Background: Collecting quality and timely healthcare data is crucial to improve health service performance. Objective: This study aimed at assessing data management practice and associated factors among health extension workers in East Gojjam zone, Northwest Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 among 302 health extension workers. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The study objectives were described by descriptive statistics, and factors in data management were identified by multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 302 health extension workers participated in the study. About 47.4% and 53.3% of respondents had good data management knowledge and practice, respectively. Inaccessibility of transportation, communication services, reference materials, and data collection/reporting formats were the mentioned challenges. Workload, data management knowledge, supervision, urban residence, reference materials access and clarity of formats were positively associated with better data management practice (p <0.05). Conclusion: Based on this study, the data management practice of health extension workers was low. Factors for low data management practice were organizational and technical related. Addressing knowledge gaps through professional development and improving supportive supervision are crucial to solve the problem.
Objective: Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP), a lung infection developing in patients on a ventilator in Intensive Care Units (ICU), is the second most common nosocomial infection and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in ICUs. To reduce the incidence rate of VAP complication, many healthcare organizations have already developed certain strategies and guidelines. However, there are still high rates of VAP infections mainly due to: conflicting guidelines from different sources, implementing the guidelines at different times and conditions, different ICU caregivers at different shifts, and of course the human mistakes. Methods: The present study aimed to develop a dashboard to help reducing VAP incidences in ICUs. To achieve the objective of the research, first, the VAP prevention guidelines were compiled. The object-oriented analysis approach was adopted for designing of the dashboard software. To assess the impact of the developed dashboard on the reduction of VAP events, a pilot hospital was selected and a pilot project was prepared. For the dashboard usability assessment based on user satisfaction, a questionnaire was developed as the survey tool. Conclusion: The dashboard was developed and put into operation in a pilot ICU. The results from the t-test (with a probable error of 0.05 percent) indicated a meaningful difference between the number of VAP patients before and after the dashboard implementation with p-value ˂ 0.02. Also, the developed software was evaluated from a usability point of view based on user satisfaction, with health professionals and caregivers of the pilot ICU as the users of the software. The total score was equivalent to 95 percent, falling within the acceptable range of 75-100 percent.
Introduction: Data quality is an important issue in emergency medicine. The unique characteristics of emergency care services, such as high turn-over and the speed of work may increase the possibility of making errors in the related settings. Therefore, regular data quality assessment is necessary to avoid the consequences of low quality data. This study aimed to identify the main dimensions of data quality which had been assessed, the assessment approaches, and generally, the status of data quality in the emergency medical services. Methods: The review was conducted in 2016. Related articles were identified by searching databases, including Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed and Web of Science. All of the review and research papers related to data quality assessment in the emergency care services and published between 2000 and 2015 (n=34) were included in the study. Results: The findings showed that the five dimensions of data quality; namely, data completeness, accuracy, consistency, accessibility, and timeliness had been investigated in the field of emergency medical services. Regarding the assessment methods, quantitative research methods were used more than the qualitative or the mixed methods. Overall, the results of these studies showed that data completeness and data accuracy requires more attention to be improved. Conclusion: In the future studies, choosing a clear and a consistent definition of data quality is required. Moreover, the use of qualitative research methods or the mixed methods is suggested, as data users’ perspectives can provide a broader picture of the reasons for poor quality data.
Background: Due to the increasing rate of the burn injuries and a limited number of specialized treatment centers, providing medical advice and medical care at the point of need is necessary. The aim of the present study was to design and implement a teleburn system to enhance the quality of care for the burn patients. Methods: This study was completed in 2016. In order to design the system, information needs assessment was conducted by using a questionnaire. The participants of this phase were five specialists, five general practitioners, and 12 nurses. The setting of the study was the burn department of a public hospital and a burn center. The prototype of the system was designed based on the findings derived from the first phase, and the usability of the system was evaluated later. Results: The teleburn system was a web-based system with different sections for GPs/nurses and specialists. In total, 28 burn consultations were made successfully by using the system. The findings of the usability testing showed that most of the participants evaluated the system at a good level. The mean score for the specialists, general practitioners and nurses was 8.4±0.46, 7.7±0.39, and 7.5±0.51, respectively. Conclusion: Although it was the first time in the country that the teleburn system was designed and introduced to the clinicians, they seemed to be satisfied with using the system. This system could help general practitioners and nurses to receive specialist's advice on a timely manner to improve the treatment of the burn patients. However, more research should be conducted to determine the effectiveness of using this technology in the real work environment.
Background and Objective:Planning for the future of Health Information Technology (HIT) requires applying a systematic approach when conducting foresight studies. The aim of this study was to identify key health information technologies and related issues for Iran until 2025.Methods:This was a qualitative study and the participants included experts and policy makers in the field of health information technology. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed by using framework analysis and MAXQDA software.Results:The findings revealed that the development of national health information network, electronic health records, patient health records, a cloud-based service center, interoperability standards, patient monitoring technologies, telehealth, mhealth, clinical decision support systems, health information technology and mhealth infrastructure were found to be the key technologies for the future. These technologies could influence the economic, organizational and individual levels. To achieve them, the economic and organizational obstacles need to be overcome.Conclusion:In this study, a number of key technologies and related issues were identified. This approach can help to focus on the most important technologies in the future and to priorities these technologies for better resource allocation and policy making.
