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At least 1,297 records · Page 72Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Contour-based object identification and segmentation: stimuli, norms and data, and software tools.

We summarize five studies of our large-scale research program, in which we examined aspects of contour-based object identification and segmentation, and we report on the stimuli we used, the norms and data we collected, and the software tools we developed. The stimuli were outlines derived from the standard set of line drawings of everyday objects by Snodgrass and Vanderwart (1980). We used contour curvature as a major variable in all the studies. The total number of 1,500 participants produced very solid, normative identification rates of silhouettes and contours, straight-line versions, and fragmented versions, and quite reliable benchmark data about saliency of points and object segmentation into parts. We also developed several software tools to generate stimuli and to analyze the data in nonstandard ways. Our stimuli, norms and data, and software tools have great potential for further exploration of factors influencing contour-based object identification, and are also useful for researchers in many different disciplines (including computer vision) on a wide variety of research topics (e.g., priming, agnosia, perceptual organization, and picture naming). The full set of norms, data, and stimuli may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive/.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Pressure ulcer risk assessment tools. What's new for gerontological nurses.

Impaired skin integrity is one of the most common and most costly problems facing the institutionalized elderly. Risk assessment tools provide the nurse with an efficient and systematic means of identifying those clients at high risk for pressure ulcer development. Pressure ulcer risk assessment tools are usually based on a combination of the following variables: mobility, continence, mental status, activity, nutrition, or physical status. Further testing and comparison of the various pressure ulcer risk assessment tools in the elderly population is needed to establish relative scientific and practical merit.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Forensic family genogram. An assessment & intervention tool.

The forensic genogram is a three-generational graphic description of a patient's family, and as an assessment tool, it is applicable to any forensic nurse whether working in assessment or treatment areas. The forensic genogram is also an intervention. Nurses using this tool have found that offenders appreciate seeing the patterns in their lives as a beginning to their understanding of their personal circumstances. As part of the legal chart, the forensic family genogram serves as a graphic database for information and could routinely accompany the court letter, providing the judge, the prosecutor and the defense with additional knowledge at a glance. The author recommends the forensic genogram tool for student nurses beginning to understand the complexities of the forensic offender population. The forensic genogram may provide further information that facilitates health promotion, cost containment, and a further understanding of the events and factors in the individual lives of offenders that have resulted in their current situations before the courts. The author wishes to acknowledge the influence of Drs. Wright, Bell, and Watson, during graduate studies at the University of Calgary in the early '90s. Over the years these internationally renowned nursing specialists have introduced nurses globally to the important work of family systems nursing.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Identifying nursing home residents at high risk for preventable adverse drug events: modifying a tool for use in the Fleetwood Phase III Study.

OBJECTIVE: To modify and test a screening tool for identification of nursing home residents at high risk for preventable adverse drug events. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: 30 skilled nursing facilities in North Carolina receiving pharmacy benefits from one provider. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: All patients residing in these homes. INTERVENTIONS: Modification of high-risk screening tool for use in the Fleetwood Phase III Study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of residents who trigger high-risk screen for preventable adverse drug events. RESULTS: The median proportion of residents triggered was one-third; in some facilities only about 15% of the residents were deemed high-risk while in others the estimate was as high as 48%. The most likely medication classes triggering a chart review was use of seven or more medications, with one medication being an antidepressant. CONCLUSION: The modified high-risk screening tool proved to be practical and clinically relevant. It will be used to maximize pharmacists' time and skills in preventing adverse drug events in nursing home residents in the Fleetwood Phase III evaluation.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1982

Occupational role history: a screening tool for psychiatric occupational therapy.

Psychiatric hospitalization has become telescoped, thus focusing on short-term acute care. Since discharge plans are needed on admission, occupational therapists must evaluate the patient quickly and succinctly. A screening tool was developed as a preliminary device to identify critical information in two major areas: patterns of skills and achievement or patterns of dysfunction in past and current occupational role; and the degree of balance or imbalance between leisure activities and those activities associated with occupational role. The screening tool, the Occupational Role History, was used in a pilot study on 20 adult inpatients at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. The results of the pilot study suggest that this tool is useful in establishing treatment priorities from an occupational therapy perspective.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

The assessment of occupational functioning: a screening tool for use in long-term care.

This paper describes the development of the Assessment of Occupational Functioning (AOF), a screening tool designed to assess the functional capacity of residents in long-term treatment settings who have physical and/or psychiatric problems. The assessment is based on six variables of the Model of Human Occupation. A study of 83 community and institutionalized elderly subjects was conducted to examine the AOF's dimensionality, test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, concurrent validity, and ability to discriminate between healthy and institutionalized adults. Item analysis suggests that ratings tend to correspond with components of the theoretical model. Both test-retest reliability and interrater reliability correlations for total test scores were above accepted minimum levels. Correlations of the screening tool with scores on the Life Satisfaction Index-Z, a concurrent validity measure, yielded positive correlations. Correlations of the screening tool score with another concurrent validity measure, the Geriatric Rating Scale score, yielded mixed results. Discrimination results indicated that the instrument can distinguish between the adaptive performance of normal and institutionalized populations.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Development of a post-offer screening tool for patient support services.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our project was to develop a post-offer screening tool that demonstrates interrater reliability, predictive validity, and face validity and that accurately represents the physical demands of the patient support services (lifting team) job at our health care facility. METHODS: The screening tool, which consists of 11 static and dynamic tasks, was developed, using the 13 incumbent staff members of the patient support services department, to determine whether the criteria established for each task matched the physical abilities of at least 80% of the total group tested. Test-retest design was used for this study. Intraclass correlation coefficients and the Kappa statistic were used to calculate interrater reliability. Face validity was determined through the Job Similarity Questionnaire completed by all subjects. RESULTS: Subjects did not meet criteria established for the static knee pull and the knuckle-to-elbow lift tasks, resulting in modification of these two criteria. Interrater reliability ranged from .22 for the maximum static pull wall task to .94 for the left-hand grip strength task. Face validity ranged from 53.9% to 92.4%. CONCLUSION: Although face validity of the Job Similarity Questionnaire represented a wide range, we believe that the results were homogeneous enough to continue with the screening tool unchanged, except for lowering the expected outcome on two tasks. Interrater reliability was established for 75% of the tasks. The lack of variation of data for the other 25% prevented statistical analysis of those tasks but confirmed that all members met the physical criteria.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparisons among tools, surface orientation, and pencil grasp for children 23 months of age.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether writing tool type and angle of writing surface affect grasp. METHOD: Fifty-one children 23 to 24 months of age who were typically developing drew with a primary marker, colored pencil, and small piece of crayon on a table and an easel. The marker and pencil were presented pointing left, right, and toward the child. The order of writing tool presentation was counterbalanced. Grasps were scored with a 5-point rating system and analyzed with dependent t tests. RESULTS: Children used a more mature grasp when drawing with a piece of crayon than with a pencil. No difference in grasp maturity was found when using a pencil compared with a marker. A more mature grasp when drawing on the easel compared with the table was used with the crayon but not with the marker or pencil. CONCLUSION: Results imply that a short writing tool combined with a vertical surface can influence the grasp of young children.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2003

Testing a new tool: the Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale (MAVAS).

Perhaps due to the complexities of the problem of aggression and violence, and to ethical issues relating to the mental health areas where much of the work is focused, it is the perspective of staff working in those areas that is most commonly sought in research studies. In contrast, tools to examine the patient's view are rare. In this paper Joy Duxbury describes the piloting and development of a new tool, which aimed to survey the views of both patients and staff about the broader approaches used to manage patient aggression. This became the 'Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale' (MAVAS), and the testing of this tool is the focus of this paper.

Aggression↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A review of pain assessment tools.

Pain assessment and control should be a priority within nursing but pain is often underassessed and unrelieved. Pain is difficult to assess as it is complex and subjective, and assessment is influenced by many factors. A pain assessment tool can be invaluable as it can aid the patient to communicate his or her pain, remove the subjectivity of assessment, and promote a systematic approach. A variety of pain assessment tools have been developed and used in clinical settings with subsequent improvements in assessment. They each have specific attributes, and their place in clinical practice is considered. It is concluded that the use of pain assessment tools is advantageous, and the reasons why they are not used more widely are considered.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Developing a diabetes assessment tool.

This article describes a diabetes assessment tool, the Barraclough Diabetes Nursing Model, which was developed by the author for use by a diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) (1). The tool is designed to assess individual qualities of people with diabetes such as personal strengths, and their desire and motivation to manage their condition. These qualities can then be recognised, promoted and developed, and used to plan nursing care. The author also discusses the potential long-term benefits of the tool.

Diabetes Mellitus↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An analysis of an audit tool of ward-based practice.

This article identifies how, in the current context of clinical governance, an audit tool of ward-based practice was developed, piloted and adopted in two acute trusts. The content of the tool is briefly outlined together with the process--the emphasis being the involvement of staff. This tool is key in assisting nurses to value essential aspects of care from the patient's perspective and to celebrate or change their practice accordingly.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Inter-rater reliability and Waterlow's pressure ulcer risk assessment tool.

AIM: To ascertain whether a lack of inter-rater reliability with the original Waterlow (1996) pressure ulcer risk assessment scale is due to different perceptions of patients by nurses or different interpretations of Waterlow as a tool. METHOD: A sample of 110 qualified nurses, who used the Waterlow pressure ulcer risk assessment scale in their daily work and were delegates at five study days, were given a case study and an uncompleted copy of the tool. They were asked to complete a risk assessment for the patient. The risk assessment score obtained by delegates was analysed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test to measure the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the median of the nurses' scores and the patient's actual or 'gold standard' score. RESULTS: Nurses tend to over-rate (n=72, 65 per cent) rather than under-rate (n=25, 23 per cent) the patient's risk of developing a pressure ulcer. Only 13 of the 110 nurses (12 per cent) accurately rated the patient's score as 18. The Wilcoxon Test rejected the null hypothesis that there was no difference in the risk scores arrived at by individual nurses and the patient's actual score, that is, there is a significant difference between the scores obtained by the nurses in the study and the gold standard score. CONCLUSION: The results show poor inter-rater reliability when using the Waterlow pressure ulcer risk assessment scale. Part of the problem is that nurses are not using the tool in the way it was intended.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism in medical patients: from medical decision tools to the use of low molecular weight heparin].

In France, low molecular weight heparins are largely used for prophylaxis of venous thromboembolic disease in medical patients. Although clinical trials show their efficacy in some particular clinical situations, there is no consensus about their use in non-surgical patients. A consequence is a wide disparity of prophylaxis of venous thromboembolic disease regimens: such a situation was observed during a practice survey in two medical units of the general hospital of Lunéville. So, prior assessment for pharmacists and physicians was carried out to determine tools which guide decision-making. These comprise clinical practice guidelines, a record card which allows the scoring of risk for venous thromboembolic disease and a clinical algorithm leading to the appropriate prescription according to the risk and the haematological results. A second concomitant practice survey was organized in the same two units in order to measure the appropriateness of the decision-making tools in medical practice. The four-month study included 108 medical patients. The process was successful because: (1) validated practices are improved, particularly in respect of biological monitoring during treatment, and (2) the disparity of therapeutic strategies is highly reduced, the clinical practice guidelines being followed in 81 per cent of all cases. Despite the lack of consensus, heightened awareness of the attendant risk in many medical conditions allows appropriate prophylactic measures to be taken. These measures need decision-making tools that are easy to use and that improve heparin prescribing and thus healthcare quality.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

[Internet for physicians: a tool for today and tomorrow ].

The Internet is becoming more and more part of our habits regarding documentation and communication, thus limiting the frontiers to only that of the language. As in many other fields, the Internet is also present in the medical domain. The Internet is accessible to all, providing a technology which is simple and ergonomic and furthermore less costly. A growing number of individuals are indeed offering information, and the multiplication and diversification of documentary thus resulting renders the quality often questionable and the search for information difficult. This article firstly presents the Internet services with examples in the medical domain and more particularly in paediatrics. It then identifies the problems related to the Internet and further details three tools useful to find medical information and to surf on the Internet: Medline, a bibliographical reference search tool (from the National Library of Medicine-NLM); Medhunt, a search tool of the Health on the Net Foundation specialised in the health domain; and the HONcode, a code of ethics developed to homogenize medical information on the Internet.

Computer User Training↗

PubMed1993

Some computer-based decision support tools for the rehabilitation manager.

The recent introduction of the Management Information System (MIS) guidelines has sparked much interest among health care institutions across Canada regarding proper approaches to the recording and interpretation of various financial and workload indicators. While the benefits of the MIS guidelines are widely acknowledged, much less attention has been directed to how departmental managers can analyze and make use of the vast amount of information generated. In this paper we attempt to review some of the computer-based decision-support tools that may be useful to the manager of the rehabilitation services department in analyzing the various MIS data that are collected. The data are assumed to be available through a computerized rehabilitation information system which includes workload measures. The quantitative models reviewed in this paper include basic descriptive statistics, deviation, trend and what-if-analysis and graph-plotting. Although the use of such tools can assist the rehabilitation manager in the routine decision-making process, it is very important that we ask the right questions and employ the proper model to make the most rational and best decision. In this respect, ongoing training in general problem-solving skills, decision-making processes, and use of computer-based decision-support tools may be very beneficial.

Canada↗

PubMed1994

Software engineering tools.

We have looked at general descriptions and illustrations of several software development tools, such as tools for prototyping, developing DFDs, testing, and maintenance. Many others are available, and new ones are being developed. However, you have at least seen some examples of powerful CASE tools for systems development.

Data Display↗

PubMed1995

The value in "value added"--a tool for understanding your operations.

There are two roles a value added profile can play--as a communication tool and as a target for restructuring. As a communication tool, the profile very clearly shows the inefficiencies of the system and the resulting underutilization of employees. These messages establish for everyone the need for and urgency of change. If your organization is convinced of the need for change, the restructuring process is made easier. The other benefit of the profile is not as a benchmarking tool between institutions or even between bedside care areas of the same hospital. Rather, its real benefit is as a rule to measure progress towards a goal, and to identify when adjustments to the design need to be made.

Communication↗