Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics Faculty Papers

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://digital.lib.washington.edu/handle/1773/15617

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    Patient-Focused Wireless Messages for Diabetes
    (2002-02-27) Leu, Michael G.
    Diabetes is a serious medical condition, affecting about 16 million Americans, and accounting for one out of every seven dollars spent related to health care each year. It is imperative to find new and innovative ways to help patients acknowledge, then manage, this condition. Aggressive management of blood sugars reduces future diabetes-related complications, but this is difficult to achieve. Studies suggest that about 50% of patients with diabetes have poor glycemic control. Recent interventions mainly target health care providers, including provider-based reminders to support the care plan. These reminders are limited by triggering only at clinic visits. Processes that work best provide continuing and ongoing support to patients, but continual monitoring systems in use today are not truly interactive (e.g. devices that transmit vital signs/blood glucose levels). This paper describes a patient-centered, configurable messaging system and protocols for its use. This messaging system utilizes information from the electronic medical record to generate patient-specific messages concerning medications and laboratory results, and can send patient-specified messages as well. This technology allows patients to be surveyed on health issues, with their replies available for population analysis. These short conversations provide reinforcement of the patient-provider agreed care plan between office visits, and are collected and summarized for future office visits. The pilot phase of this project is completed, with initial patient feedback ascertained through interviews and through instruments created to evaluate patient attitudes towards their health care team, towards diabetes, and towards technology. Using the messaging system has proven to be helpful, even enjoyable, for some patients.
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    A knowledgebase system to enhance scientific discovery: Telemakus
    (2004) Fuller, Sherrilynne S.; Revere, Debra; Bugni, Paul F.; Martin, George M.
    Background: With the rapid expansion of scientific research, the ability to effectively find or integrate new domain knowledge in the sciences is proving increasingly difficult. Efforts to improve and speed up scientific discovery are being explored on a number of fronts. However, much of this work is based on traditional search and retrieval approaches and the bibliographic citation presentation format remains unchanged. Methods: Case study. Results: The Telemakus KnowledgeBase System provides flexible new tools for creating knowledgebases to facilitate retrieval and review of scientific research reports. In formalizing the representation of the research methods and results of scientific reports, Telemakus offers a potential strategy to enhance the scientific discovery process. While other research has demonstrated that aggregating and analyzing research findings across domains augments knowledge discovery, the Telemakus system is unique in combining document surrogates with interactive concept maps of linked relationships across groups of research reports. Conclusion: Based on how scientists conduct research and read the literature, the Telemakus KnowledgeBase System brings together three innovations in analyzing, displaying and summarizing research reports across a domain: (1) research report schema, a document surrogate of extracted research methods and findings presented in a consistent and structured schema format which mimics the research process itself and provides a high-level surrogate to facilitate searching and rapid review of retrieved documents; (2) research findings, used to index the documents, allowing searchers to request, for example, research studies which have studied the relationship between neoplasms and vitamin E; and (3) visual exploration interface of linked relationships for interactive querying of research findings across the knowledgebase and graphical displays of what is known as well as, through gaps in the map, what is yet to be tested. The rationale and system architecture are described and plans for the future are discussed.
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    Handheld computers for self-administered sensitive data collection: A comparative study in Peru
    (2008) Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio; Curioso, Walter H.; Gonzales, Marco A.; Evangelista, Wilfredo; Castagnetto, Jesus M.; Carcamo, Cesar P.; Hughes, James P.; Garcia, Patricia J.; Garnett, Geoffrey P.; Holmes, King K.
    Background: Low-cost handheld computers (PDA) potentially represent an efficient tool for collecting sensitive data in surveys. The goal of this study is to evaluate the quality of sexual behavior data collected with handheld computers in comparison with paper-based questionnaires. Methods: A PDA-based program for data collection was developed using Open-Source tools. In two cross-sectional studies, we compared data concerning sexual behavior collected with paper forms to data collected with PDA-based forms in Ancon (Lima). Results: The first study enrolled 200 participants (18-29 years). General agreement between data collected with paper format and handheld computers was 86%. Categorical variables agreement was between 70.5% and 98.5% (Kappa: 0.43-0.86) while numeric variables agreement was between 57.1% and 79.8% (Spearman: 0.76-0.95). Agreement and correlation were higher in those who had completed at least high school than those with less education. The second study enrolled 198 participants. Rates of responses to sensitive questions were similar between both kinds of questionnaires. However, the number of inconsistencies (p = 0.0001) and missing values (p = 0.001) were significantly higher in paper questionnaires. Conclusion: This study showed the value of the use of handheld computers for collecting sensitive data, since a high level of agreement between paper and PDA responses was reached. In addition, a lower number of inconsistencies and missing values were found with the PDA-based system. This study has demonstrated that it is feasible to develop a low-cost application for handheld computers, and that PDAs are feasible alternatives for collecting field data in a developing country.
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    Access, use and perceptions regarding Internet, cell phones and PDAs as a means for health promotion for people living with HIV in Peru
    (2007) Curioso, Walter H.; Kurth, Ann E.
    Background: Internet tools, cell phones, and other information and communication technologies are being used by HIV-positive people on their own initiative. Little is known about the perceptions of HIV-positive people towards these technologies in Peru. The purpose of this paper is to report on perceptions towards use of information and communication technologies as a means to support antiretroviral medication adherence and HIV transmission risk reduction. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study (in-depth interviews) among adult people living with HIV in two community-based clinics in Peru. Results: 31 HIV-positive individuals in Lima were interviewed (n = 28 men, 3 women). People living with HIV in Peru are using tools such as cell phones, and the Internet (via E-mail, chat, list-serves) to support their HIV care and to make social and sexual connections. In general, they have positive perceptions about using the Internet, cell phones and PDAs for HIV health promotion interventions. Conclusion: Health promotion interventions using information and communication technology tools among people living with HIV in resource-constrained settings may be acceptable and feasible, and can build on existing patterns of use.
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    Evaluation of a joint Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics international course in Peru
    (2008) Curioso, Walter H.; Hansen, Jacquelyn R.; Centurion-Lara, Arturo; Garcia, Patricia J.; Wolf, Fredric M.; Fuller, Sherrilynne; Holmes, King K.; Kimball, Ann Marie
    Background: New technologies that emerge at the interface of computational and biomedical science could drive new advances in global health, therefore more training in technology is needed among health care workers. To assess the potential for informatics training using an approach designed to foster interaction at this interface, the University of Washington and the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia developed and assessed a one-week course that included a new Bioinformatics (BIO) track along with an established Medical/Public Health Informatics track (MI) for participants in Peru. Methods: We assessed the background of the participants, and measured the knowledge gained by track-specific (MI or BIO) 30-minute pre- and post-tests. Participants' attitudes were evaluated both by daily evaluations and by an end-course evaluation. Results: Forty-three participants enrolled in the course - 20 in the MI track and 23 in the BIO track. Of 20 questions, the mean % score for the MI track increased from 49.7 pre-test (standard deviation or SD = 17.0) to 59.7 (SD = 15.2) for the post-test (P = 0.002, n = 18). The BIO track mean score increased from 33.6 pre-test to 51.2 post-test (P less than 0.001, n = 21). Most comments (76%) about any aspect of the course were positive. The main perceived strength of the course was the quality of the speakers, and the main perceived weakness was the short duration of the course. Overall, the course acceptability was very good to excellent with a rating of 4.1 (scale 1-5), and the usefulness of the course was rated as very good. Most participants (62.9%) expressed a positive opinion about having had the BIO and MI tracks come together for some of the lectures. Conclusion: Pre- and post-test results and the positive evaluations by the participants indicate that this first joint Bioinformatics and Medical/Public Health Informatics (MI and BIO) course was a success.