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PubMedDate not supplied

Factors that influence women's nutrition knowledge in Saudi Arabia.

We studied knowledge of nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation in 150 pregnant Saudi women at three primary health care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We used an interview schedule to collect data regarding the women's knowledge and to determine the effects of certain independent variables on the knowledge scores. Green et al.'s (1980) PRECEDE model provided the theoretical framework for the study. Descriptive statistics, t test, and chi-square methods were used to analyze the data. The majority of the women had poor nutrition knowledge scores, with no significant differences among the three centers. A positive relationship was found between knowledge score and educational level. Negative relationships were found between knowledge score and number of pregnancies, number of deliveries, and number of living children. The findings have several implications for efforts to improve the health status of women in Saudi Arabia.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A dynamic problem to knowledge linking Semantic Web service based on clinical codes.

Many information needs arise during everyday clinical practice. Problem to knowledge linking aims to answer these needs by providing contextually appropriate medical knowledge in the right place and at the right time. Empirical evidence shows that well-informed physicians and patients are able to make better clinical decisions that positively affect healthcare outcomes. This paper reports on the design and development of a re-usable and flexible Semantic Web problem to knowledge linking service. The service makes use of metadata and clinical codes contextually to link disparate Electronic Patient Record clients to resources in an online medical knowledge service (HealthCyberMap). Clinical codes act as crisp knowledge hooks, providing a reliable common backbone language for communication between Electronic Patient Records and HealthCyberMap. Ideas to improve the service are also discussed. By minimizing irrelevant leads (noise) and reducing the time needed to find relevant information (the right contextually relevant knowledge is linked to real patient data in the Electronic Patient Record), the system is potentially beneficial. The actual success of the system will depend on the quality and granularity of metadata it uses and the topical coverage and quality of resources to which it points.

Databases as Topic↗
PubMed2002

Why study pain? A qualitative analysis of medical and nursing faculty and students' knowledge of and attitudes to cancer pain management.

Although effective means for pain management have long been available, cancer pain remains widely undertreated. Surveys of medical personnel have revealed knowledge deficits and attitudinal barriers to pain management, but have not determined why such attitudes persist and how they may be addressed in medical and nursing curricula. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of the beliefs and attitudes toward pain and cancer pain management held by medical and nursing students and faculty who participated in the Cancer Education Module for the Management of Pain (CEMMP) project. Analysis centered on informants' prioritization and knowledge of pain and cancer pain management and on the meanings informants assigned to pain in a clinical context. Themes in prioritization included the importance of learning about pain versus cancer pain and the responsibility of primary care providers versus specialists for pain and cancer pain management. Themes in informants' knowledge of pain included knowledge deficits about medications and adjunct therapies and the presence of pain management in the curriculum, and the role of knowledgeable faculty members and mentors in the dissemination of information about pain management. Themes in the meanings informants' assigned to pain included opioidphobia, and the (inter-)subjectivity of pain. The discussion focuses in particular on tensions within the prioritization, knowledge and meanings of pain that must be resolved before students can be appropriately educated for optimal pain management.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2004

Atlantic Telehealth Knowledge Exchange.

Atlantic Canada has some of the earliest, most comprehensive, well-established networks, and innovative applications for telehealth in the country. The region offers a range of models for telehealth, in terms of management structure, coordination, funding, equipment, utilization, and telehealth applications. Collectively, this diversity, experience, and wealth of knowledge can significantly contribute to the development of a knowledge base for excellence in telehealth services. There is no formal process in place for the sharing of information amongst the provinces. Information sharing primarily occurs informally through professional contacts and participation in telehealth organizations. A core group of organizations partnered to develop a process for knowledge exchange to occur. This type of collaborative approach is favored in Atlantic Canada, given the region's economy and available resources. The Atlantic Telehealth Knowledge Exchange (ATKE) project centred on the development of a collaborative structure, information sharing and dissemination, development of a knowledge repository and sustainability. The project is viewed as a first step in assisting telehealth stakeholders with sharing knowledge about telehealth in Atlantic Canada. Significant progress has been made throughout the project in increasing the profile of telehealth in Atlantic Canada. The research process has captured and synthesized baseline information on telehealth, and fostered collaboration amongst telehealth providers who might otherwise have never come together. It has also brought critical awareness to the discussion tables of governments and key committees regarding the value of telehealth in sustaining our health system, and has motivated decision makers to take action to integrate telehealth into e-health discussions.

Benchmarking↗
PubMed2000

Ontology-based knowledge representation for bioinformatics.

Much of biology works by applying prior knowledge ('what is known') to an unknown entity, rather than the application of a set of axioms that will elicit knowledge. In addition, the complex biological data stored in bioinformatics databases often require the addition of knowledge to specify and constrain the values held in that database. One way of capturing knowledge within bioinformatics applications and databases is the use of ontologies. An ontology is the concrete form of a conceptualisation of a community's knowledge of a domain. This paper aims to introduce the reader to the use of ontologies within bioinformatics. A description of the type of knowledge held in an ontology will be given.The paper will be illustrated throughout with examples taken from bioinformatics and molecular biology, and a survey of current biological ontologies will be presented. From this it will be seen that the use to which the ontology is put largely determines the content of the ontology. Finally, the paper will describe the process of building an ontology, introducing the reader to the techniques and methods currently in use and the open research questions in ontology development.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed1992

A knowledge base of the chemical compounds of intermediary metabolism.

This paper describes a publicly available knowledge base of the chemical compounds involved in intermediary metabolism. We consider the motivations for constructing a knowledge base of metabolic compounds, the methodology by which it was constructed, and the information that it currently contains. Currently the knowledge base describes 981 compounds, listing for each: synonyms for its name, a systematic name, CAS registry number, chemical formula, molecular weight, chemical structure and two-dimensional display coordinates for the structure. The Compound Knowledge Base (CompoundKB) illustrates several methodological principles that should guide the development of biological knowledge bases. I argue that biological datasets should be made available in multiple representations to increase their accessibility to end users, and I present multiple representations of the CompoundKB (knowledge base, relational data base and ASN. 1 representations). I also analyze the general characteristics of these representations to provide an understanding of their relative advantages and disadvantages. Another principle is that the error rate of biological data bases should be estimated and documented-this analysis is performed for the CompoundKB.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed2004

ISYMOD: a knowledge warehouse for the identification, assembly and analysis of bacterial integrated systems.

MOTIVATION: Complex biological functions emerge from interactions between proteins in stable supra-molecular assemblies and/or through transitory contacts. Most of the time protein partners of the assemblies are composed of one or several domains which exhibit different biochemical functions. Thus the study of cellular process requires the identification of different functional units and their integration in an interaction network; such complexes are referred to as integrated systems. In order to exploit with optimum efficiency the increased release of data, automated bioinformatics strategies are needed to identify, reconstruct and model such systems. For that purpose, we have developed a knowledge warehouse dedicated to the representation and acquisition of bacterial integrated systems involved in the exchange of the bacterial cell with its environment. RESULTS: ISYMOD is a knowledge warehouse that consistently integrates in the same environment the data and the methods used for their acquisition. This is achieved through the construction of (1) a domain knowledge base (DKB) devoted to the storage of the knowledge about the systems, their functional specificities, their partners and how they are related and (2) a methodological knowledge base (MKB) which depicts the task layout used to identify and reconstruct functional integrated systems. Instantiation of the DKB is obtained by solving the tasks of the MKB, whereas some tasks need instances of the DKB to be solved. AROM, an object-based knowledge representation system, has been used to design the DKB, and its task manager, AROMTasks, for developing the MKB. In this study two integrated systems, ABC transporters and two component systems, both involved in adaptation processes of a bacterial cell to its biotope, have been used to evaluate the feasibility of the approach.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗
PubMed2003

Expertise in practice: an ethnographic study exploring acquisition and use of knowledge in anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND: Expert professional practice in any field is known to rely on both explicit (formal) and tacit (personal) forms of knowledge. Current anaesthetic training programmes appear to favour explicit knowledge and measurable competencies. We aimed to describe and explore the way different types of knowledge are learned and used in anaesthetic practice. METHOD: Qualitative approach using non-participant observation of, and semi-structured interviews with, anaesthetic staff in two English hospitals. RESULTS: The development of expertise in anaesthesia rests on the ability to reconcile and interpret many sources of knowledge--clinical, social, electronic, and experiential--and formal theoretical learning. Experts have mastered technical skills but are also able to understand the dynamic and uncertain condition of the anaesthetized patient and respond to changes in it. This expertise is acquired by working with colleagues, and, importantly, by working independently, to develop personal routines. Routines mark the successful incorporation of new knowledge but also function as a defence against the inherent uncertainty of anaesthetic practice. The habits seen in experts' routines are preferred ways of working chosen from a larger repertoire of techniques which can also be mobilized as changing circumstances demand. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities for developing expertise are linked to the independent development of personal routines. Evidence-based approaches to professional practice may obscure the role played by the interpretation of knowledge. We suggest that the restriction of apprenticeship-style training threatens the acquisition of anaesthetic expertise as defined in this paper.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed2003

The effects of age and domain knowledge on text processing.

The author investigated age differences in the effects of knowledge during encoding by comparing time allocated to naturalistic domain-related (cooking) and general texts among young and older adults with varying levels of (cooking) knowledge. High-knowledge individuals increased time allocated to conceptual integration when reading domain-related texts but not general texts and showed relatively greater recall for domain-related texts. These findings suggest that knowledge application can be effortful during encoding and that this effort pays off in terms of a more elaborated and integrated text representation that engenders better memory performance. There were no age differences in effects of knowledge on either resource allocation at encoding or on memory performance. These results suggest that knowledge-based processing is preserved in later life.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Promoting women's health: redefining the knowledge base and strategies for change.

Promoting women's health involves undertaking a critical gender-based analysis of women's health status and health needs and the knowledge bases which underlie health promotion action. The authors argue that professional and lay definitions of health problems often differ and that these differences stem from a differential emphasis on existing knowledge bases. Here the authors explore the focus of epidemiological, clinical, and experiential knowledge and suggest ways in which each does or does not address many key health issues which women themselves identify as important. Attention is also directed towards women's own suppressed and devalued knowledge as embodied in traditional folk practices and alternative care forms. Recommendations are made to improve existing knowledge bases by transforming some of the value orientations, priorities, methods and the social organization of research. The authors suggest that positive health promotion strategies must be based on an improved knowledge base and must incorporate three key concepts which women emphasize as central--self determination, women-centred values, and a gender-based political analysis. Strategies and methods to achieve these ends are suggested for health educators and policy-makers who wish to develop more positive approaches to promoting women's health.

Female↗
PubMed1975

A profile of clinical nutrition knowledge among physicians and medical students.

The clinical nutritional knowledge of medical students and practicing physicians was assessed. Overall, nutrition knowledge was modest. However, there were substantial variations in knowledge among closely related topics. Knowledge often was highest among nutrition topics which have received the most publicity in the popular press. The nutrition knowledge profile suggests that medical students and physicians learn about nutrition haphazardly and are highly dependent for their knowledge on nonprofessional literature.

Diet↗
PubMed2000

Influencing nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practice in cancer pain management.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of an education intervention on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practice in pain assessment and management over 3 months. The education intervention program was designed to change knowledge and influence the attitudes of registered nurses through a values clarification process using a conceptual framework based on a theory of reeducation. Participants in this descriptive, exploratory study were 53 nurses from six oncology units. Data were collected on their knowledge, attitudes, documentation practices, and analgesic choices in defined patient situations. The intervention was effective in changing the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of nurses in the study, but the effect was not maintained over time. Study findings suggest that further educational and organizational support is needed for effective practice in pain assessment and management. Further research should explore education programs that will maintain new knowledge over time. In addition, assessment of the effect that new knowledge has on the achievement of improved pain relief for patients should be explored in the future.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Intensive care physicians' insufficient knowledge of right-heart catheterization at the bedside: time to act?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate French, Swiss, and Belgian intensive care physicians' knowledge about the pulmonary artery catheter. DESIGN: Survey study by questionnaire. SETTING: Eighty-six European university and nonuniversity intensive care units (ICUs). SUBJECTS: One hundred thirty-four ICUs identified from the directories of two European intensive care medicine societies were asked to participate. Five hundred thirty-five critical care physicians working in 86 ICUs participated. INTERVENTIONS: In any particular ICU, all physicians were to complete--simultaneously, anonymously and without prior notice--a multiple choice questionnaire consisting of 31 questions regarding all aspects of bedside pulmonary artery catheterization. This questionnaire was the same one already used and extensively validated in a similar study conducted several years earlier in the United States and Canada. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The percentage of correct answers per participant (score) was tabulated. Sixty-eight percent of respondents still in training (n = 232) believed that their knowledge of the pulmonary artery catheter was less than adequate; 36% of those who had completed their postgraduate training (n = 294) also believed their knowledge to be inadequate. The mean score of all respondents was 72.2 +/- 14.4%, significantly lower (p <.0001) in case of uncompleted postgraduate training (67.3 +/- 14.7%, lower quartile 56.7%, median 70.0%, upper quartile 76.7%), as compared with completed postgraduate training (76.1 +/- 13.0%, lower quartile 70.0%, median 80.0%, upper quartile 86.7%). When using multivariate analysis, the location of the ICU in a university hospital, the belief of respondent that his/her knowledge of the pulmonary artery catheter was adequate, and the responsibility for supervising catheter insertion were the only independent predictors of good performance on the questionnaire (p < .001 for all three variables). It was impossible to identify any subcategory of physicians with a uniformly good knowledge of the pulmonary artery catheter. The proportion of incorrect answers to some basic items was disturbingly high. For instance, approximately 50% of the respondents, whether trained or in training, did not correctly identify pulmonary artery occlusion pressure from a clear chart recording. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of right-heart pulmonary artery catheterization is not uniformly good among ICU physicians. Accreditation policies and teaching practices concerning this technique need urgent revision.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1977

Physicians' knowledge of and response to patients' problems.

The purposes of the study were: 1) to describe the extent of the physician's knowledge and his response; 2) to measure the degree of correlation among four indicators of knowledge and among four indicators of response; and 3) to measure the association between physician's knowledge and his response. There were five physicians and 299 patients in the study. All the patients had at least one chronic condition and one current complaint. The four indicators referred to the four kinds of problems considered: discomfort, worry, disturbance of daily living, and social problems. The physicians had high percentages of perfect scores on knowledge of discomfort, worry, and disturbance of daily living, but a low percentage on knowledge of social problems. Scores on response to discomfort were high but were low on response to other aspects. The correlations between knowledge and response, although statistically significant, were low for all four types of problems. It is possible that these correlations were underestimated because the physician's responses were recorded only for the three-month period of the study.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Knowledge and attitudes toward electroconvulsive therapy among health care professionals and students.

Widespread variations in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) prescription between and within countries have led many researchers to study professionals' attitudes to the procedure. A questionnaire looking at knowledge and attitudes was administered to 593 medical and nursing students, psychiatrists and anesthetists, and theater and psychiatric nurses. Respondents were based in 2 Irish cities, Dublin and Cork. Poorer knowledge of ECT was found in the nursing group, and this included psychiatric nurses: a third overestimate ECT mortality, most did not know if it caused permanent brain damage, and only 1 psychiatric nurse (2.9%) expressed positive attitudes to its use. Nursing students had significantly lower knowledge and more negative attitudes than medical students, and exposure to the procedure of ECT failed to improve their attitudes. The strongest predictor of better knowledge and more positive ECT attitudes was membership of the medical group. There were direct associations between better knowledge and more positive attitudes in the medical group but not among the nursing group. Low ECT knowledge among psychiatric nurses has implications in obtaining patients' valid consent. Our failure to link exposure to ECT to better nursing attitudes is discussed along with other educational lessons.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Learning about knowledge: a complex network approach.

An approach to modeling knowledge acquisition in terms of walks along complex networks is described. Each subset of knowledge is represented as a node, and relations between such knowledge are expressed as edges. Two types of edges are considered, corresponding to free and conditional transitions. The latter case implies that a node can only be reached after visiting previously a set of nodes (the required conditions). The process of knowledge acquisition can then be simulated by considering the number of nodes visited as a single agent moves along the network, starting from its lowest layer. It is shown that hierarchical networks--i.e., networks composed of successive interconnected layers--are related to compositions of the prerequisite relationships between the nodes. In order to avoid deadlocks--i.e., unreachable nodes--the subnetwork in each layer is assumed to be a connected component. Several configurations of such hierarchical knowledge networks are simulated and the performance of the moving agent quantified in terms of the percentage of visited nodes after each movement. The Barabási-Albert and random models are considered for the layer and interconnecting subnetworks. Although all subnetworks in each realization have the same number of nodes, several interconnectivities, defined by the average node degree of the interconnection networks, have been considered. Two visiting strategies are investigated: random choice among the existing edges and preferential choice to so far untracked edges. A series of interesting results are obtained, including the identification of a series of plateaus of knowledge stagnation in the case of the preferential movement strategy in the presence of conditional edges.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Perception of hazards: the role of social trust and knowledge

Recent research indicates that social trust of those who manage a hazard is strongly correlated to judgments about the hazard's risk and benefits. The present study investigates the more specific question of "For which hazards is this?" It was postulated that when an individual lacks knowledge about a hazard, social trust of authorities managing the hazard determines perceived risks and benefits. On the other hand, when an individual has personal knowledge about a hazard and therefore does not need to rely on managing authorities, social trust is unrelated to judged risks and benefits. Participants (N = 91) assessed risks, benefits, and trust in managing authorities and personal knowledge associated with 25 hazardous technologies and activities. As expected, strong correlations between social trust and judged risks and benefits were observed for hazards about which people did not possess much knowledge. No significant correlations between social trust and judged risks and benefits were found for hazards about which people were knowledgeable. Results suggest that the lay public relies on social trust when making judgments of risks and benefits when personal knowledge about a hazard is lacking. Replicating findings of other studies, the present study also found negative correlations between perceived risks and perceived benefits. When social trust was controlled for, correlations between perceived risks and benefits diminished. Implications of the results for risk management are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parents' monitoring-relevant knowledge and adolescents' delinquent behavior: evidence of correlated developmental changes and reciprocal influences.

Links between parental knowledge and adolescent delinquent behavior were tested for correlated rates of developmental change and reciprocal associations. For 4 years beginning at age 14, adolescents (N = 396) reported on their delinquent behavior and on their parents' knowledge of their whereabouts and activities. Parents completed measures of their adolescents' delinquent behavior. Knowledge was negatively correlated with delinquent behaviors at baseline, and increases over time in knowledge were negatively correlated with increases in parent-reported delinquent behavior. Reciprocal associations indicate that low levels of parental knowledge predict increases in delinquent behavior and that high levels of delinquent behavior predict decreases in knowledge. Discussion considers both youth-driven and parent-driven processes that may account for the correlated developmental changes and reciprocal associations.

Adolescent↗