Growing adoption of health information technologies is allowing healthcare providers to capture and store enormous amounts of patient data. In order to effectively use this data to improve healthcare outcomes and processes, clinicians need to identify the relevant measures and apply the correct analysis methods for the type of data at hand. In this dissertation, we present various data mining and statistical methods that could be applied to the type of datasets that are found in healthcare research. We discuss the process of identification of appropriate measures and statistical tools, the analysis and validation of mathematical models, and the interpretation of results to improve healthcare quality and safety. We illustrate the application of statistics and data mining techniques on three real-world healthcare datasets. In the first chapter, we develop a new method to assess hydration status using breath samples. Through analysis of the more than 300 volatile organic compounds contained in human breath, we aim to identify markers of hydration. In the second chapter, we evaluate the impact of the implementation of an electronic medical record system on the rate of inpatient medication errors and adverse drug events. The objective is to understand the impact on patient safety of different information technologies in a specific environment (inpatient pediatrics) and to provide recommendations on how to correctly analyze count data with a large amount of zeros. In the last chapter, we develop a mathematical model to predict the probability of developing post-operative nausea and vomiting based on patient demographics and clinical history, and to identify the group of patients at high-risk.

Conformance to standards and interoperability is a major challenge of today`s applications in all domains. Several standards have been developed and some are still under development to address the various layers in the interoperability stack. Conformance and interoperability testing involves checking whether the applications conform to the standards so that they can interoperate with other conformant systems. Only through testing, correct information exchange among applications can be guaranteed. National Health Information System (NHIS) of Turkey aims to provide a nation-wide infrastructure for sharing Electronic Health Records (EHRs). In order to guarantee the interoperability, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Turkey, developed an Implementation/Integration/Interoperability Profile based on HL7 standards. TestBATN - Testing Business Process, Application, Transport and Network Layers - is a domain and standards independent set of tools which can be used to test all of the layers of the interoperability stack, namely, the Communication Layer, Document Content Layer and the Business Process Layer. In this thesis work, the requirements for conformance and interoperability testing of the NHIS are analyzed, a testing approach is designated, test cases for several NHIS services are developed and deployed and a test execution control and monitoring environment within TestBATN is designed and implemented through the identified testing requirements. The work presented in this thesis is part of the TestBATN system supported by the T&Uuml / BiTAK TEYDEB Project No: 7070191 in addition by the Ministry of Health, Turkey.

In the recent past, people were used to consult health care professionals or textbooks in order to find answer to health related questions. Now, the availability of medical information through electronic resources has changed people&lsquo / s information-seeking behaviors and, as a result, electronic information resources have become very popular and frequently used for health related searches. This study examines the online health information-seeking behaviors of middle aged and older people from Middle East Technical University and 100. Yil neighbourhood, specially demographic and other factors effecting online health information seeking, the types of sought online health information, assessment of the online health information, and reliability criteria of middle aged and older online health information seekers. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to participants. The final sample was 248 middle aged and older people. Findings show that middle aged and older employees from Middle East Technical University and 100. Yil neighbourhood are searching for health information especially for specific illnesses. They are using this information to self-treat or self-diagnose. Worse health conditions, expertise level in internet usage associates with searching behavior. Majority of the participants trust in information they found online but they do not share it with any health care professional.

Although there is a general trend of aging as the expected longitude increase for human being, the developing countries which, according to the report of WHO, have grown old even before grow rich face a more challenging state than the developed countries. These countries, especially their rural parts, are less likely to adapt to the aging trend with relatively smaller medical budget, less developed professional training of care takers, and a lack of public awareness of prevention and treatment of geriatric disease.(Organization, Health, Promotion, & Course, 2011) On the other hand, it indicates a big stage for distant medical service to play because of its lower cost of implementation and effectiveness in controlling the overall medical expenditure given such service would help to prevent and control at a earlier stage of disease. Therefore in developing countries like China and for population like the older citizen who has less mobility, online healthcare information platform is expected to play a much more important role than in developed countries. At the same time, experienced can be borrowed from investigations and installations of online platform of health information designed for the older population where they usually serve as a supplement to the primary health care facility in developed countries like UK. / published_or_final_version / Library and Information Management / Master / Master of Science in Library and Information Management

The Saudi ministry of health reported that government health care spending doubled from 2008 to 2011. To address increased demand, the government encouraged small to medium enterprise (SME) growth. However, SME leaders could not leverage technology as a growth enabler because they lacked strategies to address operating inefficiencies associated with technology. Only 50% of hospitals fully implemented information technology. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore lived experiences of SME leaders on strategies needed to accelerate technology implementation. This exploration drew on a conceptual framework developed from Wainwright and Waring's framework addressing issues of technology adoption. Data were collected from semistructured interviews of 20 SME leaders in Saudi Arabia. A modified van Kaam method was used to analyze participants' interview transcripts in search of common themes. The main themes were strategies to address human resources, clinical teams, funding, and organizational and leadership alignment to accelerate the diffusion of technology. Findings indicated that insurance companies influence SME operations, growth, and survival. Analysis of findings revealed the need for change in management, training, implementation follow up, and staff retention to accelerate technology implementation. Application of findings has the potential to promote positive social change in guiding SME leaders to be change agents and enabling them to create a reliable, sustainable health care delivery system.

Racial/ethnic disparities in cancer care are well documented in the research literature; however, less is known about the extent and potential source of cancer care disparities in the Veterans Health Administration (VA). In my first paper, I use logistic regression and hospital fixed effects models to examine racial disparities in 20 cancer-related quality measures and the extent to which racial differences in site of care explain VA cancer care disparities. I found evidence of racial disparities in 7 out of 20 cancer-related quality measures. In general, these disparities were primarily driven by racial differences in care for black and white patients within the same VA hospital, rather than racial differences in site of care.

Aim of the study – to assess the implementation of the right to health information of pregnant women and to analyze the differences of its practice between services of general practitioners and obstetricians - gynecologists. Methods. The anonymous survey of women within the third trimester of pregnancy performed since August to December 2004. A sample included 120 pregnant women who were consulted by the general practitioners in the Family Clinics of Kaunas University of Medicine and 124 pregnant women within the consultations with obstetricians - gynecologists in maternity clinic of Dainava health center. Respectively, the response rate was 80% (N=96) in Family Clinics and 82.3% (N=102) in Dainava health center. The right to health information of the pregnant women was evaluated accordingly to actual Lithuanian laws. Results. Less than half of respondents (48.5%) acknowledged the Law on Patients’ Rights and the Reimbursement of Harm. The half of respondents were familiar with ability to copy their medical documents, nearly half of respondents were in part familiar about available services and opportunities to use it. One of four respondents indicated as unsatisfied with medical information during the consultations, while feeling the lack of proper information provided by physicians and rare negotiations about health examination and procedures. One of three respondents stated that physician presented them only the most important aspects of their pregnancy and health status... [to full text]

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<p>HIV/AIDS is the largest and most serious global epidemic in the recent times. To date, the epidemic has affected approximately 40 million people (range 33 &ndash / 46 million) of whom 67%, that is, an estimated 27 million people are in the Sub Saharan Africa. The Sub Saharan Africa is also reported to have the highest regional prevalence of 7.2% compared to an average of 2% in other regions. A medical cure for HIV/AIDS remains elusive but use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in improvement of quality and quantity of life as evidenced by the reduction of mortality and morbidity associated with the infection, hence longer and good quality life for HIV/AIDS patients on ART.</p>

The problem of the study was to establish valid criteria for evaluating health-related World Wide Web [WWW] sites. From a table of specifications, a pool of 39 items was developed into a Criteria List. A nine member jury of experts composed of professionals from the discipline of Library and Information Science was used to determine content validity of the items. The items on the Criteria List were sent to the expert panel of jurors for the first review. To determine which items would be retained, revised or eliminated, the items were subjected to both a quantitative and qualitative review. The revised Criteria List was then sent to the expert panel of jurors for the second review. Responses from the second review were also subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. However, this time the quantitative review included the use of the Content-Validity Ratio [CVR]. All items on the Criteria List that were not statistically significant at p <.05 were eliminated. The final Criteria List contained 27 items from the 39 originally proposed items. / Department of Physiology and Health Science