Search results for "Quality Assurance"
showing 10 items of 118 documents
Open educational resources repositories literature review – Towards a comprehensive quality approaches framework
2015
Display Omitted A comprehensive literature review on learning object repositories (LOR) quality approaches.Most cited quality approaches are "peer reviews" and "recommendation systems".User-generated, collaborative, quality instruments are favored for their sustainability.Main result is a Quality approach framework for LOR design. Today, Open Educational Resources (OER) are commonly stored, used, adapted, remixed and shared within Learning object repositories (LORs) which have recently started expanding their design to support collaborative teaching and learning. As numbers of OER available freely keep on growing, many LORs struggle to find sustainable business models and get the users' att…
Prevalence of Cataract in an Older Population in India
2011
Purpose To describe the prevalence of cataract in older people in 2 areas of north and south India. Design Population-based, cross-sectional study. Participants Randomly sampled villages were enumerated to identify people aged ≥60 years. Of 7518 enumerated people, 78% participated in a hospital-based ophthalmic examination. Methods The examination included visual acuity measurement, dilatation, and anterior and posterior segment examination. Digital images of the lens were taken and graded by type and severity of opacity using the Lens Opacity Classification System III (LOCS III). Main Outcome Measures Age- and gender-standardized prevalence of cataract and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). W…
Interface transition checklists in spinal surgery
2016
Issue Recently, quality tools have been promoted to improve patient safety and process efficiency in healthcare. While surgeons primarily focused on surgical issues, like infection rates or implant design, we introduced pre-admission and preoperative checklists in the early 2000s. Initial assessment To assess the efficiency of these tools in a neurosurgical department, we performed a survey of all spinal instrumentation patients operated in 2011 ( n = 147). The results revealed several problems. Choice of solution We consequently redesigned the checklists accompanied by flanking measures, such as written and online accessible standards. Furthermore, the staff was trained to use the update…
Assessing quality of care for the dying from the bereaved relatives' perspective: Using pre-testing survey methods across seven countries to develop …
2019
Background: The provision of care for dying cancer patients varies on a global basis. In order to improve care, we need to be able to evaluate the current level of care. One method of assessment is to use the views from the bereaved relatives. Aim: The aim of this study is to translate and pre-test the ‘Care Of the Dying Evaluation’ (CODETM) questionnaire across seven participating countries prior to conducting an evaluation of current quality of care. Design: The three stages were as follows: (1) translation of CODE in keeping with standardised international principles; (2) pre-testing using patient and public involvement and cognitive interviews with bereaved relatives; and (3) utilising …
Ten years' experience with an external quality control program for semen analysis
2012
To gauge the performance of laboratories and impact of the German semen analysis external quality control program (QuaDeGA) over its first 10 years.Retrospective analysis of QuaDeGA's twice yearly distribution of fixed semen samples and electronic material documenting sperm motility. Ranking of each participant's responses was determined according to their relation to a "target window."Multicenter. PAITENT(S): Healthy donors.None.Laboratory performance, World Health Organization (WHO) adherence.Over 19 runs, there was a steady increase of participants (280 laboratories), the largest group being private urologic practices. Although use of WHO-recommended Neubauer chamber (from 33% to 55%) an…
Communication and information exchange between primary healthcare employees and volunteers - Challenges, needs and possibilities for technology suppo…
2019
In light of the challenges posed by an ageing population and tighter public budgets, governments worldwide are seeking innovative ways of improving health service delivery. Volunteers can contribute to such improvement, but this requires effective coordination and communication between volunteers and healthcare employees. In this case study, conducted in two Norwegian municipalities during September-October 2017, the aim was to understand how collaboration and coordination is carried out between several stakeholders: volunteers, volunteer family members of healthcare service users and healthcare employees. Our results show that daily cooperation was largely unsystematic, and stakeholders em…
Factors related to quality of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a pediatric population.
1999
To assess the factors related to the quality of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a pediatric population, we performed 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitorings on 333 unselected children aged 3 to 18 years using a Spacelabs 90207 monitor. For each individual, the percentages of valid measurements (ratio between valid and total number of measurements, 76.4% +/-15.6%) and of successful measurements (percentage of valid preset measurements, 89.8% +/- 11.5%) were calculated. Two hundred eighty-one (84.1%) monitorings had a successful measurement rate of >80%. Two hundred thirteen (64%) were of excellent quality, as defined by the percentage of successful measurements being higher than o…
Pathological Evaluation of Mesocolic Resection Quality and Ex Vivo Methylene Blue Injection
2012
BACKGROUND: Although the National Quality Forum has endorsed the harvest of ≥12 lymph nodes as a standard quality indicator for colon cancer surgery, this minimum quantity is not reached in many centers. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the implementation of a mesocolon evaluation pathological protocol and ex vivo arterial methylene blue injection on the number of nodes harvested after colon cancer resection. DESIGN: A prospective series was compared with a historical group. SETTINGS: This study was conducted by a specialized colorectal multidisciplinary team at a tertiary teaching hospital. PATIENTS: From June 2009 to December 2009, all the specimens after colon…
Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: T-Tube or Not T-Tube? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Results
2009
Background The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes after duct-to-duct anastomoses with or without biliary T-tube in orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods We pooled the outcomes of 1027 patients undergoing choledocho-choledochostomy with or without T-tube in 9 of 46 screened trials by means of fixed or random effects models. Results The "without T-tube" and "with T-tube" groups had equivalent outcomes for: anastomotic bile leaks or fistulas, choledocho-jejunostomy revisions, dilatation and stenting, hepatic artery thromboses, retransplantation, and mortality due to biliary complications. The "without T-tube" group had better outcomes when considering "fewer episodes of cholangi…
Beyond robust design: an example of synergy between statistics and advanced engineering design
2002
Higher efficiency and effectiveness of Research & Development phases can be attained using advanced statistical methodologies. In this work statistical methodologies are combined with a deterministic approach to engineering design. In order to show the potentiality of such integration, a simple but effective example is presented. It concerns the problem of optimising the performance of a paper helicopter. The desgin of this simple device is not new in quality engineering literature and has been mainly used for educational purposes. Taking full advantage of fundamental engineering knowledge, an aerodynamic model is originally formulated in order to describe the fligh of the helicopter. S…