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PubMed2004

[Verbal patient information through nurses--a case of stroke patients].

The article represents results of a theoretical work in the field of nursing education, with the topic: Verbal Patient Information through Nurses--A Case of Stroke Patients. The literature review and analysis show that there is a shortage in (stroke) patient information generally and a lack of successful concepts and strategies for the verbal (stroke) patient information through nurses in hospitals. The authors have developed a theoretical basis for health information as a nursing intervention and this represents a model of health information as a "communicational teach-and-learn process", which is of general application to all patients. The health information takes place as a separate nursing intervention within a non-public, face-to-face communication situation and in the steps-model of the nursing process. Health information is seen as a learning process for patients and nurses too. We consider learning as information production (constructivism) and information processing (cognitivism). Both processes are influenced by different factors and the illness-situation of patients, personality information content and the environment. For a successful health information output, it is necessary to take care of these aspects and this can be realized through a constructivational understanding of didactics. There is a need for an evaluation study to prove our concept of health information.

Communication Methods, Total↗
PubMed1990

Learning to cope and living with cancer. Learning-needs assessment in cancer patient education.

Giving of information to cancer patients and their family members regarding the disease, the treatment procedures and the adaptation process for living with the uncertainty inherent in a diagnosis of cancer, is as reported often not effective due to peoples' failure to understand. The impact of emotional stress creates communication difficulties. Information not based on assessed learning needs and considered individual differences as to learning militates against proper understanding. In developing an educational programme a study has been carried out aiming to assess learning needs. Cancer patients (n = 50), their family members (n = 20) and staff members within cancer care (n = 30) were asked to answer a need assessment questionnaire. The patients/family members indicated an extensive desire to learn about cancer and its ramifications, whereas staff members indicated that they seldom were approached regarding some questions in the area. The findings support the appropriateness for providing a structured patient education programme based on assessed needs and planned to meet individual differences in learning readiness and learning capabilities, that would complement the information currently given by staff members.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Newborn hepatitis B vaccination policy in hospital nurseries.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis B vaccination (HBV) is unlike any other immunization series because it can be initiated in the hospital nursery. The objective of this study was to describe how hospital nurseries develop HBV policies and to describe the sources of information used for learning about national HBV recommendations. METHODS: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted on a national random sample of nursery medical directors of 290 hospital nurseries representing all 50 states. The outcomes measured were methods used by hospital nurseries to develop HBV policy and sources of information used by nursery directors to learn about national HBV recommendations. RESULTS: Directors at 207 (71%) of 290 eligible nurseries responded. Of the 184 nurseries that have considered developing an HBV policy, the most common method was through a formal committee (43%). In 104 (57%) of these nurseries a nurse was involved in policy development, and in 15 (8%) the nurse manager initiated the process. The most common source of initial information about the July 1999 announcement to suspend the nursery dose of HBV was the American Academy of Pediatrics. The most common initial source of information about the availability of thimerosal-free HBV was pharmaceutical companies. Physician, nurse, and pharmacist colleagues were cited as sources of information with similar frequency (12, 11, and 20 cases, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians are not the sole initiators and developers of HBV policy in the newborn nursery. Although almost all nurseries designate a physician as a nursery director, in many cases (55% of cases) the position is "rotating" or as part of another administrative position (63% of cases). Many hospital nurseries involve nurses and pharmacists in key roles to stay current with HBV recommendations and to develop subsequent policy. Using nonphysician national organizations as additional channels of information might expedite dissemination about changes in HBV recommendations and, as a result, improve nursery awareness and adoption of national HBV guidelines.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed1985

Transmitting balanced translocation carrier information within families: a follow-up study.

Approximately 1 of 500 individuals is a carrier of a balanced chromosome translocation. Since many translocations are inherited, many (but not all) relatives of carriers have a need to be informed of their potential carrier status. Presently, no data are available as to what extent individuals identified as balanced carriers inform at-risk relatives of the problem. We interviewed 12 balanced translocation carriers to learn whether such information had been transmitted to relatives. The 12 propositi had 36 surviving sibs and 21 surviving parents. Of the 36 sibs, 32 were informed of their risk. The four sibs not informed were from two families. Only 16 of the 32 informed sibs had subsequent carrier testing. Of the 21 surviving parents, 14 were told by their children of their carrier status; subsequently, three parent couples were tested. This survey provides data showing that individuals do not always disclose genetic risk information to relatives. Therefore, genetic professionals need to determine if they have a duty to transmit such information to at-risk relatives in light of the harm that may occur when information is withheld.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1998

Hebbian learning in parallel and modular memories.

Many cognitive and sensorimotor functions in the brain involve parallel and modular memory subsystems that are adapted by activity-dependent Hebbian synaptic plasticity. This is in contrast to the multilayer perceptron model of supervised learning where sensory information is presumed to be integrated by a common pool of hidden units through backpropagation learning. Here we show that Hebbian learning in parallel and modular memories is more advantageous than backpropagation learning in lumped memories in two respects: it is computationally much more efficient and structurally much simpler to implement with biological neurons. Accordingly, we propose a more biologically relevant neural network model, called a tree-like perceptron, which is a simple modification of the multilayer perceptron model to account for the general neural architecture, neuronal specificity, and synaptic learning rule in the brain. The model features a parallel and modular architecture in which adaptation of the input-to-hidden connection follows either a Hebbian or anti-Hebbian rule depending on whether the hidden units are excitatory or inhibitory, respectively. The proposed parallel and modular architecture and implicit interplay between the types of synaptic plasticity and neuronal specificity are exhibited by some neocortical and cerebellar systems.

Cerebellum↗
PubMed2005

Influences of sex-related information for STD prevention.

PURPOSE: Adolescents obtain information about sex from the media and friends and so on. This study explores the influence and needs of sex-related information from mass media and other resources. METHODS: Thirteen Focus Group Interviews were conducted with 88 high school and university students (46 female/42 male) from August 2001 to February 2002. RESULTS: Friends or seniors are the most important source of information, and adolescents felt much peer pressure by such information while they learned STD prevention and contraception. The participants were aware of the inconsistencies and biases of information they get through the media. They thought women's magazines seriously treated sex as a health issue concerning women, and provided useful information. CONCLUSIONS: Influences the media has on the knowledge and awareness of young people are significant. It is crucial to fill the gap between the intention of the transmitter of information and the needs of the audience so that the media can be better utilized for sexual health promotion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Base-rate effects in category learning: a comparison of parallel network and memory storage-retrieval models.

Exemplar-memory and adaptive network models were compared in application to category learning data, with special attention to base rate effects on learning and transfer performance. Subjects classified symptom charts of hypothetical patients into disease categories, with informative feedback on learning trials and with the feedback either given or withheld on test trials that followed each fourth of the learning series. The network model proved notably accurate and uniformly superior to the exemplar model in accounting for the detailed course of learning; both the parallel, interactive aspect of the network model and its particular learning algorithm contribute to this superiority. During learning, subjects' performance reflected both category base rates and feature (symptom) probabilities in a nearly optimal manner, a result predicted by both models, though more accurately by the network model. However, under some test conditions, the data showed substantial base-rate neglect, in agreement with Gluck and Bower (1988b).

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Déjà Vu all over again: re-revisiting the conceptual status of early word learning: comment on Smith and Samuelson (2006).

The authors assert that L. B. Smith and L. Samuelson's (2006) most recent critique of A. E. Booth, S. R. Waxman, and Y. T. Huang's (2005) work missed its mark, deflecting attention from the important theoretical difference between the two sets of authors' positions and focusing instead on imagined differences and minor expositional complaints. The authors' goal in this response is twofold. First, they aim to redirect attention to the 1 clear difference between the 2 theoretical positions regarding word learning, a difference that is focused on the role of conceptual (in conjunction with perceptual) information in word learning. Second, they place L. B. Smith and L. Samuelson's (2006) current critique in the context of previous exchanges.

Attention↗
PubMed2004

Cultivating expertise in informal reasoning.

People generally develop some degree of competence in general informal reasoning and argument skills, but how do they go beyond this to attain higher expertise? Ericsson has proposed that high-level expertise in a variety of domains is cultivated through a specific type of practice, referred to as "deliberate practice." Applying this framework yields the empirical hypothesis that high-level expertise in informal reasoning is the outcome of extensive, deliberate practice. This paper reports results from two studies evaluating the hypothesis. University student participants completed 12 weeks of deliberate practice in informal reasoning. Quantity of practice was recorded by computer, and additionally assessed via self-report. The hypothesis was supported: Students in both studies showed a large improvement, and practice, as measured by computer, was related to amount of improvement in informal reasoning. These findings support adopting a deliberate practice approach when attempting to teach or learn expertise in informal reasoning.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Adaptation to distorted frequency-to-place maps: implications of simulations in normal listeners for cochlear implants and electroacoustic stimulation.

The ideal cochlear implant electrode array positioning enables stimulation over a range of cochlear positions whose characteristic frequencies cover the frequency range of speech and match the speech processor filter frequencies. However, the electrode positions achieved in practice may not meet this specification. Users of conventional monaural cochlear implants seem able to perceptually adapt to a mismatch of speech processor filters to electrode positions. In electroacoustic stimulation, it is important to consider possible inconsistencies between acoustic and electrical frequency-to-place mapping. Two simulation studies are outlined that address normal listeners' ability to perceive speech presented through distorted frequency maps. The first presented a map that is spectrally warped around a 10-mm medial cochlear area. Listeners were able to adapt to this map after a few hours of training. The second study presented a binaural mapping in which one ear was subject to a 6-mm basalward shift. Here listeners were unable to learn to integrate speech information across the two mismatched ears, rather they seem to learn to ignore the shifted information. Frequency-to-place mapping is likely to be an important factor in the successful use of a combination of electrical and acoustic hearing.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2005

Implicit learning of ignored visual context.

Humans process a visual display more efficiently when they encounter it for a second time, showing learning of the display. This study tests whether implicit learning of complex visual contexts depends on attention. Subjects searched for a white target among black and white distractors. When the locations of the target and the attended set (white distractors) were repeated, search speed was enhanced, but when the locations of the target and the ignored set (black distractors) were repeated, search speed was unaffected. This suggests that the expression of learning depends on attention. However, during the transfer test, when the previously ignored set now was attended, it immediately facilitated performance. In contrast, when the previously attended set now was ignored, it no longer enhanced search speed. We conclude that the expression of visual implicit learning depends on attention but that latent learning of repeated information does not.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Testing for inherited susceptibility to breast cancer: a survey of informed consent forms for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing.

The identification of genetic mutations linked to breast cancer has made it possible to test for the genetic predisposition to this disease. However, though this test may provide certain benefits, there are also potential risks involved with the testing process, including social and economic considerations. In light of these potential risks, we sought to determine what information individuals are receiving in the informed decision making process. To learn the minimal amount of information the actual testees receive, we obtained 10 informed consent forms from seven different testing facilities. These testing centers include the major sources of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing in the United States at this time. We analyzed the content of these forms by developing content categories and scoring them appropriately. We found all ten forms discussed in varying ways and to varying degrees the purpose of genetic testing, limitations of the test, implications of both positive and negative results, and confidentiality procedures; most, but not all, addressed various psychological and insurance risks. Overall, the forms demonstrated substantial variation in content and organization, underlining the need for more discussion and research on the purpose, nature, and effectiveness of informed consent forms for this type of genetic test.

BRCA1 Protein↗
PubMed2005

How independent are parallel memory systems? A theoretical comment on Gibson and Shettleworth (2005).

Using only behavioral manipulations, B. M. Gibson and S. J. Shettleworth (2005) have shown that rats can simultaneously acquire both place and response information. Experiments in which these 2 kinds of information are presented sequentially (response followed by place), provide some evidence for blocking of place learning, suggesting an influence of information acquired by a response-learning system on the subsequent acquisition of information by a place-learning system. A detailed examination of the results in the context of information about the kinds of learning that take place on a maze suggests that the memory processes underlying the rats' behavior in this experiment were considerably more complex than is acknowledged by Gibson and Shettleworth. The discussion illustrates the importance of considering both behavioral and physiological information for understanding how learning and memory functions are organized in the brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Effects of complex experience on somatic growth and organ development in rats.

Rats kept in complex environments (EC) show an array of brain changes relative to animals housed individually (IC). These effects have been explained as due to (a) information storage, (b) chronic stress that causes brain damage, or (c) neuroendocrine effects on brain maturation. Complex experience also affects somatic growth and organ development, and these may be related to the EC/IC brain differences. We have compared somatic growth and internal organs of 315 weanling and adult rats with various histories. (a) Young EC rats showed slower skeletal and visceral growth, while many brain components expand. (b) Although thymus and spleen were lighter in young ECs, immunocompetence was nonsignificantly (p less than .07) higher than in ICs. (c) Somatic growth of adult rats was slow and not very responsive to experience, whereas studies have shown EC/IC brain effects similar to those in young rats. (d) Males had slightly greater EC/IC somatic and visceral differences. (e) The stress index, adrenal weight, varied across age and experience, so chronic stress can not explain EC/IC brain differences. Training paradigms show brain changes similar to those from complex experience, occurring specifically with learning and in brain regions using the information. Learning and memory, therefore remain the best explanation of the EC brain effects.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed2006

eLearning in education and advanced training in neuroradiology: introduction of a web-based teaching and learning application.

INTRODUCTION: New information technologies offer the possibility of major improvements in the professional education and advanced training of physicians. The web-based, multimedia teaching and learning application Schoolbook has been created and utilized for neuroradiology. METHODS: Schoolbook is technically based as a content management system and is realized in a LAMP environment. The content is generated with the help of the developed system and stored in a database. The layout is defined by a PHP application, and the webpages are generated from the system. RESULTS: Schoolbook is realized as an authoring tool so that it can be integrated into daily practice. This enables the teacher to autonomously process the content into the web-based application which is used for lectures, seminars and self-study. A multimedia case library is the central building block of Schoolbook for neuroradiology, whereby the learner is provided with original diagnostic and therapeutic data from numerous individual cases. The user can put individual emphasis on key learning points as there are various ways to work with the case histories. Besides the case-based way of teaching and learning, a systematically structured way of dealing with the content is available. CONCLUSION: eLearning offers various opportunities for teaching and learning in academic and scientific as well as in economic contexts. Web-based applications such as Schoolbook may be beneficial not only for basic university education but also for the realization of international educational programmes such as the European Master of Medical Science with a major in neuroradiology.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
PubMed2002

Modelling coaching practice: the role of instruction and demonstration.

In this paper, we review the empirical literature pertaining to the effectiveness of instructions and movement demonstrations. Initially, we examine existing theories and approaches that try to explain the process of skill acquisition so as to determine implications of these theories for instructional provision. This is followed by an evaluation of studies in the motor learning literature in which pre-practice information has been manipulated. Explicit learning strategies are contrasted to implicit and discovery learning methods, and current explanations for instructional effects are discussed in terms of such mechanisms as effects-related attentional focus and movement variability. In the final sections, we review data from our own laboratory where pre-practice information has been manipulated during the learning of a novel bimanual coordination task. From these studies, proposals are made to try and explain how pre-practice information works to effect the process of skill acquisition, including the selection and execution of a response and the processing of associated feedback. An important role is given to the existing skills of the learner in understanding the instructions and performing the desired movement. Finally, we suggest some practical implications of this empirical evidence for the teaching of motor skills.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Informativeness, imitation, and language play: factors in word learning.

11 normally developing children of 20 to 24 months of age were taught a nonsense word under informative and increasingly routine conditions. Modelling was the teaching procedure. There were significantly more spontaneous productions of the new word in the informative condition than in the most routine condition for most of the children. This was also true for the familiar words presented. Significantly more language play in the form of repetitions was exhibited for the new word than with familiar words by 10 children, indicating that language play is a strategy for acquiring new words. Only 5 children used imitation of the model as an acquisition strategy. Modest support for the effects of informativeness is provided. Other motivations for word use are discussed as well as clinical implications of these results.

Attention↗