Biomedical subjects

Kanittha Volrathongchai

Publications and source records attributed to Kanittha Volrathongchai.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Use and Impact of eHealth System by Low-income Women With Breast Cancer.

This article is the second of a two-part series reporting on a population-based study intended to use an eHealth system to examine the feasibility of reaching underserved women with breast cancer (Gustafson, McTavish et al., Reducing the digital divide for low-income women with breast cancer, 2004; Madison Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis, University of Wisconsin; Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System [CHESS]) and determine how they use the system and what impact it had on them. Participants included women recently diagnosed with breast cancer whose income was at or below 250% of poverty level and were living in rural Wisconsin (n = 144; all Caucasian) or Detroit (n = 85; all African American). Because this was a population-based study all 229 participants received CHESS. A comparison group of patients (n = 51) with similar demographics was drawn from a separate recently completed randomized clinical trial. Use rates (e.g., frequency and length of use as well as type of use) as well as impact on several dimensions of quality of life and participation in health care are reported. Low-income subjects in this study logged on and spent more time on CHESS than more affluent women in a previous study. Urban African Americans used information and analysis services more and communication services less than rural Caucasians. When all low-income women from this study are combined and compared with a low-income control group from another study, the CHESS group was superior to that control group in 4 of 8 outcome variables at both statistically and practically significant levels (social support, negative emotions, participation in health care, and information competence). When African Americans and Caucasians are separated the control group's sample size becomes 30 and 21 thus reducing power. Statistical significance is retained, however, in all four outcomes for Caucasians and in two of four for African Americans. Practical significance is retained for all four outcomes. We conclude that an eHealth system like CHESS will be used extensively and have a positive impact on low-income women with breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMed2005

Predicting the likelihood of falls among the elderly using likelihood basis pursuit technique.

This study reports on the application of the knowledge discovery in database process to generate models that can predict the likelihood of falls among the elderly who reside in long-term care facilities. This process was applied to data held in the Minimum Data Set, a comprehensive resident assessment instrument being used in all Medicare and Medicaid supported nursing homes in the United States. For this study, we incorporated a new data mining technique, Likelihood Basis Pursuit, into the process. Using this technique, we were able to correctly identify which of the variables in this data set were associated with falls and generate models that could make fall likelihood predictions based upon those variables. Because the model provides probabilities based upon the exact combination of variables present in a particular resident, models constructed using this new data mining technique have the potential to be more useful for assessing fall risk.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2003

Nursing Minimum Data Set development and implementation in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: In 1997, the Thai Ministry of Public Health began planning to implement a national health information system. Development of the nursing component of this system is an ongoing process. The first step in developing a nursing information system is to identify an essential Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS). AIM: To describe the development of a NMDS in Thailand and explore the challenges of implementing it, including the issue of the comparability with data sets in other countries, primarily the United States of America. METHODS: The process of developing a NMDS specific to Thailand is reviewed. Strategies for implementing this data set and important issues related to it are then discussed. FINDINGS: Although a preliminary Thai NMDS has been identified, challenges associated with its development and implementation within the Thai National health information system remain. CONCLUSION: A Thai NMDS and its elements have been identified. The International Classification of Nursing Practice was translated and is to be used to implement the data set describing the nursing care of patients and their families. However, many issues, such as the need for conceptual translation and increasing nurses' involvement in the process, still need to be addressed in order to implement the data set successfully.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2003

Applying Knowledge Discovery in Databases in public health data set: challenges and concerns.

We are investigating the use of axiomatic design (AD) as a principled approach to the revision of guidelines. AD models guidelines in a modular and hierarchical manner and captures interactions be-tween modules. To test this approach we applied AD to encode segments of three guidelines and their revised versions. Guideline encodings for the original versions were modified to incorporate changes made in the revised documents. The results indicate that AD is a promising approach for guideline modeling.

Aged↗