Nese Zayim

Factors Affecting Nursing Students' Readiness and Perceptions Toward the Use of Mobile Technologies for Learning.

The purpose of this study was to determine the current usage of mobile devices, preferences of mobile learning environments and examine the readiness of nursing students in a public university. In order to investigate preferences and attitudes with respect to mobile technology use in nursing education, 387 students at a state university have been surveyed. It has been observed that while students preferred their current portable laptops, those in higher classes were more inclined to favor mobile phones. The common problems of battery life and high cost of communication, both in smartphones and tablet systems, suggest that hardware quality and financial constraints seem to be two main factors in determining these technologies. While more than half of students expressed readiness for mobile learning, one quarter indicated indecision. Through multivariate regression analysis, readiness to use mobile learning can be described in terms of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness, self-management of learning, perceived device limitation, and availability. Class level, perceived ease of use, personal innovativeness, and self-management of learning explain intention to use mobile learning. Findings obtained from these results can provide guidance in the development and application of mobile learning systems.

A web-based intensive care clinical decision support system: From design to evaluation

The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate a web-based clinical decision support system (CDSS) containing clinical guidelines and protocols that will support intensive care unit (ICU) providers in making decisions more effectively and quickly. First, a survey was carried out with 38 physicians in order to determine their preferences, needs and concerns regarding decision support tools. After the survey, guidelines were prepared by a group of specialists in ICU, and a medical informatician converted the guidelines into algorithm forms. Ten CDSS were developed using the algorithms, and placed onto the Intensive Care Decision Support Website (ICDSW). In order to evaluation of the website, 15 physicians were asked to answer 10 questions in 10 different scenarios first using a paper-based approach, then with ICDSW. When the answers were analyzed, it was found that the answers given by using ICDSW were significantly better than the paper-based approach (p <  0.001). However, there was no significant difference in terms of the time needed to answer the questions (p  =  0.138). The usability score of the website was 85.6  ±  8.89. The study demonstrated the successful implementation of an ICDSW within intensive care units.

Organizational issues in health informatics applications: Findings from a systematic review

Recent studies show that many attempts to implement health information systems (HIS) are less than completely successful and do not lead to improvements in the quality, safety or even cost of healthcare. There are a number of major issues that cause problems to occur in the design, implementation, evaluation process, as well as other factors. However, the major challenges to HIS success more often related to behavioral issues rather than technological issues. Therefore, it is important to focus on human and organizational issues in the lifecycle of HIS. In this paper we aim to review and summarize recent studies on human and organizational issues related to HIS. We believe that our findings will serve as a guide for researchers, evaluators, IT specialists and stakeholders working in the healthcare environment.

What are the characteristics of people who are successful on recognizing human facial expressions on computer monitor

In some psychological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, loss of facial expression recognition skill may complicate patients daily life. Information technology may help to develop facial expression recognition skill by educational software and games. Our aim was to prepare a reliable “human facial expressions” digital photograph set, and define the characteristics of people who are successful on recognizing human facial expressions on computer monitor. We have taken 1001 photographs of 40 models, resembling facial expressions of neutral, angry, feared, happy, surprised, disgusted, and sad. By using a web based survey, 427 volunteers have evaluated the photographs. Of 427 users, 275 (64.4%) were female, 152 (35.6%) were male. Their age was 35.5 ± 9.3 (mean ± standard deviation). They have received a mean consensus score as mean of their consensus scores for each photograph. At the end, we have obtained 356 photographs of facial expressions. The evaluators whose consensus scores below 0.65 were evaluated as poor evaluators and their evaluation about facial expressions were neglected. To understand characteristics of a good evaluator, a logistic regression was applied using input parameters as geographical region, size of settlement, gender, educational level and age. Gender and age were statistically significant factors. Females were more successful in recognition of facial expressions. There was a negative relation with age, younger users were more successful. When this set will be used, one should remind that facial expression recognition performance decrease by age and male gender is a disadvantage for recognition of facial expressions.

Nationwide content analysis of undergraduate obstetrics and gynaecology clinical curricula in Turkish medical schools

Abstract The aim was to perform a document content analysis of the subject titles in the undergraduate obstetrics and gynaecology (OG) curricula in Turkish medical schools regarding the National Core Curriculum revised in 2014 (NCC-2014). Two mini-focus group discussions with four voluntary OG faculty members in each session and one of the authors as the moderator were employed within a 1-week time frame to identify the primary (n = 36) and secondary (n = 15) NCC-2014 OG titles that were then compared for the alignment with the curricula of the various medical schools published on their website. The internet search and data analyses were each completed within 3 months. Overall, about 80% and 23% of primary and secondary OG topics were present in 54 medical schools, respectively. Teaching sessions on high-risk pregnancy and ovarian cancer were present in all of the curricula. Chromosomal disorders (11 schools), candidiasis/vaginal discharge (13 schools) and female sexual dysfunction (15 schools) were the least represented primary topics. None of the curricula had a title on neural tube defects or oncological emergencies. Obesity (one school), iron deficiency anaemia (four schools), genitourinary trauma (four schools) and domestic violence (four schools) were among the underrepresented secondary subject titles. This nationwide analysis revealed deficiencies in undergraduate OG core curricular content of the medical schools. Impact Statement What is already known on this subject? The content alignment of undergraduate curricula with a standard core curriculum is essential. What the results of this study add? A nationwide content analysis of obstetrics and gynaecology curricula in 54 of the Turkish medical schools revealed deficiencies in the core curricular content, with none of the analysed curricula having a total alignment of the subject titles. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? There is a need to ensure the fulfilment of the undergraduate obstetrics and gynaecology curriculum, either by a recognition scheme, inspection visits, external examiners, or by the national licence examinations.

A Web-based Game for Teaching Facial Expressions to Schizophrenic Patients

BACKGROUND Recognizing facial expressions is an important social skill. In some psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, loss of this skill may complicate the patients daily life. Prior research has shown that information technology may help to develop facial expression recognition skills through educational software and games. OBJECTIVES To examine if a computer game designed for teaching facial expressions would improve facial expression recognition skills of patients with schizophrenia. METHODS We developed a website composed of eight serious games. Thirty-two patients were given a pre-test composed of 21 facial expression photographs. Eighteen patients were in the study group while 14 were in the control group. Patients in the study group were asked to play the games on the website. After a period of one month, we performed a post-test for all patients. RESULTS The median score of the correct answers was 17.5 in the control group whereas it was 16.5 in the study group (of 21) in pretest. The median post-test score was 18 in the control group (p=0.052) whereas it was 20 in the study group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Computer games may be used for the purpose of educating people who have difficulty in recognizing facial expressions.

Web Based Personal Nutrition Management Tool

Internet is being used increasingly as a resource for accessing health-related information because of its several advantages. Therefore, Internet tailoring becomes quite preferable in health education and personal health management recently. Today, there are many web based health programs de-signed for individuals. Among these studies nutrition and weight management is popular because, obesity has become a heavy burden for populations worldwide. In this study, we designed a web based personal nutrition education and management tool, The Nutrition Web Portal, in order to enhance patients’ nutrition knowledge, and provide behavioral change against obesity. The present paper reports analysis, design and development processes of The Nutrition Web Portal.