Evidence-based algorithms can improve both lay and professional judgements and decisions, yet they remain underutilised. Research on advice taking established that humans tend to discount advice--especially when it contradicts their own judgement ("egocentric advice discounting")--but this can be mitigated by knowledge about the…

There has been increasing interest in applying integrative data analysis (IDA) to analyze data across multiple studies to increase sample size and statistical power. Measures of a construct are frequently not consistent across studies. This article provides a tutorial on the complex decisions that occur when conducting harmonization of measures…

Electronic virtual patients (VPs) are interactive screen-based computer simulations of real-life clinical scenarios that are widely used for the purposes of health sciences education. Advances in computational modeling and availability of large patient cohort datasets from Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems have created an opportunity to…

The volume of information generated by healthcare providers is growing at a relatively high speed. This tremendous growth has created a gap between knowledge and clinical practice that experts say could be narrowed with the proper use of healthcare data to guide clinical decisions and tools that support rapid information availability at the…

This study was conducted with medical students, physicians, patients and carers in a paediatric and an adult hospital to determine use of mobile devices for learning, and beliefs and attitudes about others' use. Awareness of ethical, patient privacy and data security concerns was explored. The research was conducted using a mixed-methods…

This study was conducted to explore the effects of an event history calendar (EHC) approach on adolescent sexual risk communication and sexual activity. Adolescent school-linked health clinic patients (n = 30) who reported sexual activity self-administered the EHC that was used by nurse practitioners (NPs; n = 2) during a clinic visit. Immediately…

In order to improve the understanding of educational needs among residents caring for the critically ill, narrative accounts of 19 senior physician trainees participating in level of care decision-making were analyzed. In this multicentre qualitative study involving 9 university centers in Canada, in-depth interviews were conducted in either…

Purpose: This study explored the process of decision making about hospice enrollment and identified factors that influence the timing of that decision. Methods: This study employed an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional design and was conducted using qualitative methods. In-depth in-person semistructured interviews were conducted with 36…

Midwives in Ghana provide the majority of rural primary and maternal healthcare services, but have limited access to data for decision making and knowledge work. Few mobile health (mHealth) applications have been designed for midwives. The study purpose was to design and test an mHealth application (mClinic) that can improve data access and reduce…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate what motivates associate degree (AND) and diploma prepared registered nurses (RN) to pursue a baccalaureate degree (BSN) through an RN-to-BSN program. Studies have shown that the educational level of nurses has direct impact on the safety and quality of care provided to patients.…

Dying persons are encouraged to name as durable power of attorney for health care (DPAHC) someone who will thus be empowered to make end-of-life treatment decisions for them in the event that they become incapacitated. We use data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to investigate whether and whom older adults designate as their DPAHC. DPAHC…

Objective: To study whether psychiatry residents' personal variables (such as age, gender, level of training, previous experience with patient suicide, or lawsuits) and their temperamental predispositions have an impact on their decisions to seek involuntary commitment. Method: In a prospective pilot study, all psychiatry residents in…

The purpose of this study was to determine for a sample of Montana families if a positive relationship existed between the family's socioeconomic status and its medical initiation behavior, and then, controlling for socioeconomic status, to determine if a relationship existed between initiation of professional medical care and a number of…