Building a Foundation for High-Quality Health Data: Multihospital Case Study in Belgium.

Background: Data quality is fundamental to maintaining the trust and reliability of health data for both primary and secondary purposes. However, before the secondary use of health data, it is essential to assess the quality at the source and to develop systematic methods for the assessment of important data quality dimensions.

Objective: This case study aims to offer a dual aim-to assess the data quality of height and weight measurements across 7 Belgian hospitals, focusing on the dimensions of completeness and consistency, and to outline the obstacles these hospitals face in sharing and improving data quality standards.

Frameworks, Dimensions, Definitions of Aspects, and Assessment Methods for the Appraisal of Quality of Health Data for Secondary Use: Comprehensive Overview of Reviews.

Background: Health care has not reached the full potential of the secondary use of health data because of-among other issues-concerns about the quality of the data being used. The shift toward digital health has led to an increase in the volume of health data. However, this increase in quantity has not been matched by a proportional improvement in the quality of health data.

Information Resources Among Flemish Pregnant Women: Cross-sectional Study.

Background: There has been an exponential growth in the availability of apps, resulting in increased use of pregnancy apps. However, information on resources and use of apps among pregnant women is relatively limited.

Objective: The aim of this study is to map the current information resources and the use of pregnancy apps among pregnant women in Flanders.

A Literature Review on the GDPR, COVID-19 and the Ethical Considerations of Data Protection During a Time of Crisis.

Objective: This survey article presents a literature review of relevant publications aiming to explore whether the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has held true during a time of crisis and the implications that arose during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Method And Results: Based on the approach taken and the screening of the relevant articles, the results focus on three themes: a critique on GDPR; the ethics surrounding the use of digital health technologies, namely in the form of mobile applications; and the possibility of cross border transfers of said data outside of Europe. Within this context, the article reviews the arising themes, considers the use of data through mobile health applications, and discusses whether data protection may require a revision when balancing societal and personal interests.

Quality of Hospital Electronic Health Record (EHR) Data Based on the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) in Heart Failure: Pilot Data Quality Assessment Study.

Background: There is increasing recognition that health care providers need to focus attention, and be judged against, the impact they have on the health outcomes experienced by patients. The measurement of health outcomes as a routine part of clinical documentation is probably the only scalable way of collecting outcomes evidence, since secondary data collection is expensive and error-prone. However, there is uncertainty about whether routinely collected clinical data within electronic health record (EHR) systems includes the data most relevant to measuring and comparing outcomes and if those items are collected to a good enough data quality to be relied upon for outcomes assessment, since several studies have pointed out significant issues regarding EHR data availability and quality.

[Value of hospital electronic health records for clinical research: contribution of the European project EHR4CR].

Electronic health records in hospitals contribute to improving the quality of care by enabling better management of clinical information. The databases thus constituted facilitate the exchange of health information with healthcare providers and optimize multidisciplinary coordination for better therapeutic results. The EHR4CR (Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research) European project has developed an innovative pilot platform enabling the reuse of this digital information for clinical research.

Business analysis for a sustainable, multi-stakeholder ecosystem for leveraging the Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research (EHR4CR) platform in Europe.

Introduction: The Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research (EHR4CR) technological platform has been developed to enable the trustworthy reuse of hospital electronic health records data for clinical research. The EHR4CR platform can enhance and speed up clinical research scenarios: protocol feasibility assessment, patient identification for recruitment in clinical trials, and clinical data exchange, including for reporting serious adverse events. Our objective was to seed a multi-stakeholder ecosystem to enable the scalable exploitation of the EHR4CR platform in Europe, and to assess its economic sustainability.

European Interoperability Assets Register and Quality Framework Implementation.

Interoperability assets is the term applied to refer to any resource that can support the design, implementation and successful adoption of eHealth services that can exchange data meaningfully. Some examples may include functional requirements, specifications, standards, clinical models and term lists, guidance on how standards may be used concurrently, implementation guides, educational resources, and other resources. Unfortunately, these are largely accessible in ad hoc ways and result in scattered fragments of a solution space that urgently need to be brought together.

Static load bearing exercises of individuals with transfemoral amputation fitted with an osseointegrated implant: Loading compliance.

Background: Load-bearing exercises are performed by transfemoral amputees fitted with an osseointegrated implant to facilitate bone remodelling.

Objective: This study presents the loading compliance comparing loads prescribed and applied on the three axes of the implant during static load-bearing exercises with a specific emphasis on axial and vectorial comparisons.

Study Design: Cohort study.

Measuring participation as defined by the World Health Organization in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Psychometric properties of the Ghent Participation Scale.

Objective: To examine the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, discriminant validity and responsiveness of the Ghent Participation Scale.

Design: Cross-sectional study with a test-retest sample.

Setting: Six outpatient rehabilitation centres in Belgium.

Measuring participation when combining subjective and objective variables: the development of the Ghent Participation Scale (GPS).

Background: The ICF reflects a bio-psycho-social paradigm and is increasingly used in outpatients rehabilitation settings. The component of participation is in the ICF the manifestation of a bio-psycho-social reasoning. Different participation measures have already been developed and were operationalized through objective and/or a limited set of subjective variables, but keeping them as separate concepts.

Cost-benefit assessment of using electronic health records data for clinical research versus current practices: Contribution of the Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research (EHR4CR) European Project.

Introduction: The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHR) provides a new opportunity to improve the efficiency of clinical research. The European EHR4CR (Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research) 4-year project has developed an innovative technological platform to enable the re-use of EHR data for clinical research. The objective of this cost-benefit assessment (CBA) is to assess the value of EHR4CR solutions compared to current practices, from the perspective of sponsors of clinical trials.

Using electronic health records for clinical research: the case of the EHR4CR project.

Objectives: To describe the IMI EHR4CR project which is designing and developing, and aims to demonstrate, a scalable, widely acceptable and efficient approach to interoperability between EHR systems and clinical research systems.

Methods: The IMI EHR4CR project is combining and extending several previously isolated state-of-the-art technical components through a new approach to develop a platform for reusing EHR data to support medical research. This will be achieved through multiple but unified initiatives across different major disease areas (e.

Whole-body vibration in breast cancer survivors: a pilot study exploring its effects on muscle activity and subjectively perceived exertion.

The aim of this study was to analyse muscle activity and subjectively perceived exertion [rating of perceived exertion (RPE)] during whole-body vibration (WBV) in breast cancer survivors. Twenty breast cancer survivors and 20 healthy controls performed isometric squats on a vibration platform. RPE and muscle activity (surface electromyography) of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius were recorded under the following conditions: nonvibration (0 Hz) and vibration (20-30-40-50 Hz) conditions.

Static load bearing exercises of individuals with transfemoral amputation fitted with an osseointegrated implant: reliability of kinetic data.

This study aimed at presenting the intra-tester reliability of the static load bearing exercises (LBEs) performed by individuals with transfemoral amputation (TFA) fitted with an osseointegrated implant to stimulate the bone remodeling process. There is a need for a better understanding of the implementation of these exercises particularly the reliability. The intra-tester reliability is discussed with a particular emphasis on inter-load prescribed, inter-axis and inter-component reliabilities as well as the effect of body weight normalization.

Posture class prediction of pre-peak height velocity subjects according to gross body segment orientations using linear discriminant analysis.

Background/purpose: Measurement and classification of standing posture in the sagittal plane has important clinical implications for adolescent spinal disorders. Previous work using cluster analysis on three gross body segment orientation parameters (lower limbs, trunk, and entire body inclination) has identified three distinct postural groups of healthy subjects before pubertal peak growth: "neutral", "sway-back", and "leaning-forward". Although accurate postural subgrouping may be proposed to be crucial in understanding biomechanical challenges posed by usual standing, there is currently no objective method available for class assignment.

Classification system of the sagittal standing alignment in young adolescent girls.

Purpose: The purpose of this cohort study was to classify sagittal standing alignment of pre-peak height velocity (pre-PHV) girls, and to evaluate whether identified subgroups were associated with measures of spinal pain. This study further aimed at drawing attention to similarities and differences between the current postural classification and a previous system determined among pre-PHV boys.

Methods: 557 pre-PHV girls [mean age, 10.

Classification system of the normal variation in sagittal standing plane alignment: a study among young adolescent boys.

Study Design: Cohort study.

Objective: To construct a sagittal standing alignment classification system in which the clinical significance of identified subgroups was considered with spinal pain measures.

Summary Of Background Data: Numerous grading systems for the categorization of sagittal standing alignment have been devised.

A clinical postural model of sagittal alignment in young adolescents before age at peak height velocity.

Introduction: From a clinical point of view, knowledge of customary standing positions among healthy young adolescents is of primary importance. The purpose of this study was to document the correlations between sagittal standing posture parameters in a pre-peak height velocity (pre-PHV) cohort.

Materials And Methods: This cohort study included 639 pre-PHV boys (age 12.

Sagittal standing posture and its association with spinal pain: a school-based epidemiological study of 1196 Flemish adolescents before age at peak height velocity.

Study Design: Cross-sectional baseline data set on the sagittal standing posture of 1196 adolescents.

Objective: To describe and quantify common variations in the sagittal standing alignment in boys and girls who are in the same phase of growth and to explore the association between habitual standing posture and measures for spinal pain.

Summary Of Background Data: Data on postural characteristics and spinal pain measures in adolescence are sparse, especially when somatic and biological maturity status is to be considered.

Policy brief on the current status of certification of electronic Health Records in the US and Europe.

If Electronic Health Record systems are to provide an effective contribution to healthcare, a set of benchmarks need to be set to ensure quality control and interoperability of systems. This paper outlines the prevailing status of EHR certification in the US and the EU, compares and contrasts established schemes and poses opportunities for convergence of activity in the domain designed to advance certification endeavours generally. Several EU Member States have in the past proceeded with EHR systems quality labeling and/or certification, but these differ in scope, in legal framework under which they operate, in policies (legislation and financial incentives), in organization, and perhaps most importantly in the quality criteria used for benchmarking.

Reliability and validity of the INFOOT three-dimensional foot digitizer for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Abnormal foot posture and deformities are identified as important features in rheumatoid arthritis. There is still no consensus regarding the optimum technique(s) for quantifying these features; hence, a foot digitizer might be used as an objective measurement tool. We sought to assess the validity and reliability of the INFOOT digitizer.

Computed tomographic analysis of the quality of trunk muscles in asymptomatic and symptomatic lumbar discectomy patients.

Background: No consensus exists on how rehabilitation programs for lumbar discectomy patients with persistent complaints after surgery should be composed. A better understanding of normal and abnormal postoperative trunk muscle condition might help direct the treatment goals.

Methods: A three-dimensional CT scan of the lumbar spine was obtained in 18 symptomatic and 18 asymptomatic patients who had undergone a lumbar discectomy 42 months to 83 months (median 63 months) previously.

Introducing telemonitoring for diabetic patients: development of a telemonitoring 'Health Effect and Readiness' Questionnaire.

Purpose: Till now no validated instrument exists to measure the readiness and attitude of diabetic patients towards the use of telemonitoring. The purpose of the described study was to develop a Telemonitoring Attitude and Readiness Questionnaire and to check its validity and reliability.

Methods: After performing in-depth interviews in two separate sessions, the Telemonitoring Attitude and Readiness Questionnaire was completed by a convenience sample of 138 patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to determine internal consistency.