Yoxas/statistical_literacy huggingface dataset:
Qualitative engagement with stakeholders in the development of interventions can provide insight into strategies to maximize feasibility in real-life settings. We engaged stakeholders (autistic adults, early childhood educators, early childhood sector leaders and policy influencers, parents of autistic children, and speech-language pathologists) to inform the development of an educator-led peer-mediated intervention (PMI) for autistic preschoolers who use minimal speech that is feasible to implement in inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. A qualitative iterative intervention design process was utilized. Stakeholders (N = 15) attended an online workshop and completed a document review exploring the acceptability and feasibility of the proposed embedded PMI. A two-step analysis procedure using the Theoretical Domains Framework and template analysis was conducted to identify the barriers, enablers, and supports to the implementation of embedded PMI in early childhood settings. While embedded PMI was unanimously acceptable to stakeholders, several participants expressed concerns regarding feasibility. Barriers to the successful integration and implementation of PMI in inclusive preschool contexts included access to skills, knowledge, and resources. Participants identified strategies to overcome modifiable barriers and to enhance the existing enablers. These strategies are reflected in the following themes: build on the familiar, build capacity in augmentative and alternative communication, adopt a whole center approach, adapt to meet the needs of the ECEC setting, and engage in proactive implementation. To address barriers to the implementation of embedded PMI, action is needed at various levels: macro (national/policy), meso (organization/setting), and micro (individual). https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25155770.
Qualitative interactions occur when a treatment effect or measure of association varies in sign by sub-population. Of particular interest in many biomedical settings are absence/presence qualitative interactions, which occur when an effect is present in one sub-population but absent in another. Absence/presence interactions arise in emerging applications in precision medicine, where the objective is to identify a set of predictive biomarkers that have prognostic value for clinical outcomes in some sub-population but not others. They also arise naturally in gene regulatory network inference, where the goal is to identify differences in networks corresponding to diseased and healthy individuals, or to different subtypes of disease; such differences lead to identification of network-based biomarkers for diseases. In this paper, we argue that while the absence/presence hypothesis is important, developing a statistical test for this hypothesis is an intractable problem. To overcome this challenge, we approximate the problem in a novel inference framework. In particular, we propose to make inferences about absence/presence interactions by quantifying the relative difference in effect size, reasoning that when the relative difference is large, an absence/presence interaction occurs. The proposed methodology is illustrated through a simulation study as well as an analysis of breast cancer data from the Cancer Genome Atlas.
Qualitative methods encompass a variety of research and analysis techniques which have the common aim of uncovering what cannot be captured numerically through the quantification of data. For qualitative analytical methods in the interpretivist tradition (e.g. grounded theory, phenomenological, thematic, etc), inductive coding has become a mainstay but has not always lent itself to collaborative, remote team-based data interpretation among qualitative and mixed-methods clinical researchers. Finding ways to speed the inductive coding process without sacrificing rigour while remaining accessible to geographically dispersed teams remains a priority. This is especially crucial in global health partnerships where on-the-ground researchers may have less input into codebook development compared to in-the-office researchers. We describe a newly-developed, digital approach that integrates findings from our qualitative team, which we call R-EIGHT (Remote and Equitable Inductive Analysis for Global Health Teams). The technique we developed a) speeds the process of inductive coding as a team, b) visually displays interpretive consensus, and c) when appropriate fosters streamlined integration of inductive findings into codebooks. Because it involves all team members, our approach helps break the divide between in-office and on-the-ground teams, fostering integrated and representative contributions from all globally-dispersed team members.
Qualitative research and mixed methods are core competencies for epidemiologists. In response to the shortage of guidance on graduate course development, we wrote a course development guide aimed at faculty and students designing similar courses in epidemiology curricula. The guide combines established educational theory with faculty and student experiences from a recent introductory course for epidemiology and biostatistics doctoral students at the University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. We propose a student-centred course with inverse classroom teaching and practice exercises with faculty input. Integration of student input during the course development process helps align the course syllabus with student needs. The proposed course comprises six sessions that cover learning outcomes in comprehension, knowledge, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Following an introductory session, the students engage in face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews, observational methods, analysis and how qualitative and quantitative methods are integrated in mixed methods. Furthermore, the course covers interviewer safety, research ethics, quality in qualitative research and a practice session focused on the use of interview hardware, including video and audio recorders. The student-led teaching characteristic of the course allows for an immersive and reflective teaching-learning environment. After implementation of the course and learning from faculty and student perspectives, we propose these additional foci: a student project to apply learned knowledge to a case study; integration in mixed-methods; and providing faculty a larger space to cover theory and field anecdotes.
Qualitative research approaches were used to launch an international research collaboration between the U. S. and Cambodia. Cambodian officials requested assistance in learning qualitative approaches to complement the research skills of Cambodian mental health providers. This article provides a description of how U. S. researchers responded to that request and engaged with Cambodian psychiatrists to explore mental health needs and interventions in both countries and initiate a sustainable relationship. The early focus on qualitative research methodologies may be an avenue that mitigates some of the challenges that can characterize international research. In this study, early communications involved developing a plan to teach qualitative methods while also collecting and analyzing data in both countries that would address the mental health concerns experienced by respective care providers. A case study exemplar was embedded with a scripted focus group guide to collect data from U. S. focus groups, then share with Cambodian psychiatrists. Components of hermeneutic phenomenological interviewing and descriptive content analysis were used to simultaneously teach and enact the research methods, gather data in both countries to analyze, and inspire participants to replicate the methods in their ongoing work. Cambodian psychiatrists were able to demonstrate competence in facilitating focus groups after being participant-observers. Researcher/practitioners from both U. S. and Cambodian teams gained new understandings about the mental health needs of their patients. The mutual engagement of a research focus is an effective way to establish cross-cultural relationships. The challenges of staying with stable teams over times remain, but the content shared and learned in a participatory structure yields understandings that cross cultural boundaries. Anticipated and unexpected challenges may be offset by an intention of reciprocity and mutual engagement. The use of qualitative methodologies, early and repeatedly, can facilitate relational understanding.
Qualitative research methods are based on the analysis of words rather than numbers; they encourage self-reflection on the investigator's part; they are attuned to social interaction and nuance; and they incorporate their subjects' thoughts and feelings as primary sources. Despite appearing well suited for research in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP), qualitative methods have had relatively minor uptake in the discipline. We conducted a qualitative study of CAPs involved in qualitative research to learn about these investigators' lived experiences, and to identify modifiable factors to promote qualitative methods within the field of youth mental health. We conducted individual, semi-structured 1-h long interviews through Zoom. Using purposive sample, we selected 23 participants drawn from the US (n = 12) and from France (n = 11), and equally divided in each country across seniority level. All participants were current or aspiring CAPs and had published at least one peer-reviewed qualitative article. Ten participants were women (44%). We recorded all interviews digitally and transcribed them for analysis. We coded the transcripts according to the principles of thematic analysis and approached data analysis, interpretation, and conceptualization informed by an interpersonal phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework. Through iterative thematic analysis we developed a conceptual model consisting of three domains: (1) Becoming a qualitativist: embracing a different way of knowing (in turn divided into the three themes of priming factors/personal fit; discovering qualitative research; and transitioning in); (2) Being a qualitativist: immersing oneself in a different kind of research (in turn divided into quality: doing qualitative research well; and community: mentors, mentees, and teams); and (3) Nurturing: toward a higher quality future in CAP (in turn divided into current state of qualitative methods in CAP; and advocating for qualitative methods in CAP). For each domain, we go on to propose specific strategies to enhance entry into qualitative careers and research in CAP: (1) Becoming: personalizing the investigator's research focus; balancing inward and outward views; and leveraging practical advantages; (2) Being: seeking epistemological flexibility; moving beyond bibliometrics; and the potential and risks of mixing methods; and (3) Nurturing: invigorating a quality pipeline; and building communities. We have identified factors that can support or impede entry into qualitative research among CAPs. Based on these modifiable findings, we propose possible solutions to enhance entry into qualitative methods in CAP (pathways), and to foster longer-term commitment to this type of research (identity).
Qualitative studies are gaining their credibility after a period of being misinterpreted as "not being quantitative." Qualitative method is a broad umbrella term for research methodologies that describe and explain individuals' experiences, behaviors, interactions, and social contexts. In-depth interview, focus groups, and participant observation are among the qualitative methods of inquiry commonly used in psychiatry. Researchers measure the frequency of occurring events using quantitative methods; however, qualitative methods provide a broader understanding and a more thorough reasoning behind the event. Hence, it is considered to be of special importance in psychiatry. Besides hypothesis generation in earlier phases of the research, qualitative methods can be employed in questionnaire design, diagnostic criteria establishment, feasibility studies, as well as studies of attitude and beliefs. Animal models are another area that qualitative methods can be employed, especially when naturalistic observation of animal behavior is important. However, since qualitative results can be researcher's own view, they need to be statistically confirmed, quantitative methods. The tendency to combine both qualitative and quantitative methods as complementary methods has emerged over recent years. By applying both methods of research, scientists can take advantage of interpretative characteristics of qualitative methods as well as experimental dimensions of quantitative methods.
Quality control is a system of validated procedures in which many samples, including active pharmaceutical ingredients and final products, are analyzed using standard or validated analytical methods. Analytical methods used in analyzing active pharmaceutical ingredients or final products in the pharmaceutical industry can be methods registered in pharmacopeias and developed by the company itself. For this reason, published papers related to pharmaceutical analysis attract analysts and researchers' attention. In this study, pharmaceutical analysis and bioanalysis studies carried out between 2015 and 2023 were examined using Google Scholar, and the recent trends were determined for pharmaceutical analysis. Among the published papers performing conventional analytical techniques for pharmaceutical analysis, those applying UV-VIS spectrophotometry method were selected to predict a future perspective in this study. In addition to the data obtained, the current situation of the pharmaceutical industry was considered to correlate with the obtained data for pharmaceutical analysis. The results were presented with comparative tables and summarizing graphs. Interpreting the results allowed us to determine the trends that pharmaceutical analysis studies will lead in the future. This study can be helpful for researchers working on pharmaceutical analysis in both the industry and academia to predict future trends in pharmaceutical analysis. As a result of the literature research covering the dates 2015-2023, 56% of UV-VIS Spectrophotometric methods are used on pharmaceutical dosage forms, 27% are bulk, 16% are pure, 2% are biological materials, and 0.4% are herbal. Made from materials. Of these studies, 28% were conducted in the 200-240 nm range, 27% were conducted in the 240-300 nm range, and only 44% were conducted at >300 nm. Interpreting the results allowed us to determine the trends that pharmaceutical analysis studies will lead in the future. This study can be helpful for researchers working on pharmaceutical analysis in both the industry and academy side to predict future trends for pharmaceutical analysis.
Quality control practices in the modern laboratory are the result of significant advances over the many years of the profession. Major advance in conventional internal quality control has undergone a philosophical shift from a focus solely on the statistical assessment of the probability of error identification to more recent thinking on the capability of the measurement procedure (e.g. sigma metrics), and most recently, the risk of harm to the patient (the probability of patient results being affected by an error or the number of patient results with unacceptable analytical quality). Nonetheless, conventional internal quality control strategies still face significant limitations, such as the lack of (proven) commutability of the material with patient samples, the frequency of episodic testing, and the impact of operational and financial costs, that cannot be overcome by statistical advances. In contrast, patient-based quality control has seen significant developments including algorithms that improve the detection of specific errors, parameter optimization approaches, systematic validation protocols, and advanced algorithms that require very low numbers of patient results while retaining sensitive error detection. Patient-based quality control will continue to improve with the development of new algorithms that reduce biological noise and improve analytical error detection. Patient-based quality control provides continuous and commutable information about the measurement procedure that cannot be easily replicated by conventional internal quality control. Most importantly, the use of patient-based quality control helps laboratories to improve their appreciation of the clinical impact of the laboratory results produced, bringing them closer to the patients.Laboratories are encouraged to implement patient-based quality control processes to overcome the limitations of conventional internal quality control practices. Regulatory changes to recognize the capability of patient-based quality approaches, as well as laboratory informatics advances, are required for this tool to be adopted more widely.
Quality improvement (QI) is a systematic approach to improving healthcare delivery with applications across all fields of medicine. However, exposure to QI is minimal in early medical education. We evaluated the effectiveness of an elective QI curriculum in teaching preclinical health professional students foundational QI concepts. This prospective controlled cohort study was conducted at a single academic institution. The elective QI curriculum consisted of web-based video didactics and exercises, supplemented with in-person classroom discussions. An optional hospital-based QI project was offered. Assessments included pre- and post-intervention surveys evaluating QI skills and beliefs and attitudes, quizzes, and Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool-Revised (QIKAT-R) cases. Within-group pre-post and between-group comparisons were performed using descriptive statistics. Overall, 57 preclinical medical or physician assistant students participated under the QI curriculum group (N = 27) or control group (N = 30). Twenty-three (85%) curriculum students completed a QI project. Mean quiz scores were significantly improved in the curriculum group from pre- to post-assessment (Quiz 1: 2.0, P < 0.001; Quiz 2: 1.7, P = 0.002), and the mean differences significantly differed from those in the control group (Quiz 1: P < 0.001; Quiz 2: P = 0.010). QIKAT-R scores also significantly differed among the curriculum group versus controls (P = 0.012). In the curriculum group, students had improvements in their confidence with all 10 QI skills assessed, including 8 that were significantly improved from pre- to post-assessment, and 4 with significant between-group differences compared with controls. Students in both groups agreed that their medical education would be incomplete without a QI component and that they are likely to be involved in QI projects throughout their medical training and practice. The elective QI curriculum was effective in guiding preclinical students to develop their QI knowledge base and skillset. Preclinical students value QI as an integral component of their medical training. Future directions involve evaluating the impact of this curriculum on clinical clerkship performance and across other academic institutions.
Quality improvement (QI) is a systematic approach used to analyze and address problems in healthcare. Evidence of its success has led some national regulatory bodies to require QI education in residency training programs. However, limited work to date has demonstrated how residency programs can integrate best practices in QI education to design their own curriculum. This study describes the implementation and evaluation of a new QI curriculum, grounded in a theoretical model of how QI education works, for Canadian psychiatry residents. PGY-2 and PGY-4 psychiatry residents received a 2.5-h mixed didactic and simulation-based QI workshop as a part of the 2021-2022 academic curriculum. Their knowledge and attitudes toward QI were assessed using the QI Knowledge Application Tool Revised (QIKAT-R) and the Beliefs and Attitudes subscale of the Beliefs, Attitudes, Skills, and Confidence in QI (BASiC-QI). Eleven of 12 residents (92%) who completed the curriculum participated in the study. Average QIKAT-R scores improved from 4.45 to 7.00. Average BASiC-QI Beliefs and Attitudes subscale scores increased by 5.55 points. Residents reported enjoying QI and an increased desire to participate in future QI projects. This study demonstrates how a programme theory of QI education can be used to develop an effective, locally-tailored curriculum. This approach can be replicated by other educators to develop or improve QI curricula.
Quality Improvement (QI) knowledge and skills are required at all levels of physician training. System improvement efforts need to include understanding of health disparities and design of interventions to reduce those disparities, thus health equity needs to be integrated into QI education. Payors, accreditation bodies and health systems' emphases on QI result in the need for QI curricula that meet the needs of diverse learners. This article presents a theoretical background and practical tools for designing, implementing, and evaluating a QI educational program across the spectrum of physician training with an emphasis on competency-based education and a goal of continuous practice improvement. Practice-based learning and improvement and systems-based practice are two core domains of competencies for readiness to practice. These competencies can be met through the health systems science framework for studying improvement in patient care and health care delivery coupled with QI science. Curricula should incorporate interactive learning of theory and principles of QI as well as mentored, experiential QI project work with multidisciplinary teams. QI projects often develop ideas and implement changes but are often inconsistent in studying intervention impacts or reaching the level of patient outcomes. Curriculum design should incorporate adult learning principles, competency based medical education, environmental and audience factors, and formats for content delivery. Key QI topics and how they fit into the clinical environment and teaching resources are provided, as well as options for faculty development. Approaches to evaluation are presented, along with tools for assessing learner's beliefs and attitudes, knowledge and application of QI principles, project evaluation, competency and curriculum evaluation. If the goal is to empower the next generation of change agents, there remains a need for development of scientific methodology and scholarly work, as well as faculty development and support by institutions.