Elevating the role of medical informational officer

Consider the reasons why a chief medical informatics officer should be part of the senior management team of a health care organization.     

Verification in biometric systems: problems and modern methods of their solution

The paper deals with the problem of electronic verification of people on the basis of measurement information of a fingerprint reader and new approaches to its solution. The offered method guaranties the restriction of error probabilities of both type at the desired level at making a decision about permitting or rejecting the request on service in the system. On the basis of investigation of real data obtained in the real biometrical system, the choice of distribution laws is substantiated and the proper estimations of their parameters are obtained. Using chosen distribution laws, the normal distribution for measurement results of characteristics of the people having access to the system and the beta distribution for the people having no such access, the optimal rule based on the Constrained Bayesian Method (CBM) of making a decision about giving a permission of access to the users of the system is justified. The CBM, the Neyman–Pearson and classical Bayes methods are investigated and their good and negative points are examined. Computation results obtained by direct computation, by simulation and using real data completely confirm the suppositions made and the high quality of verification results obtained on their basis.     

Stockouts and Restocking: Monitoring the Retailer from the Supplier’s Perspective

Suppliers and retailers typically do not have identical incentives to avoid stockouts (lost sales due to the lack of product availability on the shelf). Thus, the supplier needs to monitor the retailer’s restocking efforts with the available data. We empirically assess stockout levels using only shipment and sales data that is readily available to the supplier. The model distinguishes between store stockouts (zero inventory in the store) and shelf stockouts (an empty shelf but some inventory in other parts of the store), thereby identifying the cause of the stockout to be either a supply chain or a restocking issue. We find that, as suspected by the supplier, the average stockout rate is much higher than published averages. In addition, stockout rates vary widely between stores. Moreover, almost all stockouts are shelf stockouts. The model identifies stores that may have restocking issues.     

The Development and Initial Validation of a Psychoanalysis Use/Non-Use Scale among a Sample of Hong Kong Helping Professionals.

ABSTRACT

This article reports on the construction and initial validation of the Psychoanalysis Use/Non-Use scale (PUNU) and the complementary Conflicts with Hong Kong Chinese Culture scale (CHKCC), developed for assessing the penetration of psychoanalysis among counseling professionals in Hong Kong. A total of 217 Hong Kong social workers, psychologists, and counselors were surveyed to assess the scales' internal psychometric properties. Factor analysis confirmed a four-factor structure for the PUNU, and a unidimensional structure for the CHKCC, with 17 and 9 items, respectively. Internal reliability of both scales was good and discriminative validity was supported by comparisons with background information. These scales could help to identify factors that affect the understanding of psychoanalysis among professionals and could be useful for educational purposes.     

Prediction of accrual closure date in multi-center clinical trials with discrete-time Poisson process models

In a phase III multi‐center cancer clinical trial or a large public health study, sample size is predetermined to achieve desired power, and study participants are enrolled from tens or hundreds of participating institutions. As the accrual is closing to the target size, the coordinating data center needs to project the accrual closure date on the basis of the observed accrual pattern and notify the participating sites several weeks in advance. In the past, projections were simply based on some crude assessment, and conservative measures were incorporated in order to achieve the target accrual size. This approach often resulted in excessive accrual size and subsequently unnecessary financial burden on the study sponsors. Here we proposed a discrete‐time Poisson process‐based method to estimate the accrual rate at time of projection and subsequently the trial closure date. To ensure that target size would be reached with high confidence, we also proposed a conservative method for the closure date projection. The proposed method was illustrated through the analysis of the accrual data of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project trial B‐38. The results showed that application of the proposed method could help to save considerable amount of expenditure in patient management without compromising the accrual goal in multi‐center clinical trials. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparisons of Gambling and Alcohol Use Among College Students and Noncollege Young People in the United States

Abstract

Objective: Gambling and alcohol use were compared for college and noncollege young adults in the US population. Participants: Participants were 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 21. Methods: Data were analyzed from a representative household sample of US young people aged 14 to 21 years old. Telephone interviews were conducted between August 2005 and January 2007. Results: After taking into account gender, age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, college student status did not predict gambling, frequent gambling, or problem gambling. In contrast, being a college student was associated with higher levels of alcohol use and problem drinking. Being male was the strongest predictor of both problem gambling and problem drinking. Blacks were less likely than whites to drink heavily; yet they were more likely than whites to gamble heavily. Conclusion: Young males should be targeted for prevention and intervention efforts for both problem gambling and problem drinking regardless of college student status.     

University Presidents’ Perceptions and Practice Regarding the Carrying of Concealed Handguns on College Campuses

Abstract

Objective: To assess the perceptions and practices of a national sample of college and university presidents regarding their support for concealed handguns being carried on college campuses. Participants: The sample for this study consisted of a national random sample of 900 college or university presidents. Methods: In the spring of 2013, a 3-wave mailing procedure was used to ensure an adequate response rate to a valid and reliable questionnaire. Results: The response rate was 46%, more than what was needed based on the power analysis. The vast majority (95%) of respondents were not supportive of carrying concealed handguns on campuses. They perceived there to be more disadvantages than advantages to handguns on campus. However, college administrators were not focused enough on the primary prevention of campus firearm trauma. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest a number of activities that could be implemented to enhance safety on college and university campuses.     

A Qualitative Exploration of Self-Regulation Behaviors Among Older Drivers

While much of the research on aging and driving has focused on sensory and motor changes, little is known about older drivers and the actual self-regulation adjustments they employ to continue driving safely. This research looks at how older drivers have made changes to driving patterns and behaviors that have allowed them to continue to drive without compromising their perceived safety, independence, and quality of life. Nine focus groups were held with older men and women aged 58 to 89 years. Some of the major themes that emerged were the following: older adults are very aware of age-related changes to driving; they perceive that self-regulation behaviors change with age; and they view transportation alternatives as limited or nonexistent. Policy implications include developing functional transit programs for older adults and car manufacturer training workshops to educate older adults on the safety features of newly purchased automobiles.     

Walking the Tightrope: Developing a Systems Approach to Balance Safety and Mobility for an Aging Society

In an aging population, safety and mobility are often viewed as being in conflict, when in fact they are two values that must be reflected equally in transportation policy. The challenge for policy makers and for society is to emphasize and optimize both. To achieve this, a comprehensive systems approach to driver health, personal decision-making and planning, community and transportation systems construction, vehicle design, and licensing regulations is needed. Such an approach requires crafting policies based on conceptualizing the issue as a continuum of resources facilitating safety and mobility regardless of driving status. The discussion that follows reviews components of the issue and suggestions for developing a comprehensive approach.     

学龄儿童健康行为研究方法述评

学龄儿童健康行为研究越来越得到重视,在未来周期性的研究中也面临着在快速发展的背景下保持较高质量、在有限的财政资源情况下持续提高、使趋势分析与修改问卷内容相适应、满足科学受众和政策受众的不同要求等挑战,因此,完善其研究方法成为当前迫切需要。