optimal parenting by the father is especially important for children with more externalizing problems in childhood.

The Differentiation of Childhood Psychoses: An Analysis of Checklists for 2,218 Psychotic Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rimland, Bernard

1971-01-01

Rimland's Diagnostic Checklist for Behavior-Disturbed Children, Form E-2, a checklist method of diagnosing early infantile autism, is described and statistics cited to show Form E-2 effective in differentiating truly autistic from autistic-type children. (KW)

Appendix G - Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Inspection Checklists - Tier I Qualified Facility Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

For Tier I Qualified Facilities - This checklist assists EPA inspectors in conducting a thorough and nationally consistent inspection of a facility’s compliance with the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule at 40 CFR Part 112.

Procedures for Developing Evidence-Informed Performance Checklists for Improving Early Childhood Intervention Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunst, Carl J.

2017-01-01

A conceptualization-operationalization-measurement framework is described for developing evidence-informed early childhood intervention performance checklists. Performance checklists include lists of practice indicators where the indicators, taken together, operationally define particular types of intervention practices that, when used as…

Checklist of the 'lower Brachycera' of Finland: Tabanomorpha, Asilomorpha and associated families (Diptera).

PubMed

Kahanpää, Jere; Winqvist, Kaj; Zeegers, Theo

2014-01-01

A checklist of the 'lower Brachycera' of Finland is presented. This part of the complete checklist of Finnish Diptera covers the families Acroceridae, Asilidae, Athericidae, Bombyliidae, Mythicomyiidae, Rhagionidae, Scenopinidae, Stratiomyidae, Tabanidae, Therevidae, Xylomyidae and Xylophagidae.

Clinical review: Checklists - translating evidence into practice

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Checklists are common tools used in many industries. Unfortunately, their adoption in the field of medicine has been limited to equipment operations or part of specific algorithms. Yet they have tremendous potential to improve patient outcomes by democratizing knowledge and helping ensure that all patients receive evidence-based best practices and safe high-quality care. Checklist adoption has been slowed by a variety of factors, including provider resistance, delays in knowledge dissemination and integration, limited methodology to guide development and maintenance, and lack of effective technical strategies to make them available and easy to use. In this article, we explore some of the principles and possible strategies to further develop and encourage the implementation of checklists into medical practice. We describe different types of checklists using examples and explore the benefits they offer to improve care. We suggest methods to create checklists and offer suggestions for how we might apply them, using some examples from our own experience, and finally, offer some possible directions for future research. PMID:20064195

Checklist and "Pollard Walk" butterfly survey methods on public lands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Royer, Ronald A.; Austin, Jane E.; Newton, Wesley E.

1998-01-01

Checklist and “Pollard Walk” butterfly survey methods were contemporaneously applied to seven public sites in North Dakota during the summer of 1995. Results were compared for effect of method and site on total number of butterflies and total number of species detected per hour. Checklist searching produced significantly more butterfly detections per hour than Pollard Walks at all sites. Number of species detected per hour did not differ significantly either among sites or between methods. Many species were detected by only one method, and at most sites generalist and invader species were more likely to be observed during checklist searches than during Pollard Walks. Results indicate that checklist surveys are a more efficient means for initial determination of a species list for a site, whereas for long-term monitoring the Pollard Walk is more practical and statistically manageable. Pollard Walk transects are thus recommended once a prairie butterfly fauna has been defined for a site by checklist surveys.

Examining the Quality of Rectal Cancer Operative Reports in Teaching Institutions: Is There an Opportunity for Resident Education?

PubMed

Parrish, Aaron B; Sanaiha, Yas; Petrie, Beverley A; Russell, Marcia M; Chen, Formosa

2016-10-01

The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons rectal cancer checklist describes a set of best practices for rectal cancer surgery. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of operative reports for rectal cancer surgery based on the intraoperative American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons checklist items. Patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery at two public teaching hospitals from 2009 to 2015 were included. A total of 12 intraoperative checklist items were assessed. One hundred and fifty-eight operative reports were reviewed. Overall adherence to checklist items was 55 per cent, and was significantly higher in attending versus resident dictated reports (67% vs 51%, P < 0.01). Senior residents had significantly higher adherence to checklist items than junior residents (55% vs 44%, P < 0.01). However, overall adherence to rectal cancer checklist items was low. This represents an opportunity to improve the quality of operative documentation in rectal cancer surgery, which could also impact the technical quality of the operation itself.

Implementation of Quality Systems in Nuclear Medicine: Why It Matters. An Outcome Analysis (Quality Management Audits in Nuclear Medicine Part III).

PubMed

Dondi, Maurizio; Paez, Diana; Torres, Leonel; Marengo, Mario; Delaloye, Angelika Bischof; Solanki, Kishor; Van Zyl Ellmann, Annare; Lobato, Enrique Estrada; Miller, Rodolfo Nunez; Giammarile, Francesco; Pascual, Thomas

2018-05-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) developed a comprehensive program-Quality Management Audits in Nuclear Medicine (QUANUM). This program covers all aspects of nuclear medicine practices including, but not limited to, clinical practice, management, operations, and services. The QUANUM program, which includes quality standards detailed in relevant checklists, aims at introducing a culture of comprehensive quality audit processes that are patient oriented, systematic, and outcome based. This paper will focus on the impact of the implementation of QUANUM on daily routine practices in audited centers. Thirty-seven centers, which had been externally audited by experts under IAEA auspices at least 1 year earlier, were invited to run an internal audit using the QUANUM checklists. The external audits also served as training in quality management and the use of QUANUM for the local teams, which were responsible of conducting the internal audits. Twenty-five out of the 37 centers provided their internal audit report, which was compared with the previous external audit. The program requires that auditors score each requirement within the QUANUM checklists on a scale of 0-4, where 0-2 means nonconformance and 3-4 means conformance to international regulations and standards on which QUANUM is based. Our analysis covering both general and clinical areas assessed changes on the conformance status on a binary manner and the level of conformance scores. Statistical analysis was performed using nonparametric statistical tests. The evaluation of the general checklists showed a global improvement on both the status and the levels of conformances (P < 0.01). The evaluation of the requirements by checklist also showed a significant improvement in all, with the exception of Hormones and Tumor marker determinations, where changes were not significant. Of the 25 evaluated institutions, 88% (22 of 25) and 92% (23 of 25) improved their status and levels of conformance, respectively. Fifty-five requirements, on average, increased from nonconformance to conformance status. In 8 key areas, the number of improved requirements was well above the average: Administration & Management (checklist 2); Radiation Protection & Safety (checklist 4); General Quality Assurance system (checklist 6); Imaging Equipment Quality Assurance or Quality Control (checklist 7); General Diagnostic (checklist 9); General Therapeutic (checklist 12); Radiopharmacy Level 1 (checklist 14); and Radiopharmacy Level 2 (checklist 15). Analysis of results related to clinical activities showed an overall positive impact on both the status and the level of conformance to international standards. Similar results were obtained for the most frequently performed clinical imaging and therapeutic procedures. Our study shows that the implementation of a comprehensive quality management system through the IAEA QUANUM program has a positive impact on nuclear medicine practices. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The New Parent Checklist: A Tool to Promote Parental Reflection.

PubMed

Keys, Elizabeth M; McNeil, Deborah A; Wallace, Donna A; Bostick, Jason; Churchill, A Jocelyn; Dodd, Maureen M

To design and establish content and face validity of an evidence-informed tool that promotes parental self-reflection during the transition to parenthood. The New Parent Checklist was developed using a three-phase sequential approach: Phase 1 a scoping review and expert consultation to develop and refine a prototype tool; Phase 2 content analysis of parent focus groups; and Phase 3 assessment of utility in a cross-sectional sample of parents completing the New Parent Checklist and a questionnaire. The initial version of the checklist was considered by experts to contain key information. Focus group participants found it useful, appropriate, and nonjudgmental, and offered suggestions to enhance readability, utility, as well as face and content validity. In the cross-sectional survey, 83% of the participants rated the New Parent Checklist as "helpful" or "very helpful" and 90% found the New Parent Checklist "very easy" to use. Open-ended survey responses included predominantly positive feedback. Notable differences existed for some items based on respondents' first language, age, and sex. Results and feedback from all three phases informed the current version, available for download online. The New Parent Checklist is a comprehensive evidence-informed self-reflective tool with promising content and face validity. Depending on parental characteristics and infant age, certain items of the New Parent Checklist have particular utility but may also require further adaptation and testing. Local resources for information and/or support are included in the tool and could be easily adapted by other regions to incorporate their own local resources.

Guidelines 2.0: systematic development of a comprehensive checklist for a successful guideline enterprise.

PubMed

Schünemann, Holger J; Wiercioch, Wojtek; Etxeandia, Itziar; Falavigna, Maicon; Santesso, Nancy; Mustafa, Reem; Ventresca, Matthew; Brignardello-Petersen, Romina; Laisaar, Kaja-Triin; Kowalski, Sérgio; Baldeh, Tejan; Zhang, Yuan; Raid, Ulla; Neumann, Ignacio; Norris, Susan L; Thornton, Judith; Harbour, Robin; Treweek, Shaun; Guyatt, Gordon; Alonso-Coello, Pablo; Reinap, Marge; Brozek, Jan; Oxman, Andrew; Akl, Elie A

2014-02-18

Although several tools to evaluate the credibility of health care guidelines exist, guidance on practical steps for developing guidelines is lacking. We systematically compiled a comprehensive checklist of items linked to relevant resources and tools that guideline developers could consider, without the expectation that every guideline would address each item. We searched data sources, including manuals of international guideline developers, literature on guidelines for guidelines (with a focus on methodology reports from international and national agencies, and professional societies) and recent articles providing systematic guidance. We reviewed these sources in duplicate, extracted items for the checklist using a sensitive approach and developed overarching topics relevant to guidelines. In an iterative process, we reviewed items for duplication and omissions and involved experts in guideline development for revisions and suggestions for items to be added. We developed a checklist with 18 topics and 146 items and a webpage to facilitate its use by guideline developers. The topics and included items cover all stages of the guideline enterprise, from the planning and formulation of guidelines, to their implementation and evaluation. The final checklist includes links to training materials as well as resources with suggested methodology for applying the items. The checklist will serve as a resource for guideline developers. Consideration of items on the checklist will support the development, implementation and evaluation of guidelines. We will use crowdsourcing to revise the checklist and keep it up to date.

[Feasibility and relevance of an operating room safety checklist for developing countries: Study in a French hospital in Djibouti].

PubMed

Becret, A; Clapson, P; Andro, C; Chapelier, X; Gauthier, J; Kaiser, E

2013-01-01

The use of the World Health Organization surgical safety checklist, mandatory in operating rooms (OR) in France, significantly reduces morbidity and mortality. Our objective was to evaluate the use of this checklist in the OR of a French military hospital in Djibouti (Horn of Africa). The study was performed in three stages: a retrospective evaluation of the checklist use over the previous two months, to assess the utilization and completeness rates; provision of information to the OR staff; and thereafter, prospective evaluation for a one-month period of checklist use, the reasons for non-compliance, and the cases in which the checklist identified errors and thus prevented serious adverse events. The initial utilization rate was 49%, with only 24% complete. After staff training and during the study these rates reached 100% and 99%. The staff encountered language difficulties in 53% of cases, and an interpreter was available for 81% of them. The capacity of the surgical safety checklist to detect serious adverse events was highlighted. The utilization and completeness rates were initially worse than those observed in metropolitan French ORs, but a simple staff information program was rapidly effective. Language difficulties are frequent but an interpreter is often available, unlike in developed countries where language problems are uncommon and the availability of interpreters difficult. Moreover, this study illustrates the ability of the checklist to detect and therefore prevent potentially serious adverse events.

Comparison of dermatoscopic diagnostic algorithms based on calculation: The ABCD rule of dermatoscopy, the seven-point checklist, the three-point checklist and the CASH algorithm in dermatoscopic evaluation of melanocytic lesions.

PubMed

Unlu, Ezgi; Akay, Bengu N; Erdem, Cengizhan

2014-07-01

Dermatoscopic analysis of melanocytic lesions using the CASH algorithm has rarely been described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy rates of the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy, the seven-point checklist, the three-point checklist, and the CASH algorithm in the diagnosis and dermatoscopic evaluation of melanocytic lesions on the hairy skin. One hundred and fifteen melanocytic lesions of 115 patients were examined retrospectively using dermatoscopic images and compared with the histopathologic diagnosis. Four dermatoscopic algorithms were carried out for all lesions. The ABCD rule of dermatoscopy showed sensitivity of 91.6%, specificity of 60.4%, and diagnostic accuracy of 66.9%. The seven-point checklist showed sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of 87.5, 65.9, and 70.4%, respectively; the three-point checklist 79.1, 62.6, 66%; and the CASH algorithm 91.6, 64.8, and 70.4%, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first study that compares the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy, the three-point checklist, the seven-point checklist, and the CASH algorithm for the diagnosis of melanocytic lesions on the hairy skin. In our study, the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy and the CASH algorithm showed the highest sensitivity for the diagnosis of melanoma. © 2014 Japanese Dermatological Association.

Guidelines 2.0: systematic development of a comprehensive checklist for a successful guideline enterprise

PubMed Central

Schünemann, Holger J.; Wiercioch, Wojtek; Etxeandia, Itziar; Falavigna, Maicon; Santesso, Nancy; Mustafa, Reem; Ventresca, Matthew; Brignardello-Petersen, Romina; Laisaar, Kaja-Triin; Kowalski, Sérgio; Baldeh, Tejan; Zhang, Yuan; Raid, Ulla; Neumann, Ignacio; Norris, Susan L.; Thornton, Judith; Harbour, Robin; Treweek, Shaun; Guyatt, Gordon; Alonso-Coello, Pablo; Reinap, Marge; Brožek, Jan; Oxman, Andrew; Akl, Elie A.

2014-01-01

Background: Although several tools to evaluate the credibility of health care guidelines exist, guidance on practical steps for developing guidelines is lacking. We systematically compiled a comprehensive checklist of items linked to relevant resources and tools that guideline developers could consider, without the expectation that every guideline would address each item. Methods: We searched data sources, including manuals of international guideline developers, literature on guidelines for guidelines (with a focus on methodology reports from international and national agencies, and professional societies) and recent articles providing systematic guidance. We reviewed these sources in duplicate, extracted items for the checklist using a sensitive approach and developed overarching topics relevant to guidelines. In an iterative process, we reviewed items for duplication and omissions and involved experts in guideline development for revisions and suggestions for items to be added. Results: We developed a checklist with 18 topics and 146 items and a webpage to facilitate its use by guideline developers. The topics and included items cover all stages of the guideline enterprise, from the planning and formulation of guidelines, to their implementation and evaluation. The final checklist includes links to training materials as well as resources with suggested methodology for applying the items. Interpretation: The checklist will serve as a resource for guideline developers. Consideration of items on the checklist will support the development, implementation and evaluation of guidelines. We will use crowdsourcing to revise the checklist and keep it up to date. PMID:24344144

Evaluation and revision of checklists for screening facilities and municipal governmental programs for gastric cancer and colorectal cancer screening in Japan.

PubMed

Higashi, Takahiro; Machii, Ryoko; Aoki, Ayako; Hamashima, Chisato; Saito, Hiroshi

2010-11-01

To evaluate the appropriateness of current checklists created by a governmental committee to assess screening programs run by municipal governments and service provider facilities for gastric and colorectal cancer, and to accumulate expert opinions to provide insights aimed at the next revision. We convened an expert panel that consisted of physicians nominated by regional offices of the Japanese Society for Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening and radiology technicians nominated by the technician chapter of the society. The panel rated the appropriateness of each checklist item on a scale of 1-9 (1, extremely inappropriate; 9, extremely appropriate) twice, between which they had a face-to-face discussion meeting. During the process they were allowed to propose modifications and additions to the items. In the first round of rating, the panelists rated all 57 and 56 checklists items for gastric and colorectal cancer, respectively, as appropriate based on an acceptance rule determined a priori. During the process of the face-to-face discussion, however, the panel proposed modifications to 23 (40%) and 22 (39%) items, respectively, and the addition of 27 new items each. After integrating overlapping items and rating again for appropriateness, 66 and 64 items, respectively, were accepted as the revised checklist set. The expert panel considered current checklists for colorectal and gastric cancer-screening programs and facilities to be suitable. Their proposals for a new set of checklist items will help further improve the checklists.

Check It Out! Using Checklists to Support Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowlands, Kathleen Dudden

2007-01-01

Kathleen Dudden Rowlands recommends using checklists to support student learning and performance. Well-designed checklists identify steps students can take to complete complex tasks, which scaffolds students' metacognitive development and fosters the confidence and independence needed for internalizing these steps for future tasks. (Contains 7…

CHECKLIST OF DIATOMS FROM THE LAURENTIAN GREAT LAKES

EPA Science Inventory

An updated diatom (Bacillariophyta) checklist for the Great Lakes has been completed (J. Great Lakes Res. 1999) and supplants the preliminary checklist (J. Great Lakes Res. 1978). The present list is effectively a 20-year update. The updated list is based upon: 1) the 1978 checkl...

Selection of an Online Public Access Catalog: A Checklist Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Rourke, Victoria

1987-01-01

The development, field testing, and evaluation of a checklist approach to selecting an integrated library automation system are described, and recommendations for using this approach are outlined. The checklist, which is divided into five main sections of catalog features and functions, is appended. (Author/CLB)

Master Skills Check List and Diagnostics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Tahlequah.

This publication contains master skills checklists originating from a project to develop instructional materials which are geared to individualized, self-paced learning strategies for Cherokee adults. These checklists break down learning into discrete components that can be sequentially mastered by the student. The master skills checklists are a…

ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Checklists, Norms, and Clinical Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pappas, Danielle

2006-01-01

This article reviews the "ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Checklist, norms, and clinical interpretation," is a norm-referenced checklist that measures the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric…

Measuring Gifted Adolescents' Implicit Theories of Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickes, Katherine N. Saunders; Ward, Thomas B.

2006-01-01

This paper examines the structure of implicit theories of creativity in a sample of gifted adolescents and describes the development and use of the Creative Self Checklist and the Creative Individual Checklist, adjective checklists designed to assess endorsement of creativity-related personality and behavioral attributes. Findings indicate that…

E-Learning QUICK Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Badrul

2005-01-01

"E-Learning QUICK Checklist" walks readers through the various factors important to developing, evaluating and implementing an open, flexible and distributed learning environment. This book is designed as a quick checklist for e-learning. It contains many practical items that the reader can use as review criteria to check if e-learning modules,…

A Self-Assessment Checklist for Undergraduate Students' Argumentative Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nimehchisalem, Vahid; Chye, David Yoong Soon; Jaswant Singh, Sheena Kaur A/P; Zainuddin, Siti Zaidah; Norouzi, Sara; Khalid, Sheren

2014-01-01

With a growing emphasis on students' ability to assess their own written works in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) writing courses, self-assessment checklists are today regarded as useful tools. These checklists can help learners diagnose their own weaknesses and improve their writing performance. This necessitates development of…

The Child Dissociative Checklist: Preliminary Findings of a Screening Measure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wherry, Jeffrey N.; And Others

1994-01-01

Reports on the use of a screening instrument for dissociative behaviors in two separate but related studies. Results of a concurrent validity study between the Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC) and the Child Behavior Checklist indicate significant, positive correlations. A second study found that parent-completed CDC scores differentiate between…

Construction and Standardization of Verbal Learning Disabilities Checklist for School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sood, Vishal

2013-01-01

For identifying children with four major kinds of verbal learning disabilities viz. reading disability, speech and language comprehension disability, writing disability and mathematics disability, the present task was undertaken to construct and standardize verbal learning disabilities checklist. This checklist was developed by keeping in view the…

Tour Your Schools with This Energy Checklist in Hand.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Mark R.

1991-01-01

Provides a checklist for administrators to use while looking for signs of wasted energy and examining lighting, building construction, heating and ventilation systems, and plumbing and refrigeration. After completing the checklist for a single building or every school in the district, administrators should prioritize physical changes needed for…

Checklist of copepods (Crustacea: Calanoida, Cyclopoida,Harpacticoida) from Wyoming, USA, with new state records

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Presentation of a comprehensive checklist of the copepod fauna of Wyoming, USA with 41 species of copepods; based on museum specimens, literature reviews, and active surveillance. Of these species 19 were previously unknown from the state. This checklist includes species in the families Centropagida...

Checklist of the ‘lower Brachycera’ of Finland: Tabanomorpha, Asilomorpha and associated families (Diptera)

PubMed Central

Kahanpää, Jere; Winqvist, Kaj; Zeegers, Theo

2014-01-01

Abstract A checklist of the ‘lower Brachycera’ of Finland is presented. This part of the complete checklist of Finnish Diptera covers the families Acroceridae, Asilidae, Athericidae, Bombyliidae, Mythicomyiidae, Rhagionidae, Scenopinidae, Stratiomyidae, Tabanidae, Therevidae, Xylomyidae and Xylophagidae. PMID:25337015

Security management techniques and evaluative checklists for security force effectiveness. Technical report (final) Sep 80-Jul 81

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

Schurman, D.L.; Datesman, G.H. Jr; Truitt, J.O.

The report presents a system for evaluating and correcting deficiencies in security-force effectiveness in licensed nuclear facilities. There are four checklists which security managers can copy directly, or can use as guidelines for developing their own checklists. The checklists are keyed to corrective-action guides found in the body of the report. In addition to the corrective-action guides, the report gives background information on the nature of security systems and discussions of various special problems of the licensed nuclear industry.

Development of a military competency checklist for case management.

PubMed

Stanton, Marietta P; Swanson, Carol; Baker, Rebecca D

2005-01-01

This presentation will discuss the design, implementation, and evaluation of a competency-based checklist in military nursing network. The checklist was initiated to help assess case manager competency where background and preparation for the case manager role were quite diverse. The checklist assisted initially with the assessment of learning needs; later, it served as a self-assessment for case managers to determine their areas for improvement. Finally, the assessment was used not only to verify competency by the case management supervisor, but also to establish systemwide quality in case management.

Checklist of Serengeti Ecosystem Grasses

PubMed Central

Ficinski, Paweł; Vorontsova, Maria

2016-01-01

Abstract We present the first taxonomic checklist of the Poaceae species of the Serengeti, Tanzania. A review of the literature and herbarium specimens recorded 200 species of grasses, in line with similar studies in other parts of East Africa. The checklist is supported by a total of 939 herbarium collections. Full georeferenced collection data is made available alongside a summary checklist in pdf format. More than a quarter of the species are known from a single collection highlighting the need for further research, especially concerning the rare species and their distribution. PMID:27226761

Checklist for healthy and sustainable communities.

PubMed

Capon, Anthony G; Blakely, Edward J

2007-01-01

This paper describes a 10-point checklist for the planning and development of healthy and sustainable communities. The 10 domains in the checklist are essentially physical characteristics of places. Each domain has relevance to the health of people living in the place, and to the sustainability of the environment. The checklist is intended as a tool for those who plan, develop and manage urban environments. Such tools can be valuable for assessing the health and environmental impacts of decisions made by urban and transport planners, and businesses engaged in land development and infrastructure projects.

The role of electronic checklists - case study on MRI-safety.

PubMed

Landmark, Andreas; Selnes, May-Britt; Larsen, Elisabeth; Svensli, Astrid; Solum, Linda; Brattheim, Berit

2012-01-01

Checklists can be used to improve and standardize safety critical processes and their communication. The introduction of potentially harmful medical technology and equipment has created additional requirements for the safe delivery of health care. We have studied the implementation of an electronic checklist to ensure the safety of patients scheduled for Magnetic Resonance Imaging examinations. Through a combination of observations and semi-structured interviews we investigated how health care workers in a Norwegian University hospital dealt with variations in checklist compliance, missing and lack of information. The checklist provided different functionality for the different users, ranging from a memory/attention support to a standardized form of communication on safety matters. However, the rigidity afforded by the electronic implementation, showed some serious drawbacks over the prior, simpler, paper-based versions.

Development of multi-dimensional action checklist for promoting new approaches in participatory occupational safety and health in small and medium-sized enterprises.

PubMed

Nishikido, Noriko; Yuasa, Akiko; Motoki, Chiharu; Tanaka, Mika; Arai, Sumiko; Matsuda, Kazumi; Ikeda, Tomoko; Iijima, Miyoko; Hirata, Mamoru; Hojoh, Minoru; Tsutaki, Miho; Ito, Akiyoshi; Maeda, Kazutoshi; Miyoshi, Yukari; Mitsuhashi, Hiroyuki; Fukuda, Eiko; Kawakami, Yuko

2006-01-01

To meet diversified health needs in workplaces, especially in developed countries, occupational safety and health (OSH) activities should be extended. The objective of this study is to develop a new multi-dimensional action checklist that can support employers and workers in understanding a wide range of OSH activities and to promote participation in OSH in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The general structure of and specific items in the new action checklist were discussed in a focus group meeting with OSH specialists based upon the results of a literature review and our previous interviews with company employers and workers. To assure practicality and validity, several sessions were held to elicit the opinions of company members and, as a result, modifications were made. The new multi-dimensional action checklist was finally formulated consisting of 6 core areas, 9 technical areas, and 61 essential items. Each item was linked to a suitable section in the information guidebook that we developed concomitantly with the action checklist. Combined usage of the action checklist with the information guidebook would provide easily comprehended information and practical support. Intervention studies using this newly developed action checklist will clarify the effectiveness of the new approach to OSH in SMEs.

Biomarker development targeting unmet clinical needs.

PubMed

Monaghan, Phillip J; Lord, Sarah J; St John, Andrew; Sandberg, Sverre; Cobbaert, Christa M; Lennartz, Lieselotte; Verhagen-Kamerbeek, Wilma D J; Ebert, Christoph; Bossuyt, Patrick M M; Horvath, Andrea R

2016-09-01

The introduction of new biomarkers can lead to inappropriate utilization of tests if they do not fill in existing gaps in clinical care. We aimed to define a strategy and checklist for identifying unmet needs for biomarkers. A multidisciplinary working group used a 4-step process: 1/ scoping literature review; 2/ face-to-face meetings to discuss scope, strategy and checklist items; 3/ iterative process of feedback and consensus to develop the checklist; 4/ testing and refinement of checklist items using case scenarios. We used clinical pathway mapping to identify clinical management decisions linking biomarker testing to health outcomes and developed a 14-item checklist organized into 4 domains: 1/ identifying and 2/ verifying the unmet need; 3/ validating the intended use; and 4/ assessing the feasibility of the new biomarker to influence clinical practice and health outcome. We present an outcome-focused approach that can be used by multiple stakeholders for any medical test, irrespective of the purpose and role of testing. The checklist intends to achieve more efficient biomarker development and translation into practice. We propose the checklist is field tested by stakeholders, and advocate the role of the clinical laboratory professional to foster trans-sector collaboration in this regard. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development, validation and testing of a nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist.

PubMed

Tsai, Hsiu-Hsin; Tsai, Yun-Fang

2018-01-01

To develop and test the feasibility of an instrument to support patients' nursing home to emergency room transfer. Transfers from a nursing home care facility to an acute care facility such as a hospital emergency room are common. However, the prevalence of an information gap for transferring residents' health data to acute care facility is high. An evidence-based transfer instrument, which could fill this gap, is lacking. Development of a nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist, validation of items using the Delphi method and testing the feasibility and benefits of using the nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist. Items were developed based on qualitative data from previous research. Delphi validation, retrospective chart review (baseline data) and a 6-month prospective study design were applied to test the feasibility of using the checklist. Variables for testing the feasibility of the checklist included residents' 30-day readmission rate and length of hospital stay. Development of the nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist resulted in four main parts: (i) demographic data of the nursing home resident; (ii) critical data for nursing home to emergency room transfer; (iii) contact information and (iv) critical data for emergency room to nursing home transfer. Two rounds of Delphi validation resulted in a mean score (standard deviation) ranging from 4.39 (1.13)-4.98 (.15). Time required to complete the checklist was 3-5 min. Use of the nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist resulted in a 30-day readmission rate of 13.4%, which was lower than the baseline rate of 15.9%. The nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist was developed for transferring nursing home residents to an emergency room. The instrument was found to be an effective tool for this process. Use of the nursing home to emergency room transfer checklist for nursing home transfers could fill the information gap that exists when transferring older adults between facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Self-optimizing, highly surface-active layered metal dichalcogenide catalysts for hydrogen evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuanyue; Wu, Jingjie; Hackenberg, Ken P.; Zhang, Jing; Wang, Y. Morris; Yang, Yingchao; Keyshar, Kunttal; Gu, Jing; Ogitsu, Tadashi; Vajtai, Robert; Lou, Jun; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Wood, Brandon C.; Yakobson, Boris I.

2017-09-01

Low-cost, layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (MX2) based on molybdenum and tungsten have attracted substantial interest as alternative catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). These materials have high intrinsic per-site HER activity; however, a significant challenge is the limited density of active sites, which are concentrated at the layer edges. Here we unravel electronic factors underlying catalytic activity on MX2 surfaces, and leverage the understanding to report group-5 MX2 (H-TaS2 and H-NbS2) electrocatalysts whose performance instead mainly derives from highly active basal-plane sites, as suggested by our first-principles calculations and performance comparisons with edge-active counterparts. Beyond high catalytic activity, they are found to exhibit an unusual ability to optimize their morphology for enhanced charge transfer and accessibility of active sites as the HER proceeds, offering a practical advantage for scalable processing. The catalysts reach 10 mA cm-2 current density at an overpotential of ˜50-60 mV with a loading of 10-55 μg cm-2, surpassing other reported MX2 candidates without any performance-enhancing additives.

Scaling high-order harmonic generation from laser-solid interactions to ultrahigh intensity.

PubMed

Dollar, F; Cummings, P; Chvykov, V; Willingale, L; Vargas, M; Yanovsky, V; Zulick, C; Maksimchuk, A; Thomas, A G R; Krushelnick, K

2013-04-26

Coherent x-ray beams with a subfemtosecond (<10(-15)  s) pulse duration will enable measurements of fundamental atomic processes in a completely new regime. High-order harmonic generation (HOHG) using short pulse (<100  fs) infrared lasers focused to intensities surpassing 10(18)  W cm(-2) onto a solid density plasma is a promising means of generating such short pulses. Critical to the relativistic oscillating mirror mechanism is the steepness of the plasma density gradient at the reflection point, characterized by a scale length, which can strongly influence the harmonic generation mechanism. It is shown that for intensities in excess of 10(21)  W cm(-2) an optimum density ramp scale length exists that balances an increase in efficiency with a growth of parametric plasma wave instabilities. We show that for these higher intensities the optimal scale length is c/ω0, for which a variety of HOHG properties are optimized, including total conversion efficiency, HOHG divergence, and their power law scaling. Particle-in-cell simulations show striking evidence of the HOHG loss mechanism through parametric instabilities and relativistic self-phase modulation, which affect the produced spectra and conversion efficiency.

High-performance integrated perovskite and organic solar cells with efficient near-infrared harvesting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Junghwan; Lee, Kwanghee

2016-09-01

The integration of planar-type perovskite (Eg 1.5 eV) solar cells (PSCs) with a bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) composite comprising a near-infrared (NIR) absorbing conjugated polymer (Eg < 1.4 eV) and a fullerene derivative is a promising approach to overcoming the narrow absorption limit of typical PSCs. Nevertheless, integrated solar cells (ISCs) suffer from low fill factors (FFs) and inefficient NIR harvesting, mainly due to poor charge transport in the BHJ films. Here, we successfully demonstrate highly efficient P-I-N perovskite/BHJ ISCs with an enhanced FF and improved NIR harvesting by introducing a novel n-type semiconducting polymer and a new processing additive into the BHJ films. The optimized ISCs exhibit a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.36%, which far surpasses that of the reference PSCs ( 14.70%) due to the increased current density (Jsc 20.04 mA cm-2) resulting from the additional NIR harvesting. Meanwhile, the optimized ISCs maintain a high FF of 77% and an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.06 V. These results indicate that this approach is a versatile means of overcoming the absorption and theoretical efficiency limits of state-ofthe- art PSCs.

ωB97M-V: A combinatorially optimized, range-separated hybrid, meta-GGA density functional with VV10 nonlocal correlation

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

Mardirossian, Narbe; Head-Gordon, Martin

2016-06-07

A combinatorially optimized, range-separated hybrid, meta-GGA density functional with VV10 nonlocal correlation is presented in this paper. The final 12-parameter functional form is selected from approximately 10 × 10 9 candidate fits that are trained on a training set of 870 data points and tested on a primary test set of 2964 data points. The resulting density functional, ωB97M-V, is further tested for transferability on a secondary test set of 1152 data points. For comparison, ωB97M-V is benchmarked against 11 leading density functionals including M06-2X, ωB97X-D, M08-HX, M11, ωM05-D, ωB97X-V, and MN15. Encouragingly, the overall performance of ωB97M-V on nearlymore » 5000 data points clearly surpasses that of all of the tested density functionals. Finally, in order to facilitate the use of ωB97M-V, its basis set dependence and integration grid sensitivity are thoroughly assessed, and recommendations that take into account both efficiency and accuracy are provided.« less

Effect of surgical safety checklists on pediatric surgical complications in Ontario

PubMed Central

O’Leary, James D.; Wijeysundera, Duminda N.; Crawford, Mark W.

2016-01-01

Background: In health care, most preventable adverse events occur in the operating room. Surgical safety checklists have become a standard of care for safe operating room practice, but there is conflicting evidence for the effectiveness of checklists to improve perioperative outcomes in some populations. Our objective was to determine whether surgical safety checklists are associated with a reduction in the proportion of children who had perioperative complications. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative health care databases housed at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences to compare the risk of perioperative complications in children undergoing common types of surgery before and after the mandated implementation of surgical safety checklists in 116 acute care hospitals in Ontario. The primary outcome was a composite outcome of 30-day all-cause mortality and perioperative complications. Results: We identified 14 458 and 14 314 surgical procedures in pre- and postchecklist groups, respectively. The proportion of children who had perioperative complications was 4.08% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.76%–4.40%) before the implementation of the checklist and 4.12% (95% CI 3.80%–4.45%) after implementation. After we adjusted for confounding factors, we found no significant difference in the odds of perioperative complications after the introduction of surgical safety checklists (adjusted odds ratio 1.01, 95% CI 0.90–1.14, p = 0.9). Interpretation: The implementation of surgical safety checklists for pediatric surgery in Ontario was not associated with a reduction in the proportion of children who had perioperative complications. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT02419053 PMID:26976960

Relationship of Hospital Staff Coverage and Delivery Room Resuscitation Practices to Birth Asphyxia.

PubMed

Tu, Joanna H; Profit, Jochen; Melsop, Kathryn; Brown, Taylor; Davis, Alexis; Main, Elliot; Lee, Henry C

2017-02-01

Objective  The objective of this study was to assess utilization of specialist coverage and checklists in perinatal settings and to examine utilization by birth asphyxia rates. Design  This is a survey study of California maternity hospitals concerning checklist use to prepare for delivery room resuscitation and 24-hour in-house specialist coverage (pediatrician/neonatologist, obstetrician, and obstetric anesthesiologist) and results linked to hospital birth asphyxia rates (preterm and low weight births were excluded). Results  Of 253 maternity hospitals, 138 responded (55%); 59 (43%) indicated checklist use, and in-house specialist coverage ranged from 38% (pediatrician/neonatologist) to 54% (anesthesiology). In-house coverage was more common in urban versus rural hospitals for all specialties ( p  < 0.0001), but checklist use was not significantly different ( p  = 0.88). Higher birth volume hospitals had more specialist coverage ( p  < 0.0001), whereas checklist use did not differ ( p  = 0.3). In-house obstetric coverage was associated with lower asphyxia rates (odds ratio: 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20, 0.58) in a regression model accounting for other providers. Checklist use was not associated with birth asphyxia (odds ratio: 1.12; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.68). Conclusion  Higher birth volume and urban hospitals demonstrated greater in-house specialist coverage, but checklist use was similar across all hospitals. Current data suggest that in-house obstetric coverage has greater impact on asphyxia than other specialist coverage or checklist use. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Awareness and Use of Surgical Checklist among Theatre Users at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

PubMed

Ogunlusi, Johnson Dare; Yusuf, Moruf Babatunde; Ogunsuyi, Popoola Sunday; Wuraola, Obafemi K; Babalola, Waheed O; Oluwadiya, Kehinde Sunday; Ajogbasile, Oduwole Olayemi

2017-01-01

Surgical checklist was introduced by the World Health Organization to reduce the number of surgical deaths and complications. During a surgical conference on "safety in surgical practice," it was noticed that the awareness and the use of surgical checklist are poor in Nigerian hospitals. This study was aimed at determining the awareness and use of surgical checklist among the theater users in our hospital, factors militating against its implementation, and make recommendations. This is a prospective study at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti; questionnaires were distributed to three groups of theater users - surgeons, anesthetists, and perioperative nurses. The responses were collated by the lead researcher, entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, exported, and analyzed with SPSS. Eighty-five questionnaires were distributed, 70 were returned, and 4 were discarded due to poor filling. The studied 66 comprised 40, 12, and 14 surgeons, anesthetists, and perioperative nurses, respectively. Fifty-five (83.3%) of the responders indicated awareness of the checklist but only 12 (21.8%) correctly stated that the main objective is for patients' safety and for safe surgery. Major barriers to its use include lack of training 58.2%, lack of assertiveness of staff 58.2%, and that its delays operation list 47.2%. The study demonstrated high level of awareness of surgical checklist in our hospital; however, this awareness is based on wrong premises as it is not reflected in the true aim of the checklist. Majority of the responders would want to be trained on the use of checklist despite the highlighted barriers.

Effect of a checklist on advanced trauma life support task performance during pediatric trauma resuscitation.

PubMed

Kelleher, Deirdre C; Carter, Elizabeth A; Waterhouse, Lauren J; Parsons, Samantha E; Fritzeen, Jennifer L; Burd, Randall S

2014-10-01

Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) has been shown to improve outcomes related to trauma resuscitation; however, omissions from this protocol persist. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a trauma resuscitation checklist on performance of ATLS tasks. Video recordings of resuscitations of children sustaining blunt or penetrating injuries at a Level I pediatric trauma center were reviewed for completion and timeliness of ATLS primary and secondary survey tasks, with and without checklist use. Patient and resuscitation characteristics were obtained from the trauma registry. Data were collected during two 4-month periods before (n = 222) and after (n = 213) checklist implementation. The checklist contained 50 items and included four sections: prearrival, primary survey, secondary survey, and departure plan. Five primary survey ATLS tasks (cervical spine immobilization, oxygen administration, palpating pulses, assessing neurologic status, and exposing the patient) and nine secondary survey ATLS tasks were performed more frequently (p ≤ 0.01 for all) and vital sign measurements were obtained faster (p ≤ 0.01 for all) after the checklist was implemented. When controlling for patient and event-specific characteristics, primary and secondary survey tasks overall were more likely to be completed (odds ratio [OR] = 2.66, primary survey; OR = 2.47, secondary survey; p < 0.001 for both) and primary survey tasks were performed faster (p < 0.001) after the checklist was implemented. Implementation of a trauma checklist was associated with greater ATLS task performance and with increased frequency and speed of primary and secondary survey task completion. © 2014 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.

PubMed

Panzer, Stephanie; Mc Coy, Mark R; Hitzl, Wolfgang; Piombino-Mascali, Dario; Jankauskas, Rimantas; Zink, Albert R; Augat, Peter

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist for standardized assessment of soft tissue preservation in human mummies based on whole-body computed tomography examinations, and to add a scoring system to facilitate quantitative comparison of mummies. Computed tomography examinations of 23 mummies from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily (17 adults, 6 children; 17 anthropogenically and 6 naturally mummified) and 7 mummies from the crypt of the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit of Vilnius, Lithuania (5 adults, 2 children; all naturally mummified) were used to develop the checklist following previously published guidelines. The scoring system was developed by assigning equal scores for checkpoints with equivalent quality. The checklist was evaluated by intra- and inter-observer reliability. The finalized checklist was applied to compare the groups of anthropogenically and naturally mummified bodies. The finalized checklist contains 97 checkpoints and was divided into two main categories, "A. Soft Tissues of Head and Musculoskeletal System" and "B. Organs and Organ Systems", each including various subcategories. The complete checklist had an intra-observer reliability of 98% and an inter-observer reliability of 93%. Statistical comparison revealed significantly higher values in anthropogenically compared to naturally mummified bodies for the total score and for three subcategories. In conclusion, the developed checklist allows for a standardized assessment and documentation of soft tissue preservation in whole-body computed tomography examinations of human mummies. The scoring system facilitates a quantitative comparison of the soft tissue preservation status between single mummies or mummy collections.

Let's Team Up! A Checklist for Paraeducators, Teachers and Principals. NEA Checklist Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerlach, Kent

This checklist is designed to help paraeducators, teachers, and principals understand their roles and responsibilities as they relate to each other. It offers tips for teachers on working effectively with paraeducators, practical suggestions for paraeducators on clarifying their jobs and relationships with students and school staff, and advice for…

Why Verifying Diagnostic Decisions with a Checklist Can Help: Insights from Eye Tracking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sibbald, Matthew; de Bruin, Anique B. H.; Yu, Eric; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2015-01-01

Making a diagnosis involves ratifying or verifying a proposed answer. Formalizing this verification process with checklists, which highlight key variables involved in the diagnostic decision, is often advocated. However, the mechanisms by which a checklist might allow clinicians to improve their verification process have not been well studied. We…

Psychometric Properties and Norms of the German ABC-Community and PAS-ADD Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeilinger, Elisabeth L.; Weber, Germain; Haveman, Meindert J.

2011-01-01

Aim: The aim of the present study was to standardize and generate psychometric evidence of the German language versions of two well-established English language mental health instruments: the "Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community" (ABC-C) and the "Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disabilities" (PAS-ADD) Checklist. New…

Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation--Checklist: Development and Factor Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koth, Christine W.; Bradshaw, Catherine P.; Leaf, Philip J.

2009-01-01

Two studies examined the validity and factor structure of the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist, an instrument used to evaluate school-based programs. The checklist is a cost-effective alternative to the original interview format, and the factor structure is consistent across gender, race, age, and time of administration.…

42 CFR Appendix C to Part 130 - Petition Form, Petition Instructions, and Documentation Checklist

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Documentation Checklist C Appendix C to Part 130 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMPASSIONATE PAYMENTS RICKY RAY HEMOPHILIA RELIEF FUND PROGRAM Pt. 130, App. C Appendix C to Part 130—Petition Form, Petition Instructions, and Documentation Checklist ER31MY00.004...

A Checklist and Purchase Guide for School and Community Libraries in Appalachia. Special Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Jim Wayne

1979-01-01

The checklist and purchase guide for school and community libraries in Appalachia includes an introduction with suggestions for use of the checklist, and listings in eight sections: bibliographies, materials, and resource lists; standard works and surveys on Appalachian history, culture, and politics; language and literature; music, arts, and…

Early Childhood Practitioner Judgments of the Social Validity of Performance Checklists and Parent Practice Guides

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunst, Carl J.

2017-01-01

Findings from three field tests evaluations of early childhood intervention practitioner performance checklists and three parent practice guides are reported. Forty-two practitioners from three early childhood intervention programs reviewed the checklists and practice guides and made (1) social validity judgments of both products, (2) judgments of…

Cummings Checklist of Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cummings, William B.

The Cummings Checklist of Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Children (CC) was evaluated with 516 elementary age pupils. Teachers used the checklist to nominate students for the gifted program. Ss were classified as either Test (IQ) Identified Gifted (TIG), Non-Test Identified Gifted (NTIG), or not classified. Results indicated that (1) the CC…

World checklist of hornworts and liverworts

PubMed Central

Söderström, Lars; Hagborg, Anders; von Konrat, Matt; Bartholomew-Began, Sharon; Bell, David; Briscoe, Laura; Brown, Elizabeth; Cargill, D. Christine; Costa, Denise P.; Crandall-Stotler, Barbara J.; Cooper, Endymion D.; Dauphin, Gregorio; Engel, John J.; Feldberg, Kathrin; Glenny, David; Gradstein, S. Robbert; He, Xiaolan; Heinrichs, Jochen; Hentschel, Jörn; Ilkiu-Borges, Anna Luiza; Katagiri, Tomoyuki; Konstantinova, Nadezhda A.; Larraín, Juan; Long, David G.; Nebel, Martin; Pócs, Tamás; Puche, Felisa; Reiner-Drehwald, Elena; Renner, Matt A.M.; Sass-Gyarmati, Andrea; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Moragues, José Gabriel Segarra; Stotler, Raymond E.; Sukkharak, Phiangphak; Thiers, Barbara M.; Uribe, Jaime; Váňa, Jiří; Villarreal, Juan Carlos; Wigginton, Martin; Zhang, Li; Zhu, Rui-Liang

2016-01-01

Abstract A working checklist of accepted taxa worldwide is vital in achieving the goal of developing an online flora of all known plants by 2020 as part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. We here present the first-ever worldwide checklist for liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta) that includes 7486 species in 398 genera representing 92 families from the two phyla. The checklist has far reaching implications and applications, including providing a valuable tool for taxonomists and systematists, analyzing phytogeographic and diversity patterns, aiding in the assessment of floristic and taxonomic knowledge, and identifying geographical gaps in our understanding of the global liverwort and hornwort flora. The checklist is derived from a working data set centralizing nomenclature, taxonomy and geography on a global scale. Prior to this effort a lack of centralization has been a major impediment for the study and analysis of species richness, conservation and systematic research at both regional and global scales. The success of this checklist, initiated in 2008, has been underpinned by its community approach involving taxonomic specialists working towards a consensus on taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution. PMID:26929706

World checklist of hornworts and liverworts.

PubMed

Söderström, Lars; Hagborg, Anders; von Konrat, Matt; Bartholomew-Began, Sharon; Bell, David; Briscoe, Laura; Brown, Elizabeth; Cargill, D Christine; Costa, Denise P; Crandall-Stotler, Barbara J; Cooper, Endymion D; Dauphin, Gregorio; Engel, John J; Feldberg, Kathrin; Glenny, David; Gradstein, S Robbert; He, Xiaolan; Heinrichs, Jochen; Hentschel, Jörn; Ilkiu-Borges, Anna Luiza; Katagiri, Tomoyuki; Konstantinova, Nadezhda A; Larraín, Juan; Long, David G; Nebel, Martin; Pócs, Tamás; Puche, Felisa; Reiner-Drehwald, Elena; Renner, Matt A M; Sass-Gyarmati, Andrea; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Moragues, José Gabriel Segarra; Stotler, Raymond E; Sukkharak, Phiangphak; Thiers, Barbara M; Uribe, Jaime; Váňa, Jiří; Villarreal, Juan Carlos; Wigginton, Martin; Zhang, Li; Zhu, Rui-Liang

2016-01-01

A working checklist of accepted taxa worldwide is vital in achieving the goal of developing an online flora of all known plants by 2020 as part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. We here present the first-ever worldwide checklist for liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta) that includes 7486 species in 398 genera representing 92 families from the two phyla. The checklist has far reaching implications and applications, including providing a valuable tool for taxonomists and systematists, analyzing phytogeographic and diversity patterns, aiding in the assessment of floristic and taxonomic knowledge, and identifying geographical gaps in our understanding of the global liverwort and hornwort flora. The checklist is derived from a working data set centralizing nomenclature, taxonomy and geography on a global scale. Prior to this effort a lack of centralization has been a major impediment for the study and analysis of species richness, conservation and systematic research at both regional and global scales. The success of this checklist, initiated in 2008, has been underpinned by its community approach involving taxonomic specialists working towards a consensus on taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution.

Distributed System Design Checklist

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Brendan; Driscoll, Kevin

2014-01-01

This report describes a design checklist targeted to fault-tolerant distributed electronic systems. Many of the questions and discussions in this checklist may be generally applicable to the development of any safety-critical system. However, the primary focus of this report covers the issues relating to distributed electronic system design. The questions that comprise this design checklist were created with the intent to stimulate system designers' thought processes in a way that hopefully helps them to establish a broader perspective from which they can assess the system's dependability and fault-tolerance mechanisms. While best effort was expended to make this checklist as comprehensive as possible, it is not (and cannot be) complete. Instead, we expect that this list of questions and the associated rationale for the questions will continue to evolve as lessons are learned and further knowledge is established. In this regard, it is our intent to post the questions of this checklist on a suitable public web-forum, such as the NASA DASHLink AFCS repository. From there, we hope that it can be updated, extended, and maintained after our initial research has been completed.

Development of a Checklist for Assessing Good Hygiene Practices of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables Using Focus Group Interviews.

PubMed

Araújo, Jane A M; Esmerino, Erick A; Alvarenga, Verônica O; Cappato, Leandro P; Hora, Iracema C; Silva, Marcia Cristina; Freitas, Monica Q; Pimentel, Tatiana C; Walter, Eduardo H M; Sant'Ana, Anderson S; Cruz, Adriano G

2018-03-01

This study aimed to develop a checklist for good hygiene practices (GHP) for raw material of vegetable origin using the focus groups (FGs) approach (n = 4). The final checklist for commercialization of horticultural products totaled 28 questions divided into six blocks, namely: water supply; hygiene, health, and training; waste control; control of pests; packaging and traceability; and hygiene of facilities and equipment. The FG methodology was efficient to elaborate a participatory and objective checklist, based on minimum hygiene requirements, serving as a tool for diagnosis, planning, and training in GHP of fresh vegetables, besides contributing to raise awareness of the consumers' food safety. The FG methodology provided useful information to establish the final checklist for GHP, with easy application, according to the previous participants' perception and experience.

Using Simulation to Implement an OR Cardiac Arrest Crisis Checklist.

PubMed

Dagey, Darleen

2017-01-01

Crisis checklists are cognitive aids used to coordinate care during critical events. Simulation training is a method to validate process improvement initiatives such as checklist implementation. In response to concerns staff members expressed regarding their comfort level when responding to infrequent occurrences such as cardiac arrest and other OR emergencies, the OR Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program team at our facility decided to institute the use of crisis checklists in the OR during critical events. We provided 90-minute education sessions, simulation opportunities, and debriefings to help staff members become more comfortable using these checklists. Based on program evaluations, 80% of staff members who participated in the training expressed an increased comfort level when caring for a patient in cardiac arrest. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Empowering peer reviewers with a checklist to improve transparency.

PubMed

Parker, Timothy H; Griffith, Simon C; Bronstein, Judith L; Fidler, Fiona; Foster, Susan; Fraser, Hannah; Forstmeier, Wolfgang; Gurevitch, Jessica; Koricheva, Julia; Seppelt, Ralf; Tingley, Morgan W; Nakagawa, Shinichi

2018-06-01

Peer review is widely considered fundamental to maintaining the rigour of science, but it often fails to ensure transparency and reduce bias in published papers, and this systematically weakens the quality of published inferences. In part, this is because many reviewers are unaware of important questions to ask with respect to the soundness of the design and analyses, and the presentation of the methods and results; also some reviewers may expect others to be responsible for these tasks. We therefore present a reviewers' checklist of ten questions that address these critical components. Checklists are commonly used by practitioners of other complex tasks, and we see great potential for the wider adoption of checklists for peer review, especially to reduce bias and facilitate transparency in published papers. We expect that such checklists will be well received by many reviewers.

Characterizing the optimal flux space of genome-scale metabolic reconstructions through modified latin-hypercube sampling.

PubMed

Chaudhary, Neha; Tøndel, Kristin; Bhatnagar, Rakesh; dos Santos, Vítor A P Martins; Puchałka, Jacek

2016-03-01

Genome-Scale Metabolic Reconstructions (GSMRs), along with optimization-based methods, predominantly Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) and its derivatives, are widely applied for assessing and predicting the behavior of metabolic networks upon perturbation, thereby enabling identification of potential novel drug targets and biotechnologically relevant pathways. The abundance of alternate flux profiles has led to the evolution of methods to explore the complete solution space aiming to increase the accuracy of predictions. Herein we present a novel, generic algorithm to characterize the entire flux space of GSMR upon application of FBA, leading to the optimal value of the objective (the optimal flux space). Our method employs Modified Latin-Hypercube Sampling (LHS) to effectively border the optimal space, followed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify and explain the major sources of variability within it. The approach was validated with the elementary mode analysis of a smaller network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and applied to the GSMR of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 (iMO1086). It is shown to surpass the commonly used Monte Carlo Sampling (MCS) in providing a more uniform coverage for a much larger network in less number of samples. Results show that although many fluxes are identified as variable upon fixing the objective value, majority of the variability can be reduced to several main patterns arising from a few alternative pathways. In iMO1086, initial variability of 211 reactions could almost entirely be explained by 7 alternative pathway groups. These findings imply that the possibilities to reroute greater portions of flux may be limited within metabolic networks of bacteria. Furthermore, the optimal flux space is subject to change with environmental conditions. Our method may be a useful device to validate the predictions made by FBA-based tools, by describing the optimal flux space associated with these predictions, thus to improve them.

Effect of a checklist on advanced trauma life support workflow deviations during trauma resuscitations without pre-arrival notification.

PubMed

Kelleher, Deirdre C; Jagadeesh Chandra Bose, R P; Waterhouse, Lauren J; Carter, Elizabeth A; Burd, Randall S

2014-03-01

Trauma resuscitations without pre-arrival notification are often initially chaotic, which can potentially compromise patient care. We hypothesized that trauma resuscitations without pre-arrival notification are performed with more variable adherence to ATLS protocol and that implementation of a checklist would improve performance. We analyzed event logs of trauma resuscitations from two 4-month periods before (n = 222) and after (n = 215) checklist implementation. Using process mining techniques, individual resuscitations were compared with an ideal workflow model of 6 ATLS primary survey tasks performed by the bedside evaluator and given model fitness scores (range 0 to 1). Mean fitness scores and frequency of conformance (fitness = 1) were compared (using Student's t-test or chi-square test, as appropriate) for activations with and without notification both before and after checklist implementation. Multivariable linear regression, controlling for patient and resuscitation characteristics, was also performed to assess the association between pre-arrival notification and model fitness before and after checklist implementation. Fifty-five (12.6%) resuscitations lacked pre-arrival notification (23 pre-implementation and 32 post-implementation; p = 0.15). Before checklist implementation, resuscitations without notification had lower fitness (0.80 vs 0.90; p < 0.001) and conformance (26.1% vs 50.8%; p = 0.03) than those with notification. After checklist implementation, the fitness (0.80 vs 0.91; p = 0.007) and conformance (26.1% vs 59.4%; p = 0.01) improved for resuscitations without notification, but still remained lower than activations with notification. In multivariable analysis, activations without notification had lower fitness both before (b = -0.11, p < 0.001) and after checklist implementation (b = -0.04, p = 0.02). Trauma resuscitations without pre-arrival notification are associated with a decreased adherence to key components of the ATLS primary survey protocol. The addition of a checklist improves protocol adherence and reduces the effect of notification on task performance. Copyright © 2014 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Health Behavior Checklist: Factor structure in community samples and validity of a revised good health practices scale.

PubMed

Hampson, Sarah E; Edmonds, Grant W; Goldberg, Lewis R

2017-01-01

This study examined the factor structure and predictive validity of the commonly used multidimensional Health Behavior Checklist. A three-factor structure was found in two community samples that included men and women. The new 16-item Good Health Practices scale and the original Wellness Maintenance scale were the only Health Behavior Checklist scales to be related to cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. While the other Health Behavior Checklist scales require further validation, the Good Health Practices scale could be used where more objective or longer measures are not feasible.

Commentary: Reducing diagnostic errors: another role for checklists?

PubMed

Winters, Bradford D; Aswani, Monica S; Pronovost, Peter J

2011-03-01

Diagnostic errors are a widespread problem, although the true magnitude is unknown because they cannot currently be measured validly. These errors have received relatively little attention despite alarming estimates of associated harm and death. One promising intervention to reduce preventable harm is the checklist. This intervention has proven successful in aviation, in which situations are linear and deterministic (one alarm goes off and a checklist guides the flight crew to evaluate the cause). In health care, problems are multifactorial and complex. A checklist has been used to reduce central-line-associated bloodstream infections in intensive care units. Nevertheless, this checklist was incorporated in a culture-based safety program that engaged and changed behaviors and used robust measurement of infections to evaluate progress. In this issue, Ely and colleagues describe how three checklists could reduce the cognitive biases and mental shortcuts that underlie diagnostic errors, but point out that these tools still need to be tested. To be effective, they must reduce diagnostic errors (efficacy) and be routinely used in practice (effectiveness). Such tools must intuitively support how the human brain works, and under time pressures, clinicians rarely think in conditional probabilities when making decisions. To move forward, it is necessary to accurately measure diagnostic errors (which could come from mapping out the diagnostic process as the medication process has done and measuring errors at each step) and pilot test interventions such as these checklists to determine whether they work.

Development of an orthopedic surgery trauma patient handover checklist.

PubMed

LeBlanc, Justin; Donnon, Tyrone; Hutchison, Carol; Duffy, Paul

2014-02-01

In surgery, preoperative handover of surgical trauma patients is a process that must be made as safe as possible. We sought to determine vital clinical information to be transferred between patient care teams and to develop a standardized handover checklist. We conducted standardized small-group interviews about trauma patient handover. Based on this information, we created a questionnaire to gather perspectives from all Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA) members about which topics they felt would be most important on a handover checklist. We analyzed the responses to develop a standardized handover checklist. Of the 1106 COA members, 247 responded to the questionnaire. The top 7 topics felt to be most important for achieving patient safety in the handover were comorbidities, diagnosis, readiness for the operating room, stability, associated injuries, history/mechanism of injury and outstanding issues. The expert recommendations were to have handover completed the same way every day, all appropriate radiographs available, adequate time, all appropriate laboratory work and more time to spend with patients with more severe illness. Our main recommendations for safe handover are to use standardized checklists specific to the patient and site needs. We provide an example of a standardized checklist that should be used for preoperative handovers. To our knowledge, this is the first checklist for handover developed by a group of experts in orthopedic surgery, which is both manageable in length and simple to use.

Core elements of physiotherapy in cerebral palsy children: proposal for a trial checklist.

PubMed

Meghi, P; Rossetti, L; Corrado, C; Maran, E; Arosio, N; Ferrari, A

2012-03-01

Currently international literature describes physiotherapy in cerebral palsy (CP) children only in generic terms (traditional / standard / background / routine). The aim of this study is to create a checklist capable of describing the different modalities employed in physiotherapeutic treatment by means of a non-bias, common, universal, standardised language. A preliminary checklist was outlined by a group of physiotherapists specialised in child rehabilitation. For its experimentation, several physiotherapists from various paediatric units from all over Italy with different methodological approaches and backgrounds, were involved. Using the interpretative model, proposed by Ferrari et al., and through collective analysis and discussion of clinical videos, the core elements were progressively selected and codified. A reliability study was then carried out by eight expert physiotherapists using an inter-rate agreement model. The checklist analyses therapeutic proposals of CP rehabilitation through the description of settings, exercises and facilitations and consists of items and variables which codify all possible physiotherapeutic interventions. It is accompanied by written explanations, demonstrative videos, caregiver interviews and descriptions of applied environmental adaptations. All checklist items obtained a high level of agreement (according to Cohen's kappa coefficient), revealing that the checklist is clearly and easily interpretable. The checklist should facilitate interaction and communication between specialists and families, and lead to comparable research studies and scientific advances. The main value is to be able to correlate therapeutic results with core elements of adopted physiotherapy.

Checklist to operationalize measurement characteristics of patient-reported outcome measures.

PubMed

Francis, David O; McPheeters, Melissa L; Noud, Meaghan; Penson, David F; Feurer, Irene D

2016-08-02

The purpose of this study was to advance a checklist of evaluative criteria designed to assess patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures' developmental measurement properties and applicability, which can be used by systematic reviewers, researchers, and clinicians with a varied range of expertise in psychometric measure development methodology. A directed literature search was performed to identify original studies, textbooks, consensus guidelines, and published reports that propose criteria for assessing the quality of PRO measures. Recommendations from these sources were iteratively distilled into a checklist of key attributes. Preliminary items underwent evaluation through 24 cognitive interviews with clinicians and quantitative researchers. Six measurement theory methodological novices independently applied the final checklist to assess six PRO measures encompassing a variety of methods, applications, and clinical constructs. Agreement between novice and expert scores was assessed. The distillation process yielded an 18-item checklist with six domains: (1) conceptual model, (2) content validity, (3) reliability, (4) construct validity, (5) scoring and interpretation, and (6) respondent burden and presentation. With minimal instruction, good agreement in checklist item ratings was achieved between quantitative researchers with expertise in measurement theory and less experienced clinicians (mean kappa 0.70; range 0.66-0.87). We present a simplified checklist that can help guide systematic reviewers, researchers, and clinicians with varied measurement theory expertise to evaluate the strengths and weakness of candidate PRO measures' developmental properties and the appropriateness for specific applications.

Cast iron-base alloy for cylinder/regenerator housing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Witter, Stewart L.; Simmons, Harold E.; Woulds, Michael J.

1985-01-01

NASACC-1 is a castable iron-base alloy designed to replace the costly and strategic cobalt-base X-40 alloy used in the automotive Stirling engine cylinder/generator housing. Over 40 alloy compositions were evaluated using investment cast test bars for stress-rupture testing. Also, hydrogen compatibility and oxygen corrosion resistance tests were used to determine the optimal alloy. NASACC-1 alloy was characterized using elevated and room temperature tensile, creep-rupture, low cycle fatigue, heat capacity, specific heat, and thermal expansion testing. Furthermore, phase analysis was performed on samples with several heat treated conditions. The properties are very encouraging. NASACC-1 alloy shows stress-rupture and low cycle fatigue properties equivalent to X-40. The oxidation resistance surpassed the program goal while maintaining acceptable resistance to hydrogen exposure. The welding, brazing, and casting characteristics are excellent. Finally, the cost of NASACC-1 is significantly lower than that of X-40.

The Anode Challenge for Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Mechanochemically Synthesized Sn-Fe-C Composite Anode Surpasses Graphitic Carbon

DOE PAGES

Dong, Zhixin; Zhang, Ruibo; Ji, Dongsheng; ...

2016-02-04

Carbon-based anodes are the key limiting factor in increasing the volumetric capacity of lithium-ion batteries. Tin-based composites are one alternative approach. Nanosized Sn–Fe–C anode materials are mechanochemically synthesized by reducing SnO with Ti in the presence of carbon. The optimum synthesis conditions are found to be 1:0.25:10 for initial ratio of SnO, Ti, and graphite with a total grinding time of 8 h. This optimized composite shows excellent extended cycling at the C/10 rate, delivering a first charge capacity as high as 740 mAh g –1 and 60% of which still remained after 170 cycles. The calculated volumetric capacity significantlymore » exceeds that of carbon. In conclusion, it also exhibits excellent rate capability, delivering volumetric capacity higher than 1.6 Ah cc –1 over 140 cycles at the 1 C rate.« less

Density-matrix simulation of small surface codes under current and projected experimental noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, T. E.; Tarasinski, B.; DiCarlo, L.

2017-09-01

We present a density-matrix simulation of the quantum memory and computing performance of the distance-3 logical qubit Surface-17, following a recently proposed quantum circuit and using experimental error parameters for transmon qubits in a planar circuit QED architecture. We use this simulation to optimize components of the QEC scheme (e.g., trading off stabilizer measurement infidelity for reduced cycle time) and to investigate the benefits of feedback harnessing the fundamental asymmetry of relaxation-dominated error in the constituent transmons. A lower-order approximate calculation extends these predictions to the distance-5 Surface-49. These results clearly indicate error rates below the fault-tolerance threshold of the surface code, and the potential for Surface-17 to perform beyond the break-even point of quantum memory. However, Surface-49 is required to surpass the break-even point of computation at state-of-the-art qubit relaxation times and readout speeds.

From Metal-Organic Frameworks to Single-Atom Fe Implanted N-doped Porous Carbons: Efficient Oxygen Reduction in Both Alkaline and Acidic Media.

PubMed

Jiao, Long; Wan, Gang; Zhang, Rui; Zhou, Hua; Yu, Shu-Hong; Jiang, Hai-Long

2018-05-09

It remains highly desired but a great challenge to achieve atomically dispersed metals in high loadings for efficient catalysis. Now porphyrinic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been synthesized based on a novel mixed-ligand strategy to afford high-content (1.76 wt %) single-atom (SA) iron-implanted N-doped porous carbon (Fe SA -N-C) via pyrolysis. Thanks to the single-atom Fe sites, hierarchical pores, oriented mesochannels and high conductivity, the optimized Fe SA -N-C exhibits excellent oxygen reduction activity and stability, surpassing almost all non-noble-metal catalysts and state-of-the-art Pt/C, in both alkaline and more challenging acidic media. More far-reaching, this MOF-based mixed-ligand strategy opens a novel avenue to the precise fabrication of efficient single-atom catalysts. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Active Control of Charge Density Waves at Degenerate Semiconductor Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinnakota, Raj; Genov, Dentcho

We present numerical modeling of an active electronically controlled highly confined charge-density waves, i.e. surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the metallurgic interfaces of degenerate semiconductor materials. An electro-optic switching element for fully-functional plasmonic circuits based on p-n junction semiconductor Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waveguide is shown. Two figures of merits are introduced and parametric study has been performed identifying the device optimal operation range. The Indium Gallium Arsenide (In0.53Ga0.47As) is identified as the best semiconductor material for the device providing high optical confinement, reduced system size and fast operation. The electro-optic SPP switching element is shown to operate at signal modulation up to -24dB and switching rates surpassing 100GHz, thus potentially providing a new pathway toward bridging the gap between electronic and photonic devices. The current work is funded by the NSF EPSCoR CIMM project under award #OIA-1541079.

ZnO and TiO2 particles: a study on nanosafety and photoprotection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popov, Alexey; Zhao, Xin; Zvyagin, Andrei; Lademann, Jürgen; Roberts, Michael; Sanchez, Washington; Priezzhev, Alexander; Myllylä, Risto

2010-04-01

Nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) are used in sunscreens as protective compounds against UV radiation. We investigate these particles from the viewpoint of nanosafety (penetration into skin in vivo, production of free radicals when UV-irradiated) as well as UV protection. We show that: a) even after multiple applications, the particles remain within stratum corneum (uppermost skin layer); b) the optimal sizes are 62 nm and 45 nm, respectively for TiO2 and ZnO particles for 310-nm light and, correspondingly, 122 and 140 nm - for 400-nm radiation; c) in general, small particles (25 nm in diameter) are more photoactive than the larger ones (400 nm in diameter); however, on the background if porcine skin in vitro this difference is not seen and is substantially surpassed by skin contribution into production of free radicals.

Passive isolation/damping system for the Hubble space telescope reaction wheels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hasha, Martin D.

1987-01-01

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope contain large, diffraction limited optics with extraordinary resolution and performance for surpassing existing observatories. The need to reduce structural borne vibration and resultant optical jitter from critical Pointing Control System components, Reaction Wheels, prompted the feasibility investigation and eventual development of a passive isolation system. Alternative design concepts considered were required to meet a host of stringent specifications and pass rigid tests to be successfully verified and integrated into the already built flight vehicle. The final design employs multiple arrays of fluid damped springs that attenuate over a wide spectrum, while confining newly introduced resonances to benign regions of vehicle dynamic response. Overall jitter improvement of roughly a factor of 2 to 3 is attained with this system. The basis, evolution, and performance of the isolation system, specifically discussing design concepts considered, optimization studies, development lessons learned, innovative features, and analytical and ground test verified results are presented.

Sleep Items in the Child Behavior Checklist: A Comparison with Sleep Diaries, Actigraphy, and Polysomnography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregory, Alice M.; Cousins, Jennifer C.; Forbes, Erika E.; Trubnick, Laura; Ryan, Neal D.; Axelson, David A.; Birmaher, Boris; Sadeh, Avi; Dahl, Ronald E.

2011-01-01

Objective: The Child Behavior Checklist is sometimes used to assess sleep disturbance despite not having been validated for this purpose. This study examined associations between the Child Behavior Checklist sleep items and other measures of sleep. Method: Participants were 122 youth (61% female, aged 7 through 17 years) with anxiety disorders…

Reliability of the Non-Communicating Adult Pain Checklist (NCAPC), Assessed by Different Groups of Health Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotan, M.; Moe-Nilssen, R.; Ljunggren, A. E.; Strand, L. I.

2009-01-01

Evaluating pain in adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) is a challenge. The Non-Communicating Adults Pain Checklist (NCAPC) was recently developed from the Non-Communicating Children's Pain Checklist (NCCPC) and examined in a group of adults with IDD (N = 228) and found to hold satisfactory construct validity, internal…

The "Trouble Shooting" Checklist: A Manual to Aid Educational Change Agents in the Prediction of Organizational Change Potential.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manning, Brad A.

The first section of this manual contains a selective review of organizational change literature which focuses on predictive institutional variables as they affect the adoption-diffusion process. The second section describes the development of the Trouble Shooting Checklist (TSC). The third section presents two Trouble Shooting Checklists (TSC-A…

State-Level High School Improvement Systems Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National High School Center, 2007

2007-01-01

This checklist is designed to help states at various stages develop their system of support to reach struggling high schools. The checklist can be used to assess where your state is in terms of the elements of using existing support and guidance mechanisms, and reconfiguring and/or creating new structures to leverage system change for high school…

Using a Parental Checklist to Identify Diagnostic Groups in Children with Communication Impairment: A Validation of the Children's Communication Checklist--2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norbury, Courtenay Frazier; Nash, Marysia; Baird, Gillian; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

2004-01-01

Background: The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC 1998) was revised in 2003 (CCC-2) to provide a general screen for communication disorder and to identify pragmatic/social interaction deficits. Two validation studies were conducted with different populations of children with language and communication impairments. Methods & Procedures: In…

Effect of Clinically Discriminating, Evidence-Based Checklist Items on the Reliability of Scores from an Internal Medicine Residency OSCE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniels, Vijay J.; Bordage, Georges; Gierl, Mark J.; Yudkowsky, Rachel

2014-01-01

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used worldwide for summative examinations but often lack acceptable reliability. Research has shown that reliability of scores increases if OSCE checklists for medical students include only clinically relevant items. Also, checklists are often missing evidence-based items that high-achieving…

Recess before Lunch in Elementary Schools: Development of a Best Practice Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rainville, Alice Jo; Lofton, Kristi L.; Carr, Deborah H.

2009-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the best practices (quality indicators) related to recess placement before lunch in elementary schools; compile a best practices checklist that can be used as an assessment tool for school nutrition programs; and validate and evaluate the usefulness of the best practices checklist.…

Does Parent Report of Behavior Differ across ADOS-G Classifications: Analysis of Scores from the CBCL and GARS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sikora, Darryn M.; Hall, Trevor A.; Hartley, Sigan L.; Gerrard-Morris, Aimee E.; Cagle, Sarah

2008-01-01

Behavior checklists are often utilized to screen for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) when comprehensive evaluations are unfeasible. The usefulness of two behavioral checklists, the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), in identifying ASDs was investigated among 109 children with Autism, 32 children with ASD, and…

Checklist Manifesto for Electronic Resources: Getting Ready for the Fiscal Year and Beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

England, Lenore; Fu, Li; Miller, Stephen

2011-01-01

Organization of electronic resources workflow is critical in the increasingly complicated and complex world of library management. A simple organizational tool that can be readily applied to electronic resources management (ERM) is the use of checklists. Based on the principles discussed in The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, the…

Short Form of the Developmental Behaviour Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taffe, John R.; Gray, Kylie M.; Einfeld, Stewart L.; Dekker, Marielle C.; Koot, Hans M.; Emerson, Eric; Koskentausta, Terhi; Tonge, Bruce J.

2007-01-01

A 24-item short form of the 96-item Developmental Behaviour Checklist was developed to provide a brief measure of Total Behaviour Problem Score for research purposes. The short form Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC-P24) was chosen for low bias and high precision from among 100 randomly selected item sets. The DBC-P24 was developed from…

CURE-SMOTE algorithm and hybrid algorithm for feature selection and parameter optimization based on random forests.

PubMed

Ma, Li; Fan, Suohai

2017-03-14

The random forests algorithm is a type of classifier with prominent universality, a wide application range, and robustness for avoiding overfitting. But there are still some drawbacks to random forests. Therefore, to improve the performance of random forests, this paper seeks to improve imbalanced data processing, feature selection and parameter optimization. We propose the CURE-SMOTE algorithm for the imbalanced data classification problem. Experiments on imbalanced UCI data reveal that the combination of Clustering Using Representatives (CURE) enhances the original synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) algorithms effectively compared with the classification results on the original data using random sampling, Borderline-SMOTE1, safe-level SMOTE, C-SMOTE, and k-means-SMOTE. Additionally, the hybrid RF (random forests) algorithm has been proposed for feature selection and parameter optimization, which uses the minimum out of bag (OOB) data error as its objective function. Simulation results on binary and higher-dimensional data indicate that the proposed hybrid RF algorithms, hybrid genetic-random forests algorithm, hybrid particle swarm-random forests algorithm and hybrid fish swarm-random forests algorithm can achieve the minimum OOB error and show the best generalization ability. The training set produced from the proposed CURE-SMOTE algorithm is closer to the original data distribution because it contains minimal noise. Thus, better classification results are produced from this feasible and effective algorithm. Moreover, the hybrid algorithm's F-value, G-mean, AUC and OOB scores demonstrate that they surpass the performance of the original RF algorithm. Hence, this hybrid algorithm provides a new way to perform feature selection and parameter optimization.

Effect of Surgical Safety checklist implementation on the occurrence of postoperative complications in orthopedic patients.

PubMed

Boaz, Mona; Bermant, Alexander; Ezri, Tiberiu; Lakstein, Dror; Berlovitz, Yitzhak; Laniado, Iris; Feldbrin, Zeev

2014-01-01

Surgical adverse events are errors that emerge during perioperative patient care. The World Health Organization recently published "Guidelines for Safe Surgery." To estimate the effect of implementation of a safety checklist in an orthopedic surgical department. We conducted a single-center cross-sectional study to compare the incidence of complications prior to and following implementation of the Guidelines for Safe Surgery checklist. The medical records of all consecutive adult patients admitted to the orthopedics department at Wolfson Medical Center during the period 1 July 2008 to 1 January 2009 (control group) and from 1 January 2009 to 1 July 2009 (study group) were reviewed. The occurrences of all complications were compared between the two groups. The records of 760 patients (380 in each group) hospitalized during this 12 month period were analyzed. Postoperative fever occurred in 5.3% versus 10.6% of patients with and without the checklist respectively (P = 0.008). Significantly more patients received only postoperative prophylactic antibiotics rather than both pre-and postoperative antibiotic treatment prior to implementation of the checklist (3.2% versus 0%, P = 0.004). In addition, a statistically non-significant 34% decrease in the rate of surgical wound infection was also detected in the checklist group. In a logistic regression model of postoperative fever, the checklist emerged as a significant independent predictor of this outcome: odds ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.29-0.96, P = 0.037. A significant reduction in postoperative fever after the implementation of the surgical safety checklist occurred. It is possible that the improved usage of preoperative prophylactic antibiotics may explain the reduction in postoperative fever.

Reporting the characteristics of the policy context for population-level alcohol interventions: a proposed 'Transparent Reporting of Alcohol Intervention ContExts' (TRAICE) checklist.

PubMed

Holmes, John; Meier, Petra S; Booth, Andrew; Brennan, Alan

2014-11-01

Effectiveness of alcohol policy interventions varies across times and places. The circumstances under which effective polices can be successfully transferred between contexts are typically unexplored with little attention given to developing reporting requirements that would facilitate systematic investigation. Using purposive sampling and expert elicitation methods, we identified context-related factors impacting on the effectiveness of population-level alcohol policies. We then drew on previous characterisations of alcohol policy contexts and methodological-reporting checklists to design a new checklist for reporting contextual information in evaluation studies. Six context factor domains were identified: (i) baseline alcohol consumption, norms and harm rates; (ii) baseline affordability and availability; (iii) social, microeconomic and demographic contexts; (iv) macroeconomic context; (v) market context; and (vi) wider policy, political and media context. The checklist specifies information, typically available in national or international reports, to be reported in each domain. The checklist can facilitate evidence synthesis by providing: (i) a mechanism for systematic and more consistent reporting of contextual data for meta-regression and realist evaluations; (ii) information for policy-makers on differences between their context and contexts of evaluations; and (iii) an evidence base for adjusting prospective policy simulation models to account for policy context. Our proposed checklist provides a tool for gaining better understanding of the influence of policy context on intervention effectiveness. Further work is required to rationalise and aggregate checklists across interventions types to make such checklists practical for use by journals and to improve reporting of important qualitative contextual data. © 2014 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Effectiveness of the surgical safety checklist in correcting errors: a literature review applying Reason's Swiss cheese model.

PubMed

Collins, Susan J; Newhouse, Robin; Porter, Jody; Talsma, AkkeNeel

2014-07-01

Approximately 2,700 patients are harmed by wrong-site surgery each year. The World Health Organization created the surgical safety checklist to reduce the incidence of wrong-site surgery. A project team conducted a narrative review of the literature to determine the effectiveness of the surgical safety checklist in correcting and preventing errors in the OR. Team members used Swiss cheese model of error by Reason to analyze the findings. Analysis of results indicated the effectiveness of the surgical checklist in reducing the incidence of wrong-site surgeries and other medical errors; however, checklists alone will not prevent all errors. Successful implementation requires perioperative stakeholders to understand the nature of errors, recognize the complex dynamic between systems and individuals, and create a just culture that encourages a shared vision of patient safety. Copyright © 2014 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preconception health assessment in China, Lebanon and the Philippines: applicability to other countries.

PubMed

Reeve, Mary-Elizabeth; Charafeddine, Lama; Zhong, Nanbert; Padilla, Carmencita D; Yunis, Khalid; El Rafei, Reem; Alamiddine, Kawthar; Zhao, Xinliang; Jiang, Xiaoqing; Howson, Christopher P

2014-07-01

To test the utility of a preconception checklist tool in identifying preconception health needs of women in three countries; China, Lebanon and the Philippines. An academic medical center within each country participated in the development and testing of a preconception checklist tool, which was administered over a 6 month period to selected target groups in each country. The checklist provided valuable data on the preconception health of 6,530 women. Aggregated data identified common preconception health needs across all countries, including provision of modern contraceptives and adequate immunization coverage; HIV and STI screening; treatment for anemia; and counseling for maintenance of a healthy weight. A preconception checklist tool was found to be useful in distinct cultural settings. The study was a pilot. Future steps include validation and standardization of the checklist, data from which could be used to help shape preconception care policies and implementation strategies.

An environment for representing and using medical checklists on mobile devices.

PubMed

Losiouk, Eleonora; Lanzola, Giordano; Visetti, Enrico; Quaglini, Silvana

2015-01-01

Checklists have been recently introduced in the medical practice playing the role of summarized guidelines, streamlined for rapid consultations. However, there are still some barriers preventing their widespread diffusion. Those concern the representation, dissemination and update of their underlying knowledge, as well as the means currently adopted for their actual use, that is still mostly paper-based. In this paper we propose a new platform for the implementation and use of checklists. First, an editor supports domain experts in porting the checklist from the traditional paper-based format into an electronic one. Then, an application allows the distribution and usage of checklists on portable devices such as smartphones and tablets, exploiting their additional features in comparison with those made available by Personal Computers. The platform will be illustrated through some examples designed to support volunteers and paramedic staff in dealing with emergency situations.

Meta-analysis of surgical safety checklist effects on teamwork, communication, morbidity, mortality, and safety.

PubMed

Lyons, Vanessa E; Popejoy, Lori L

2014-02-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of surgical safety checklists on teamwork, communication, morbidity, mortality, and compliance with safety measures through meta-analysis. Four meta-analyses were conducted on 19 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The effect size of checklists on teamwork and communication was 1.180 (p = .003), on morbidity and mortality was 0.123 (p = .003) and 0.088 (p = .001), respectively, and on compliance with safety measures was 0.268 (p < .001). The results indicate that surgical safety checklists improve teamwork and communication, reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve compliance with safety measures. This meta-analysis is limited in its generalizability based on the limited number of studies and the inclusion of only published research. Future research is needed to examine possible moderating variables for the effects of surgical safety checklists.

Hospital Disaster Preparedness in Italy: a preliminary study utilizing the World Health Organization Hospital Emergency Response Evaluation Toolkit.

PubMed

Ingrassia, Pier L; Mangini, Marco; Azzaretto, Massimo; Ciaramitaro, Ilenia; Costa, Laura; Burkle, Frederick M; Della Corte, Francesco; Djalali, Ahmadreza

2016-12-01

Natural and human-initiated disasters are occurring with greater devastating consequences and increased frequency. During these events, hospitals have the burden to care for acutely ill and injured patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of disaster preparedness of Italian hospitals. Site visits were conducted from January, 2014 to December, 2014. The hospital emergency response checklist, developed by the WHO, was used as an evaluation toolkit. It consists of 92 items classified as 9 key components, such as command and control, triage, and critical services. The status of each component was determined by consensus of 3 independent evaluators. The study selected 15 hospitals from different areas in Italy. Out of the 15 hospitals, 12 were considered to be at insufficients level of preparedness, only 3 were considered to have an effective level of preparedness. The average preparedness of all components were lower than the optimal level suggested by the WHO checklist. The study revealed that a large majority of Italian hospitals evaluated are not well prepared to manage potential disasters. Also, all important elements of hospital preparedness, such as the command system, surge capacity, and safety, were insufficiently implemented. Nationwide standards, guidelines and procedures are required to improve hospital disaster preparedness in Italy.

Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher’s Report Form for assessing autism spectrum disorder in preschool-aged children

PubMed Central

Bara, Tiago S; Farias, Antonio C; Felden, Erico PG; Cordeiro, Mara L

2018-01-01

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social, behavioral, and communication impairments with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 68 school-aged children. There is a need for objective and easily applicable instruments for early identification of autistic children to enable initiation of early interventions during a very sensitive period of brain development and, consequently, optimize prognosis. Here, we tested the utility of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Caregiver-Teacher’s Report Form (C-TRF) scales for assessing ASD in Brazil, where ASD screening research is emergent. Subjects and methods A total of 70 children (2–5 years old, both sexes) were enrolled, including an ASD group (n=39) and a non-ASD control group (n=31). The preschool versions of the CBCL and C-TRF were applied. The CBCL and C-TRF results were compared between the ASD and non-ASD control groups with Mann–Whitney U tests and receiver operating characteristic analyses. Results The CBCL and C-TRF were found to have moderate accuracy for the dimensions withdrawn and autism spectrum problems, and to correlate with each other. Conclusion The CBCL and C-TRF may aid in early ASD detection. PMID:29343961

Data Sharing Agreement Checklist for IDEA Part C and Part B 619 Agencies and Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy), 2014

2014-01-01

This 2014 document is an adaptation of the 2012 release of "Data Sharing Agreement Checklist" intended for K-12 audiences. Presented as a checklist, the document summarizes the requirements for the written agreements under the audit or evaluation exception that is specified in FERPA and that also applies to the IDEA for Part C early…

High Quality Differentiated Instruction--A Checklist for Teacher Professional Development on Handling Differences in the General Education Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smets, Wouter

2017-01-01

This paper presents a checklist that scaffolds teachers' professional decision-making with regard to differentiated instruction. It discusses the way the concept of differentiated instruction may be applied in an evidence-informed way by presenting a checklist for high-quality differentiated instruction (DI). We tried to tackle the question of how…

Factor Structure of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version in German Female and Male Detainees and Community Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sevecke, Kathrin; Pukrop, Ralf; Kosson, David S.; Krischer, Maya K.

2009-01-01

Substantial evidence exists for 3- and 4-factor models of psychopathy underlying patterns of covariation among the items of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in diverse adult samples. Although initial studies conducted with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) indicated reasonable fit for these models in incarcerated male…

The Identification of Children with Behavioural Manifestations of Inattention, Hyperactivity and Impulsivity, in Mainstream School: The Development of the Scope Classroom Observation Checklist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scope, Alison; Empson, Janet; McHale, Sue; Nabuzoka, Dabie

2007-01-01

The objective of this paper is to report the development and use of an observation checklist to identify typically developing children with behavioural manifestations associated with inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. This measure is termed the Scope Classroom Observation Checklist (SCOC). The SCOC was developed, assessed for reliability…

Development of the Nutrition and Swallowing Checklist, a Screening Tool for Nutrition Risk and Swallowing Risk in People with Intellectual Disability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Lyn

2003-01-01

This article discusses nutrition problems in people with intellectual disabilities, the need for nutrition risk screening, and the development of the Nutrition and Swallowing Checklist in New South Wales. The checklist ensures carer involvement in identifying risks and an interdisciplinary approach to the assessment and management of nutrition and…

The Development of the Extended Adolescent Injury Checklist (E-AIC): A Measure for Injury Prevention Program Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Rebekah; Buckley, Lisa; Sheehan, Mary

2011-01-01

The Extended Adolescent Injury Checklist (E-AIC), a self-report measure of injury based on the model of the Adolescent Injury Checklist (AIC), was developed for use in the evaluation of school-based interventions. The three stages of this development involved focus groups with adolescents and consultations with medical staff, pilot testing of the…

Validity of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist in a Clinical Sample of Toddlers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karabekiroglu, Koray; Aman, Michael G.

2009-01-01

We investigated the congruent and criterion validity of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) in a clinical sample of toddlers seen over 1 year in Turkey. All consecutive patients (N = 93), 14-43 months old (mean, 30.6 mos.), in a child psychiatry outpatient clinic were included. The ABC, Autism Behavior Checklist (AuBC), and Child Behavior…

Toward more transparent and reproducible omics studies through a common metadata checklist and data publications.

PubMed

Kolker, Eugene; Özdemir, Vural; Martens, Lennart; Hancock, William; Anderson, Gordon; Anderson, Nathaniel; Aynacioglu, Sukru; Baranova, Ancha; Campagna, Shawn R; Chen, Rui; Choiniere, John; Dearth, Stephen P; Feng, Wu-Chun; Ferguson, Lynnette; Fox, Geoffrey; Frishman, Dmitrij; Grossman, Robert; Heath, Allison; Higdon, Roger; Hutz, Mara H; Janko, Imre; Jiang, Lihua; Joshi, Sanjay; Kel, Alexander; Kemnitz, Joseph W; Kohane, Isaac S; Kolker, Natali; Lancet, Doron; Lee, Elaine; Li, Weizhong; Lisitsa, Andrey; Llerena, Adrian; Macnealy-Koch, Courtney; Marshall, Jean-Claude; Masuzzo, Paola; May, Amanda; Mias, George; Monroe, Matthew; Montague, Elizabeth; Mooney, Sean; Nesvizhskii, Alexey; Noronha, Santosh; Omenn, Gilbert; Rajasimha, Harsha; Ramamoorthy, Preveen; Sheehan, Jerry; Smarr, Larry; Smith, Charles V; Smith, Todd; Snyder, Michael; Rapole, Srikanth; Srivastava, Sanjeeva; Stanberry, Larissa; Stewart, Elizabeth; Toppo, Stefano; Uetz, Peter; Verheggen, Kenneth; Voy, Brynn H; Warnich, Louise; Wilhelm, Steven W; Yandl, Gregory

2014-01-01

Biological processes are fundamentally driven by complex interactions between biomolecules. Integrated high-throughput omics studies enable multifaceted views of cells, organisms, or their communities. With the advent of new post-genomics technologies, omics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent; yet the full impact of these studies can only be realized through data harmonization, sharing, meta-analysis, and integrated research. These essential steps require consistent generation, capture, and distribution of metadata. To ensure transparency, facilitate data harmonization, and maximize reproducibility and usability of life sciences studies, we propose a simple common omics metadata checklist. The proposed checklist is built on the rich ontologies and standards already in use by the life sciences community. The checklist will serve as a common denominator to guide experimental design, capture important parameters, and be used as a standard format for stand-alone data publications. The omics metadata checklist and data publications will create efficient linkages between omics data and knowledge-based life sciences innovation and, importantly, allow for appropriate attribution to data generators and infrastructure science builders in the post-genomics era. We ask that the life sciences community test the proposed omics metadata checklist and data publications and provide feedback for their use and improvement.

Toward More Transparent and Reproducible Omics Studies Through a Common Metadata Checklist and Data Publications.

PubMed

Kolker, Eugene; Özdemir, Vural; Martens, Lennart; Hancock, William; Anderson, Gordon; Anderson, Nathaniel; Aynacioglu, Sukru; Baranova, Ancha; Campagna, Shawn R; Chen, Rui; Choiniere, John; Dearth, Stephen P; Feng, Wu-Chun; Ferguson, Lynnette; Fox, Geoffrey; Frishman, Dmitrij; Grossman, Robert; Heath, Allison; Higdon, Roger; Hutz, Mara H; Janko, Imre; Jiang, Lihua; Joshi, Sanjay; Kel, Alexander; Kemnitz, Joseph W; Kohane, Isaac S; Kolker, Natali; Lancet, Doron; Lee, Elaine; Li, Weizhong; Lisitsa, Andrey; Llerena, Adrian; MacNealy-Koch, Courtney; Marshall, Jean-Claude; Masuzzo, Paola; May, Amanda; Mias, George; Monroe, Matthew; Montague, Elizabeth; Mooney, Sean; Nesvizhskii, Alexey; Noronha, Santosh; Omenn, Gilbert; Rajasimha, Harsha; Ramamoorthy, Preveen; Sheehan, Jerry; Smarr, Larry; Smith, Charles V; Smith, Todd; Snyder, Michael; Rapole, Srikanth; Srivastava, Sanjeeva; Stanberry, Larissa; Stewart, Elizabeth; Toppo, Stefano; Uetz, Peter; Verheggen, Kenneth; Voy, Brynn H; Warnich, Louise; Wilhelm, Steven W; Yandl, Gregory

2013-12-01

Biological processes are fundamentally driven by complex interactions between biomolecules. Integrated high-throughput omics studies enable multifaceted views of cells, organisms, or their communities. With the advent of new post-genomics technologies, omics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent; yet the full impact of these studies can only be realized through data harmonization, sharing, meta-analysis, and integrated research. These essential steps require consistent generation, capture, and distribution of metadata. To ensure transparency, facilitate data harmonization, and maximize reproducibility and usability of life sciences studies, we propose a simple common omics metadata checklist. The proposed checklist is built on the rich ontologies and standards already in use by the life sciences community. The checklist will serve as a common denominator to guide experimental design, capture important parameters, and be used as a standard format for stand-alone data publications. The omics metadata checklist and data publications will create efficient linkages between omics data and knowledge-based life sciences innovation and, importantly, allow for appropriate attribution to data generators and infrastructure science builders in the post-genomics era. We ask that the life sciences community test the proposed omics metadata checklist and data publications and provide feedback for their use and improvement.

Measures of emergency preparedness contributing to nursing home resilience.

PubMed

Lane, Sandi J; McGrady, Elizabeth

2017-12-13

Resilience approaches have been successfully applied in crisis management, disaster response, and high reliability organizations and have the potential to enhance existing systems of nursing home disaster preparedness. This study's purpose was to determine how the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) "Emergency Preparedness Checklist Recommended Tool for Effective Health Care Facility Planning" contributes to organizational resilience by identifying the benchmark resilience items addressed by the CMS Emergency Preparedness Checklist and items not addressed by the CMS Emergency Preparedness Checklist, and to recommend tools and processes to improve resilience for nursing homes. The CMS Emergency Preparedness Checklist items were compared to the Resilience Benchmark Tool items; similar items were considered matches. Resilience Benchmark Tool items with no CMS Emergency Preparedness Checklist item matches were considered breaches in nursing home resilience. The findings suggest that the CMS Emergency Preparedness Checklist can be used to measure some aspects of resilience, however, there were many resilience factors not addressed. For nursing homes to prepare and respond to crisis situations, organizations need to embrace a culture that promotes individual resilience-related competencies that when aggregated enable the organization to improve its resiliency. Social workers have the skills and experience to facilitate this change.

A method to develop vocabulary checklists in new languages and their validity to assess early language development.

PubMed

Prado, Elizabeth L; Phuka, John; Ocansey, Eugenia; Maleta, Kenneth; Ashorn, Per; Ashorn, Ulla; Adu-Afarwuah, Seth; Oaks, Brietta M; Lartey, Anna; Dewey, Kathryn G

2018-05-11

Since the adoption of United Nations' Sustainable Goal 4.2 to ensure that all children have access to quality early child development (ECD) so that they are ready for primary education, the demand for valid ECD assessments has increased in contexts where they do not yet exist. The development of early language ability is important for school readiness. Our objective was to evaluate the validity of a method to develop vocabulary checklists in new languages to assess early language development, based on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. Through asking mothers of young children what words their children say and through pilot testing, we developed 100-word vocabulary checklists in multilingual contexts in Malawi and Ghana. In Malawi, we evaluated the validity of the vocabulary checklist among 29 children age 17-25 months compared to three language measures assessed concurrently: Developmental Milestones Checklist-II (DMC-II) language scale, Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool (MDAT) language scale, and the number of different words (NDW) in 30-min recordings of spontaneous speech. In Ghana, we assessed the predictive validity of the vocabulary checklist at age 18 months to forecast language, pre-academic, and other skills at age 4-6 years among 869 children. We also compared the predictive validity of the vocabulary checklist scores to that of other developmental assessments administered at age 18 months. In Malawi, the Spearman's correlation of the vocabulary checklist score with DMC-II language was 0.46 (p = 0.049), with MDAT language was 0.66 (p = 0.016) and with NDW was 0.50 (p = 0.033). In Ghana, the 18-month vocabulary checklist score showed the strongest (rho = 0.12-0.26) and most consistent (8/12) associations with preschool scores, compared to the other 18-month assessments. The largest coefficients were the correlations of the 18-month vocabulary score with the preschool cognitive factor score (rho = 0.26), language score (0.25), and pre-academic score (0.24). We have demonstrated the validity of a method to develop vocabulary checklists in new languages, which can be used in multilingual contexts, using a feasible adaptation process requiring about 2 weeks. This is a promising method to assess early language development, which is associated with later preschool language, cognitive, and pre-academic skills.

Development of a brachytherapy audit checklist tool.

PubMed

Prisciandaro, Joann; Hadley, Scott; Jolly, Shruti; Lee, Choonik; Roberson, Peter; Roberts, Donald; Ritter, Timothy

2015-01-01

To develop a brachytherapy audit checklist that could be used to prepare for Nuclear Regulatory Commission or agreement state inspections, to aid in readiness for a practice accreditation visit, or to be used as an annual internal audit tool. Six board-certified medical physicists and one radiation oncologist conducted a thorough review of brachytherapy-related literature and practice guidelines published by professional organizations and federal regulations. The team members worked at two facilities that are part of a large, academic health care center. Checklist items were given a score based on their judged importance. Four clinical sites performed an audit of their program using the checklist. The sites were asked to score each item based on a defined severity scale for their noncompliance, and final audit scores were tallied by summing the products of importance score and severity score for each item. The final audit checklist, which is available online, contains 83 items. The audit scores from the beta sites ranged from 17 to 71 (out of 690) and identified a total of 7-16 noncompliance items. The total time to conduct the audit ranged from 1.5 to 5 hours. A comprehensive audit checklist was developed which can be implemented by any facility that wishes to perform a program audit in support of their own brachytherapy program. The checklist is designed to allow users to identify areas of noncompliance and to prioritize how these items are addressed to minimize deviations from nationally-recognized standards. Copyright © 2015 American Brachytherapy Society. All rights reserved.

'Safety by DEFAULT': introduction and impact of a paediatric ward round checklist.

PubMed

Sharma, Sanjiv; Peters, Mark J

2013-10-11

Poor communication is a source of risk. This can be particularly significant in areas of high clinical acuity such as intensive care. Ward rounds are points where large amounts of information must be communicated in a time-limited environment with many competing interests. This has the potential to reduce effective communication and risk patient safety. Checklists have been used in many industries to improve communication and mitigate risk. We describe the introduction of a ward round safety checklist 'DEFAULT' on a paediatric intensive care unit. A non-blinded, pre- and post-intervention observational study was undertaken in a 12-bedded Level 3 tertiary PICU between July 2009 and December 2011. Ward round stakeholders subjectively liked the checklist and felt it improved communication. Introduction of the ward round checklist was associated with an increase in median days between accidental extubations from 14 (range 2 to 86) to 150 (56 to 365) (Mann-Whitney P <0.0001). The ward round checklist was also associated with an increase in the proportion of invasively ventilated patients with target tidal volumes of <8 ml/kg, which increased from 35 of 71 patients at 08.00 representing a proportion of 0.49 (95% CI 0.38 to 0.60) to 23 of 38 (0.61, 0.45 to 0.74). This represented a trend towards an increased proportion of cases in the target range (z = 1.68, P = 0.09). The introduction of a ward round safety checklist was associated with improved communication and patient safety.

Interdisciplinary development and implementation of communication checklist for postoperative management of pediatric airway patients.

PubMed

Kim, Sang W; Maturo, Stephen; Dwyer, Danielle; Monash, Bradley; Yager, Phoebe H; Zanger, Kerstin; Hartnick, Christopher J

2012-01-01

The authors describe their multidisciplinary experience in applying the Institute of Health Improvement methodology to develop a protocol and checklist to reduce communication error during transfer of care for postoperative pediatric surgical airway patients. Preliminary outcome data following implementation of the protocol and checklist are also presented. Prospective study from July 1, 2009, to February 1, 2011. Tertiary care center. Subjects. One hundred twenty-six pediatric airway patients who required coordinated care between Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts General Hospital. Two sentinel events involving airway emergencies demonstrated a critical need for a standardized, comprehensive instrument that would ensure safe transfer of care. After development and implementation of the protocol and checklist, an initial pilot period on the first set of 9 pediatric airway patients was reassessed. Subsequent prospective 11-month follow-up data of 93 pediatric airway patients were collected and analyzed. A multidisciplinary pediatric team developed and implemented a formalized, postoperative checklist and transfer protocol. After implementation of the checklist and transfer protocol, prospective analysis showed no adverse events from miscommunication during transfer of care over the subsequent 11-month period involving 93 pediatric airway patients. There has been very little written in the quality and safety patient literature about coordinating effective transfer of care between the pediatric surgical and medical subspecialty realms. After design and implementation of a simple, electronically based transfer-of-care checklist and protocol, the number of postsurgical pediatric airway information transfer and communication errors decreased significantly.

Comparing the Use of Global Rating Scale with Checklists for the Assessment of Central Venous Catheterization Skills Using Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Irene W. Y.; Zalunardo, Nadia; Pachev, George; Beran, Tanya; Brown, Melanie; Hatala, Rose; McLaughlin, Kevin

2012-01-01

The use of checklists is recommended for the assessment of competency in central venous catheterization (CVC) insertion. To explore the use of a global rating scale in the assessment of CVC skills, this study seeks to compare its use with two checklists, within the context of a formative examination using simulation. Video-recorded performances of…

Measurement Properties of the Non-Communicating Adult Pain Checklist (NCAPC): A Pain Scale for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Scored in a Clinical Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotan, M.; Moe-Nilssen, R.; Ljunggren, A. E.; Strand, L. I.

2010-01-01

The 18 items' Non-Communicating Adult Pain Checklist (NCAPC) has been developed from the 27 items Non-Communicating Children Pain Checklist to better capture pain behavior of adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). As part of the NCAPC's measurement properties, internal consistency, reliability and sensitivity to pain have…

Catalogue of Life: 2013 Annual Checklist

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nicolson, David T.; Roskov, Yuri; Kunze, Thomas; Paglinawan, Luvie; Orrell, Thomas; Culham, Alistair; Bailly, Nicolas; Kirk, Paul; Bourgoin, Thierry; Baillargeon, Guy; Hernandez, Franciso; De Wever, Aaike

2013-01-01

The most comprehensive and authoritative global index of species currently available, it consists of a single integrated species checklist and taxonomic hierarchy. It is available (1) as a DVD and booklet; and (2) on the Web. The contact for the booklet and DVD is Thomas Orrell at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington,DC. The URL for the online version is http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2013/info/ac

A Performance-Based Training Qualification Guide/Checklist Developed for Reactor Operators at the High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNair, Robert C.

A Performance-Based Training (PBT) Qualification Guide/Checklist was developed that would enable a trainee to attain the skills, knowledge, and attitude required to operate the High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Design of this guide/checklist was based on the Instructional System Design Model. The needs analysis identified…

Violence Risk Assessment and Facet 4 of the Psychopathy Checklist: Predicting Institutional and Community Aggression in Two Forensic Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walters, Glenn D.; Heilbrun, Kirk

2010-01-01

The Psychopathy Checklist and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL/PCL-R) were used to predict institutional aggression and community violence in two groups of forensic patients. Results showed that Facet 4 (Antisocial) of the PCL/PCL-R or one of its parcels consistently achieved incremental validity relative to the first three facets, whereas the…

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Platygastroidea

PubMed Central

Buhl, Peter N.; Notton, David G.

2016-01-01

Abstract Background A revised checklist of the British and Irish Platygastroidea (Platygastridae) substantially updates the previous comprehensive checklist, dating from 1978. Distribution data (i.e. occurrence in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man) is reported where known. New information A total of 381 British and Irish Platygastroidea represents a 47% increase on the number of British and Irish species reported in 1978. PMID:27279762

Increased Accountability within the General Framework of Educational Institutions Through the Utilization of the Peer and Self-Evaluation Checklist (PSEC).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stier, William Frederick, Jr.

A direct outgrowth of the increasing concern toward accountability in education is the "Peer and Self-Evaluation Checklist" (PSEC), which was first developed in 1972. The PSEC was developed and refined to provide greater insight into an individual's competency. The checklist contains 60 items or criteria, which are distributed within the following…

Validation of a Detailed Scoring Checklist for Use During Advanced Cardiac Life Support Certification

PubMed Central

McEvoy, Matthew D.; Smalley, Jeremy C.; Nietert, Paul J.; Field, Larry C.; Furse, Cory M.; Blenko, John W.; Cobb, Benjamin G.; Walters, Jenna L.; Pendarvis, Allen; Dalal, Nishita S.; Schaefer, John J.

2012-01-01

Introduction Defining valid, reliable, defensible, and generalizable standards for the evaluation of learner performance is a key issue in assessing both baseline competence and mastery in medical education. However, prior to setting these standards of performance, the reliability of the scores yielding from a grading tool must be assessed. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of scores generated from a set of grading checklists used by non-expert raters during simulations of American Heart Association (AHA) MegaCodes. Methods The reliability of scores generated from a detailed set of checklists, when used by four non-expert raters, was tested by grading team leader performance in eight MegaCode scenarios. Videos of the scenarios were reviewed and rated by trained faculty facilitators and by a group of non-expert raters. The videos were reviewed “continuously” and “with pauses.” Two content experts served as the reference standard for grading, and four non-expert raters were used to test the reliability of the checklists. Results Our results demonstrate that non-expert raters are able to produce reliable grades when using the checklists under consideration, demonstrating excellent intra-rater reliability and agreement with a reference standard. The results also demonstrate that non-expert raters can be trained in the proper use of the checklist in a short amount of time, with no discernible learning curve thereafter. Finally, our results show that a single trained rater can achieve reliable scores of team leader performance during AHA MegaCodes when using our checklist in continuous mode, as measures of agreement in total scoring were very strong (Lin’s Concordance Correlation Coefficient = 0.96; Intraclass Correlation Coefficient = 0.97). Discussion We have shown that our checklists can yield reliable scores, are appropriate for use by non-expert raters, and are able to be employed during continuous assessment of team leader performance during the review of a simulated MegaCode. This checklist may be more appropriate for use by Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) instructors during MegaCode assessments than current tools provided by the AHA. PMID:22863996

Do safety checklists improve teamwork and communication in the operating room? A systematic review.

PubMed

Russ, Stephanie; Rout, Shantanu; Sevdalis, Nick; Moorthy, Krishna; Darzi, Ara; Vincent, Charles

2013-12-01

The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impact of surgical safety checklists on the quality of teamwork and communication in the operating room (OR). Safety checklists have been shown to impact positively on patient morbidity and mortality following surgery, but it is unclear whether this clinical improvement is related to an improvement in OR teamwork and communication. A systematic search strategy of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews was undertaken to obtain relevant articles. After de-duplication and the addition of limits, 315 articles were screened for inclusion by 2 researchers and all articles meeting a set of prespecified inclusion criteria were retained. Information regarding the type of checklist, study design, assessment tools used, outcomes, and study limitations was extracted. Twenty articles formed the basis of this systematic review. All articles described an empirical study relating to a case-specific safety checklist for surgery as the primary intervention, with some measure of change/improvement in teamwork and/or communication relating to its use. The methods for assessing teamwork and communication varied greatly, including surveys, observations, interviews, and 360° assessments. The evidence suggests that safety checklists improve the perceived quality of OR teamwork and communication and reduce observable errors relating to poor team skills. This is likely to function through establishing an open platform for communication at the start of a procedure: encouraging the sharing of critical case-related information, promoting team coordination and decision making, flagging knowledge gaps, and enhancing team cohesion. However, the evidence would also suggest that when used suboptimally or when individuals have not bought in to the process, checklists may conversely have a negative impact on the function of the team. Safety checklists are beneficial for OR teamwork and communication and this may be one mechanism through which patient outcomes are improved. Future research should aim to further elucidate the relationship between how safety checklists are used and team skills in the OR using more consistent methodological approaches and utilizing validated measures of teamwork such that best practice guidelines can be established.

Review of guidelines for good practice in decision-analytic modelling in health technology assessment.

PubMed

Philips, Z; Ginnelly, L; Sculpher, M; Claxton, K; Golder, S; Riemsma, R; Woolacoot, N; Glanville, J

2004-09-01

To identify existing guidelines and develop a synthesised guideline plus accompanying checklist. In addition to provide guidance on key theoretical, methodological and practical issues and consider the implications of this research for what might be expected of future decision-analytic models. Electronic databases. A systematic review of existing good practice guidelines was undertaken to identify and summarise guidelines currently available for assessing the quality of decision-analytic models that have been undertaken for health technology assessment. A synthesised good practice guidance and accompanying checklist was developed. Two specific methods areas in decision modelling were considered. The first method's topic is the identification of parameter estimates from published literature. Parameter searches were developed and piloted using a case-study model. The second topic relates to bias in parameter estimates; that is, how to adjust estimates of treatment effect from observational studies where there are risks of selection bias. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify those studies looking at quantification of bias in parameter estimates and the implication of this bias. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed and consolidated into a single set of brief statements of good practice. From this, a checklist was developed and applied to three independent decision-analytic models. Although the checklist provided excellent guidance on some key issues for model evaluation, it was too general to pick up on the specific nuances of each model. The searches that were developed helped to identify important data for inclusion in the model. However, the quality of life searches proved to be problematic: the published search filters did not focus on those measures specific to cost-effectiveness analysis and although the strategies developed as part of this project were more successful few data were found. Of the 11 studies meeting the criteria on the effect of selection bias, five concluded that a non-randomised trial design is associated with bias and six studies found 'similar' estimates of treatment effects from observational studies or non-randomised clinical trials and randomised controlled trials (RCTs). One purpose of developing the synthesised guideline and checklist was to provide a framework for critical appraisal by the various parties involved in the health technology assessment process. First, the guideline and checklist can be used by groups that are reviewing other analysts' models and, secondly, the guideline and checklist could be used by the various analysts as they develop their models (to use it as a check on how they are developing and reporting their analyses). The Expert Advisory Group (EAG) that was convened to discuss the potential role of the guidance and checklist felt that, in general, the guidance and checklist would be a useful tool, although the checklist is not meant to be used exclusively to determine a model's quality, and so should not be used as a substitute for critical appraisal. The review of current guidelines showed that although authors may provide a consistent message regarding some aspects of modelling, in other areas conflicting attributes are presented in different guidelines. In general, the checklist appears to perform well, in terms of identifying those aspects of the model that should be of particular concern to the reader. The checklist cannot, however, provide answers to the appropriateness of the model structure and structural assumptions, as these may be seen as a general problem with generic checklists and do not reflect any shortcoming with the synthesised guidance and checklist developed here. The assessment of the checklist, as well as feedback from the EAG, indicated the importance of its use in conjunction with a more general checklist or guidelines on economic evaluation. Further methods research into the following areas would be valuable: the quantification of selection bias in non-controlled studies and in controlled observational studies; the level of bias in the different non-RCT study designs; a comparison of results from RCTs with those from other non-randomised studies; assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of alternative ways to adjust for bias in a decision model; and how to prioritise searching for parameter estimates.

Annotated checklist and database for vascular plants of the Jemez Mountains

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

Foxx, T. S.; Pierce, L.; Tierney, G. D.

Studies done in the last 40 years have provided information to construct a checklist of the Jemez Mountains. The present database and checklist builds on the basic list compiled by Teralene Foxx and Gail Tierney in the early 1980s. The checklist is annotated with taxonomic information, geographic and biological information, economic uses, wildlife cover, revegetation potential, and ethnographic uses. There are nearly 1000 species that have been noted for the Jemez Mountains. This list is cross-referenced with the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service PLANTS database species names and acronyms. All information will soon be available on amore » Web Page.« less

Improving the Quality of Web Surveys: The Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES)

PubMed Central

2004-01-01

Analogous to checklists of recommendations such as the CONSORT statement (for randomized trials), or the QUORUM statement (for systematic reviews), which are designed to ensure the quality of reports in the medical literature, a checklist of recommendations for authors is being presented by the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) in an effort to ensure complete descriptions of Web-based surveys. Papers on Web-based surveys reported according to the CHERRIES statement will give readers a better understanding of the sample (self-)selection and its possible differences from a “representative” sample. It is hoped that author adherence to the checklist will increase the usefulness of such reports. PMID:15471760

The Interest Checklist: a factor analysis.

PubMed

Klyczek, J P; Bauer-Yox, N; Fiedler, R C

1997-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the 80 items on the Interest Checklist empirically cluster into the five categories of interests described by Matsutsuyu, the developer of the tool. The Interest Checklist was administered to 367 subjects classified in three subgroups: students, working adults, and retired elderly persons. An 80-item correlation matrix was formed from the responses to the Interest Checklist for each subgroup and then used in a factor analysis model to identify the underlying structure or domains of interest. Results indicated that the Social Recreation theoretical category was empirically independent for all three subgroups; the Physical Sports and Cultural/Educational theoretical categories were empirically independent for only the college students and working adults; and the Manual Skills theoretical category was empirically independent for only the working adults. Although therapists should continue to be cautious in their interpretation of patients' Interest Checklist scores, the tool is useful for identifying patients' interests in order to choose meaningful activities for therapy.

A checklist of ciliate parasites (Ciliophora) of fishes from Mexico.

PubMed

Aguilar-Aguilar, Rogelio; Islas-Ortega, Alma Gabriela

2015-10-02

A database with all available published accounts of the ciliate parasite species of Mexican fishes was assembled. This information, along with records derived from own recent research, allow generating a checklist containing all the records, which is a necessary first step to address future questions in the areas of ecology, evolutionary biology and biogeography of these host-parasite associations. The checklist is presented as a parasite-host list, and a host-parasite list. The checklist contains 30 nominal species, from 9 genera and 8 families of ciliate parasites. Most of the primary records were done for exotic fish species, artificially introduced to Mexico for aquaculture purposes; however, recent works have been conducted in diverse species of native fishes. Excepting one, all the ciliate species listed here have been previously recorded for diverse fish species from different localities around the world. Based on the amount of information contained in this checklist, much more effort is necessary to accurately know the diversity of species of this type of parasites in fish fauna of Mexico.

Validity and Reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 Checklist for Children with and without Motor Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoemaker, Marina M.; Niemeijer, Anuschka S.; Flapper, Boudien C. T.; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C. M.

2012-01-01

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 Checklist (MABC-2). Method: Teacher[subscript S] completed the Checklist for 383 children (age range 5-8y; mean age 6y 9mo; 190 males; 193 females) and the parents of 130 of these children completed the Developmental…

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Chalcidoidea and Mymarommatoidea

PubMed Central

Dale-Skey, Natalie; Askew, Richard R.; Noyes, John S.; Livermore, Laurence

2016-01-01

Abstract Background A revised checklist of the British and Irish Chalcidoidea and Mymarommatoidea substantially updates the previous comprehensive checklist, dating from 1978. Country level data (i.e. occurrence in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man) is reported where known. New information A total of 1754 British and Irish Chalcidoidea species represents a 22% increase on the number of British species known in 1978. PMID:27346954

The Quality Education Checklist: An Instrument for Self-Auditing. Developing Quality Schools: Learning Module #2. Making It Work--The Quality Schools Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barlosky, Martin; Lawton, Stephen

The Quality Education Checklist focuses on key inputs, processes, and outputs of schools needed to ensure continuous improvement. Intended as a self-auditing aid for schools, the checklist may also be used as a method to define the priority of areas for improvement, as a way to gather information from customers, as a professional development…

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Cynipoidea

PubMed Central

Forshage, Mattias; Bowdrey, Jeremy; Spooner, Brian M.; van Veen, Frank

2017-01-01

Abstract Background The British and Irish checklist of Cynipoidea is revised, considerably updating the last complete checklist published in 1978. Disregarding uncertain identifications, 220 species are now known from Britain and Ireland, comprising 91 Cynipidae (including two established non-natives), 127 Figitidae and two Ibaliidae. New information One replacement name is proposed, Kleidotoma thomsoni Forshage, for the secondary homonym Kleidotoma tetratoma Thomson, 1861 (nec K. tetratoma (Hartig, 1841)). PMID:28325971

Towards more transparent and reproducible omics studies through a common metadata checklist and data publications

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

Kolker, Eugene; Ozdemir, Vural; Martens , Lennart

Biological processes are fundamentally driven by complex interactions between biomolecules. Integrated high-throughput omics studies enable multifaceted views of cells, organisms, or their communities. With the advent of new post-genomics technologies omics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent yet the full impact of these studies can only be realized through data harmonization, sharing, meta-analysis, and integrated research,. These three essential steps require consistent generation, capture, and distribution of the metadata. To ensure transparency, facilitate data harmonization, and maximize reproducibility and usability of life sciences studies, we propose a simple common omics metadata checklist. The proposed checklist is built on the rich ontologiesmore » and standards already in use by the life sciences community. The checklist will serve as a common denominator to guide experimental design, capture important parameters, and be used as a standard format for stand-alone data publications. This omics metadata checklist and data publications will create efficient linkages between omics data and knowledge-based life sciences innovation and importantly, allow for appropriate attribution to data generators and infrastructure science builders in the post-genomics era. We ask that the life sciences community test the proposed omics metadata checklist and data publications and provide feedback for their use and improvement.« less

Comparing the validity of 2 physical activity questionnaire formats in African-American and Hispanic women.

PubMed

Mâsse, Louise C; Fulton, Janet E; Watson, Kathleen B; Tortolero, Susan; Kohl, Harold W; Meyers, Michael C; Blair, Steven N; Wong, William W

2012-02-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the validity of 2 physical activity questionnaire formats--one that lists activities (Checklist questionnaire) and one that assesses overall activities (Global questionnaire) by domain. Two questionnaire formats were validated among 260 African-American and Hispanic women (age 40-70) using 3 validation standards: 1) accelerometers to validate activities of ambulation; 2) diaries to validate physical activity domains (occupation, household, exercise, yard, family, volunteer/church work, and transportation); and 3) doubly-labeled water to validate physical activity energy expenditure (DLW-PAEE). The proportion of total variance explained by the Checklist questionnaire was 38.4% with diaries, 9.0% with accelerometers, and 6.4% with DLW-PAEE. The Global questionnaire explained 17.6% of the total variance with diaries and about 5% with both accelerometers and with DLWPAEE. Overall, associations with the 3 validation standards were slightly better with the Checklist questionnaire. However, agreement with DLW-PAEE was poor with both formats and the Checklist format resulted in greater overestimation. Validity results also indicated the Checklist format was better suited to recall household, family, and transportation activities. Overall, the Checklist format had slightly better measurement properties than the Global format. Both questionnaire formats are better suited to rank individuals.

Toward More Transparent and Reproducible Omics Studies Through a Common Metadata Checklist and Data Publications

PubMed Central

Özdemir, Vural; Martens, Lennart; Hancock, William; Anderson, Gordon; Anderson, Nathaniel; Aynacioglu, Sukru; Baranova, Ancha; Campagna, Shawn R.; Chen, Rui; Choiniere, John; Dearth, Stephen P.; Feng, Wu-Chun; Ferguson, Lynnette; Fox, Geoffrey; Frishman, Dmitrij; Grossman, Robert; Heath, Allison; Higdon, Roger; Hutz, Mara H.; Janko, Imre; Jiang, Lihua; Joshi, Sanjay; Kel, Alexander; Kemnitz, Joseph W.; Kohane, Isaac S.; Kolker, Natali; Lancet, Doron; Lee, Elaine; Li, Weizhong; Lisitsa, Andrey; Llerena, Adrian; MacNealy-Koch, Courtney; Marshall, Jean-Claude; Masuzzo, Paola; May, Amanda; Mias, George; Monroe, Matthew; Montague, Elizabeth; Mooney, Sean; Nesvizhskii, Alexey; Noronha, Santosh; Omenn, Gilbert; Rajasimha, Harsha; Ramamoorthy, Preveen; Sheehan, Jerry; Smarr, Larry; Smith, Charles V.; Smith, Todd; Snyder, Michael; Rapole, Srikanth; Srivastava, Sanjeeva; Stanberry, Larissa; Stewart, Elizabeth; Toppo, Stefano; Uetz, Peter; Verheggen, Kenneth; Voy, Brynn H.; Warnich, Louise; Wilhelm, Steven W.; Yandl, Gregory

2014-01-01

Abstract Biological processes are fundamentally driven by complex interactions between biomolecules. Integrated high-throughput omics studies enable multifaceted views of cells, organisms, or their communities. With the advent of new post-genomics technologies, omics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent; yet the full impact of these studies can only be realized through data harmonization, sharing, meta-analysis, and integrated research. These essential steps require consistent generation, capture, and distribution of metadata. To ensure transparency, facilitate data harmonization, and maximize reproducibility and usability of life sciences studies, we propose a simple common omics metadata checklist. The proposed checklist is built on the rich ontologies and standards already in use by the life sciences community. The checklist will serve as a common denominator to guide experimental design, capture important parameters, and be used as a standard format for stand-alone data publications. The omics metadata checklist and data publications will create efficient linkages between omics data and knowledge-based life sciences innovation and, importantly, allow for appropriate attribution to data generators and infrastructure science builders in the post-genomics era. We ask that the life sciences community test the proposed omics metadata checklist and data publications and provide feedback for their use and improvement. PMID:24456465

Utility of action checklists as a consensus building tool

PubMed Central

KIM, Yeon-Ha; YOSHIKAWA, Etsuko; YOSHIKAWA, Toru; KOGI, Kazutaka; JUNG, Moon-Hee

2014-01-01

The present study’s objective was to determine the mechanisms for enhancing the utility of action checklists applied in participatory approach programs for workplace improvements, to identify the benefits of building consensus and to compare their applicability in Asian countries to find the most appropriate configuration for action checklists. Data were collected from eight trainees and 43 trainers with experience in Participatory Action-Oriented Training. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS using the package PASW, version 19.0. The difference in the mean score for the degree of the utility of action checklists between countries was analyzed using ANOVA methods. Factor analysis was performed to validate the action checklists’ utility. Pearson Correlation Coefficients were then calculated to determine the direction and strength of the relationship between these factors. Using responses obtained from trainees’ in-depth interviews, we identified 33 key statements that were then classified into 11 thematic clusters. Five factors were extracted, namely “ease of application”, “practical solutions”, “group interaction”, “multifaceted perspective” and “active involvement”. The action checklist was useful for facilitating a participatory process among trainees and trainers for improving working conditions. Action checklists showed similar patterns of utility in various Asian countries; particularly when adjusted to local conditions. PMID:25224334

Is this health campaign really social marketing? A checklist to help you decide.

PubMed

Chau, Josephine Y; McGill, Bronwyn; Thomas, Margaret M; Carroll, Tom E; Bellew, William; Bauman, Adrian; Grunseit, Anne C

2018-04-01

Social marketing (SM) campaigns can be a powerful disease prevention and health promotion strategy but health-related campaigns may simply focus on the "promotions" communication activities and exclude other key characteristics of the SM approach. This paper describes the application of a checklist for identifying which lifestyle-related chronic disease prevention campaigns reported as SM actually represent key SM principles and practice. A checklist of SM criteria was developed, reviewed and refined by SM and mass media campaign experts. Papers identified in searches for "social marketing" and "mass media" for obesity, diet and physical activity campaigns in the health literature were classified using the checklist. Using the checklist, 66.6% of papers identified in the "SM" search and 39% of papers identified from the "mass media" search were classified as SM campaigns. Inter-rater agreement for classification using the abstract only was 92.1%. Health-related campaigns that self-identify as "social marketing" or "mass media" may not include the key characteristics of a SM approach. Published literature can provide useful guidance for developing and evaluating health-related SM campaigns, but health promotion professionals need to be able to identify what actually comprises SM in practice. SO WHAT?: SM could be a valuable strategy in comprehensive health promotion interventions, but it is often difficult for non-experts to identify published campaigns that represent a true SM approach. This paper describes the application of a checklist to assist policy makers and practitioners in appraising evidence from campaigns reflecting actual SM in practice. The checklist could also guide reporting on SM campaigns. © 2017 Australian Health Promotion Association.

Development of an indoor air quality checklist for risk assessment of indoor air pollutants by semiquantitative score in nonindustrial workplaces

PubMed Central

Syazwan, AI; Rafee, B Mohd; Hafizan, Juahir; Azman, AZF; Nizar, AM; Izwyn, Z; Muhaimin, AA; Yunos, MA Syafiq; Anita, AR; Hanafiah, J Muhamad; Shaharuddin, MS; Ibthisham, A Mohd; Ismail, Mohd Hasmadi; Azhar, MN Mohamad; Azizan, HS; Zulfadhli, I; Othman, J

2012-01-01

Background To meet the current diversified health needs in workplaces, especially in nonindustrial workplaces in developing countries, an indoor air quality (IAQ) component of a participatory occupational safety and health survey should be included. Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate and suggest a multidisciplinary, integrated IAQ checklist for evaluating the health risk of building occupants. This IAQ checklist proposed to support employers, workers, and assessors in understanding a wide range of important elements in the indoor air environment to promote awareness in nonindustrial workplaces. Methods The general structure of and specific items in the IAQ checklist were discussed in a focus group meeting with IAQ assessors based upon the result of a literature review, previous industrial code of practice, and previous interviews with company employers and workers. Results For practicality and validity, several sessions were held to elicit the opinions of company members, and, as a result, modifications were made. The newly developed IAQ checklist was finally formulated, consisting of seven core areas, nine technical areas, and 71 essential items. Each item was linked to a suitable section in the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality published by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. Conclusion Combined usage of an IAQ checklist with the information from the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality would provide easily comprehensible information and practical support. Intervention and evaluation studies using this newly developed IAQ checklist will clarify the effectiveness of a new approach in evaluating the risk of indoor air pollutants in the workplace. PMID:22570579

Development of an indoor air quality checklist for risk assessment of indoor air pollutants by semiquantitative score in nonindustrial workplaces.

PubMed

Syazwan, Ai; Rafee, B Mohd; Hafizan, Juahir; Azman, Azf; Nizar, Am; Izwyn, Z; Muhaimin, Aa; Yunos, Ma Syafiq; Anita, Ar; Hanafiah, J Muhamad; Shaharuddin, Ms; Ibthisham, A Mohd; Ismail, Mohd Hasmadi; Azhar, Mn Mohamad; Azizan, Hs; Zulfadhli, I; Othman, J

2012-01-01

To meet the current diversified health needs in workplaces, especially in nonindustrial workplaces in developing countries, an indoor air quality (IAQ) component of a participatory occupational safety and health survey should be included. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and suggest a multidisciplinary, integrated IAQ checklist for evaluating the health risk of building occupants. This IAQ checklist proposed to support employers, workers, and assessors in understanding a wide range of important elements in the indoor air environment to promote awareness in nonindustrial workplaces. The general structure of and specific items in the IAQ checklist were discussed in a focus group meeting with IAQ assessors based upon the result of a literature review, previous industrial code of practice, and previous interviews with company employers and workers. For practicality and validity, several sessions were held to elicit the opinions of company members, and, as a result, modifications were made. The newly developed IAQ checklist was finally formulated, consisting of seven core areas, nine technical areas, and 71 essential items. Each item was linked to a suitable section in the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality published by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. Combined usage of an IAQ checklist with the information from the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality would provide easily comprehensible information and practical support. Intervention and evaluation studies using this newly developed IAQ checklist will clarify the effectiveness of a new approach in evaluating the risk of indoor air pollutants in the workplace.

Methods for Streamlining Intervention Fidelity Checklists: An Example from the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program

PubMed Central

Ahn, SangNam; Smith, Matthew Lee; Altpeter, Mary; Belza, Basia; Post, Lindsey; Ory, Marcia G.

2015-01-01

Maintaining intervention fidelity should be part of any programmatic quality assurance (QA) plan and is often a licensure requirement. However, fidelity checklists designed by original program developers are often lengthy, which makes compliance difficult once programs become widely disseminated in the field. As a case example, we used Stanford’s original Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) fidelity checklist of 157 items to demonstrate heuristic procedures for generating shorter fidelity checklists. Using an expert consensus approach, we sought feedback from active master trainers registered with the Stanford University Patient Education Research Center about which items were most essential to, and also feasible for, assessing fidelity. We conducted three sequential surveys and one expert group-teleconference call. Three versions of the fidelity checklist were created using different statistical and methodological criteria. In a final group-teleconference call with seven national experts, there was unanimous agreement that all three final versions (e.g., a 34-item version, a 20-item version, and a 12-item version) should be made available because the purpose and resources for administering a checklist might vary from one setting to another. This study highlights the methodology used to generate shorter versions of a fidelity checklist, which has potential to inform future QA efforts for this and other evidence-based programs (EBP) for older adults delivered in community settings. With CDSMP and other EBP, it is important to differentiate between program fidelity as mandated by program developers for licensure, and intervention fidelity tools for providing an “at-a-glance” snapshot of the level of compliance to selected program indicators. PMID:25964941

The Icelandic Child Mental Health Study. An epidemiological study of Icelandic children 2-18 years of age using the child behaviour checklist as a screening instrument.

PubMed

Hannesdóttir, H; Einarsdóttir, S

1995-10-01

The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of a standardised procedure for assessing Icelandic children's behaviour/emotional problems and competencies, and to identify differences related to demographic variables. This study focuses upon the method of using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) by Achenbach to estimate the reported prevalence of parents and adolescents of emotional and behaviour problems in children from 2-16 years of age and self-reported prevalence of adolescents from 11-18 years, selected at random from the general population, both in urban and rural areas. The information was obtained by mailing checklists with a letter to parents of children 2-10 years of age. The checklists for adolescents 11-18 years of age were distributed by teachers in school. Those adolescents who were not in school received the checklists by mail at their homes. The Child Behavior Checklists used for analyses were completed by 109 parents of 2-3 year old children; 943 parents of 4-16 year old children, and 545 non-referred adolescents from the general population. The rate of response was lowest for the youngest age group 47%, but increased to 62% with increasing age of the child. The response rate among the adolescents answering the Youth Self Report was 64%. Comparisons with the Child Behavior Checklists from this study are presented with Dutch, American, French, Canadian, German and Chilean samples and show striking similarities in four of these countries on the behaviour/emotional problems reported.

Evaluation of feedback interventions for improving the quality assurance of cancer screening in Japan: study design and report of the baseline survey.

PubMed

Machii, Ryoko; Saika, Kumiko; Higashi, Takahiro; Aoki, Ayako; Hamashima, Chisato; Saito, Hiroshi

2012-02-01

The importance of quality assurance in cancer screening has recently gained increasing attention in Japan. To evaluate and improve quality, checklists and process indicators have been developed. To explore effective methods of enhancing quality in cancer screening, we started a randomized control study of the methods of evaluation and feedback for cancer control from 2009 to 2014. We randomly assigned 1270 municipal governments, equivalent to 71% of all Japanese municipal governments that performed screening programs, into three groups. The high-intensity intervention groups (n = 425) were individually evaluated using both checklist performance and process indicator values, while the low-intensity intervention groups (n= 421) were individually evaluated on the basis of only checklist performance. The control group (n = 424) received only a basic report that included the national average of checklist performance scores. We repeated the survey for each municipality's quality assurance activity performance using checklists and process indicators. In this paper, we report our study design and the result of the baseline survey. The checklist adherence rates were especially low in the checklist elements related to invitation of individuals, detailed monitoring of process indicators such as cancer detection rates according to screening histories and appropriate selection of screening facilities. Screening rate and percentage of examinees who underwent detailed examination tended to be lower for large cities when compared with smaller cities for all cancer sites. The performance of the Japanese cancer screening program in 2009 was identified for the first time.

Identification of Allodynic Migraine Patients with the Turkish Version of the Allodynia Symptom Checklist: Reliability and Consistency Study.

PubMed

Yalin, Osman Özgür; Uludüz, Derya; Sungur, Mehmet Ali; Sart, Hande; Özge, Aynur

2017-09-01

Cutaneous allodynia is regarded as an expression of central sensitization in migraine. Although the gold standard is quantitative sensory testing, several practical assessment questionnaires have been developed to assess allodynia in migraine. We aimed to establish the first valid Turkish allodynia assessment questionnaire based on a 12-item allodynia symptom checklist and to evaluate the associated factors. The first part of the study included the translation and cultural adaptation of a Turkish version of the checklist. The Turkish version of the questionnaire was administered to 344 episodic and chronic migraine patients, who were chosen according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders -III beta criteria. The total checklist score showed excellent test-retest reliability (r=0.821). The internal consistency of the checklist was assessed using Cronbach alpha values and was found to be acceptable (Cronbach alpha for the checklist=0.767). Data analysis revealed that 10 items of the questionnaire adequately identified allodynic subjects. Cutaneous allodynia was present in 218 (63.4%) migraine patients. Allodynia was more prominent in patients experiencing migraine with aura (p=0.008) and in females (p<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that female gender, aura existence, longer headache duration, and higher attack frequency were the major determinants of cutaneous allodynia. Allodynia is common and has clinical significance in migraine; therefore, establishing a validated Turkish questionnaire for the assessment of allodynia was necessary. In this study, a Turkish version of the allodynia symptom checklist was validated and found to be convenient for the identification of allodynia in migraine patients.

Nursing Home Checklist

MedlinePlus

Nursing home checklist Name of nursing home: ____________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________ Phone number: __________________________________________________________ Date of visit: _____________________________________________________________ Basic information Yes No Notes Is the nursing home Medicare certified? Is the nursing ...

The use of a checklist improves anaesthesiologists' technical and non-technical performance for simulated malignant hyperthermia management.

PubMed

Hardy, Jean-Baptiste; Gouin, Antoine; Damm, Cédric; Compère, Vincent; Veber, Benoît; Dureuil, Bertrand

2018-02-01

Anaesthesiologists may occasionally manage life-threatening operating room (OR) emergencies. Managing OR emergencies implies real-time analysis of often complicated situations, prompt medical knowledge retrieval, coordinated teamwork and effective decision making in stressful settings. Checklists are recommended to improve performance and reduce the risk of medical errors. This study aimed to assess the usefulness of the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care's (SFAR) "Malignant Hyperthermia" (MH) checklist on a simulated episode of MH crisis and management thereof by registered anesthesiologists. Twenty-four anaesthesiologists were allocated to 2 groups (checklist and control). Their technical performance in adherence with the SFAR guidelines was assessed by a 30-point score and their non-technical performance was assessed by the Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) score. Every task completion was assessed independently. Data are shown as median (first-third quartiles). Anaesthesiologists in the checklist group had higher technical performance scores (24/30 (21.5-25) vs 18/30 (15.5-19.5), P=0.002) and ANTS scores (56.5/60 (47.5-58) vs 48.5/60 (41-50.5), P=0.024). They administered the complete initial dose of dantrolene (2mg/kg) more quickly (15.7 minutes [13.9-18.3] vs 22.4 minutes [18.6-25]) than the control group (P=0.017). However, anaesthesiologists deemed the usability of the checklist to be perfectible. Registered anaesthesiologists' use of the MH checklist during a simulation session widely improved their adherence to guidelines and non-technical skills. This study strongly suggests the benefit of checklist tools for emergency management. Notwithstanding, better awareness and training for anaesthesiologists could further improve the use of this tool. Copyright © 2017 Société française d'anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Implementation of a mandatory checklist of protocols and objectives improves compliance with a wide range of evidence-based intensive care unit practices.

PubMed

Byrnes, Matthew C; Schuerer, Douglas J E; Schallom, Marilyn E; Sona, Carrie S; Mazuski, John E; Taylor, Beth E; McKenzie, Wendi; Thomas, James M; Emerson, Jeffrey S; Nemeth, Jennifer L; Bailey, Ruth A; Boyle, Walter A; Buchman, Timothy G; Coopersmith, Craig M

2009-10-01

To determine a) if a checklist covering a diverse group of intensive care unit protocols and objectives would improve clinician consideration of these domains and b) if improved consideration would change practice patterns. Pre- and post observational study. A 24-bed surgical/burn/trauma intensive care unit in a teaching hospital. A total of 1399 patients admitted between June 2006 and May 2007. The first component of the study evaluated whether mandating verbal review of a checklist covering 14 intensive care unit best practices altered verbal consideration of these domains. Evaluation was performed using real-time bedside audits on morning rounds. The second component evaluated whether the checklist altered implementation of these domains by changing practice patterns. Evaluation was performed by analyzing data from the Project IMPACT database after patients left the intensive care unit. Verbal consideration of evaluable domains improved from 90.9% (530/583) to 99.7% (669/671, p < .0001) after verbal review of the checklist was mandated. Bedside consideration improved on the use of deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis (p < .05), stress ulcer prophylaxis (p < .01), oral care for ventilated patients (p < 0.01), electrolyte repletion (p < .01), initiation of physical therapy (p < .05), and documentation of restraint orders (p < .0001). Mandatory verbal review of the checklist resulted in a greater than two-fold increase in transferring patients out of the intensive care unit on telemetry (16% vs. 35%, p < .0001) and initiation of physical therapy (28% vs. 42%, p < .0001) compared with baseline practice. A mandatory verbal review of a checklist covering a wide range of objectives and goals at each patient's bedside is an effective method to improve both consideration and implementation of intensive care unit best practices. A bedside checklist is a simple, cost-effective method to prevent errors of omission in basic domains of intensive care unit management that might otherwise be forgotten in the setting of more urgent care requirements.

Reliability and Validity of 3 Methods of Assessing Orthopedic Resident Skill in Shoulder Surgery.

PubMed

Bernard, Johnathan A; Dattilo, Jonathan R; Srikumaran, Uma; Zikria, Bashir A; Jain, Amit; LaPorte, Dawn M

Traditional measures for evaluating resident surgical technical skills (e.g., case logs) assess operative volume but not level of surgical proficiency. Our goal was to compare the reliability and validity of 3 tools for measuring surgical skill among orthopedic residents when performing 3 open surgical approaches to the shoulder. A total of 23 residents at different stages of their surgical training were tested for technical skill pertaining to 3 shoulder surgical approaches using the following measures: Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) checklists, the Global Rating Scale (GRS), and a final pass/fail assessment determined by 3 upper extremity surgeons. Adverse events were recorded. The Cronbach α coefficient was used to assess reliability of the OSATS checklists and GRS scores. Interrater reliability was calculated with intraclass correlation coefficients. Correlations among OSATS checklist scores, GRS scores, and pass/fail assessment were calculated with Spearman ρ. Validity of OSATS checklists was determined using analysis of variance with postgraduate year (PGY) as a between-subjects factor. Significance was set at p < 0.05 for all tests. Criterion validity was shown between the OSATS checklists and GRS for the 3 open shoulder approaches. Checklist scores showed superior interrater reliability compared with GRS and subjective pass/fail measurements. GRS scores were positively correlated across training years. The incidence of adverse events was significantly higher among PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents compared with more experienced residents. OSATS checklists are a valid and reliable assessment of technical skills across 3 surgical shoulder approaches. However, checklist scores do not measure quality of technique. Documenting adverse events is necessary to assess quality of technique and ultimate pass/fail status. Multiple methods of assessing surgical skill should be considered when evaluating orthopedic resident surgical performance. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expert and self-assessment of lifetime symptoms and diagnosis of major depressive disorder in large-scale genetic studies in the general population: comparison of a clinical interview and a self-administered checklist.

PubMed

Martin, Jessica; Streit, Fabian; Treutlein, Jens; Lang, Maren; Frank, Josef; Forstner, Andreas J; Degenhardt, Franziska; Witt, Stephanie H; Schulze, Thomas G; Cichon, Sven; Nöthen, Markus M; Rietschel, Marcella; Strohmaier, Jana

2017-10-01

Major depression disorder (MDD) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder and an increasing number of genetic risk variants are being identified. Investigation of their influence in the general population requires accurate and efficient assessment of depressive symptoms. Here, clinical interviews conducted by clinicians are the gold standard. We investigated whether valid and reliable clinical phenotypes can be obtained efficiently using self-administered instruments. Lifetime depressive symptoms and lifetime MDD diagnosis were assessed in 464 population-based individuals using a clinical interview and a structured, self-administered checklist. Analyses were carried out of the following: (i) intraclass correlations (ICC) between checklist and interview; (ii) sensitivity/specificity of the checklist; and (iii) the association of interview and checklist with a positive family history of MDD (FH-MDD+). The correspondence of the self-administered checklist with the clinical interview was good for most depressive symptoms (ICC=0.60-0.80) and moderate for MDD diagnosis (ICC=0.45). With the consecutive inclusion of MDD diagnostic criteria, sensitivity decreased from 0.67 to 0.46, whereas specificity remained high (0.95). For checklist and interview, strong associations were found between FH-MDD+ and most depressive symptoms and MDD diagnosis (all odds ratio≥1.83). The self-administered checklist showed high reliability for both the assessment of lifetime depressive symptoms and screening for individuals with no lifetime diagnosis of MDD. However, attention is warranted when the aim is to identify MDD cases. The positive association between depressive symptomatology and FH-MDD+ indicates the usefulness of both instruments to assess patients in genetic studies. Our data suggest that the more time-efficient and cost-efficient self-administered instruments also allow for the assessment of depressive symptoms accurate enough to investigate the influence of MDD genetic risk variants in the general population.

The Surgical Safety Checklist and Teamwork Coaching Tools: a study of inter-rater reliability.

PubMed

Huang, Lyen C; Conley, Dante; Lipsitz, Stu; Wright, Christopher C; Diller, Thomas W; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Berry, William R; Singer, Sara J

2014-08-01

To assess the inter-rater reliability (IRR) of two novel observation tools for measuring surgical safety checklist performance and teamwork. Data surgical safety checklists can promote adherence to standards of care and improve teamwork in the operating room. Their use has been associated with reductions in mortality and other postoperative complications. However, checklist effectiveness depends on how well they are performed. Authors from the Safe Surgery 2015 initiative developed a pair of novel observation tools through literature review, expert consultation and end-user testing. In one South Carolina hospital participating in the initiative, two observers jointly attended 50 surgical cases and independently rated surgical teams using both tools. We used descriptive statistics to measure checklist performance and teamwork at the hospital. We assessed IRR by measuring percent agreement, Cohen's κ, and weighted κ scores. The overall percent agreement and κ between the two observers was 93% and 0.74 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.79), respectively, for the Checklist Coaching Tool and 86% and 0.84 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.90) for the Surgical Teamwork Tool. Percent agreement for individual sections of both tools was 79% or higher. Additionally, κ scores for six of eight sections on the Checklist Coaching Tool and for two of five domains on the Surgical Teamwork Tool achieved the desired 0.7 threshold. However, teamwork scores were high and variation was limited. There were no significant changes in the percent agreement or κ scores between the first 10 and last 10 cases observed. Both tools demonstrated substantial IRR and required limited training to use. These instruments may be used to observe checklist performance and teamwork in the operating room. However, further refinement and calibration of observer expectations, particularly in rating teamwork, could improve the utility of the tools. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Expert and self-assessment of lifetime symptoms and diagnosis of major depressive disorder in large-scale genetic studies in the general population: comparison of a clinical interview and a self-administered checklist

PubMed Central

Martin, Jessica; Streit, Fabian; Treutlein, Jens; Lang, Maren; Frank, Josef; Forstner, Andreas J.; Degenhardt, Franziska; Witt, Stephanie H.; Schulze, Thomas G.; Cichon, Sven; Nöthen, Markus M.; Rietschel, Marcella

2017-01-01

Major depression disorder (MDD) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder and an increasing number of genetic risk variants are being identified. Investigation of their influence in the general population requires accurate and efficient assessment of depressive symptoms. Here, clinical interviews conducted by clinicians are the gold standard. We investigated whether valid and reliable clinical phenotypes can be obtained efficiently using self-administered instruments. Lifetime depressive symptoms and lifetime MDD diagnosis were assessed in 464 population-based individuals using a clinical interview and a structured, self-administered checklist. Analyses were carried out of the following: (i) intraclass correlations (ICC) between checklist and interview; (ii) sensitivity/specificity of the checklist; and (iii) the association of interview and checklist with a positive family history of MDD (FH-MDD+). The correspondence of the self-administered checklist with the clinical interview was good for most depressive symptoms (ICC=0.60–0.80) and moderate for MDD diagnosis (ICC=0.45). With the consecutive inclusion of MDD diagnostic criteria, sensitivity decreased from 0.67 to 0.46, whereas specificity remained high (0.95). For checklist and interview, strong associations were found between FH-MDD+ and most depressive symptoms and MDD diagnosis (all odds ratio≥1.83). The self-administered checklist showed high reliability for both the assessment of lifetime depressive symptoms and screening for individuals with no lifetime diagnosis of MDD. However, attention is warranted when the aim is to identify MDD cases. The positive association between depressive symptomatology and FH-MDD+ indicates the usefulness of both instruments to assess patients in genetic studies. Our data suggest that the more time-efficient and cost-efficient self-administered instruments also allow for the assessment of depressive symptoms accurate enough to investigate the influence of MDD genetic risk variants in the general population. PMID:28731911

Relationship Between Operating Room Teamwork, Contextual Factors, and Safety Checklist Performance.

PubMed

Singer, Sara J; Molina, George; Li, Zhonghe; Jiang, Wei; Nurudeen, Suliat; Kite, Julia G; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Foster, Richard; Haynes, Alex B; Berry, William R

2016-10-01

Studies show that using surgical safety checklists (SSCs) reduces complications. Many believe SSCs accomplish this by enhancing teamwork, but evidence is limited. Our study sought to relate teamwork to checklist performance, understand how they relate, and determine conditions that affect this relationship. Using 2 validated tools for observing and coaching operating room teams, we evaluated the association between checklist performance with surgeon buy-in and 4 domains of surgical teamwork: clinical leadership, communication, coordination, and respect. Hospital staff in 10 South Carolina hospitals observed 207 procedures between April 2011 and January 2013. We calculated levels of checklist performance, buy-in, and measures of teamwork, and evaluated their relationship, controlling for patient and case characteristics. Few teams completed most or all SSC items. Teams more often completed items considered procedural "checks" than conversation "prompts." Surgeon buy-in, clinical leadership, communication, a summary measure of teamwork overall, and observers' teamwork ratings positively related to overall checklist completion (multivariable model estimates from 0.04, p < 0.05 for communication to 0.17, p < 0.01 for surgeon buy-in). All measures of teamwork and surgeon buy-in related positively to completing more conversation prompts; none related significantly to procedural checks (estimates from 0.10, p < 0.01 for communication to 0.27, p < 0.001 for surgeon buy-in). Patient age was significantly associated with completing the checklist and prompts (p < 0.05); only case duration was positively associated with performing more checks (p < 0.10). Surgeon buy-in and surgical teamwork characterized by shared clinical leadership, open communication, active coordination, and mutual respect were critical in prompting case-related conversations, but not in completing procedural checks. Findings highlight the importance of surgeon engagement and high-quality, consistent teamwork for promoting checklist use and ensuring a safe surgical environment. Copyright © 2016 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The surgical safety checklist and patient outcomes after surgery: a prospective observational cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Abbott, T E F; Ahmad, T; Phull, M K; Fowler, A J; Hewson, R; Biccard, B M; Chew, M S; Gillies, M; Pearse, R M

2018-01-01

The surgical safety checklist is widely used to improve the quality of perioperative care. However, clinicians continue to debate the clinical effectiveness of this tool. Prospective analysis of data from the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), an international observational study of elective in-patient surgery, accompanied by a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature. The exposure was surgical safety checklist use. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcome was postoperative complications. In the ISOS cohort, a multivariable multi-level generalized linear model was used to test associations. To further contextualise these findings, we included the results from the ISOS cohort in a meta-analysis. Results are reported as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. We included 44 814 patients from 497 hospitals in 27 countries in the ISOS analysis. There were 40 245 (89.8%) patients exposed to the checklist, whilst 7508 (16.8%) sustained ≥1 postoperative complications and 207 (0.5%) died before hospital discharge. Checklist exposure was associated with reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.49 (0.32-0.77); P<0.01], but no difference in complication rates [OR 1.02 (0.88-1.19); P=0.75]. In a systematic review, we screened 3732 records and identified 11 eligible studies of 453 292 patients including the ISOS cohort. Checklist exposure was associated with both reduced postoperative mortality [OR 0.75 (0.62-0.92); P<0.01; I 2 =87%] and reduced complication rates [OR 0.73 (0.61-0.88); P<0.01; I 2 =89%). Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine. Copyright © 2017 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A checklist for endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery.

PubMed

Laws, Edward R; Wong, Judith M; Smith, Timothy R; de Los Reyes, Kenneth; Aglio, Linda S; Thorne, Alison J; Cote, David J; Esposito, Felice; Cappabianca, Paolo; Gawande, Atul

2016-06-01

OBJECT Approximately 250 million surgical procedures are performed annually worldwide, and data suggest that major complications occur in 3%-17% of them. Many of these complications can be classified as avoidable, and previous studies have demonstrated that preoperative checklists improve operating room teamwork and decrease complication rates. Although the authors' institution has instituted a general preoperative "time-out" designed to streamline communication, flatten vertical authority gradients, and decrease procedural errors, there is no specific checklist for transnasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery, with or without endoscopy. Such minimally invasive cranial surgery uses a completely different conceptual approach, set-up, instrumentation, and operative procedure. Therefore, it can be associated with different types of complications as compared with open cranial surgery. The authors hypothesized that a detailed, procedure-specific, preoperative checklist would be useful to reduce errors, improve outcomes, decrease delays, and maximize both teambuilding and operational efficiency. Thus, the object of this study was to develop such a checklist for endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery. METHODS An expert panel was convened that consisted of all members of the typical surgical team for transsphenoidal endoscopic cases: neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, circulating nurses, scrub technicians, surgical operations managers, and technical assistants. Beginning with a general checklist, procedure-specific items were added and categorized into 4 pauses: Anesthesia Pause, Surgical Pause, Equipment Pause, and Closure Pause. RESULTS The final endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery checklist is composed of the following 4 pauses. The Anesthesia Pause consists of patient identification, diagnosis, pertinent laboratory studies, medications, surgical preparation, patient positioning, intravenous/arterial access, fluid management, monitoring, and other special considerations (e.g., Valsalva, jugular compression, lumbar drain, and so on). The Surgical Pause is composed of personnel introductions, planned procedural elements, estimation of duration of surgery, anticipated blood loss and fluid management, imaging, specimen collection, and questions of a surgical nature. The Equipment Pause assures proper function and availability of the microscope, endoscope, cameras and recorders, guidance systems, special instruments, ultrasonic microdoppler, microdebrider, drills, and other adjunctive supplies (e.g., Avitene, cotton balls, nasal packs, and so on). The Closure Pause is dedicated to issues of immediate postoperative patient disposition, orders, and management. CONCLUSIONS Surgical complications are a considerable cause of death and disability worldwide. Checklists have been shown to be an effective tool for reducing preventable errors surrounding surgery and decreasing associated complications. Although general checklists are already in place in most institutions, a specific checklist for endonasal transsphenoidal anterior skull base surgery was developed to help safeguard patients, improve outcomes, and enhance teambuilding.

Preliminary analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder screening within specialty clinic setting for OIF/OEF veterans seeking care for neck or back pain.

PubMed

Dunn, Andrew S; Julian, Terri; Formolo, Lance R; Green, Bart N; Chicoine, David R

2011-01-01

Escalating prevalence estimates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among recently returning Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans highlight the need for early detection and management for reducing chronic mental illness and disability. Because PTSD and chronic pain are common comorbid conditions among veterans, PTSD screening within specialty clinic settings addressing musculoskeletal pain may be of value. This retrospective study evaluated measures of diagnostic value for the PTSD Checklist (PCL) for a sample (n = 79) of OIF/OEF veterans seeking care for neck or back pain within a Department of Veterans Affairs specialty clinic. Because published accounts of optimal PCL cutoff scores vary considerably, we used receiver operating characteristic curves to identify whether the optimal PCL cutoff score for the sample differed from a conventional cutoff score of 50. A clinical psychologist experienced in diagnosing and managing PTSD confirmed the diagnosis of PTSD for 37 veterans through a review of clinical records. The prevalence of diagnosed PTSD was 46.8%, with an optimal PCL cutoff score of 44. These findings may guide future research and influence clinical practice regarding PTSD screening for recently returning veterans with chronic pain.

Modelling body weight, dieting and obesity traps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbieri, Paolo Nicola

2017-02-01

This paper presents a theoretical investigation into why losing weight is so difficult even in the absence of rational addiction, time-inconsistent preferences or bounded rationality. We add to the existing literature by focusing on the role that individual metabolism has on weight loss. The results from the theoretical model provide multiple steady states and a threshold revealing a situation of "obesity traps" that the individual must surpass in order to successfully lose weight. Any weight-loss efforts that the individual undertakes have to surpass such threshold in order to result in permanent weight loss, otherwise the individual will gradually regain weight and converge to his or her previous body weight.

Natural Channel Design Review Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents a brief description of the checklist items by the following sections: Watershed and Geomorphic Assessment, Preliminary Design, Final Design, and Maintenance and Monitoring Plans.

Rapid Benefit Indicator (RBI) Checklist Tool - Quick Start ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Rapid Benefits Indicators (RBI) approach consists of five steps and is outlined in Assessing the Benefits of Wetland Restoration – A Rapid Benefits Indicators Approach for Decision Makers. This checklist tool is intended to be used to record information as you answer the questions in that guide. When performing a Rapid Benefits Indicator (RBI) assessment on wetlands restoration site(s) results can be recorded and reviewed using this VBA enabled MS Excel Checklist Tool.

Evaluation of Digital Checklists for Command and Control Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

EVALUATION OF DIGITAL CHECKLISTS FOR COMMAND AND CONTROL OPERATIONS Christopher K. McClernon 1 , Victor S. Finomore 2 , Terence S. Andre 3...the potential effectiveness of a digital system that could take the place of the paper system that is currently being used. A between groups...assessments of each system were analyzed and compared. The data showed that a linear digital checklist takes a longer amount of time than both a paper

Should We Refer for a Dementia Assessment? A Checklist to Help Know when to Be Concerned about Dementia in Adults with Down Syndrome and Other Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitwham, Sarah; McBrien, Judith; Broom, Wendy

2011-01-01

The aim of this research was to develop a simple screening checklist to help carers and professionals know when to make a referral for a dementia assessment. A checklist was completed for all new referrals to a dementia service for people with intellectual disabilities. The obtained scores were compared to the diagnostic outcome of a comprehensive…

Using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers in a Well-Child Clinic in Turkey: Adapting the Screening Method Based on Culture and Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kara, Bülent; Mukaddes, Nahit Motavalli; Altinkaya, Isilay; Güntepe, Dilek; Gökçay, Gülbin; Özmen, Meral

2014-01-01

We aimed to adapt the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers to Turkish culture. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers was filled out independently by 191 parents while they were waiting for the well-child examination of their child. A high screen-positive rate was found. Because of this high false-positive rate, a second study was done…

Checklist interruption and resumption: A linguistic study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linde, Charlotte; Goguen, Joseph

1987-01-01

This study forms part of a project investigating the relationships among the formal structure of aviation procedures, the ways in which the crew members are taught to execute them, and the ways in which thet are actually performed in flight. Specifically, this report examines the interactions between the performance of checklists and interruptions, considering both interruptions by radio communications and by other crew members. The data consists of 14 crews' performance of a full mission simulation of a higher ratio of checklist speech acts to all speech acts within the span of the performance of the checklist. Further, it is not number of interruptions but length of interruptions which is associated with crew performance quality. Use of explicit holds is also associated with crew performance.

CoM(M=Fe,Cu,Ni)-embedded nitrogen-enriched porous carbon framework for efficient oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Xiaogeng; Bo, Xiangjie; Guo, Liping

2018-06-01

Rational synthesis and development of earth-abundant materials with efficient electrocatalytic activity and stability for water splitting is a critical but challenging step for sustainable energy application. Herein, a family of bimetal (CoFe, CoCu, CoNi) embedded nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks is developed through a facile and simple thermal conversion strategy of metal-doped zeolitic imidazolate frameworks. Thanks to collaborative superiorities of abundant M-N-C species, modulation action of secondary metal, cobalt-based electroactive phases, template effect of MOFs and unique porous structure, bimetal embedded nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks materials manifest good oxygen and hydrogen evolution catalytic activity. Especially, after modulating the species and molar ratio of metal sources, optimal Co0.75Fe0.25 nitrogen-doped carbon framework catalyst just requires a low overpotential of 303 mV to achieve 10 mA cm-2 with a low Tafel slope (39.49 mV dec-1) for oxygen evolution reaction, which even surpasses that of commercial RuO2. In addition, the optimal catalyst can function as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting with satisfying activity and stability. This development offers an attractive direction for the rational design and fabrication of porous carbon materials for electrochemical energy applications.

Surpassing Humans and Computers with JellyBean: Crowd-Vision-Hybrid Counting Algorithms.

PubMed

Sarma, Akash Das; Jain, Ayush; Nandi, Arnab; Parameswaran, Aditya; Widom, Jennifer

2015-11-01

Counting objects is a fundamental image processisng primitive, and has many scientific, health, surveillance, security, and military applications. Existing supervised computer vision techniques typically require large quantities of labeled training data, and even with that, fail to return accurate results in all but the most stylized settings. Using vanilla crowd-sourcing, on the other hand, can lead to significant errors, especially on images with many objects. In this paper, we present our JellyBean suite of algorithms, that combines the best of crowds and computer vision to count objects in images, and uses judicious decomposition of images to greatly improve accuracy at low cost. Our algorithms have several desirable properties: (i) they are theoretically optimal or near-optimal , in that they ask as few questions as possible to humans (under certain intuitively reasonable assumptions that we justify in our paper experimentally); (ii) they operate under stand-alone or hybrid modes, in that they can either work independent of computer vision algorithms, or work in concert with them, depending on whether the computer vision techniques are available or useful for the given setting; (iii) they perform very well in practice, returning accurate counts on images that no individual worker or computer vision algorithm can count correctly, while not incurring a high cost.

Benefits of incorporating the adaptive dynamic range optimization amplification scheme into an assistive listening device for people with mild or moderate hearing loss.

PubMed

Chang, Hung-Yue; Luo, Ching-Hsing; Lo, Tun-Shin; Chen, Hsiao-Chuan; Huang, Kuo-You; Liao, Wen-Huei; Su, Mao-Chang; Liu, Shu-Yu; Wang, Nan-Mai

2017-08-28

This study investigated whether a self-designed assistive listening device (ALD) that incorporates an adaptive dynamic range optimization (ADRO) amplification strategy can surpass a commercially available monaurally worn linear ALD, SM100. Both subjective and objective measurements were implemented. Mandarin Hearing-In-Noise Test (MHINT) scores were the objective measurement, whereas participant satisfaction was the subjective measurement. The comparison was performed in a mixed design (i.e., subjects' hearing status being mild or moderate, quiet versus noisy, and linear versus ADRO scheme). The participants were two groups of hearing-impaired subjects, nine mild and eight moderate, respectively. The results of the ADRO system revealed a significant difference in the MHINT sentence reception threshold (SRT) in noisy environments between monaurally aided and unaided conditions, whereas the linear system did not. The benchmark results showed that the ADRO scheme is effectively beneficial to people who experience mild or moderate hearing loss in noisy environments. The satisfaction rating regarding overall speech quality indicated that the participants were satisfied with the speech quality of both ADRO and linear schemes in quiet environments, and they were more satisfied with ADRO than they with the linear scheme in noisy environments.

Comparison of detection techniques for capillary electrophoresis analysis of gold nanoparticles.

PubMed

Matczuk, Magdalena; Aleksenko, Svetlana S; Matysik, Frank-Michael; Jarosz, Maciej; Timerbaev, Andrei R

2015-05-01

As metallic nanoparticles are growing in importance as analytes in CE, increases an interest in appropriate detection methods for their quantification in various samples. For gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the most common UV detection poses intricacy of inadequate sensitivity that hinders the applicability of CE. With the objective of resolving this challenge, UV detection was compared with C(4) D and ICP-MS as alternative modes of detection for AuNPs. A C(4) D detector, applied under pressure-driven conditions, exhibited better sensitivity than a UV detector. However, C(4) D turned to be unsatisfactory to differentiate the signal of AuNPs at common CE conditions despite varying the nature of BGE and detection conditions. Due to intrinsic sensitivity and low background levels typical to Au, ICP-MS greatly surpasses UV detection. After optimization trials, CE-ICP-MS gained the LOD of AuNPs as low as 2 × 10(-15) M, as well as an excellent performance in terms of signal stability and linearity. Also importantly, the optimized BGE appears to be well matched to explore the behavior of AuNPs in biologically relevant systems. This was demonstrated by probing the interaction between AuNPs and the main blood-transporting protein, HSA. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Differential evolution algorithm based photonic structure design: numerical and experimental verification of subwavelength λ/5 focusing of light.

PubMed

Bor, E; Turduev, M; Kurt, H

2016-08-01

Photonic structure designs based on optimization algorithms provide superior properties compared to those using intuition-based approaches. In the present study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate subwavelength focusing of light using wavelength scale absorption-free dielectric scattering objects embedded in an air background. An optimization algorithm based on differential evolution integrated into the finite-difference time-domain method was applied to determine the locations of each circular dielectric object with a constant radius and refractive index. The multiobjective cost function defined inside the algorithm ensures strong focusing of light with low intensity side lobes. The temporal and spectral responses of the designed compact photonic structure provided a beam spot size in air with a full width at half maximum value of 0.19λ, where λ is the wavelength of light. The experiments were carried out in the microwave region to verify numerical findings, and very good agreement between the two approaches was found. The subwavelength light focusing is associated with a strong interference effect due to nonuniformly arranged scatterers and an irregular index gradient. Improving the focusing capability of optical elements by surpassing the diffraction limit of light is of paramount importance in optical imaging, lithography, data storage, and strong light-matter interaction.

Differential evolution algorithm based photonic structure design: numerical and experimental verification of subwavelength λ/5 focusing of light

PubMed Central

Bor, E.; Turduev, M.; Kurt, H.

2016-01-01

Photonic structure designs based on optimization algorithms provide superior properties compared to those using intuition-based approaches. In the present study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate subwavelength focusing of light using wavelength scale absorption-free dielectric scattering objects embedded in an air background. An optimization algorithm based on differential evolution integrated into the finite-difference time-domain method was applied to determine the locations of each circular dielectric object with a constant radius and refractive index. The multiobjective cost function defined inside the algorithm ensures strong focusing of light with low intensity side lobes. The temporal and spectral responses of the designed compact photonic structure provided a beam spot size in air with a full width at half maximum value of 0.19λ, where λ is the wavelength of light. The experiments were carried out in the microwave region to verify numerical findings, and very good agreement between the two approaches was found. The subwavelength light focusing is associated with a strong interference effect due to nonuniformly arranged scatterers and an irregular index gradient. Improving the focusing capability of optical elements by surpassing the diffraction limit of light is of paramount importance in optical imaging, lithography, data storage, and strong light-matter interaction. PMID:27477060

BPPD Internal Application Checklists

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, BPPD internal application checklists for internal guidance to assist BPPD employees in their evaluation of applications submitted to BPPD by applicants and/or registrants.

Fighting Fair: Medication and Arbitration Etiquette.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Jerry J.

1993-01-01

Defines the use of the terms "grievance,""mediation," and "arbitration"; discusses a typical grievance procedure; and provides a management grievance checklist and an arbitration preparation checklist. (MLF)

Striving for a zero-error patient surgical journey through adoption of aviation-style challenge and response flow checklists: a quality improvement project.

PubMed

Low, Daniel K; Reed, Mark A; Geiduschek, Jeremy M; Martin, Lynn D

2013-07-01

We describe our aim to create a zero-error system in our pediatric ambulatory surgery center by employing effective teamwork and aviation-style challenge and response 'flow checklists' at key stages of the patient surgical journey. These are used in addition to the existing World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklists (Ann Surg, 255, 2012 and 44). Bellevue Surgery Center is a freestanding ambulatory surgery center affiliated with Seattle Children's Hospital, WA, USA. Approximately three thousand ambulatory surgeries are performed each year across a variety of surgical disciplines. Key points in the patient surgical journey were identified as high risk (different time points from the WHO safer surgery checklists). These were moments when the team, patient, and equipment have to been reconfigured to maximize patient safety. These points were departure from induction room, arrival in the operating room, departure from operating room, and arrival in the postanesthesia care unit. Traditionally, the anesthesiologist has memorized a list of 'do-not-forget items' for each of these stages. We recognized the potential for error to occur if the process was solely the responsibility of one individual and their memory. So we created 'flow checklists' executed by the team at every one of these high-risk points. We adopted a challenge and response system for these flow checklists as this is a tried and tested system widely used in aviation for critical tasks such as configuring an aircraft pretakeoff and prelanding. A staff survey with a 72% response rate (n = 29) showed that the team valued the checklists and thought they contributed to patient safety. To date, we have had zero incidence of omitting any of the 24 items listed on the four flow checklists. We have created a reproducible model of care involving multiple checklists at high-risk points in the patient surgical journey. The model is reliable and has a high degree of staff engagement. It promotes patient safety by ensuring the patient, team and equipment are correctly configured at every key transition stage in the surgical journey. We have been able to achieve this with no measurable increase in turnover times or reduction in operating room efficiency. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

When a checklist is not enough: How to improve them and what else is needed.

PubMed

Raman, Jaishankar; Leveson, Nancy; Samost, Aubrey Lynn; Dobrilovic, Nikola; Oldham, Maggie; Dekker, Sidney; Finkelstein, Stan

2016-08-01

Checklists are being introduced to enhance patient safety, but the results have been mixed. The goal of this research is to understand why time-outs and checklists are sometimes not effective in preventing surgical adverse events and to identify additional measures needed to reduce these events. A total of 380 consecutive patients underwent complex cardiac surgery over a 24-month period between November 2011 and November 2013 at an academic medical center, out of a total of 529 cardiac cases. Elective isolated aortic valve replacements, mitral valve repairs, and coronary artery bypass graft surgical procedures (N = 149) were excluded. A time-out was conducted in a standard fashion in all patients in accordance with the World Health Organization surgical checklist protocol. Adverse events were classified as anything that resulted in an operative delay, nonavailability of equipment, failure of drug administration, or unexpected adverse clinical outcome. These events and their details were collected every week and analyzed using a systemic causal analysis technique using a technique called CAST (causal analysis based on systems theory). This analytic technique evaluated the sociotechnical system to identify the set of causal factors involved in the adverse events and the causal factors explored to identify reasons. Recommendations were made for the improvement of checklists and the use of system design changes that could prevent such events in the future. Thirty events were identified. The causal analysis of these 30 adverse events was carried out and actionable events classified. There were important limitations in the use of standard checklists as a stand-alone patient safety measure in the operating room setting, because of multiple factors. Major categories included miscommunication between staff, medication errors, missing instrumentation, missing implants, and improper handling of equipment or instruments. An average of 3.9 recommendations were generated for each adverse event scenario. Time-outs and checklists can prevent some types of adverse events, but they need to be carefully designed. Additional interventions aimed at improving safety controls in the system design are needed to augment the use of checklists. Customization of checklists for specialized surgical procedures may reduce adverse events. Copyright © 2016 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Psychometric Properties of the Child PTSD Checklist in a Community Sample of South African Children and Adolescents

PubMed Central

Boyes, Mark E.; Cluver, Lucie D.; Gardner, Frances

2012-01-01

Objective The current study assessed the basic psychometric properties of the Child PTSD Checklist and examined the structure of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a large sample of South African youth. Methodology The checklist was completed by 1025 (540 male; 485 female) South African youth (aged between 10 and 19 years). The factor structure of the scale was assessed with a combination of confirmatory and exploratory techniques. Internal consistencies for the full scale and all subscales were evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega. Validity was assessed by comparing PTSD scores obtained by children who had and had not experienced a traumatic event, and by examining associations between total PTSD scores and known correlates of PTSD. Results Scores on the Child PTSD Checklist clearly discriminated between youth who had experienced a traumatic event and those who had not. Internal consistencies for the full scale (and all subscales) were acceptable to good and hypothesized correlations between PTSD, depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and age were observed. Two of the reported fit statistics for the tripartite DSM-IV-TR model of PTSD did not meet traditional criteria and further exploratory analyses revealed a four-factor structure (broadly consistent with Simms and colleagues’ Dysphoria Model of PTSD symptoms) which provided a better fit to the observed data. Conclusion Given the continued use of the Child PTSD Checklist in South Africa, findings offer an important first step in establishing the reliability and validity of the checklist for use with South African youth. However, further evaluation of the checklist in South African samples is clearly required before conclusions regarding its use as diagnostic tool in this context can be made. PMID:23056523

Comparison of two heuristic evaluation methods for evaluating the usability of health information systems.

PubMed

Khajouei, Reza; Hajesmaeel Gohari, Sadrieh; Mirzaee, Moghaddameh

2018-04-01

In addition to following the usual Heuristic Evaluation (HE) method, the usability of health information systems can also be evaluated using a checklist. The objective of this study is to compare the performance of these two methods in identifying usability problems of health information systems. Eight evaluators independently evaluated different parts of a Medical Records Information System using two methods of HE (usual and with a checklist). The two methods were compared in terms of the number of problems identified, problem type, and the severity of identified problems. In all, 192 usability problems were identified by two methods in the Medical Records Information System. This was significantly higher than the number of usability problems identified by the checklist and usual method (148 and 92, respectively) (p < 0.0001). After removing the duplicates, the difference between the number of unique usability problems identified by the checklist method (n = 100) and usual method (n = 44) was significant (p < 0.0001). Differences between the mean severity of the real usability problems (1.83) and those identified by only one of the methods (usual = 2.05, checklist = 1.74) were significant (p = 0.001). This study revealed the potential of the two HE methods for identifying usability problems of health information systems. The results demonstrated that the checklist method had significantly better performance in terms of the number of identified usability problems; however, the performance of the usual method for identifying problems of higher severity was significantly better. Although the checklist method can be more efficient for less experienced evaluators, wherever usability is critical, the checklist should be used with caution in usability evaluations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of a mental health action checklist for improving workplace environment as means of job stress prevention.

PubMed

Yoshikawa, Toru; Kawakami, Norito; Kogi, Kazutaka; Tsutsumi, Akizumi; Shimazu, Miyuki; Nagami, Makiko; Shimazu, Akihito

2007-07-01

An action checklist for improving the workplace environment by means of enhancing mental health of workers (Mental Health Action Check List: MHACL) was developed. The use of the checklist for primary prevention was examined. MHACL was developed through three steps: (1) Review of related references and collection of improvement examples for designing a draft MHACL; (2) pilot application of the draft at industrial workplaces and trials at workshops of occupational health staff; and (3) proposing a new MHACL for general use in industry. Workplace improvement actions related to mental health were listed in eight technical areas. From 84 workplaces in Japan, 201 such actions were collected. Typical improvement action phrases were extracted based on these examples, and a draft MHACL containing 40 generally applicable actions were prepared. This draft was applied to selected workplaces for its use as a tool for group discussion. Then, the utility of the checklist was discussed by 105 occupational health staff working in public service offices. The workshop suggested modifications of the draft MHACL including improved check items and usage procedures and the need to use easy-to-understand actions. The final version of the MHACL comprised 30 items in six technical areas: A) sharing work planning, B) work time and organization, C) ergonomic work methods, D) workplace environment, E) mutual support in the workplace, and F) preparedness and care. A new action checklist was proposed for use as a means of changing existing workplace environments and proposing practical actions for improving it. The checklist was confirmed to be useful for organizing workplace-level discussion for identifying immediate improvements at the workplace. The checklist is expected to be widely applied for promoting primary prevention measures in terms of better mental health.

Promoting the Quality of Health Research-based News: Introduction of a Tool

PubMed Central

Ashoorkhani, Mahnaz; Majdzadeh, Reza; Nedjat, Saharnaz; Gholami, Jaleh

2017-01-01

Introduction: While disseminating health research findings to the public, it is very important to present appropriate and accurate information to give the target audience a correct understanding of the subject matter. The objective of this study was to design and psychometrically evaluate a checklist for health journalists to help them prepare news of appropriate accuracy and authenticity. Methods: The study consisted of two phases, checklist design and psychometrics. Literature review and expert opinion were used to extract the items of the checklist in the first phase. In the second phase, to assess content and face validity, the judgment of 38 persons (epidemiologists with a tool production history, editors-in-chief, and health journalists) was used to check the items’ understandability, nonambiguity, relevancy, and clarity. Reliability was assessed by the test–retest method using intra-cluster correlation (ICC) indices in the two phases. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess internal validity of the checklist. Results: Based on the participants’ opinions, the items were reduced from 20 to 14 in number. The items were categorized into the following three domains: (a) items assessing the source of news and its validity, (b) items addressing the presentation of complete and accurate information on research findings, and (c) items which if adhered to lead to the target audiences’ better understanding. The checklist was approved for content and face validity. The reliability of the checklist was assessed in the last stage; the ICC was 1 for 12 items and above 0.8 for the other two. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.98. Discussion and Conclusions: The resultant indices of the study indicate that the checklist has appropriate validity and reliability. Hence, it can be used by health journalists to develop health research-based news. PMID:29184638

Implementation of a Surgical Safety Checklist: Impact on Surgical Team Perspectives

PubMed Central

Papaconstantinou, Harry T.; Jo, ChanHee; Reznik, Scott I.; Smythe, W. Roy; Wehbe-Janek, Hania

2013-01-01

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) surgical safety checklist has been shown to decrease mortality and complications and has been adopted worldwide. However, system flaws and human errors persist. Identifying provider perspectives of patient safety initiatives may identify strategies for improvement. The purpose of this study was to determine provider perspectives of surgical safety checklist implementation in an effort to improve initiatives that enhance surgical patients' safety. Methods In September 2010, a WHO-adapted surgical safety checklist was implemented at our institution. Surgical teams were invited to complete a checklist-focused questionnaire 1 month before and 1 year after implementation. Baseline and follow-up results were compared. Results A total of 437 surgical care providers responded to the survey: 45% of providers responded at baseline and 64% of providers responded at follow-up. Of the total respondents, 153 (35%) were nurses, 104 (24%) were anesthesia providers, and 180 (41%) were surgeons. Overall, we found an improvement in the awareness of patient safety and quality of care, with significant improvements in the perception of the value of and participation in the time-out process, in surgical team communication, and in the establishment and clarity of patient care needs. Some discordance was noted between surgeons and other surgical team members, indicating that barriers in communication still exist. Overall, approximately 65% of respondents perceived that the checklist improved patient safety and patient care; however, we found a strong negative perception of operating room efficiency. Conclusion Implementation of a surgical safety checklist improves perceptions of surgical safety. Barriers to implementation exist, but staff feedback may be used to enhance the sustainability and success of patient safety initiatives. PMID:24052757

Mortality Trends After a Voluntary Checklist-based Surgical Safety Collaborative.

PubMed

Haynes, Alex B; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Molina, George; Neville, Bridget A; Singer, Sara J; Moonan, Aunyika T; Childers, Ashley Kay; Foster, Richard; Gibbons, Lorri R; Gawande, Atul A; Berry, William R

2017-12-01

To determine whether completion of a voluntary, checklist-based surgical quality improvement program is associated with reduced 30-day postoperative mortality. Despite evidence of efficacy of team-based surgical safety checklists in improving perioperative outcomes in research trials, effective methods of population-based implementation have been lacking. The Safe Surgery 2015 South Carolina program was designed to foster state-wide engagement of hospitals in a voluntary, collaborative implementation of a checklist program. We compared postoperative mortality rates after inpatient surgery in South Carolina utilizing state-wide all-payer discharge claims from 2008 to 2013, linked with state vital statistics, stratifying hospitals on the basis of completion of the checklist program. Changes in risk-adjusted 30-day mortality were compared between hospitals, using propensity score-adjusted difference-in-differences analysis. Fourteen hospitals completed the program by December 2013. Before program launch, there was no difference in mortality trends between the completion cohort and all others (P = 0.33), but postoperative mortality diverged thereafter (P = 0.021). Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality among completers was 3.38% in 2010 and 2.84% in 2013 (P < 0.00001), whereas mortality among other hospitals (n = 44) was 3.50% in 2010 and 3.71% in 2013 (P = 0.3281), reflecting a 22% difference between the groups on difference-in-differences analysis (P = 0.0021). Despite similar pre-existing rates and trends of postoperative mortality, hospitals in South Carolina completing a voluntary checklist-based surgical quality improvement program had a reduction in deaths after inpatient surgery over the first 3 years of the collaborative compared with other hospitals in the state. This may indicate that effective large-scale implementation of a team-based surgical safety checklist is feasible.

Holistic rubric vs. analytic rubric for measuring clinical performance levels in medical students.

PubMed

Yune, So Jung; Lee, Sang Yeoup; Im, Sun Ju; Kam, Bee Sung; Baek, Sun Yong

2018-06-05

Task-specific checklists, holistic rubrics, and analytic rubrics are often used for performance assessments. We examined what factors evaluators consider important in holistic scoring of clinical performance assessment, and compared the usefulness of applying holistic and analytic rubrics respectively, and analytic rubrics in addition to task-specific checklists based on traditional standards. We compared the usefulness of a holistic rubric versus an analytic rubric in effectively measuring the clinical skill performances of 126 third-year medical students who participated in a clinical performance assessment conducted by Pusan National University School of Medicine. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 37 evaluators who used all three evaluation methods-holistic rubric, analytic rubric, and task-specific checklist-for each student. The relationship between the scores on the three evaluation methods was analyzed using Pearson's correlation. Inter-rater agreement was analyzed by Kappa index. The effect of holistic and analytic rubric scores on the task-specific checklist score was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Evaluators perceived accuracy and proficiency to be major factors in objective structured clinical examinations evaluation, and history taking and physical examination to be major factors in clinical performance examinations evaluation. Holistic rubric scores were highly related to the scores of the task-specific checklist and analytic rubric. Relatively low agreement was found in clinical performance examinations compared to objective structured clinical examinations. Meanwhile, the holistic and analytic rubric scores explained 59.1% of the task-specific checklist score in objective structured clinical examinations and 51.6% in clinical performance examinations. The results show the usefulness of holistic and analytic rubrics in clinical performance assessment, which can be used in conjunction with task-specific checklists for more efficient evaluation.

Identification of Allodynic Migraine Patients with the Turkish Version of the Allodynia Symptom Checklist: Reliability and Consistency Study

PubMed Central

YALIN, Osman Özgür; ULUDÜZ, Derya; SUNGUR, Mehmet Ali; SART, Hande; ÖZGE, Aynur

2017-01-01

Introduction Cutaneous allodynia is regarded as an expression of central sensitization in migraine. Although the gold standard is quantitative sensory testing, several practical assessment questionnaires have been developed to assess allodynia in migraine. We aimed to establish the first valid Turkish allodynia assessment questionnaire based on a 12-item allodynia symptom checklist and to evaluate the associated factors. Methods The first part of the study included the translation and cultural adaptation of a Turkish version of the checklist. The Turkish version of the questionnaire was administered to 344 episodic and chronic migraine patients, who were chosen according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders -III beta criteria. Results The total checklist score showed excellent test–retest reliability (r=0.821). The internal consistency of the checklist was assessed using Cronbach alpha values and was found to be acceptable (Cronbach alpha for the checklist=0.767). Data analysis revealed that 10 items of the questionnaire adequately identified allodynic subjects. Cutaneous allodynia was present in 218 (63.4%) migraine patients. Allodynia was more prominent in patients experiencing migraine with aura (p=0.008) and in females (p<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that female gender, aura existence, longer headache duration, and higher attack frequency were the major determinants of cutaneous allodynia. Conclusion Allodynia is common and has clinical significance in migraine; therefore, establishing a validated Turkish questionnaire for the assessment of allodynia was necessary. In this study, a Turkish version of the allodynia symptom checklist was validated and found to be convenient for the identification of allodynia in migraine patients. PMID:29033640

Checklist and Decision Support in Nutritional Care for Burned Patients

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

AD______________ AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-12-2-0074 TITLE: Checklist and Decision Support in Nutritional Care for Burned Patients PRINCIPAL...in Nutritional Care for Burned Patients 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-12-2-0074 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Steven E... nutritional goals are not met in severely burned adults, 2) To find strategies to address identified gaps in feeding to incorporate into a checklist with easy

Draft Environmental Impact Statement, West Bank Hurricane Protection Levee, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-01

Checklist of Predominant Plants . .......... . . 9-35 9.4 Checklist of Predominant Mammals .......... 9-41 9o5 Checklist of Predominant Birds... plant species and contains many preferred foods for wildlife (U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1982). Estimates of net primary production for fresh marshes...in Louisi na baE.zd on the measured productivity of selected plants is 2,200 g/m /yr (Gosselink et al., 1977; Boyd, 1969). Bahr and Hebrard (1976

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - aculeates (Apoidea, Chrysidoidea and Vespoidea)

PubMed Central

Else, George R.; Bolton, Barry

2016-01-01

Abstract Background The checklist of British and Irish aculeate Hymenoptera (Apoidea, Chrysidoidea and Vespoidea) is revised. Species distribution is summarised for all species at the level of country (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Isle of Man). New information The 601 native species represent an increase of 25 on the 1978 checklist, comprising mostly new discoveries. This increase is nearly balanced by the 23 species now presumed to be extinct in Britain and Ireland. PMID:27226757

Interview protocols and ergonomics checklist for analysing overexertion back accidents among nursing personnel.

PubMed

Engkvist, I L; Hagberg, M; Wigaeus-Hjelm, E; Menckel, E; Ekenvall, L

1995-06-01

No documented strategy, including preventive strategies, for systematic investigation of overexertion back accidents among nursing personnel has yet been published. One aim of the present study was to develop standardized instruments for the systematic investigation of back accidents among nursing personnel in order to develop preventive strategies. Another aim was to produce a screening tool that could easily be used for identifying potential overexertion back accident hazards. Two structured interview protocols were developed, one for the injured person and one for the supervisor. An ergonomics checklist was designed for the most important spaces according to accident statistics: patient's room, corridor, toilet, and also one for 'other space', eg X-ray and treatment rooms. The instruments were developed by frequent discussions and adjustments in a task force of researchers and occupational health personnel. The protocols were tested in two steps before a final version was established. The construct validity and interobserver reliability of the checklist were tested by ten ergonomists, who checked a patient's room, a toilet and a corridor with some known hazards. The constructed validity agreement was 90% in 19 of 26 items in the checklist. The interobserver reliability had the same figures as the validity for all items in the checklist. The interview protocols and checklist appear to be suitable for systematic investigation of overexertion back accidents.

Psychometric properties and norms of the German ABC-Community and PAS-ADD Checklist.

PubMed

Zeilinger, Elisabeth L; Weber, Germain; Haveman, Meindert J

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to standardize and generate psychometric evidence of the German language versions of two well-established English language mental health instruments: the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C) and the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (PAS-ADD) Checklist. New methods in this field were introduced: a simulation method for testing the factor structure and an exploration of long-term stability over two years. The checklists were both administered to a representative sample of 270 individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and, two years later in a second data collection, to 128 participants of the original sample. Principal component analysis and parallel analysis were performed. Reliability measures, long-term stability, subscale intercorrelations, as well as standardized norms were generated. Prevalence of mental health problems was examined. Psychometric properties were mostly excellent, with long-term stability showing moderate to strong effects. The original factor structure of the ABC-C was replicated. PAS-ADD Checklist produced a similar, but still different structure compared with findings from the English language area. The overall prevalence rate of mental health problems in the sample was about 20%. Considering the good results on the measured psychometric properties, the two checklists are recommended for the early detection of mental health problems in persons with ID. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a checklist in risk management in thyroidectomy.

PubMed

Pardal-Refoyo, José Luis; Cuello-Azcárate, Jesús Javier; Santiago-Peña, Luis Francisco

2014-11-01

Communication failures may result in inadequate treatment and patient harm, and are among the most common causes of sentinel events. Checklists are part of cycles to improve quality of the care process, promote communication between professionals involved in the different stages, help detect failures and risks, and increase patient safety. The lack of checklists at each stage was identified as a factor contributing to communication failures. To design checklists at different stages of the thyroidectomy care process to improve the communication between the professionals involved. Multidisciplinary working team consisting of specialists in otolaryngology, anesthesiology, and endocrinology. The process of thyroidectomy was divided into three stages (preoperative -A-, operative -B- and postoperative -C-). Potential safety incidents and failures at each stage and their contributing factors (causes) were identified by literature review and brainstorming. Checklists for each checkpoint were designed by consensus of the working group. The items correspond to factors contributing to the occurrence of incidents in the perioperative stage of thyroidectomy related to patients, technological equipment, environment, management, and organization. Lists of items should be checked by the appropriate specialist in each stage. Checklists in thyroid surgery are tools that allow for testing at different checkpoints data related to factors contributing to the occurrence of failures at each stage of the care process. Copyright © 2014 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Process improvement in cardiac surgery: development and implementation of a reoperation for bleeding checklist.

PubMed

Loor, Gabriel; Vivacqua, Alessandro; Sabik, Joseph F; Li, Liang; Hixson, Eric D; Blackstone, Eugene H; Koch, Colleen G

2013-11-01

High-performing health care organizations differentiate themselves by focusing on continuous process improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing patient outcomes. Reoperation for bleeding is an event associated with considerable morbidity risk. Hence, our primary objective was to develop and implement a formal operative checklist to reduce technical reasons for postoperative bleeding. From January 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012, 5812 cardiac surgical procedures were performed at Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH). A multidisciplinary team developed a simple, easy-to-perform hemostasis checklist based on the most common sites of bleeding. An extensive educational in-service was performed before limited, then universal, checklist implementation. Geometric charts were used to track the number of cases between consecutive reoperations for bleeding. We compared these before (phase 0) and after the first limited implementation phase (phase 1) and the universal implementation phase (phase 2) of the checklist. The average number of cases between consecutive reoperations for bleeding increased from 32 in phase 0 to 53 in both phase 1 (P = .002) and phase 2 (P = .01). A substantial reduction in reoperation for bleeding cases followed implementation of a formalized hemostasis checklist. Our findings underscore the important influence of memory aids that focus attention on surgical techniques to improve patient outcomes in a complex, operative work environment. Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Best Practices for Suicide Prevention Messaging and Evaluating California's "Know the Signs" Media Campaign.

PubMed

Acosta, Joie; Ramchand, Rajeev; Becker, Amariah

2017-09-01

Although communication is a key component of US strategies to prevent suicide and there are a number of marketing campaigns promoting messages that suicide is a preventable public health problem, there has been little evaluation of these campaigns. The study describes the development of a checklist of best practices for suicide prevention communication campaigns and the use of the checklist to evaluate California's investment in "Know the Signs" (KTS-M), a suicide prevention mass media campaign. We conducted a literature review and solicited expert feedback to identify best practices and then used the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method to assess whether KTS-M was consistent with the identified best practices. Overall, experts agreed that KTS-M adhered to most of the 46 checklist items and suggested that the campaign was among the best suicide prevention media campaigns they had observed. The checklist was developed through expert input and literature review and focuses only on media campaigns. Given the nascent state of the evidence about what makes an effective suicide prevention message and the growing number of campaigns, the checklist of best practices reflects one way of promoting quality in this evolving field. The consistency between the experts' comments and their ratings of KTS-M suggests that the checklist may provide important guidance to inform the development of future campaigns and the evaluation of ongoing campaigns.

Checklist of the Diptera (Insecta) of Finland: an introduction and a summary of results

PubMed Central

Kahanpää, Jere

2014-01-01

Abstract Nearly thirty-five years have passed since Hackman published his “Check list of the Finnish Diptera” (1980). The number of true flies (Diptera) known from Finland has increased by more than two thousand species since then. At the same time, hundreds of erroneous records have been recognized and purged from the checklist. ZooKeys issue 441 provides a new checklist of the Diptera species of the Republic of Finland. This introductory paper presents the rationale behind the project, provides technical documentation on the checklist format and sources used, and summarizes the results. The remaining papers in this issue cover one or more Diptera families in detail. Two electronic appendices are provided: supporting data (additional references to first published records and the previous checklist) and a complete list of Finnish Diptera taxa in Darwin Core compliant format for easy computer access and processing. The new checklist records 6920 fly species from Finland, 2932 belonging to the nematoceran or lower flies and 3989 to the suborder Brachycera. The changes since 1980 are most prominent in the Lower Diptera. For example, more than 400 non-biting midges (Chironomidae) have been added since 1980, and the number of moth flies (Psychodidae) known from Finland has more than tripled. Among the larger families, large increases in known Finnish species are also seen in Cecidomyiidae (161% increase), Pipunculidae (98%), and Chironomidae (90%). PMID:25337004

Green Infrastructure Checklists and Renderings

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Materials and checklists for Denver, CO to review development project plans for green infrastructure components, best practices for inspecting and maintaining installed green infrastructure. Also includes renderings of streetscape projects.

[Psychosocial Risk Evaluation in the Workplace: Expert-based Development of a Checklist for Occupational Physicians].

PubMed

Weigl, M; Müller, A; Angerer, P; Petru, R

2016-03-01

The implementation of psychosocial risk assessment at the workplace often fails in practice. One reason is the lack of competence of those who are in charge of the process. We present a checklist for the effective implementation of psychosocial risk assessment at workplace. This tool shall support occupational physicians in the preparation, planning and implementation of a psychosocial risks assessment process. Based on a stepwise development and validation process, specific steps and factors for the successful implementation were identified qualitatively with 15 occupational physicians and experts. This was conducted in a 2-stage Delphi study. In the following, the identified steps and factors were transferred into a checklist. Subsequently, the checklist was evaluated in a focus group of occupational physicians (user evaluation). Thereafter, the contents were subjected to an expert evaluation. Our checklist for the effective implementation of the process of psychosocial risk management in the workplace aims to strengthen the competence of occupational physicians, especially in the implementation of risk assessments in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Implementation of an Oxytocin Checklist to Improve Clinical Outcomes.

PubMed

Sundin, Courtney; Mazac, Lauren; Ellis, Kathleen; Garbo, Candon

Oxytocin is one of the most common drugs administered in obstetrics. Since its designation as a high-alert medication by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in 2007, there has been much attention to oxytocin administration during labor. Oxytocin is generally safe when administered correctly, but adverse perinatal outcomes can occur during uterine tachysystole. The purpose of this project was to evaluate and compare results of maternal and fetal outcomes of induction of labor for women at term prior to and after implementation of a newly developed oxytocin checklist. To evaluate the practice change associated with the implementation of the new oxytocin checklist, 200 cases based on retrospective medical record reviews were compared with 200 cases after implementation. Use of the checklist was associated with several significant clinical outcomes, including decreases in tachysystole, decreases in cesarean births for concern about fetal status based on electronic fetal monitoring data, decreases in length of first stage labor, and decreases in maximum dose of oxytocin. Results are similar to previous research. Early physician buy-in, clinical team education, and ongoing evaluation enhanced facilitation of the oxytocin checklist. Clinical outcomes were favorable.

Beyond the checklist: assessing understanding for HIV vaccine trial participation in South Africa.

PubMed

Lindegger, Graham; Milford, Cecilia; Slack, Catherine; Quayle, Michael; Xaba, Xolani; Vardas, Eftyhia

2006-12-15

Informed consent and understanding are essential ethical requirements for clinical trial participation. Traditional binary measures of understanding may be limited and not be the best measures of level of understanding. This study designed and compared 4 measures of understanding for potential participants being prepared for enrollment in South African HIV vaccine trials, using detailed operational scoring criteria. Assessment of understanding of 7 key trial components was compared via self-report, checklist, vignettes, and narrative measures. Fifty-nine participants, including members of vaccine preparedness groups and 1 HIV vaccine trial, took part. There were significant differences across the measures for understanding of 5 components and for overall understanding. Highest scores were obtained on self-report and checklist measures, and lowest scores were obtained for vignettes and narrative descriptions. The findings suggest that levels of measured understanding are dependent on the tools used. Forced-choice measures like checklists tend to yield higher scores than open-ended measures like narratives or vignettes. Consideration should be given to complementing checklists and self-reports with open-ended measures, particularly for critical trial concepts, where the consequences of misunderstanding are potentially severe.

Healthy Environments Coach’s Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA has created a checklist to help coaches and athletic administrators better understand the environmental health risks associated with youth sports and the steps they can follow to protect young athletes.

Additional records of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) to the fauna of Mindanao, Philippines, with the description of three new species and a key to the species of Champaka Distant.

PubMed

Lee, Young June

2015-08-30

This paper provides the revised checklist of the tribes, subtribes, genera, and species of the family Cicadidae from Mindanao, Philippines, comprising 22 species belonging to 16 genera. Three new species, Champaka solivenae sp. nov., Purana crassinotata sp. nov., and Ggomapsalta fragilis sp. nov., are described. Lembeja fatiloqua (Stål, 1870) is added to the list, which was omitted in the previous checklist. Neoncotympana leeseungmoi Lee, 2011 is added to the list, which was described after the previous checklist. Oncotympana averta Lee, 2011 is newly recorded from Mindanao, replacing Oncotympana sp. listed in the previous checklist. A key to the 12 species of Champaka Distant, 1905 is provided.

Pilot factors guidelines for the operational inspection of navigation systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sadler, J. F.; Boucek, G. P.

1988-01-01

A computerized human engineered inspection technique is developed for use by FAA inspectors in evaluating the pilot factors aspects of aircraft navigation systems. The short title for this project is Nav Handbook. A menu-driven checklist, computer program and data base (Human Factors Design Criteria) were developed and merged to form a self-contained, portable, human factors inspection checklist tool for use in a laboratory or field setting. The automated checklist is tailored for general aviation navigation systems and can be expanded for use with other aircraft systems, transports or military aircraft. The Nav Handbook inspection concept was demonstrated using a lap-top computer and an Omega/VLF CDU. The program generates standardized inspection reports. Automated checklists for LORAN/C and R NAV were also developed. A Nav Handbook User's Guide is included.

Validity of the posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) checklist in pregnant women.

PubMed

Gelaye, Bizu; Zheng, Yinnan; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Rondon, Marta B; Sánchez, Sixto E; Williams, Michelle A

2017-05-12

The PTSD Checklist-civilian (PCL-C) is one of the most commonly used self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, however, little is known about its validity when used in pregnancy. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PCL-C as a screen for detecting PTSD symptoms among pregnant women. A total of 3372 pregnant women who attended their first prenatal care visit in Lima, Peru participated in the study. We assessed the reliability of the PCL-C items using Cronbach's alpha. Criterion validity and performance characteristics of PCL-C were assessed against an independent, blinded Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview using measures of sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. We tested construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic approaches. The reliability of the PCL-C was excellent (Cronbach's alpha =0.90). ROC analysis showed that a cut-off score of 26 offered optimal discriminatory power, with a sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78-0.92) and a specificity of 0.63 (95% CI: 0.62-0.65). The area under the ROC curve was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.71-0.78). A three-factor solution was extracted using exploratory factor analysis and was further complemented with three other models using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In a CFA, a three-factor model based on DSM-IV symptom structure had reasonable fit statistics with comparative fit index of 0.86 and root mean square error of approximation of 0.09. The Spanish-language version of the PCL-C may be used as a screening tool for pregnant women. The PCL-C has good reliability, criterion validity and factorial validity. The optimal cut-off score obtained by maximizing the sensitivity and specificity should be considered cautiously; women who screened positive may require further investigation to confirm PTSD diagnosis.

A systematic review of psychometric testing of instruments that measure intention to work with older people.

PubMed

Che, Chong Chin; Hairi, Noran Naqiah; Chong, Mei Chan

2017-09-01

To review systematically the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure intention to work with older people. Nursing students are part of the future healthcare workforce; thus, being aware of their intention to work with older people would give valuable insights to nursing education and practice. Despite a plethora of research on measuring intention to work with older people, a valid and reliable instrument has not been identified. A systematic literature review of evidence and psychometric properties. Eight database searches were conducted between 2006 - 2016. English articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The COSMIN checklist was used to assess instruments reporting a psychometric evaluation of validity and reliability. Of 41 studies identified for full text review, 36 met the inclusion criteria. Seven different types of instruments were identified for psychometric evaluation. Measures of reliability were reported in eight papers and validity in five papers. Evidence for each measurement property was limited, with each instrument demonstrating a lack of information on measurement properties. Based on the COSMIN checklist, the overall quality of the psychometric properties was rated as poor to good. No single instrument was found to be optimal for use. Studies of high methodological quality are needed to properly assess the measurement properties of the instruments that are currently available. Until such studies are available, we recommend using existing instruments with caution. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Methodology and reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies of automated perimetry in glaucoma: evaluation using a standardised approach.

PubMed

Fidalgo, Bruno M R; Crabb, David P; Lawrenson, John G

2015-05-01

To evaluate methodological and reporting quality of diagnostic accuracy studies of perimetry in glaucoma and to determine whether there had been any improvement since the publication of the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) guidelines. A systematic review of English language articles published between 1993 and 2013 reporting the diagnostic accuracy of perimetry in glaucoma. Articles were appraised for methodological quality using the 14-item Quality assessment tool for diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS) and evaluated for quality of reporting by applying the STARD checklist. Fifty-eight articles were appraised. Overall methodological quality of these studies was moderate with a median number of QUADAS items rated as 'yes' equal to nine (out of a maximum of 14) (IQR 7-10). The studies were often poorly reported; median score of STARD items fully reported was 11 out of 25 (IQR 10-14). A comparison of the studies published in 10-year periods before and after the publication of the STARD checklist in 2003 found quality of reporting had not substantially improved. Methodological and reporting quality of diagnostic accuracy studies of perimetry is sub-optimal and appears not to have improved substantially following the development of the STARD reporting guidance. This observation is consistent with previous studies in ophthalmology and in other medical specialities. © 2015 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2015 The College of Optometrists.

Certification of Compliance Audit Checklist for Hazardous Waste Tanks

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Example of a Certification of Compliance Audit Checklist -- Tanks, which includes a fillable table with areas to list requirements, federal regulations, descriptions, locations of information, and criteria met.

Parmitano with checklist in Service module

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-08

ISS037-E-028305 (8 Nov. 2013) --- European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, Expedition 37 flight engineer, reads a procedures checklist in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Trigonaloidea.

PubMed

Broad, Gavin R

2016-01-01

The British and Irish checklist of Trigonaloidea comprises a single species, Pseudogonalos hahnii(Spinola), which is the only species in Europe. Country-level distribution and nomenclature of Pseudogonalos hahniiare updated.

Reporting Guidelines and Checklists Improve the Reliability and Rigor of Research Reports.

PubMed

Abbott, J Haxby

2016-03-01

The Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy (JOSPT) requires the use of robust research reporting guidelines for all research report submissions, including the newly adopted RECORD (REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected health Data) statement. We remind authors submitting research to JOSPT to identify the appropriate guideline and checklist for their study design, and to submit a completely and accurately completed checklist with their manuscript. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(3):130. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.0105.

Stability of the Pregnancy Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Symptoms Checklist.

PubMed

van Broekhoven, Kiki E M; Karreman, Annemiek; Hartman, Esther E; Pop, Victor J M

2018-02-01

Because stability over time is central to the definition of personality disorder, aim of the current study was to determine the stability of the Pregnancy Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) Symptoms Checklist (N = 199 women). Strong positive correlations between assessments at 32 weeks of pregnancy and 2 and 3-3.5 years after childbirth were found (r between .62-.72), and the group mean score did not change over time. The Pregnancy OCPD Symptoms Checklist assesses stable, trait-like symptoms of OCPD.

Development of a Squadron Premishap Training Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-01

an aircraft mishap notification checklist? 0 Yes 0 No Comment b. Did the SDO follow the aircraft mishap notification checklist provided in the...squadron premishap plan? o Yes 0 No Comment c. If so, is this checklist readily available to the squadron watch team and do they all know where to find it? O...Yes 0 No Comment d. Did the SDO verify that SAR, the crash/fire department, and medical were notified? o Yes 0 No Comment If not, make sure the SDO

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Proctotrupoidea.

PubMed

Broad, Gavin R

2016-01-01

A revised checklist of the British and Irish Heloridae and Proctotrupidae (Proctotrupoidea) substantially updates the previous comprehensive checklist, dating from 1978. Country level data (i.e. occurrence in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man) is reported where known. A total of three Heloridae and 39 Proctotrupidae (including only certainly recorded species) represents a 27% increase in the British list since 1978. Most species are still poorly known and there has been a dearth of taxonomic and faunistic work on the British and Irish fauna.

Advisory Circular checklist and status of other FAA publications

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-08-15

This 1997 circular transmits the revised checklist of the Federal Aviation : Administration's (FAA) Advisory Circulars (AC's). It also lists certain other : FAA publications sold by the Superintendent of Documents.

Pesticide Registration Manual: Biopesticide Application Checklists Documents

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

These checklists are used by reviewers in the Biopesticide and Pollution Prevention Division in their review of pesticide registration applications. Applicants can use them to help ensure their packages are complete.

Asthma Home Environment Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist guides home care visitors in identifying environmental asthma triggers most commonly found in homes. It includes sections on the building, home interior and room interior and provides low-cost action steps for remediation.

Books on Energy: A Current Checklist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maryles, Daisy; Dahlin, Robert

1980-01-01

This checklist of books related to energy is divided into categories dealing with the topics of oil, nuclear energy, alternative sources (general, solar, wood, and wind), conservation, energy for homes, and architecture. (SA)

Field Audit Checklist Tool (FACT)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Download EPA's The Field Audit Checklist Tool (FACT). FACT is intended to help auditors perform field audits, to easily view monitoring plan, quality assurance and emissions data and provides access to data collected under MATS.

CSC Tip Sheets: Action Checklists

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Learn how to use action checklists to motivate behavior change by providing a clear and concise list of activities that community members and organizations can use to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve other sustainability goals.

Certification of Compliance Audit Checklist for Hazardous Waste Container Storage Areas

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Example of a Certification of Compliance Audit Checklist -- Container Storage, which includes a fillable table with areas to list requirements, federal regulations, descriptions, locations of information, and criteria met.

Transportation and emergency preparedness checklist

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

This Transportation and Emergency Preparedness Checklist was developed by a gathering of public : and community transportation professionals who convened in April 2006 at the behest of the : National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Service Tr...

Certification of Compliance Audit Checklist for Hazardous Waste Containment Buildings

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Example of a Certification of Compliance Audit Checklist General Information: Containment Buildings, which includes a fillable table with areas to list requirements, federal regulations, descriptions, locations of information, and criteria met.

An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

White, William T; Ko'ou, Alfred

2018-04-19

An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) of Papua New Guinean waters is herein presented. The checklist is the result of a large biodiversity study on the chondrichthyan fauna of Papua New Guinea between 2013 and 2017. The chondrichthyan fauna of Papua New Guinea has historically been very poorly known due to a lack of baseline information and limited deepwater exploration. A total of 131 species, comprising 36 families and 68 genera, were recorded. The most speciose families are the Carcharhinidae with 29 species and the Dasyatidae with 23 species. Verified voucher material from various biological collections around the world are provided, with a total of 687 lots recorded comprising 574 whole specimens, 128 sets of jaws and 21 sawfish rostra. This represents the first detailed, verified checklist of chondrichthyans from Papua New Guinean waters.

Proposal of a “Checklist” for endodontic treatment

PubMed Central

Díaz-Flores–García, Víctor; Perea-Pérez, Bernardo; Santiago-Sáez, Andrés; Cisneros-Cabello, Rafael

2014-01-01

Objectives: On the basis of the “Surgical Checklist” proposed by the WHO, we propose a new Checklist model adapted to the procedures of endodontic treatment. Study Design: The proposed document contains 21 items which are broken down into two groups: those which must be verified before beginning the treatment, and those which must be verified after completing it, but before the patient leaves the dentist’s office. Results: The Checklist is an easy-to-use tool that requires little time but provides, order, logic and systematization by taking into account certain basic concepts to increase patient safety. Discussion: We believe that the result is a Checklist that is easy to complete and which ensure the fulfillment of the key points on patient safety in the field of endodontics. Key words:Checklist, endodontics, patient safety, adverse event. PMID:24790707

Checklist of the subfamily Adoncholaiminae Gerlach and Riemann, 1974 (Nematoda: Oncholaimida: Oncholaimidae) of the world: genera, species, distribution, and reference list for taxonomists and ecologists

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Adoncholaiminae is one of the seven subfamilies in the free-living aquatic nematode family Oncholaimidae. Nematodes in Adoncholaiminae are found from various water environment of the world. However, a checklist of all Adoncholaiminae species including full literature, especially information of experimental (not taxonomic) works, has not been updated for more than 40 years. New information A revised checklist of the subfamily Adoncholaiminae of the world is provided. It contains 31 valid and 13 invalid species names in four genera with synonyms, collection records, and full literature from 1860's to 2015 for each species. A literature survey of total 477 previous papers was conducted in this work, and 362 of them are newly added to checklist. PMID:26929708

Determination of medical abortion eligibility by women and community health volunteers in Nepal: A toolkit evaluation.

PubMed

Andersen, Kathryn; Fjerstad, Mary; Basnett, Indira; Neupane, Shailes; Acre, Valerie; Sharma, Sharad Kumar; Jackson, Emily

2017-01-01

To determine if pregnant, literate women and female community health volunteers (FCHVs) in Nepal can accurately determine a woman's eligibility for medical abortion (MA) using a toolkit, compared to comprehensive abortion care (CAC) trained providers. We conducted a prospective diagnostic accuracy study in which women presenting for first trimester abortion, and FCHVs, independently assessed each woman's eligibility for MA using a modified gestational dating wheel to determine gestational age and a nine-point checklist of MA contraindications or cautions. Ability to determine MA eligibility was compared to experienced CAC-providers using Nepali standard of care. Both women (n = 3131) and FCHVs (n = 165) accurately interpreted the wheel 96% of the time, and the eligibility checklist 72% and 95% of the time, respectively. Of the 649 women who reported potential contraindications or cautions on the checklist, 88% misidentified as eligible. Positive predictive value (PPV) of women's assessment of eligibility based on gestational age was 93% (95% CI 92, 94) compared to CAC-providers' (n = 47); PPV of the medical contraindications checklist and overall (90% [95% CI 88, 91] and 93% [95% CI 92, 94] respectively) must be interpreted with caution given women's difficulty using the checklist. PPV of FCHVs' determinations were 93% (95% CI 92, 94), 90% (95% CI 89,91), and 93% (95% CI 91, 94) respectively. Although a promising strategy to assist women and FCHVs to assess MA eligibility, further refinement of the eligibility tools, particularly the checklist, is needed before their widespread use.

Meeting Report from the Second “Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations” (MIBBI) workshop

PubMed Central

Kettner, Carsten; Field, Dawn; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Taylor, Chris; Aerts, Jan; Binns, Nigel; Blake, Andrew; Britten, Cedrik M.; de Marco, Ario; Fostel, Jennifer; Gaudet, Pascale; González-Beltrán, Alejandra; Hardy, Nigel; Hellemans, Jan; Hermjakob, Henning; Juty, Nick; Leebens-Mack, Jim; Maguire, Eamonn; Neumann, Steffen; Orchard, Sandra; Parkinson, Helen; Piel, William; Ranganathan, Shoba; Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Santarsiero, Annapaola; Shotton, David; Sterk, Peter; Untergasser, Andreas; Whetzel, Patricia L.

2010-01-01

This report summarizes the proceedings of the second workshop of the ‘Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations’ (MIBBI) consortium held on Dec 1-2, 2010 in Rüdesheim, Germany through the sponsorship of the Beilstein-Institute. MIBBI is an umbrella organization uniting communities developing Minimum Information (MI) checklists to standardize the description of data sets, the workflows by which they were generated and the scientific context for the work. This workshop brought together representatives of more than twenty communities to present the status of their MI checklists and plans for future development. Shared challenges and solutions were identified and the role of MIBBI in MI checklist development was discussed. The meeting featured some thirty presentations, wide-ranging discussions and breakout groups. The top outcomes of the two-day workshop as defined by the participants were: 1) the chance to share best practices and to identify areas of synergy; 2) defining a series of tasks for updating the MIBBI Portal; 3) reemphasizing the need to maintain independent MI checklists for various communities while leveraging common terms and workflow elements contained in multiple checklists; and 4) revision of the concept of the MIBBI Foundry to focus on the creation of a core set of MIBBI modules intended for reuse by individual MI checklist projects while maintaining the integrity of each MI project. Further information about MIBBI and its range of activities can be found at http://mibbi.org/. PMID:21304730

Challenges in Implementing a Biorisk Management Program at Universitas Indonesia: A Checklist Tool for Biorisk Management.

PubMed

Naroeni, Aroem; Bachtiar, Endang Winiati; Ibrahim, Fera; Bela, Budiman; Kusminanti, Yuni; Pujiriani, Ike; Lestari, Fatma

Rapid development and advancement of bioresearch at a university's laboratories can have both positive and negative implications for public health and the environment. Many research activities in which biological materials have been created, modified, stored, and manipulated require safety procedures to keep the negative effects on humans and the environment as low as possible. The Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental (OHS&E) Department of the University of Indonesia (UI) is trying to increase the awareness and responsibility of its university members and laboratory staffs who work with biohazard materials by creating a biorisk checklist. The checklist was developed based on WHO guidelines and the National University of Singapore (NUS) Laboratory Manual, which contains 311 questions about the management, administration, and handling of various hazards, recombinant experiments, and animal and plant experiments. A gap analysis was run against the checklist in 14 laboratories at the University of Indonesia Salemba campus, which daily works with highly infectious pathogens and high-risk agents. Overall result showed that none of these laboratories had met all of the checklist items, and there were only 2 laboratories that had implemented more than half of the items. This checklist was proven to be a simple tool for assessing laboratories that handle and store biohazard materials, and it could be used as a monitoring tool for biorisk programs as well. It also could be further developed as a laboratory software application to increase its effectiveness and its accuracy.

Development of the standards of reporting of neurological disorders (STROND) checklist: a guideline for the reporting of incidence and prevalence studies in neuroepidemiology.

PubMed

Bennett, Derrick A; Brayne, Carol; Feigin, Valery L; Barker-Collo, Suzanne; Brainin, Michael; Davis, Daniel; Gallo, Valentina; Jetté, Nathalie; Karch, André; Kurtzke, John F; Lavados, Pablo M; Logroscino, Giancarlo; Nagel, Gabriele; Preux, Pierre-Marie; Rothwell, Peter M; Svenson, Lawrence W

2015-07-01

Incidence and prevalence studies of neurological disorders play an important role in assessing the burden of disease and planning services. However, the assessment of disease estimates is hindered by problems in reporting for such studies. Despite a growth in published reports, existing guidelines relate to analytical rather than descriptive epidemiological studies. There are also no user-friendly tools (e.g., checklists) available for authors, editors and peer-reviewers to facilitate best practice in reporting of descriptive epidemiological studies for most neurological disorders. The Standards of Reporting of Neurological Disorders (STROND) is a guideline that consists of recommendations and a checklist to facilitate better reporting of published incidence and prevalence studies of neurological disorders. A review of previously developed guidance was used to produce a list of items required for incidence and prevalence studies in neurology. A three-round Delphi technique was used to identify the 'basic minimum items' important for reporting, as well as some additional 'ideal reporting items'. An e-consultation process was then used in order to gauge opinion by external neuroepidemiological experts on the appropriateness of the items included in the checklist. Of 38 candidate items, 15 items and accompanying recommendations were developed along with a user-friendly checklist. The introduction and use of the STROND checklist should lead to more consistent, transparent and contextualised reporting of descriptive neuroepidemiological studies resulting in more applicable and comparable findings and ultimately support better healthcare decisions.

Postoperative Adverse Events Inconsistently Improved by the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist: A Systematic Literature Review of 25 Studies.

PubMed

de Jager, Elzerie; McKenna, Chloe; Bartlett, Lynne; Gunnarsson, Ronny; Ho, Yik-Hong

2016-08-01

The World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) has been widely implemented in an effort to decrease surgical adverse events. This systematic literature review examined the effects of the SSC on postoperative outcomes. The review included 25 studies: two randomised controlled trials, 13 prospective and ten retrospective cohort trials. A meta-analysis was not conducted as combining observational studies of heterogeneous quality may be highly biased. The quality of the studies was largely suboptimal; only four studies had a concurrent control group, many studies were underpowered to examine specific postoperative outcomes and teamwork-training initiatives were often combined with the implementation of the checklist, confounding the results. The effects of the checklist were largely inconsistent. Postoperative complications were examined in 20 studies; complication rates significantly decreased in ten and increased in one. Eighteen studies examined postoperative mortality. Rates significantly decreased in four and increased in one. Postoperative mortality rates were not significantly decreased in any studies in developed nations, whereas they were significantly decreased in 75 % of studies conducted in developing nations. The checklist may be associated with a decrease in surgical adverse events and this effect seems to be greater in developing nations. With the observed incongruence between specific postoperative outcomes and the overall poor study designs, it is possible that many of the positive changes associated with the use of the checklist were due to temporal changes, confounding factors and publication bias.

A new modified conjugate gradient coefficient for solving system of linear equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajar, N.; ‘Aini, N.; Shapiee, N.; Abidin, Z. Z.; Khadijah, W.; Rivaie, M.; Mamat, M.

2017-09-01

Conjugate gradient (CG) method is an evolution of computational method in solving unconstrained optimization problems. This approach is easy to implement due to its simplicity and has been proven to be effective in solving real-life application. Although this field has received copious amount of attentions in recent years, some of the new approaches of CG algorithm cannot surpass the efficiency of the previous versions. Therefore, in this paper, a new CG coefficient which retains the sufficient descent and global convergence properties of the original CG methods is proposed. This new CG is tested on a set of test functions under exact line search. Its performance is then compared to that of some of the well-known previous CG methods based on number of iterations and CPU time. The results show that the new CG algorithm has the best efficiency amongst all the methods tested. This paper also includes an application of the new CG algorithm for solving large system of linear equations

Estimating the cost of blood: past, present, and future directions.

PubMed

Shander, Aryeh; Hofmann, Axel; Gombotz, Hans; Theusinger, Oliver M; Spahn, Donat R

2007-06-01

Understanding the costs associated with blood products requires sophisticated knowledge about transfusion medicine and is attracting the attention of clinical and administrative healthcare sectors worldwide. To improve outcomes, blood usage must be optimized and expenditures controlled so that resources may be channeled toward other diagnostic, therapeutic, and technological initiatives. Estimating blood costs, however, is a complex undertaking, surpassing simple supply versus demand economics. Shrinking donor availability and application of a precautionary principle to minimize transfusion risks are factors that continue to drive the cost of blood products upward. Recognizing that historical accounting attempts to determine blood costs have varied in scope, perspective, and methodology, new approaches have been initiated to identify all potential cost elements related to blood and blood product administration. Activities are also under way to tie these elements together in a comprehensive and practical model that will be applicable to all single-donor blood products without regard to practice type (e.g., academic, private, multi- or single-center clinic). These initiatives, their rationale, importance, and future directions are described.

Rapid Processing of Net-Shape Thermoplastic Planar-Random Composite Preforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jespersen, S. T.; Baudry, F.; Schmäh, D.; Wakeman, M. D.; Michaud, V.; Blanchard, P.; Norris, R. E.; Månson, J.-A. E.

2009-02-01

A novel thermoplastic composite preforming and moulding process is investigated to target cost issues in textile composite processing associated with trim waste, and the limited mechanical properties of current bulk flow-moulding composites. The thermoplastic programmable powdered preforming process (TP-P4) uses commingled glass and polypropylene yarns, which are cut to length before air assisted deposition onto a vacuum screen, enabling local preform areal weight tailoring. The as-placed fibres are heat-set for improved handling before an optional preconsolidation stage. The preforms are then preheated and press formed to obtain the final part. The process stages are examined to optimize part quality and throughput versus processing parameters. A viable processing route is proposed with typical cycle times below 40 s (for a plate 0.5 × 0.5 m2, weighing 2 kg), enabling high production capacity from one line. The mechanical performance is shown to surpass that of 40 wt.% GMT and has properties equivalent to those of 40 wt.% GMTex at both 20°C and 80°C.

Graphene-conducting polymer nanocomposite as novel electrode for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, Humberto; Ram, Manoj K.; Alvi, Farah.; Villalba, P.; Stefanakos, Elias (Lee); Kumar, Ashok

A novel graphene-polyaniline nanocomposite material synthesized using chemical precipitation technique is reported as an electrode for supercapacitors. The graphene (G)-polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite film was dissolved in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and characterized using Raman, FTIR, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. The interesting composite structure could be observed using different ratios of graphene and aniline monomer. The supercapacitor is fabricated using G-PANI in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and G-PANI-Nafion films on graphite electrodes. A specific capacitance of 300-500 F g -1 at a current density of 0.1 A g -1 is observed over graphene-PANI nanocomposite materials. The aim of this study is to tailor the properties of the capacitors through the optimization of their components, and packaging towards a qualification for portable systems applications. Based on experimental data shown in this work, conducting polymer nanocomposite capacitor technology could be viable, and could also surpass existing technologies when such a novel approach is used.

Molecular Biosensors for Electrochemical Detection of Infectious Pathogens in Liquid Biopsies: Current Trends and Challenges

PubMed Central

Yáñez-Sedeño, Paloma

2017-01-01

Rapid and reliable diagnosis of infectious diseases caused by pathogens, and timely initiation of appropriate treatment are critical determinants to promote optimal clinical outcomes and general public health. Conventional in vitro diagnostics for infectious diseases are time-consuming and require centralized laboratories, experienced personnel and bulky equipment. Recent advances in electrochemical affinity biosensors have demonstrated to surpass conventional standards in regards to time, simplicity, accuracy and cost in this field. The tremendous potential offered by electrochemical affinity biosensors to detect on-site infectious pathogens at clinically relevant levels in scarcely treated body fluids is clearly stated in this review. The development and application of selected examples using different specific receptors, assay formats and electrochemical approaches focusing on the determination of specific circulating biomarkers of different molecular (genetic, regulatory and functional) levels associated with bacterial and viral pathogens are critically discussed. Existing challenges still to be addressed and future directions in this rapidly advancing and highly interesting field are also briefly pointed out. PMID:29099764

The Survey on Near Field Communication.

PubMed

Coskun, Vedat; Ozdenizci, Busra; Ok, Kerem

2015-06-05

Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging short-range wireless communication technology that offers great and varied promise in services such as payment, ticketing, gaming, crowd sourcing, voting, navigation, and many others. NFC technology enables the integration of services from a wide range of applications into one single smartphone. NFC technology has emerged recently, and consequently not much academic data are available yet, although the number of academic research studies carried out in the past two years has already surpassed the total number of the prior works combined. This paper presents the concept of NFC technology in a holistic approach from different perspectives, including hardware improvement and optimization, communication essentials and standards, applications, secure elements, privacy and security, usability analysis, and ecosystem and business issues. Further research opportunities in terms of the academic and business points of view are also explored and discussed at the end of each section. This comprehensive survey will be a valuable guide for researchers and academicians, as well as for business in the NFC technology and ecosystem.

Conserved versatile master regulators in signalling pathways in response to stress in plants

PubMed Central

Balderas-Hernández, Victor E.; Alvarado-Rodríguez, Miguel; Fraire-Velázquez, Saúl

2013-01-01

From the first land plants to the complex gymnosperms and angiosperms of today, environmental conditions have forced plants to develop molecular strategies to surpass natural obstacles to growth and proliferation, and these genetic gains have been transmitted to the following generations. In this long natural process, novel and elaborate mechanisms have evolved to enable plants to cope with environmental limitations. Elements in many signalling cascades enable plants to sense different, multiple and simultaneous ambient cues. A group of versatile master regulators of gene expression control plant responses to stressing conditions. For crop breeding purposes, the task is to determine how to activate these key regulators to enable accurate and optimal reactions to common stresses. In this review, we discuss how plants sense biotic and abiotic stresses, how and which master regulators are implied in the responses to these stresses, their evolution in the life kingdoms, and the domains in these proteins that interact with other factors to lead to a proper and efficient plant response. PMID:24147216

Advances and challenges in biosensor-based diagnosis of infectious diseases

PubMed Central

Sin, Mandy LY; Mach, Kathleen E; Wong, Pak Kin; Liao, Joseph C

2014-01-01

Rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases and timely initiation of appropriate treatment are critical determinants that promote optimal clinical outcomes and general public health. Conventional in vitro diagnostics for infectious diseases are time-consuming and require centralized laboratories, experienced personnel and bulky equipment. Recent advances in biosensor technologies have potential to deliver point-of-care diagnostics that match or surpass conventional standards in regards to time, accuracy and cost. Broadly classified as either label-free or labeled, modern biosensors exploit micro- and nanofabrication technologies and diverse sensing strategies including optical, electrical and mechanical transducers. Despite clinical need, translation of biosensors from research laboratories to clinical applications has remained limited to a few notable examples, such as the glucose sensor. Challenges to be overcome include sample preparation, matrix effects and system integration. We review the advances of biosensors for infectious disease diagnostics and discuss the critical challenges that need to be overcome in order to implement integrated diagnostic biosensors in real world settings. PMID:24524681

The Survey on Near Field Communication

PubMed Central

Coskun, Vedat; Ozdenizci, Busra; Ok, Kerem

2015-01-01

Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging short-range wireless communication technology that offers great and varied promise in services such as payment, ticketing, gaming, crowd sourcing, voting, navigation, and many others. NFC technology enables the integration of services from a wide range of applications into one single smartphone. NFC technology has emerged recently, and consequently not much academic data are available yet, although the number of academic research studies carried out in the past two years has already surpassed the total number of the prior works combined. This paper presents the concept of NFC technology in a holistic approach from different perspectives, including hardware improvement and optimization, communication essentials and standards, applications, secure elements, privacy and security, usability analysis, and ecosystem and business issues. Further research opportunities in terms of the academic and business points of view are also explored and discussed at the end of each section. This comprehensive survey will be a valuable guide for researchers and academicians, as well as for business in the NFC technology and ecosystem. PMID:26057043

Delivering successful randomized controlled trials in surgery: Methods to optimize collaboration and study design.

PubMed

Blencowe, Natalie S; Cook, Jonathan A; Pinkney, Thomas; Rogers, Chris; Reeves, Barnaby C; Blazeby, Jane M

2017-04-01

Randomized controlled trials in surgery are notoriously difficult to design and conduct due to numerous methodological and cultural challenges. Over the last 5 years, several UK-based surgical trial-related initiatives have been funded to address these issues. These include the development of Surgical Trials Centers and Surgical Specialty Leads (individual surgeons responsible for championing randomized controlled trials in their specialist fields), both funded by the Royal College of Surgeons of England; networks of research-active surgeons in training; and investment in methodological research relating to surgical randomized controlled trials (to address issues such as recruitment, blinding, and the selection and standardization of interventions). This article discusses these initiatives more in detail and provides exemplar cases to illustrate how the methodological challenges have been tackled. The initiatives have surpassed expectations, resulting in a renaissance in surgical research throughout the United Kingdom, such that the number of patients entering surgical randomized controlled trials has doubled.

[The study of anticoagulants selection in platelet-rich plasma preparation].

PubMed

Hua, Lei; Lai, Gui; Zhenjun, Liu; Guie, Ma

2015-07-01

To investigate the effect of the anticoagulants on PRP quality, so as to clarify the appropriate anticoagulant used in PRP production. The microstructure change of platelets collected via heparin, citrate, acid citrate dextrose (ACD) and citrate-theophylline-adenosine-dipyridamole ( CTAD) was observed by TEM following time course. The extent of spontaneous activation of platelets in four groups was detected by measuring sP-selectin in plasma. The TGF-β1 release amount of activated PRP of four groups was measured. CTAD is superior to other anticoagulants in maintaining the integrity of platelet structures for a long time and preventing platelet spontaneous activation. ACD slightly surpassed heparin and citrate in above two aspects. ACD-PRP and CTAD-PRP released significantly more TGF-β1 compared with heparin and citrate. The PRP quality and biological effects were strongly associated with the type of Anticoagulants. ACD and CTAD are optimal anticoagulants in PRP production for they can maintain platelet viability at a high level.

Molecular Biosensors for Electrochemical Detection of Infectious Pathogens in Liquid Biopsies: Current Trends and Challenges.

PubMed

Campuzano, Susana; Yáñez-Sedeño, Paloma; Pingarrón, José Manuel

2017-11-03

Rapid and reliable diagnosis of infectious diseases caused by pathogens, and timely initiation of appropriate treatment are critical determinants to promote optimal clinical outcomes and general public health. Conventional in vitro diagnostics for infectious diseases are time-consuming and require centralized laboratories, experienced personnel and bulky equipment. Recent advances in electrochemical affinity biosensors have demonstrated to surpass conventional standards in regards to time, simplicity, accuracy and cost in this field. The tremendous potential offered by electrochemical affinity biosensors to detect on-site infectious pathogens at clinically relevant levels in scarcely treated body fluids is clearly stated in this review. The development and application of selected examples using different specific receptors, assay formats and electrochemical approaches focusing on the determination of specific circulating biomarkers of different molecular (genetic, regulatory and functional) levels associated with bacterial and viral pathogens are critically discussed. Existing challenges still to be addressed and future directions in this rapidly advancing and highly interesting field are also briefly pointed out.

Multi-ampoule Bridgman growth of halide scintillator crystals using the self-seeding method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindsey, Adam C.; Wu, Yuntao; Zhuravleva, Mariya; Loyd, Matthew; Koschan, Merry; Melcher, Charles L.

2017-07-01

We investigate the multi-ampoule growth at 25 mm diameter of ternary iodide single crystal scintillator KCaI3:Eu using the randomly oriented self-seeded Bridgman method. We compare scintillation performance between cubic inch scale crystals containing small variations of low nominal europium concentrations previously shown to balance light yield with self-absorption in the host crystal. Growth conditions were optimized in the developmental furnace and four 2 in3 KCaI3:Eu crystals were grown simultaneously producing a total of six 25 mm × 25 mm cylinders. Small variations in activator concentration did not result in significant performance differences among the six measured crystals. A range of energy resolutions of 3.5-4.7% at 662 keV was achieved, surpassing that of NaI:Tl crystals commonly used in spectroscopic detection applications. The function and basic design of the multi-ampoule furnace as well as the process of growing single crystals of KCaI3 is included here.

A rational approach to the selection of useful drugs for clinical practice.

PubMed

Spector, Reynold; Vesell, Elliot S

2002-05-01

Confusion exists concerning optimal selection of drugs for clinical practice. Many reasons contribute to this confusion which derives from various sources including industry, the FDA and often less than ideal education of physicians in clinical pharmacology during medical school and thereafter. This presentation does not focus on allocating blame for the current unsatisfactory situation, but rather offers a solution to improve drug therapy. Our educational solution consists of a paradigm for rational drug therapy, specifically a checklist of eight criteria for physicians to review before prescribing drugs. Such a review would facilitate better estimation by physicians of risk/benefit ratios involving new, often expensive and, in some cases, questionably effective and safe drugs. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Rad Resilient City: a preparedness checklist to save lives following a nuclear detonation.

PubMed

Schoch-Spana, Monica

2013-11-01

The Rad Resilient City Checklist is a local planning tool that can help save tens of thousands of lives following a nuclear detonation. If prevention of nuclear terrorism fails, then reducing exposure to radioactive fallout is the intervention that can save the most lives following a nuclear detonation. Yet, most Americans are not familiar with correct safety measures against fallout, and many believe that nothing can be done to reduce the suffering and death inflicted by a nuclear attack. Moreover, cities have no checklist on how to prepare the emergency management infrastructure and the larger population for this hazard, despite hundreds of pages of useful guidance from the federal government and radiation professional organizations. The Rad Resilient City Checklist reverses this situation by converting the latest federal guidance and technical reports into clear, actionable steps for communities to take to protect their residents from exposure to radioactive fallout. The checklist reflects the shared judgment of the Nuclear Resilience Expert Advisory Group, a national panel led by the Center for Biosecurity and comprised of government decision makers, scientific experts, emergency responders, and leaders from business, volunteer, and community sectors.

Development of a checklist for patients with axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis in daily practice: ONLY TOOLS project.

PubMed

Almodovar, Raquel; Torre Alonso, Juan C; Batlle, Enrique; Castillo, Concepción; Collantes-Estevez, Eduardo; de Miguel, Eugenio; González, Senén; Gratacós, Jordi; Hernández, Azucena; Juanola, Xavier; Linares, Luis F; Moreno, Manuel J; Moreno, Mireia; Navarro-Compán, Victoria; Rodríguez Lozano, Carlos; Sanz, Jesus; Sellas, Agustí; Loza, Estíbaliz; Zarco, Pedro

To standardize clinical evaluation of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using a checklist. Qualitative study that included: 1) nominal group (18 experts); 2) literature reviews of measures used in the assessment of patients with axial SpA or PsA; and 3) focus groups, one with rheumatologists and another with patients, organized to become familiar with their opinion on medical assistance. Taking this into account, the experts selected the measures to be included in the checklist based on their relevance, feasibility, and the outcome type. The checklist includes measures for the evaluation of personal history, physical examination, activity and function, laboratory tests, imaging studies and treatments. It also defines risk factors of radiographic progression, predictors of the response to biological therapies, and comprises measures of excellence. This checklist for patients with axial SpA and PsA could help standardize daily clinical practice and improve clinical management and patient prognosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

Reliability and concurrent validity of the computer workstation checklist.

PubMed

Baker, Nancy A; Livengood, Heather; Jacobs, Karen

2013-01-01

Self-report checklists are used to assess computer workstation set up, typically by workers not trained in ergonomic assessment or checklist interpretation.Though many checklists exist, few have been evaluated for reliability and validity. This study examined reliability and validity of the Computer Workstation Checklist (CWC) to identify mismatches between workers' self-reported workstation problems. The CWC was completed at baseline and at 1 month to establish reliability. Validity was determined with CWC baseline data compared to an onsite workstation evaluation conducted by an expert in computer workstation assessment. Reliability ranged from fair to near perfect (prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa, 0.38-0.93); items with the strongest agreement were related to the input device, monitor, computer table, and document holder. The CWC had greater specificity (11 of 16 items) than sensitivity (3 of 16 items). The positive predictive value was greater than the negative predictive value for all questions. The CWC has strong reliability. Sensitivity and specificity suggested workers often indicated no problems with workstation setup when problems existed. The evidence suggests that while the CWC may not be valid when used alone, it may be a suitable adjunct to an ergonomic assessment completed by professionals.

Using community-based participatory research to design and initiate a study on immigrant worker health and safety in San Francisco's Chinatown restaurants.

PubMed

Minkler, Meredith; Lee, Pam Tau; Tom, Alex; Chang, Charlotte; Morales, Alvaro; Liu, Shaw San; Salvatore, Alicia; Baker, Robin; Chen, Feiyi; Bhatia, Rajiv; Krause, Niklas

2010-04-01

Restaurant workers have among the highest rates of work-related illness and injury in the US, but little is known about the working conditions and occupational health status of Chinese immigrant restaurant workers. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) was employed to study restaurant working conditions and worker health in San Francisco's Chinatown. A community/academic/health department collaborative was formed and 23 restaurant workers trained on research techniques and worker health and safety. A worker survey instrument and a restaurant observational checklist were collaboratively developed. The checklist was piloted in 71 Chinatown restaurants, and the questionnaire administered to 433 restaurant workers. Restaurant workers, together with other partners, made substantial contributions to construction of the survey and checklist tools and improved their cultural appropriateness. The utility of the checklist tool for restaurant-level data collection was demonstrated. CBPR holds promise for both studying worker health and safety among immigrant Chinese restaurant workers and developing culturally appropriate research tools. A new observational checklist also has potential for restaurant-level data collection on worker health and safety conditions. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Evidence synthesis for decision making 7: a reviewer's checklist.

PubMed

Ades, A E; Caldwell, Deborah M; Reken, Stefanie; Welton, Nicky J; Sutton, Alex J; Dias, Sofia

2013-07-01

This checklist is for the review of evidence syntheses for treatment efficacy used in decision making based on either efficacy or cost-effectiveness. It is intended to be used for pairwise meta-analysis, indirect comparisons, and network meta-analysis, without distinction. It does not generate a quality rating and is not prescriptive. Instead, it focuses on a series of questions aimed at revealing the assumptions that the authors of the synthesis are expecting readers to accept, the adequacy of the arguments authors advance in support of their position, and the need for further analyses or sensitivity analyses. The checklist is intended primarily for those who review evidence syntheses, including indirect comparisons and network meta-analyses, in the context of decision making but will also be of value to those submitting syntheses for review, whether to decision-making bodies or journals. The checklist has 4 main headings: A) definition of the decision problem, B) methods of analysis and presentation of results, C) issues specific to network synthesis, and D) embedding the synthesis in a probabilistic cost-effectiveness model. The headings and implicit advice follow directly from the other tutorials in this series. A simple table is provided that could serve as a pro forma checklist.

Development and Preliminary Validation of Refugee Trauma History Checklist (RTHC)—A Brief Checklist for Survey Studies

PubMed Central

Gottvall, Maria; Vaez, Marjan

2017-01-01

A high proportion of refugees have been subjected to potentially traumatic experiences (PTEs), including torture. PTEs, and torture in particular, are powerful predictors of mental ill health. This paper reports the development and preliminary validation of a brief refugee trauma checklist applicable for survey studies. Methods: A pool of 232 items was generated based on pre-existing instruments. Conceptualization, item selection and item refinement was conducted based on existing literature and in collaboration with experts. Ten cognitive interviews using a Think Aloud Protocol (TAP) were performed in a clinical setting, and field testing of the proposed checklist was performed in a total sample of n = 137 asylum seekers from Syria. Results: The proposed refugee trauma history checklist (RTHC) consists of 2 × 8 items, concerning PTEs that occurred before and during the respondents’ flight, respectively. Results show low item non-response and adequate psychometric properties Conclusions: RTHC is a usable tool for providing self-report data on refugee trauma history surveys of community samples. The core set of included events can be augmented and slight modifications can be applied to RTHC for use also in other refugee populations and settings. PMID:28976937

An updated checklist of Echinoderms from Indian waters.

PubMed

Samuel, Vijay Kumar Deepak; Krishnan, Pandian; Sreeraj, Chemmencheri Ramakrishnan; Chamundeeswari, Kanagaraj; Parthiban, Chermapandi; Sekar, Veeramuthu; Patro, Shesdev; Saravanan, Raju; Abhilash, Kottarathil Rajendran; Ramachandran, Purvaja; Ramesh, Ramachandran

2017-11-27

Species checklists enlist the species available within the defined geographical region and thus serve as essential input for developing conservation and management strategies. The fields of conservation biology and ecology confront the challenge of inflated biodiversity, attributed to non-recognition of taxonomic inconsistencies such as synonyms, alternate representation, emendations etc. Critical review of the checklists and distributional records of Phylum Echinodermata from Indian waters and subsequent validation of species names with World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) database, revealed that the current literature included 236 incorrect entries comprising of 162 synonyms, 15 emendations, 5 nomina dubia, 1 nomen nudum, 40 species under alternate representation, 9 species with author misnomer, 1 subspecies and 1 unaccepted. The 226 species found to be mixed with valid names and a revised checklist was prepared. The revised and updated checklist holds 741 species of echinoderms comprising of 182 asteroids (24.56%), 70 crinoids (9.45%), 138 echinoids (18.62%), 179 holothuroids (24.16%) and 172 ophiuroids (23.21%), placed under 28 orders and 107 families. This paper discusses the cause for taxonomic inflation and argues that such taxonomic inconsistencies alter our interpretations of a species including its inaccurate distribution and, could possibly impede the country's conservation and management efforts.

The second “time-out”: a surgical safety checklist for lengthy robotic surgeries

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Robotic surgeries of long duration are associated with both increased risks to patients as well as distinct challenges for care providers. We propose a surgical checklist, to be completed during a second “time-out”, aimed at reducing peri-operative complications and addressing obstacles presented by lengthy robotic surgeries. A review of the literature was performed to identify the most common complications of robotic surgeries with extended operative times. A surgical checklist was developed with the goal of addressing these issues and maximizing patient safety. Extended operative times during robotic surgery increase patient risk for position-related complications and other adverse events. These cases also raise concerns for surgical, anesthesia, and nursing staff which are less common in shorter, non-robotic operations. Key elements of the checklist were designed to coordinate operative staff in verifying patient safety while addressing the unique concerns within each specialty. As robotic surgery is increasingly utilized, operations with long surgical times may become more common due to increased case complexity and surgeons overcoming the learning curve. A standardized surgical checklist, conducted three to four hours after the start of surgery, may enhance perioperative patient safety and quality of care. PMID:23731776

Checklist for Reviewing EPA Quality Management Plans

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist will be used to review the Quality Management Plans (QMPs) that are submitted to the Quality Staff of the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) for Agency review under EPA Order 5360.1 A2.

If You're Concerned - Act Early

MedlinePlus

... fill out a Milestone Checklist to track your child’s development. Share the completed checklist or milestone summary with ... Developmental pediatricians. These doctors have special training in child development and children with special needs. Child neurologists. These ...

Express Authorization Questions and Answers about What is Generally the Content of a Program Revision Application?

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Frequently asked questions about express authorization with answers organized into five categories: attorney general's statement, statutory checklist, rule checklists, program description, and state initiated regulatory changes.

Integrating Assessment into Teaching Practices: Using Checklists for Business Writing Assignments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vice, Janna P.; Carnes, Lana W.

2002-01-01

Explains how to use checklists as a tool for developing, implementing, and evaluating business writing assignments. Gives an example of their use with memoranda, short reports, and analytical field reports. (SK)

Inspection Checklist Tool for Facilities Generating and Recycling Hazardous Secondary Materials

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Series of checklists that assist regulatory authorities with monitoring compliance of the definition of solid waste regulations in 40 CFR section 261.2 and the 2008 definition of solid waste exclusions.

Steel Pickling Inspection Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Checklist to establish whether a facility or operations within a facility are subject to and are in compliance with 40 C.F.R Part 63 Subpart CCC (Steel Pickling—HCl Process Facilities and Hydrochloric Acid Regeneration Plants NESHAP).

REMARK checklist elaborated to improve tumor prognostician

Cancer.gov

Experts have elaborated on a previously published checklist of 20 items -- including descriptions of design, methods, and analysis -- that researchers should address when publishing studies of prognostic markers. These markers are indicators that enable d

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Trigonaloidea

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Abstract Background The British and Irish checklist of Trigonaloidea comprises a single species, Pseudogonalos hahnii(Spinola), which is the only species in Europe. New information Country-level distribution and nomenclature of Pseudogonalos hahniiare updated. PMID:27226749

Consolidated Checklist for C4 40 CFR 263

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

No final rules affecting 40 CFR Part 263 were promulgated between June 30, 2002 and December 31, 2002, therefore, this Consolidated Checklist corresponds to 40 CFR Part 263 as published on July 1, 2002.

Homework for Parents -- Your Child's Back-To-School Health Checklist

MedlinePlus

... Health & Safety Tips Campaigns Share this! EmergencyCareForYou » Health & Safety Tips » Homework for Parents — Your Child's Back-To-School Health Checklist Homework for Parents — Your Child's Back- ...

Consolidated Checklist for C3 40 CFR 262

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

No final rules affecting 40 CFR Part 262 were promulgated between June 30, 2002 and December 31, 2002, therefore, this Consolidated Checklist corresponds to 40 CFR Part 262 as published on July 1, 2002.

FY96 Support to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Center for Standards (CFS) for continuing improvement of the DoD HCI Style Guide. Final report

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

Avery, L.W.; Donohoo, D.T.; Sanchez, J.A.

1996-09-30

PNNL successfully completed the three tasks: Task 1 - This task provided DISA with an updated set of design checklists that can be used to measure compliance with the Style Guide. These checklists are in Microsoft{reg_sign}Word 6.0 format. Task 2 - This task provided a discussion of two basic models for using the Style Guide and the Design Checklist, as a compliance tool and as a design tool.

Checklist of Hymenomycetes (Aphyllophorales s.l.) and Heterobasidiomycetes in Israel

PubMed Central

Zmitrovich, Ivan V.; Wasser, Solomon P.; Nevo, Eviatar

2010-01-01

A checklist is presented concerning the species composition of Hymenomycetes (Aphyllophorales s.l.) and Heterobasidiomycetes in Israel based on data of previous studies and field sample collections. In total, 242 species are presented, of which five are new records for the Israeli mycobiota, namely Australohydnum dregeanum, Ceriporiopsis consobrina, C. resinascens, Fibroporia vaillantii, and Postia inocybe. The distribution and habitat of each species in Israel are also summarized. This checklist will serve as valuable data for future species diversity studies of these fungi in Israel. PMID:23956665

An annotated checklist of the aquatic Polyphaga (Coleoptera) of Egypt I. Family Hydraenidae.

PubMed

Salah, Mohamed; Cueto, Juan Antonio Régil; Valladares, Luis F

2014-10-16

Data from previous literature were used to compile a checklist of the Egyptian fauna of Hydraenidae (Coleoptera). The checklist includes data on the type localities, type specimens, descriptors, distributions and previous literature for 15 valid species belonging to 3 genera (Hydraena, Limnebius and Ochthebius). Ochthebius was represented by 13 species, while Hydraena and Limnebius were represented only by a single species for each of them. The present study provides a summary that can serve as the basis for future progress in the knowledge of the Egyptian Hydraenidae. 

Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Proctotrupoidea

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Abstract Background A revised checklist of the British and Irish Heloridae and Proctotrupidae (Proctotrupoidea) substantially updates the previous comprehensive checklist, dating from 1978. Country level data (i.e. occurrence in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man) is reported where known. New information A total of three Heloridae and 39 Proctotrupidae (including only certainly recorded species) represents a 27% increase in the British list since 1978. Most species are still poorly known and there has been a dearth of taxonomic and faunistic work on the British and Irish fauna. PMID:27226750

[Implementation of "never events" checklists in a radiotherapy information system].

PubMed

Brusadin, G; Bour, M S; Deutsch, E; Kouchit, N; Corbin, S; Lefkopoulos, D

2017-10-01

In order to reduce the incidence of major accidents during external radiotherapy treatment, "never events" checklists have been incorporated into the "record and verify" system. This article details this process. Prospects for improvement are also proposed, including a peer-to-peer audit on the use of checklists and the availability of the radiotherapy information system manufacturer to collaborate in this process to secure the patients' journey. Copyright © 2017 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Content Validation and Semantic Evaluation of a Check-List Elaborated for the Prevention of Gluten Cross-Contamination in Food Services.

PubMed

Farage, Priscila; Puppin Zandonadi, Renata; Cortez Ginani, Verônica; Gandolfi, Lenora; Pratesi, Riccardo; de Medeiros Nóbrega, Yanna Karla

2017-01-06

Conditions associated to the consumption of gluten have emerged as a major health care concern and the treatment consists on a lifelong gluten-free diet. Providing safe food for these individuals includes adapting to safety procedures within the food chain and preventing gluten cross-contamination in gluten-free food. However, a gluten cross-contamination prevention protocol or check-list has not yet been validated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform the content validation and semantic evaluation of a check-list elaborated for the prevention of gluten cross-contamination in food services. The preliminary version of the check-list was elaborated based on the Brazilian resolution for food safety Collegiate Board Resolution 216 (RDC 216) and Collegiate Board Resolution 275 (RDC 275), the standard 22000 from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 22000) and the Canadian Celiac Association Gluten-Free Certification Program documents. Seven experts with experience in the area participated in the check-list validation and semantic evaluation. The criteria used for the approval of the items, as to their importance for the prevention of gluten cross-contamination and clarity of the wording, was the achievement of a minimal of 80% of agreement between the experts (W-values ≥ 0.8). Moreover, items should have a mean ≥4 in the evaluation of importance (Likert scale from 1 to 5) and clarity (Likert scale from 0 to 5) in order to be maintained in the instrument. The final version of the check-list was composed of 84 items, divided into 12 sections. After being redesigned and re-evaluated, the items were considered important and comprehensive by the experts (both with W-values ≥ 0.89). The check-list developed was validated with respect to content and approved in the semantic evaluation.

Crisis checklists for in-hospital emergencies: expert consensus, simulation testing and recommendations for a template determined by a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary learning collaborative.

PubMed

Subbe, Christian P; Kellett, John; Barach, Paul; Chaloner, Catriona; Cleaver, Hayley; Cooksley, Tim; Korsten, Erik; Croke, Eilish; Davis, Elinor; De Bie, Ashley Jr; Durham, Lesley; Hancock, Chris; Hartin, Jilian; Savijn, Tracy; Welch, John

2017-05-08

'Failure to rescue' of hospitalized patients with deteriorating physiology on general wards is caused by a complex array of organisational, technical and cultural failures including a lack of standardized team and individual expected responses and actions. The aim of this study using a learning collaborative method was to develop consensus recomendations on the utility and effectiveness of checklists as training and operational tools to assist in improving the skills of general ward staff on the effective rescue of patients with abnormal physiology. A scoping study of the literature was followed by a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary international learning collaborative. We sought to achieve a consensus on procedures and clinical simulation technology to determine the requirements, develop and test a safe using a checklist template that is rapidly accessible to assist in emergency management of common events for general ward use. Safety considerations about deteriorating patients were agreed upon and summarized. A consensus was achieved among an international group of experts on currently available checklist formats performing poorly in simulation testing as first responders in general ward clinical crises. The Crisis Checklist Collaborative ratified a consensus template for a general ward checklist that provides a list of issues for first responders to address (i.e. 'Check In'), a list of prompts regarding common omissions (i.e. 'Stop & Think'), and, a list of items required for the safe "handover" of patients that remain on the general ward (i.e. 'Check Out'). Simulation usability assessment of the template demonstrated feasibility for clinical management of deteriorating patients. Emergency checklists custom-designed for general ward patients have the potential to guide the treatment speed and reliability of responses for emergency management of patients with abnormal physiology while minimizing the risk of adverse events. Interventional trials are needed.

Content Validation and Semantic Evaluation of a Check-List Elaborated for the Prevention of Gluten Cross-Contamination in Food Services

PubMed Central

Farage, Priscila; Puppin Zandonadi, Renata; Cortez Ginani, Verônica; Gandolfi, Lenora; Pratesi, Riccardo; de Medeiros Nóbrega, Yanna Karla

2017-01-01

Conditions associated to the consumption of gluten have emerged as a major health care concern and the treatment consists on a lifelong gluten-free diet. Providing safe food for these individuals includes adapting to safety procedures within the food chain and preventing gluten cross-contamination in gluten-free food. However, a gluten cross-contamination prevention protocol or check-list has not yet been validated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform the content validation and semantic evaluation of a check-list elaborated for the prevention of gluten cross-contamination in food services. The preliminary version of the check-list was elaborated based on the Brazilian resolution for food safety Collegiate Board Resolution 216 (RDC 216) and Collegiate Board Resolution 275 (RDC 275), the standard 22000 from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 22000) and the Canadian Celiac Association Gluten-Free Certification Program documents. Seven experts with experience in the area participated in the check-list validation and semantic evaluation. The criteria used for the approval of the items, as to their importance for the prevention of gluten cross-contamination and clarity of the wording, was the achievement of a minimal of 80% of agreement between the experts (W-values ≥ 0.8). Moreover, items should have a mean ≥4 in the evaluation of importance (Likert scale from 1 to 5) and clarity (Likert scale from 0 to 5) in order to be maintained in the instrument. The final version of the check-list was composed of 84 items, divided into 12 sections. After being redesigned and re-evaluated, the items were considered important and comprehensive by the experts (both with W-values ≥ 0.89). The check-list developed was validated with respect to content and approved in the semantic evaluation. PMID:28067805

Use These Seven Checklists to Maintain Firm Control over Business Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scebra, J. Boyd

1983-01-01

Checklist for evaluating school management covers (1) budgeting, revenues, expenditures; (2) accounting and payroll; (3) purchasing and warehousing; (4) debts and captial outlay; (5) insurance; (6) property control; and (7) school activity funds. (JBM)

Student Leadership: A Checklist for Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chmielewski, Tonya R.

2000-01-01

Presents a checklist of student-government advisers' responsibilities governing bylaws, organization, section or appointment guidelines, job descriptions, committees, meetings, attendance policies, decision making, problem solving, public relations, goals, communication methods, training, budgets, fund raising, advertising, and other matters. A…

Promoting coherent minimum reporting guidelines for biological and biomedical investigations: the MIBBI project

PubMed Central

Taylor, Chris F; Field, Dawn; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Aerts, Jan; Apweiler, Rolf; Ashburner, Michael; Ball, Catherine A; Binz, Pierre-Alain; Bogue, Molly; Booth, Tim; Brazma, Alvis; Brinkman, Ryan R; Clark, Adam Michael; Deutsch, Eric W; Fiehn, Oliver; Fostel, Jennifer; Ghazal, Peter; Gibson, Frank; Gray, Tanya; Grimes, Graeme; Hancock, John M; Hardy, Nigel W; Hermjakob, Henning; Julian, Randall K; Kane, Matthew; Kettner, Carsten; Kinsinger, Christopher; Kolker, Eugene; Kuiper, Martin; Le Novère, Nicolas; Leebens-Mack, Jim; Lewis, Suzanna E; Lord, Phillip; Mallon, Ann-Marie; Marthandan, Nishanth; Masuya, Hiroshi; McNally, Ruth; Mehrle, Alexander; Morrison, Norman; Orchard, Sandra; Quackenbush, John; Reecy, James M; Robertson, Donald G; Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Rodriguez, Henry; Rosenfelder, Heiko; Santoyo-Lopez, Javier; Scheuermann, Richard H; Schober, Daniel; Smith, Barry; Snape, Jason; Stoeckert, Christian J; Tipton, Keith; Sterk, Peter; Untergasser, Andreas; Vandesompele, Jo; Wiemann, Stefan

2009-01-01

The Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations (MIBBI) project provides a resource for those exploring the range of extant minimum information checklists and fosters coordinated development of such checklists. PMID:18688244

Abbreviated Version Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Statutory Checklist

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The RCRA Statutory Checklist is provided to aid attorneys and others in reviewing and documenting statutory provisions required for authorization under Section 3006(b) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended.

A Checklist for Submitting Your Risk Management Plan (RMP)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Important information about 2014 submissions and a checklist to consider in preparing and resubmitting a 5-year update, as required by 40 CFR part 68. Use the RMP*eSubmit software application, which replaced RMP*Submit.

Checklist of flesh flies of Turkey (Diptera, Sarcophagidae)

PubMed Central

Verves, Yury; Barták, Miroslav; Kubík, Štěpán

2018-01-01

Abstract A checklist of 153 flesh fly species (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) recorded to date from Turkey is presented. Updating the list was necessary due to the numerous recent records. Records are listed according to provinces. PMID:29670438

Cockroaches (Blattaria) of Ecuador-checklist and history of research.

PubMed

Vidlička, Lubomír

2013-01-09

Cockroaches are an understudied group and the total number of described taxa increases every year. The last checklist of Ecuador species was published in 1926. The main aim of this study was to complete a new checklist of cockroach species recorded in Ecuador supplemented with a research history of cockroaches (Blattaria) on the territory of continental Ecuador. In addition, the checklist contains comments on Ecuadorian faunistic records, including the Galápagos Islands. A total of 114 species (105 in continental Ecuador and 18 in Galápagos Islands) belonging to 6 families and 44 genera are listed. Forty species (38.1 %) occur solely in continental Ecuador and five (27.8 %) are endemic on Galápagos Islands. The results indicate that further research on the cockroach fauna of Ecuador as well as determination of museum collections from this territory is needed.

Conferences and convention centres' accessibility to people with disabilities.

PubMed

Doshi, Jasmine Khandhar; Furlan, Andréa Dompieri; Lopes, Luis Carlos; DeLisa, Joel; Battistella, Linamara Rizzo

2014-07-01

The purposes of this manuscript are to create awareness of problems of accessibility at meetings and conferences for people with disabilities, and to provide a checklist for organizers of conferences to make the event more accessible to people with disabilities. We conducted a search of the grey literature for conference centres and venues that had recommendations for making the event more accessible. The types of disability included in this manuscript are those as a consequence of visual, hearing and mobility impairments. We provide a checklist to make meetings accessible to people with disabilities. The checklist is divided into sections related to event planning, venue accessibility, venue staff, invitations/registrations, greeting people with a disability, actions during the event, and suggestions for effective presenters. The checklist can be used by prospective organizers of conferences to plan an event and to ensure inclusion and participation of people with disabilities.

Determination of UAV pre-flight Checklist for flight test purpose using qualitative failure analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendarko; Indriyanto, T.; Syardianto; Maulana, F. A.

2018-05-01

Safety aspects are of paramount importance in flight, especially in flight test phase. Before performing any flight tests of either manned or unmanned aircraft, one should include pre-flight checklists as a required safety document in the flight test plan. This paper reports on the development of a new approach for determination of pre-flight checklists for UAV flight test based on aircraft’s failure analysis. The Lapan’s LSA (Light Surveillance Aircraft) is used as a study case, assuming this aircraft has been transformed into the unmanned version. Failure analysis is performed on LSA using fault tree analysis (FTA) method. Analysis is focused on propulsion system and flight control system, which fail of these systems will lead to catastrophic events. Pre-flight checklist of the UAV is then constructed based on the basic causes obtained from failure analysis.

Annotated checklist of Georgia birds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beaton, G.; Sykes, P.W.; Parrish, J.W.

2003-01-01

This edition of the checklist includes 446 species, of which 407 are on the Regular Species List, 8 on the Provisional, and 31 on the Hypothetical. This new publication has been greatly expanded and much revised over the previous checklist (GOS Occasional Publ. No. 10, 1986, 48 pp., 6x9 inches) to a 7x10-inch format with an extensive Literature Cited section added, 22 species added to the Regular List, 2 to the Provisional List, and 9 to the Hypothetical List. Each species account is much more comprehensive over all previous editions of the checklist. Among some of the new features are citations for sources of most information used, high counts of individuals for each species on the Regular List, extreme dates of occurrence within physiographic regions, a list of abbreviations and acronyms, and for each species the highest form of verifiable documentation given with its repository institution with a catalog number. This checklist is helpful for anyone working with birds in the Southeastern United States or birding in that region. Sykes' contribution to this fifth edition of the Annotated Checklist of Georgia Birds includes: suggestion of the large format and spiral binding, use of Richard A. Parks' painting of the Barn Owl on the front cover, use of literature citations throughout, and inclusion of high counts for each species. Sykes helped plan all phases of the publication, wrote about 90% of the Introduction and 84 species accounts (Osprey through Red Phalarope), designed the four maps in the introduction section and format for the Literature Cited, and with Giff Beaton designed the layout of the title page.

Determination of medical abortion eligibility by women and community health volunteers in Nepal: A toolkit evaluation

PubMed Central

Fjerstad, Mary; Basnett, Indira; Neupane, Shailes; Acre, Valerie; Sharma, Sharad Kumar; Jackson, Emily

2017-01-01

Objective To determine if pregnant, literate women and female community health volunteers (FCHVs) in Nepal can accurately determine a woman’s eligibility for medical abortion (MA) using a toolkit, compared to comprehensive abortion care (CAC) trained providers. Study design We conducted a prospective diagnostic accuracy study in which women presenting for first trimester abortion, and FCHVs, independently assessed each woman’s eligibility for MA using a modified gestational dating wheel to determine gestational age and a nine-point checklist of MA contraindications or cautions. Ability to determine MA eligibility was compared to experienced CAC-providers using Nepali standard of care. Results Both women (n = 3131) and FCHVs (n = 165) accurately interpreted the wheel 96% of the time, and the eligibility checklist 72% and 95% of the time, respectively. Of the 649 women who reported potential contraindications or cautions on the checklist, 88% misidentified as eligible. Positive predictive value (PPV) of women’s assessment of eligibility based on gestational age was 93% (95% CI 92, 94) compared to CAC-providers’ (n = 47); PPV of the medical contraindications checklist and overall (90% [95% CI 88, 91] and 93% [95% CI 92, 94] respectively) must be interpreted with caution given women’s difficulty using the checklist. PPV of FCHVs’ determinations were 93% (95% CI 92, 94), 90% (95% CI 89,91), and 93% (95% CI 91, 94) respectively. Conclusion Although a promising strategy to assist women and FCHVs to assess MA eligibility, further refinement of the eligibility tools, particularly the checklist, is needed before their widespread use. PMID:28880926

Assessing privacy risks in population health publications using a checklist-based approach.

PubMed

O'Keefe, Christine M; Ickowicz, Adrien; Churches, Tim; Westcott, Mark; O'Sullivan, Maree; Khan, Atikur

2017-11-10

Recent growth in the number of population health researchers accessing detailed datasets, either on their own computers or through virtual data centers, has the potential to increase privacy risks. In response, a checklist for identifying and reducing privacy risks in population health analysis outputs has been proposed for use by researchers themselves. In this study we explore the usability and reliability of such an approach by investigating whether different users identify the same privacy risks on applying the checklist to a sample of publications. The checklist was applied to a sample of 100 academic population health publications distributed among 5 readers. Cohen's κ was used to measure interrater agreement. Of the 566 instances of statistical output types found in the 100 publications, the most frequently occurring were counts, summary statistics, plots, and model outputs. Application of the checklist identified 128 outputs (22.6%) with potential privacy concerns. Most of these were associated with the reporting of small counts. Among these identified outputs, the readers found no substantial actual privacy concerns when context was taken into account. Interrater agreement for identifying potential privacy concerns was generally good. This study has demonstrated that a checklist can be a reliable tool to assist researchers with anonymizing analysis outputs in population health research. This further suggests that such an approach may have the potential to be developed into a broadly applicable standard providing consistent confidentiality protection across multiple analyses of the same data. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Development of the Standards of Reporting of Neurological Disorders (STROND) checklist: A guideline for the reporting of incidence and prevalence studies in neuroepidemiology.

PubMed

Bennett, Derrick A; Brayne, Carol; Feigin, Valery L; Barker-Collo, Suzanne; Brainin, Michael; Davis, Daniel; Gallo, Valentina; Jetté, Nathalie; Karch, André; Kurtzke, John F; Lavados, Pablo M; Logroscino, Giancarlo; Nagel, Gabriele; Preux, Pierre-Marie; Rothwell, Peter M; Svenson, Lawrence W

2015-09-01

Incidence and prevalence studies of neurologic disorders play an important role in assessing the burden of disease and planning services. However, the assessment of disease estimates is hindered by problems in reporting for such studies. Despite a growth in published reports, existing guidelines relate to analytical rather than descriptive epidemiologic studies. There are also no user-friendly tools (e.g., checklists) available for authors, editors, and peer reviewers to facilitate best practice in reporting of descriptive epidemiologic studies for most neurologic disorders. The Standards of Reporting of Neurological Disorders (STROND) is a guideline that consists of recommendations and a checklist to facilitate better reporting of published incidence and prevalence studies of neurologic disorders. A review of previously developed guidance was used to produce a list of items required for incidence and prevalence studies in neurology. A 3-round Delphi technique was used to identify the "basic minimum items" important for reporting, as well as some additional "ideal reporting items." An e-consultation process was then used in order to gauge opinion by external neuroepidemiologic experts on the appropriateness of the items included in the checklist. Of 38 candidate items, 15 items and accompanying recommendations were developed along with a user-friendly checklist. The introduction and use of the STROND checklist should lead to more consistent, transparent, and contextualized reporting of descriptive neuroepidemiologic studies resulting in more applicable and comparable findings and ultimately support better health care decisions. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

The influence of gender on the communication skills assessment of medical students.

PubMed

Huang, Chin-Chou; Huang, Chia-Chang; Yang, Ying-Ying; Lin, Shing-Jong; Chen, Jaw-Wen

2015-11-01

Opinions on the interaction between the genders of standardized patients and examinees are controversial. Our study sought to determine the influence of gender on communication skills assessment in Eastern country. We recruited year 5 medical students from a medical college in Taiwan. They were assigned to obtain informed consent from either male or female age-matched standardized patients. Their performance was rated by standardized checklist rating scores and global rating scores. Either male or female examiners rated their performance. A total of 253 medical students (166 male students and 87 female students) were recruited. The checklist rating scores for students interacting with male standardized patients were significantly lower than the scores for interactions with female standardized patients (male examiners, P=0.006; female examiners, P=0.001). For male students, the checklist rating scores were significantly lower for male standardized patients than for female standardized patients (male examiners, P=0.006; female examiners, P=0.008). For male standardized patients, male students had significantly lower checklist rating scores than female students when rated by male examiners (P=0.044). The global rating scores were similar except when female students interacted with male and female SPs and when rated by female examiners (P=0.004). The gender of standardized patients influences communication skills assessment. In terms of checklist rating scores, female standardized patients seem preferable to minimize potential gender effects. In the best interest of students, global rating score may be preferable to checklist rating score, especially for male examinees. Copyright © 2015 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist on safety culture in the operating theatre: a controlled intervention study

PubMed Central

Haugen, A. S.; Søfteland, E.; Eide, G. E.; Sevdalis, N.; Vincent, C. A.; Nortvedt, M. W.; Harthug, S.

2013-01-01

Background Positive changes in safety culture have been hypothesized to be one of the mechanisms behind the reduction in mortality and morbidity after the introduction of the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC). We aimed to study the checklist effects on safety culture perceptions in operating theatre personnel using a prospective controlled intervention design at a single Norwegian university hospital. Methods We conducted a study with pre- and post-intervention surveys using the intervention and control groups. The primary outcome was the effects of the Norwegian version of the SSC on safety culture perceptions. Safety culture was measured using the validated Norwegian version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Descriptive characteristics of operating theatre personnel and checklist compliance data were also recorded. A mixed linear regression model was used to assess changes in safety culture. Results The response rate was 61% (349/575) at baseline and 51% (292/569) post-intervention. Checklist compliance ranged from 77% to 85%. We found significant positive changes in the checklist intervention group for the culture factors ‘frequency of events reported’ and ‘adequate staffing’ with regression coefficients at −0.25 [95% confidence interval (CI), −0.47 to −0.07] and 0.21 (95% CI, 0.07–0.35), respectively. Overall, the intervention group reported significantly more positive culture scores—including at baseline. Conclusions Implementation of the SSC had rather limited impact on the safety culture within this hospital. PMID:23404986

STS-134 MS Chamitoff reads a Procedures Checklist

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-30

S134-E-010904 (30 May 2011) --- NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, STS-134 mission specialist, reads a procedures checklist while working on the aft flight deck of space shuttle Endeavour during flight day 15 activities. Photo credit: NASA

HEP Division Argonne National Laboratory

Science.gov Websites

Argonne National Laboratory Environmental Safety & Health DOE Logo Home Division ES&H ... Search Argonne Home >High Energy Physics> Environmental Safety & Health Environmental Safety & Health New Employee Training */ ?> Office Safety: Checklist (Submitted Checklists) Submitted

30 CFR 7.311 - Approval checklist.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... MINING PRODUCTS TESTING BY APPLICANT OR THIRD PARTY Electric Motor Assemblies § 7.311 Approval checklist. Each motor assembly bearing an MSHA approval marking shall be accompanied by a list of items necessary for maintenance of the motor assembly as approved. ...

A Checklist for Improving Teacher Morale.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stedt, Joe D.; Fraser, Hugh W.

1984-01-01

The Behavioral Morale Checklist (BMC) for assessing and improving teacher moral is described and reprinted. A criterion-referenced instrument, the BMC, defines morale in terms of behavior observable by administrators and includes recommended adjustments for principals to improve morale. (MJL)

Maximising harm reduction in early specialty training for general practice: validation of a safety checklist

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Making health care safer is a key policy priority worldwide. In specialty training, medical educators may unintentionally impact on patient safety e.g. through failures of supervision; providing limited feedback on performance; and letting poorly developed behaviours continue unchecked. Doctors-in-training are also known to be susceptible to medical error. Ensuring that all essential educational issues are addressed during training is problematic given the scale of the tasks to be undertaken. Human error and the reliability of local systems may increase the risk of safety-critical topics being inadequately covered. However adherence to a checklist reminder may improve the reliability of task delivery and maximise harm reduction. We aimed to prioritise the most safety-critical issues to be addressed in the first 12-weeks of specialty training in the general practice environment and validate a related checklist reminder. Methods We used mixed methods with different groups of GP educators (n = 127) and specialty trainees (n = 9) in two Scottish regions to prioritise, develop and validate checklist content. Generation and refinement of checklist themes and items were undertaken on an iterative basis using a range of methods including small group work in dedicated workshops; a modified-Delphi process; and telephone interviews. The relevance of potential checklist items was rated using a 4-point scale content validity index to inform final inclusion. Results 14 themes (e.g. prescribing safely; dealing with medical emergency; implications of poor record keeping; and effective & safe communication) and 47 related items (e.g. how to safety-net face-to-face or over the telephone; knowledge of practice systems for results handling; recognition of harm in children) were judged to be essential safety-critical educational issues to be covered. The mean content validity index ratio was 0.98. Conclusion A checklist was developed and validated for educational supervisors to assist in the reliable delivery of safety-critical educational issues in the opening 12-week period of training, and aligned with national curriculum competencies. The tool can also be adapted for use as a self-assessment instrument by trainees to guide patient safety-related learning needs. Dissemination and implementation of the checklist and self-rating scale are proceeding on a national, voluntary basis with plans to evaluate its feasibility and educational impact. PMID:22721273

Maximising harm reduction in early specialty training for general practice: validation of a safety checklist.

PubMed

Bowie, Paul; McKay, John; Kelly, Moya

2012-06-21

Making health care safer is a key policy priority worldwide. In specialty training, medical educators may unintentionally impact on patient safety e.g. through failures of supervision; providing limited feedback on performance; and letting poorly developed behaviours continue unchecked. Doctors-in-training are also known to be susceptible to medical error. Ensuring that all essential educational issues are addressed during training is problematic given the scale of the tasks to be undertaken. Human error and the reliability of local systems may increase the risk of safety-critical topics being inadequately covered. However adherence to a checklist reminder may improve the reliability of task delivery and maximise harm reduction. We aimed to prioritise the most safety-critical issues to be addressed in the first 12-weeks of specialty training in the general practice environment and validate a related checklist reminder. We used mixed methods with different groups of GP educators (n=127) and specialty trainees (n=9) in two Scottish regions to prioritise, develop and validate checklist content. Generation and refinement of checklist themes and items were undertaken on an iterative basis using a range of methods including small group work in dedicated workshops; a modified-Delphi process; and telephone interviews. The relevance of potential checklist items was rated using a 4-point scale content validity index to inform final inclusion. 14 themes (e.g. prescribing safely; dealing with medical emergency; implications of poor record keeping; and effective & safe communication) and 47 related items (e.g. how to safety-net face-to-face or over the telephone; knowledge of practice systems for results handling; recognition of harm in children) were judged to be essential safety-critical educational issues to be covered. The mean content validity index ratio was 0.98. A checklist was developed and validated for educational supervisors to assist in the reliable delivery of safety-critical educational issues in the opening 12-week period of training, and aligned with national curriculum competencies. The tool can also be adapted for use as a self-assessment instrument by trainees to guide patient safety-related learning needs. Dissemination and implementation of the checklist and self-rating scale are proceeding on a national, voluntary basis with plans to evaluate its feasibility and educational impact.

The synergistic use of computation, chemistry and biology to discover novel peptide-based drugs: the time is right.

PubMed

Audie, J; Boyd, C

2010-01-01

The case for peptide-based drugs is compelling. Due to their chemical, physical and conformational diversity, and relatively unproblematic toxicity and immunogenicity, peptides represent excellent starting material for drug discovery. Nature has solved many physiological and pharmacological problems through the use of peptides, polypeptides and proteins. If nature could solve such a diversity of challenging biological problems through the use of peptides, it seems reasonable to infer that human ingenuity will prove even more successful. And this, indeed, appears to be the case, as a number of scientific and methodological advances are making peptides and peptide-based compounds ever more promising pharmacological agents. Chief among these advances are powerful chemical and biological screening technologies for lead identification and optimization, methods for enhancing peptide in vivo stability, bioavailability and cell-permeability, and new delivery technologies. Other advances include the development and experimental validation of robust computational methods for peptide lead identification and optimization. Finally, scientific analysis, biology and chemistry indicate the prospect of designing relatively small peptides to therapeutically modulate so-called 'undruggable' protein-protein interactions. Taken together a clear picture is emerging: through the synergistic use of the scientific imagination and the computational, chemical and biological methods that are currently available, effective peptide therapeutics for novel targets can be designed that surpass even the proven peptidic designs of nature.

Optimization of the poro-serrated trailing edges for airfoil broadband noise reduction.

PubMed

Chong, Tze Pei; Dubois, Elisa

2016-08-01

This paper reports an aeroacoustic investigation of a NACA0012 airfoil with a number of poro-serrated trailing edge devices that contain porous materials of various air flow resistances at the gaps between adjacent members of the serrated-sawtooth trailing edge. The main objective of this work is to determine whether multiple-mechanisms on the broadband noise reduction can co-exist on a poro-serrated trailing edge. When the sawtooth gaps are filled with porous material of low-flow resistivity, the vortex shedding tone at low-frequency could not be completely suppressed at high-velocity, but a reasonably good broadband noise reduction can be achieved at high-frequency. When the sawtooth gaps are filled with porous material of very high-flow resistivity, no vortex shedding tone is present, but the serration effect on the broadband noise reduction becomes less effective. An optimal choice of the flow resistivity for a poro-serrated configuration has been identified, where it can surpass the conventional serrated trailing edge of the same geometry by achieving a further 1.5 dB reduction in the broadband noise while completely suppressing the vortex shedding tone. A weakened turbulent boundary layer noise scattering at the poro-serrated trailing edge is reflected by the lower-turbulence intensity at the near wake centreline across the whole spanwise wavelength of the sawtooth.

New opportunities in quasi elastic neutron scattering spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezei, F.; Russina, M.

2001-07-01

The high energy resolution usually required in quasi elastic neutron scattering (QENS) spectroscopy is commonly achieved by the use of cold neutrons. This is one of the important research areas where the majority of current work is done on instruments on continuous reactor sources. One particular reason for this is the capability of continuous source time-of-flight spectrometers to use instrumental parameters optimally adapted for best data collection efficiency in each experiment. These parameters include the pulse repetition rate and the length of the pulses to achieve optimal balance between resolution and intensity. In addition, the disc chopper systems used provide perfect symmetrical line shapes with no tails and low background. Recent development of a set of novel techniques enhance the efficiency of cold neutron spectroscopy on existing and future spallation sources in a dramatic fashion. These techniques involve the use of extended pulse length, high intensity coupled moderators, disc chopper systems and advanced neutron optical beam delivery, and they will enable Lujan center at Los Alamos to surpass the best existing reactor instruments in time-of-flight QENS work by more than on order of magnitude in terms of beam flux on the sample. Other applications of the same techniques will allow us to combine advantages of backscattering spectroscopy on continuous and pulsed sources in order to deliver μeV resolution in a very broad energy transfer range.

An experimental apparatus for diffraction-limited soft x-ray nano-focusing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merthe, Daniel J.; Goldberg, Kenneth A.; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; Yuan, Sheng; McKinney, Wayne R.; Celestre, Richard; Mochi, Iacopo; Macdougall, James; Morrison, Gregory Y.; Rakawa, Senajith B.; Anderson, Erik; Smith, Brian V.; Domning, Edward E.; Warwick, Tony; Padmore, Howard

2011-09-01

Realizing the experimental potential of high-brightness, next generation synchrotron and free-electron laser light sources requires the development of reflecting x-ray optics capable of wavefront preservation and high-resolution nano-focusing. At the Advanced Light Source (ALS) beamline 5.3.1, we are developing broadly applicable, high-accuracy, in situ, at-wavelength wavefront measurement techniques to surpass 100-nrad slope measurement accuracy for diffraction-limited Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirrors. The at-wavelength methodology we are developing relies on a series of wavefront-sensing tests with increasing accuracy and sensitivity, including scanning-slit Hartmann tests, grating-based lateral shearing interferometry, and quantitative knife-edge testing. We describe the original experimental techniques and alignment methodology that have enabled us to optimally set a bendable KB mirror to achieve a focused, FWHM spot size of 150 nm, with 1 nm (1.24 keV) photons at 3.7 mrad numerical aperture. The predictions of wavefront measurement are confirmed by the knife-edge testing. The side-profiled elliptically bent mirror used in these one-dimensional focusing experiments was originally designed for a much different glancing angle and conjugate distances. Visible-light long-trace profilometry was used to pre-align the mirror before installation at the beamline. This work demonstrates that high-accuracy, at-wavelength wavefront-slope feedback can be used to optimize the pitch, roll, and mirror-bending forces in situ, using procedures that are deterministic and repeatable.

High-throughput computational design of cathode coatings for Li-ion batteries

PubMed Central

Aykol, Muratahan; Kim, Soo; Hegde, Vinay I.; Snydacker, David; Lu, Zhi; Hao, Shiqiang; Kirklin, Scott; Morgan, Dane; Wolverton, C.

2016-01-01

Cathode degradation is a key factor that limits the lifetime of Li-ion batteries. To identify functional coatings that can suppress this degradation, we present a high-throughput density functional theory based framework which consists of reaction models that describe thermodynamic and electrochemical stabilities, and acid-scavenging capabilities of materials. Screening more than 130,000 oxygen-bearing materials, we suggest physical and hydrofluoric-acid barrier coatings such as WO3, LiAl5O8 and ZrP2O7 and hydrofluoric-acid scavengers such as Sc2O3, Li2CaGeO4, LiBO2, Li3NbO4, Mg3(BO3)2 and Li2MgSiO4. Using a design strategy to find the thermodynamically optimal coatings for a cathode, we further present optimal hydrofluoric-acid scavengers such as Li2SrSiO4, Li2CaSiO4 and CaIn2O4 for the layered LiCoO2, and Li2GeO3, Li4NiTeO6 and Li2MnO3 for the spinel LiMn2O4 cathodes. These coating materials have the potential to prolong the cycle-life of Li-ion batteries and surpass the performance of common coatings based on conventional materials such as Al2O3, ZnO, MgO or ZrO2. PMID:27966537

AN EVALUATION OF PRIMARY DATA-COLLECTION MODES IN AN ADDRESS-BASED SAMPLING DESIGN.

PubMed

Amaya, Ashley; Leclere, Felicia; Carris, Kari; Liao, Youlian

2015-01-01

As address-based sampling becomes increasingly popular for multimode surveys, researchers continue to refine data-collection best practices. While much work has been conducted to improve efficiency within a given mode, additional research is needed on how multimode designs can be optimized across modes. Previous research has not evaluated the consequences of mode sequencing on multimode mail and phone surveys, nor has significant research been conducted to evaluate mode sequencing on a variety of indicators beyond response rates. We conducted an experiment within the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health across the U.S. Risk Factor Survey (REACH U.S.) to evaluate two multimode case-flow designs: (1) phone followed by mail (phone-first) and (2) mail followed by phone (mail-first). We compared response rates, cost, timeliness, and data quality to identify differences across case-flow design. Because surveys often differ on the rarity of the target population, we also examined whether changes in the eligibility rate altered the choice of optimal case flow. Our results suggested that, on most metrics, the mail-first design was superior to the phone-first design. Compared with phone-first, mail-first achieved a higher yield rate at a lower cost with equivalent data quality. While the phone-first design initially achieved more interviews compared to the mail-first design, over time the mail-first design surpassed it and obtained the greatest number of interviews.

Inspection Checklist for Pharmaceuticals MACT Standard 40 CFR Part 63

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This checklist is a compliance tool and/or a guidance document to be used by USEPA, State and Local agency inspectors, as well as the pharmaceutical industry, for the purposes of a facility compliance inspection or a self audit.

The Use and Design of Flightcrew Checklists and Manuals

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-04-01

A survey of aircraft checklists and flight manuals was conducted to identify : impediments to their use and to determine if standards or guidelines for. their : design were needed. Information for this purpose was collected through the review : of ch...

Astronaut John Glenn looks over checklist during MA-6 preflight activity

NASA Image and Video Library

1962-02-20

S62-01000 (20 Feb. 1962) --- Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" mission, looks over a checklist during MA-6 preflight activity. He is wearing his Mercury spacesuit. Photo credit: NASA

An annotated checklist of the New World pentodontine scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Pentodontini).

PubMed

López-García, Margarita M; Gasca-Álvarez, Héctor J; Cave, Ronald D; Amat-García, Germán

2016-09-26

An updated and annotated checklist of the Pentodontini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) of the New World is presented. The tribe is composed of 32 genera and 151 species, including the introduced species Heteronychus arator (Fabricius).

A checklist of the vascular plants in Abbott Creek Research Natural Area, Oregon.

Treesearch

Rod Mitchell

1979-01-01

This paper is a checklist of 277 vascular plant taxa that have been collected or encountered in Abbott Creek Research Natural Area, Oregon; a brief description of five forested and two nonforested vegetation types is included.