Validity of dried blood spot testing for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections: A narrative systematic review.

Testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) using dried blood spot (DBS) specimens has been an integral part of bio-behavioural surveillance in Canada for almost two decades, though less is known regarding the use of DBS in surveillance of other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI). A systematic review was conducted using a peer-reviewed search strategy to assess the current evidence regarding the validity of STBBI testing using DBS specimens. Eligibility criteria included studies reporting use of DBS specimens for STBBI testing with either commercially available or "in-house" tests in populations 15 years of age or older.

Acute severe hepatitis of unknown origin in children in Canada.

Background: In spring 2022, a series of reports from the United Kingdom and the United States identified an increase in the incidence of acute severe hepatitis in children. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) collaborated with provincial/territorial health partners to investigate in Canada. Clinical hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, is not reportable in Canada, so to determine if an increase was occurring above historical levels, the baseline incidence in Canada was estimated.

Response to Alert on Possible Infections with Mycobacterium chimaera From Contaminated Heater-Cooler Devices in Hospitals Participating in the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP).

Canadian hospitals were made aware of the risk of Mycobacterium chimaera infection associated with heater-cooler units (HCUs) through alerts issued by the US food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In response, most hospitals conducted retrospective reviews for infections, informed exposed patients, and initiated a requirement for informed consent with HCU use. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:482-484.

Association between Antidepressants and Fall-Related Injuries among Long-Term Care Residents.

Objectives: Antidepressants are associated with an increased risk of falls although little is known of the comparative risks of different types of antidepressants or individuals who are at greatest risk for falls. We examined the association between new use of antidepressants and fall-related injuries among older adults in long-term care (LTC).

Design, Setting, Participants: This was a matched, retrospective cohort study involving LTC residents in Ontario, Canada, from 2008 to 2014.

Main outcomes of the FRESH START trial: a sequentially tailored, diet and exercise mailed print intervention among breast and prostate cancer survivors.

Purpose: Cancer survivors are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and second primary tumors. Healthful lifestyle practices may improve the health and well-being of survivors. The FRESH START trial tested the efficacy of sequentially tailored versus standardized mailed materials on improving cancer survivors' diet and exercise behaviors.

Perceptions about use of a patient Internet portal among Medicaid beneficiaries.

Patient Internet portals that allow patients to access their personal health information are an emerging form of enabling technology. The purported benefits from increasing use of information technology in healthcare, however, may not be universal because of a widening digital divide along racial and socioeconomic lines. In this pilot study, we surveyed 31 Medicaid beneficiaries to ascertain their interest in and projected use of a healthcare patient Internet portal.

User interface considerations for collecting data at the point of care in the tablet PC computing environment.

Collecting clinical data directly from clinicians is a challenge. Many standard development environments designed to expedite the creation of user interfaces for electronic healthcare applications do not provide acceptable components for satisfying the requirements for collecting and displaying clinical data at the point of care on the tablet computer. Through an iterative design and testing approach using think-aloud sessions in the eye care setting, we were able to identify and resolve several user interface issues.

Perceptions of Medicaid beneficiaries regarding the usefulness of accessing personal health information and services through a patient Internet portal.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on the importance of information technology to improve the safety and quality of healthcare. However, concern is growing that these potential benefits will not be equally distributed across the population because of a widening digital divide along racial and socioeconomic lines. In this pilot study, we surveyed 31 Medicaid beneficiaries to ascertain their interest in and projected use of a healthcare patient Internet portal.

Overcoming obstacles to collecting narrative data from eye care professionals at the point-of-care.

Capturing the nuances of clinical observations in an electronic format has been a major challenge in implementing electronic health records. In a formative evaluation study using three different methodologies, we identified that the greatest obstacle to point-of-care data entry for eye care was supporting free text annotation of clinical observations. To overcome this obstacle, we developed an approach that captures an image of a free text entry and associates this image with related data elements in an encounter note.

Creation and use of a survey instrument for comparing mobile computing devices.

Both personal digital assistants (PDAs) and tablet computers have emerged to facilitate data collection at the point of care. However, little research has been reported comparing these mobile computing devices in specific care settings. In this study we present an approach for comparing functionally identical applications on a Palm operating system-based PDA and a Windows-based tablet computer for point-of-care documentation of clinical observations by eye care professionals when caring for patients with diabetes.

Developing a framework for conducting economic evaluations of community-based health information technology interventions.

This study describes a framework for conducting economic analyses for health information technology (HIT) interventions, in the context of three interventions that are currently being implemented in a community-based health network caring for 17,779 Medicaid beneficiaries in Durham County, North Carolina. We show that if the HIT interventions were to redirect only 10% of low-severity emergency room encounters to outpatient care, it will result in $12,523 of monthly savings.

Direct comparison of a tablet computer and a personal digital assistant for point-of-care documentation in eye care.

New mobile computing devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs) and tablet computers have emerged to facilitate data collection at the point of care. Unfortunately, little research has been reported regarding which device is optimal for a given care setting. In this study we created and compared functionally identical applications on a Palm operating system-based PDA and a Windows-based tablet computer for point-of-care documentation of clinical observations by eye care professionals when caring for patients with diabetes.

Identifying and overcoming obstacles to point-of-care data collection for eye care professionals.

Supporting data entry by clinicians is considered one of the greatest challenges in implementing electronic health records. In this paper we describe a formative evaluation study using three different methodologies through which we identified obstacles to point-of-care data entry for eye care and then used the formative process to develop and test solutions to overcome these obstacles. The greatest obstacles were supporting free text annotation of clinical observations and accommodating the creation of detailed diagrams in multiple colors.

Assessing the potential economic value of health information technology interventions in a community-based health network.

Health information professionals recognize the need to demonstrate that the benefits of health information technological (HIT) interventions outweigh their costs. However, such cost-benefit analyses are rarely conducted for HIT interventions, due in part to the lack of a standard methodology. In this study, we describe how the U.

A simple, flexible and scalable approach for generating tailored questionnaires and health education messages.

Tailored health information is important for generating patient-specific recommendations in clinical decision support systems and for crafting health education materials that are specifically customized to a patient. Many previous attempts to generate tailored information require complex representations, lack general applicability, and are inflexible to content alterations. In this article, we describe a simple, yet flexible approach for tailoring health communication.