Is a computer questionnaire of childhood asthma acceptable in general practice?

Digitalising patient reported outcome collection tools in orthopaedic trauma-A scoping review

AIMS

The aim of this study was to provide a scoping review to the role of digital technology in the collection of orthopaedic trauma related patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews and Arksey and O'Malley frameworks were followed. A search strategy identified relevant literature, with the identified criteria screened for acceptability for inclusion. Data was extracted to form a descriptive analysis.

RESULTS

Six studies met the criteria for inclusion. All were quantitative, the majority were published in the United States of America and the use of iPads was the commonest form of digital technology used. Heterogeneity existed in the type of outcomes collected between studies. All studies aimed to compare traditional methods of PROMs collection to digital methods, with an overall thematic summary suggestive of the positive impact of electronic methods of collecting patient reported outcomes.

CONCLUSION

This paper has demonstrated the dearth of ePROM implementation in the orthopaedic trauma setting, however its use has proved successful and therefore further evidence is needed to demonstrate its effectiveness. Furthermore, the types of PROMs in orthopaedic trauma varies significantly, and efforts to standardise the type of digital trauma PROMs used are recommended.

Automated chart review for asthma cohort identification using natural language processing: an exploratory study

BACKGROUND

A significant proportion of children with asthma have delayed diagnosis of asthma by health care providers. Manual chart review according to established criteria is more accurate than directly using diagnosis codes, which tend to under-identify asthmatics, but chart reviews are more costly and less timely.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the accuracy of a computational approach to asthma ascertainment, characterizing its utility and feasibility toward large-scale deployment in electronic medical records.

METHODS

A natural language processing (NLP) system was developed for extracting predetermined criteria for asthma from unstructured text in electronic medical records and then inferring asthma status based on these criteria. Using manual chart reviews as a gold standard, asthma status (yes vs no) and identification date (first date of a "yes" asthma status) were determined by the NLP system.

RESULTS

Patients were a group of children (n = 112, 84% Caucasian, 49% girls) younger than 4 years (mean 2.0 years, standard deviation 1.03 years) who participated in previous studies. The NLP approach to asthma ascertainment showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and median delay in diagnosis of 84.6%, 96.5%, 88.0%, 95.4%, and 0 months, respectively; this compared favorably with diagnosis codes, at 30.8%, 93.2%, 57.1%, 82.2%, and 2.3 months, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Automated asthma ascertainment from electronic medical records using NLP is feasible and more accurate than traditional approaches such as diagnosis codes. Considering the difficulty of labor-intensive manual record review, NLP approaches for asthma ascertainment should be considered for improving clinical care and research, especially in large-scale efforts.

Health information technology to facilitate communication involving health care providers, caregivers, and pediatric patients: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Pediatric patients with health conditions requiring follow-up typically depend on a caregiver to mediate at least part of the necessary two-way communication with health care providers on their behalf. Health information technology (HIT) and its subset, information communication technology (ICT), are increasingly being applied to facilitate communication between health care provider and caregiver in these situations. Awareness of the extent and nature of published research involving HIT interventions used in this way is currently lacking.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review was designed to map the health literature about HIT used to facilitate communication involving health care providers and caregivers (who are usually family members) of pediatric patients with health conditions requiring follow-up.

METHODS

Terms relating to care delivery, information technology, and pediatrics were combined to search MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL for the years 1996 to 2008. Eligible studies were selected after three rounds of duplicate screening in which all authors participated. Data regarding patient, caregiver, health care provider, HIT intervention, outcomes studied, and study design were extracted and maintained in a Microsoft Access database. Stage of research was categorized using the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. Quantitative and qualitative descriptive summaries are presented.

RESULTS

We included 104 eligible studies (112 articles) conducted in 17 different countries and representing 30 different health conditions. The most common conditions were asthma, type 1 diabetes, special needs, and psychiatric disorder. Most studies (88, 85%) included children 2 to 12 years of age, and 73 (71%) involved home care settings. Health care providers operated in hospital settings in 96 (92%) of the studies. Interventions featured 12 modes of communication (eg, Internet, intranets, telephone, video conferencing, email, short message service [SMS], and manual downloading of information) used to facilitate 15 categories of functions (eg, support, medication management, education, and monitoring). Numerous patient, caregiver, and health care relevant outcomes have been measured. Most outcomes concerned satisfaction, use, usability, feasibility, and resource use, although behavior changes and quality of life were also reported. Most studies (57 studies, 55%) were pilot phase, with a lesser proportion of development phase (24 studies, 23%) and evaluation phase (11 studies, 11%) studies. HIT interventions addressed several recurring themes in this review: establishing continuity of care, addressing time constraints, and bridging geographical barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

HIT used in pediatric care involving caregivers has been implemented differently in a range of disease settings, with varying needs influencing the function, form and synchronicity of information transfer. Although some authors have followed a phased approach to development, evaluation and implementation, a greater emphasis on methodological standards such as the MRC guidance for complex interventions would produce more fruitful programs of development and more useful evaluations in the future. This review will be especially helpful to those deciding on areas where further development or research into HIT for this purpose may be warranted.

The Relationship Between Diabetes Mellitus, Depression, and Missed Appointments in a Low-Income Uninsured Population

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to identify rates of depression and document mental health needs of adults with diabetes who obtained care in free clinics. Data were collected to determine if there is a relationship between diabetes and depression and missed appointments in a sample of patients who were low-income, uninsured, and represented a variety of racial groups.

Methods

A sample of 183 adults with diabetes participated by completing paper and computerized questionnaires. Instruments included the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (to measure prevalence of depression), the RAND 36 Health Survey (to measure quality of health), the Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life (to measure diabetes-dependent quality of life), and the Diabetes Empowerment Scale (to measure self-efficacy).

Results

The prevalence of depression at a moderate or greater level in the sample was found to be 30.1%. Levels of quality of health and self-efficacy were found to be reduced among those with the presence of depression. A significant increase in the rate of depression was found among those who had attended the free clinic for a longer period. No significant differences were found in diabetes-dependent quality of life and missed appointments among those with depression compared with those without.

Conclusions

Rates of depression among adults with diabetes in a free clinic setting were found to be comparable with the highest rates reported by other studies of insured populations. Results of this study support the need to develop mental health treatment programs for free clinic settings.

Electronic source materials in clinical research: acceptability and validity of symptom self-rating in major depressive disorder

OBJECTIVES

Clinical research projects gather large amounts of data. Typically, information is captured on paper source documents for later transcription to an electronic format, where responses can be checked, and errors, omissions, and inconsistencies can be resolved. These steps contribute delays, cost, and complexity to clinical research, particularly in large-scale multi-site investigations. To address these issues, we used a mobile computing device with a touch-screen display ("tablet PC") to capture clinical data from depressed patients directly into electronic format. We then examined ease of use, the equivalence of responses between paper and electronic methods, and the acceptability of the tablet PC for this clinical population.

SETTINGS

Outpatient clinics at four medical centers.

METHODS

80 adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) completed the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology--Self-Rated (QIDS-SR(16)), using both traditional paper forms and an electronic representation of the same questions; participants also completed a survey to evaluate their experience.

RESULTS

QIDS-SR(16) responses from paper and electronic versions were highly correlated (mean total: 15.3 (SD=5.2) electronic vs. 15.1 (SD=5.2) paper format), and showed high inter-rating reliability for overall score (intra-class correlation 0.987 (with a 95%CI [0.979,0.992])) and high degree of association for individual symptom items. Participants found both methods acceptable and overall found the electronic implementation easier to use.

CONCLUSIONS

QIDS-SR(16) values collected electronically from research participants were equivalent to those collected using traditional paper self-assessment forms. Participants with MDD found the tablet PC version to be acceptable and easier to use than the paper forms.

Internet and written respiratory questionnaires yield equivalent results for adolescents

This study compared results from Internet and written questionnaires about respiratory symptoms in order to find out if both forms of the survey yielded the same answers. One thousand seventy-one students, ages 13 to 17, were asked to complete either an Internet or a written questionnaire. The demographic characteristics of the participants equalled those of the general Dutch adolescent population. Participants were randomly assigned to fill out an electronic or written questionnaire. In addition to eight items from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, two items on doctor visits (medical attention) regarding asthma or allergic disease during the past 12 months were included. The participation rate was 87%. The Internet version of the questionnaire showed fewer missing answers than the written version, but this was not statistically significant. The respiratory items did not show statistically significant score differences between the Internet and written modes of administration, and there was no visible trend for higher respectively lower scores by either mode of questionnaire administration. From these results, we conclude that respiratory questionnaires may be provided to adolescents electronically rather than on paper, since both approaches yielded equal results. To generalize these findings, we recommend repeated studies in other settings.