%0 Journal Article %@ 2369-3762 %I %V 10 %N %P e53810 %T Time for Medicine and Public Health to Leave Platform X %A Timpka,Toomas %K internet %K social media %K medical informatics %K knowledge translation %K digital technology %K clinical decision support %K health services research %K public health %K digital health %K perspective %K medicine %D 2024 %7 24.5.2024 %9 %J JMIR Med Educ %G English %X For more than 50 years, digital technologies have been employed for the creation and distribution of knowledge in health services. In the last decade, digital social media have been developed for applications in clinical decision support and population health monitoring. Recently, these technologies have also been used for knowledge translation, such as in the process where research findings created in academic settings are established as evidence and distributed for use in clinical practice, policy making, and health self-management. To date, it has been common for medical and public health institutions to have social media accounts for the dissemination of novel research findings and to facilitate conversations about these findings. However, recent events such as the transformation of the microblog Twitter to platform X have brought to light the need for the social media industry to exploit user data to generate revenue. In this viewpoint, it is argued that a redirection of social media use is required in the translation of knowledge to action in the fields of medicine and public health. A new kind of social internet is currently forming, known as the “fediverse,” which denotes an ensemble of open social media that can communicate with each other while remaining independent platforms. In several countries, government institutions, universities, and newspapers use open social media to distribute information and enable discussions. These organizations control their own channels while being able to communicate with other platforms through open standards. Examples of medical knowledge translation via such open social media platforms, where users are less exposed to disinformation than in general platforms, are also beginning to appear. The current status of the social media industry calls for a broad discussion about the use of social technologies by health institutions involving researchers and health service practitioners, academic leaders, scientific publishers, social technology providers, policy makers, and the public. This debate should not primarily take place on social media platforms but rather at universities, in scientific journals, at public seminars, and other venues, allowing for the transparent and undisturbed communication and formation of opinions. %R 10.2196/53810 %U https://mededu.jmir.org/2024/1/e53810 %U https://doi.org/10.2196/53810 %0 Journal Article %@ 2369-3762 %I JMIR Publications %V 10 %N %P e52679 %T Rolling the DICE (Design, Interpret, Compute, Estimate): Interactive Learning of Biostatistics With Simulations %A Thiesmeier,Robert %A Orsini,Nicola %+ Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Tomtebodavägen 18, Solna, 171 65, Sweden, 46 735779719, robert.thiesmeier@ki.se %K learning statistics %K Monte Carlo simulation %K simulation-based learning %K survival analysis %K Weibull %D 2024 %7 15.4.2024 %9 Viewpoint %J JMIR Med Educ %G English %X Despite the increasing relevance of statistics in health sciences, teaching styles in higher education are remarkably similar across disciplines: lectures covering the theory and methods, followed by application and computer exercises in given data sets. This often leads to challenges for students in comprehending fundamental statistical concepts essential for medical research. To address these challenges, we propose an engaging learning approach—DICE (design, interpret, compute, estimate)—aimed at enhancing the learning experience of statistics in public health and epidemiology. In introducing DICE, we guide readers through a practical example. Students will work in small groups to plan, generate, analyze, interpret, and communicate their own scientific investigation with simulations. With a focus on fundamental statistical concepts such as sampling variability, error probabilities, and the construction of statistical models, DICE offers a promising approach to learning how to combine substantive medical knowledge and statistical concepts. The materials in this paper, including the computer code, can be readily used as a hands-on tool for both teachers and students. %M 38619866 %R 10.2196/52679 %U https://mededu.jmir.org/2024/1/e52679 %U https://doi.org/10.2196/52679 %U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38619866 %0 Journal Article %@ 2369-3762 %I JMIR Publications %V 9 %N %P e48263 %T Benefits of Mentoring in Oncology Education for Mentors and Mentees: Pre-Post Interventional Study of the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies' National Oncology Mentorship Scheme %A Fulton-Ward,Taylor %A Bain,Robert %A Khoury,Emma G %A Keshwara,Sumirat M %A Joseph,Prince Josiah S %A Selby,Peter %A Millward,Christopher P %+ Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom, 44 1214143481, txf748@student.bham.ac.uk %K mentoring %K medical education %K oncology %K medical student %K teaching %K undergraduate %K graduate %K student %K cancer %K mentor %K mentee %K mentors %K mentees %D 2023 %7 11.9.2023 %9 Original Paper %J JMIR Med Educ %G English %X Background: Formal education of oncology is lacking in many undergraduate medical curricula. Mentoring schemes can expose participants to specific areas of medicine and may address the shortfalls in oncology education. Few mentoring schemes have been designed within the United Kingdom, especially within oncology. There is a need to understand reasons for mentor and mentee participation in such schemes and to identify ways to minimize barriers to engagement. Objective: This study identifies motivations for participation in an oncology mentoring scheme and its benefits and limitations to both the mentee and the mentor. Methods: The British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies launched a National Oncology Mentorship Scheme (NOMS) on September 1, 2021. Mentees (medical student or foundation doctor) were paired with mentors (specialty registrar or consultant), for 6 months of mentoring. In total, 86 mentors and 112 mentees were recruited to the scheme. The mentees and mentors were asked to meet at least 3 times during this period and suggestions were provided on the content of mentoring. Mentees and mentors were invited to complete a prescheme questionnaire, exploring motivations for involvement in the scheme, current experiences within oncology, and knowledge and interests in the field. At the end of the scheme, mentors and mentees were asked to complete a postscheme questionnaire exploring experiences and benefits or limitations of participation. Paired analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. For free text data, content analysis was applied to summarize the main themes in the data. Results: Of the 66 (59%) mentees who completed the prescheme questionnaire, 41 (62%) were clinical, 21 (32%) preclinical medical students, and the remainder were junior doctors. For mentees, networking was the primary reason for joining the scheme (n=25, 38%). Mentees ranked experience of oncology at medical school at 3 on 10 (IQR 2-5). In this, 46 (53%) mentors completed the prescheme questionnaire, 35 (76%) were registrar level, and the remainder were consultant level (n=11). The most common reason for mentor participation was to increase awareness and interest in the field (n=29, 63%). Of those who completed the prescheme questionnaire, 23 (35%) mentees and 25 (54%) mentors completed the postscheme questionnaire. Knowledge in all areas of oncology assessed significantly increased during the scheme (P<.001). Most mentees (n=21, 91%) and mentors (n=18, 72%) felt they had benefited from the scheme. Mentees cited gaining insights into oncology as most beneficial; and mentors, opportunities to develop professionally. Whilst mentees did not report any barriers to participating in the scheme, mentors stated lack of time as the greatest barrier to mentoring. Conclusions: British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies’ NOMS is expanding and is beneficial for mentees through increasing knowledge, providing exposure, and career advice in oncology. Mentors benefit from improving their mentoring skills and personal satisfaction. %M 37695662 %R 10.2196/48263 %U https://mededu.jmir.org/2023/1/e48263 %U https://doi.org/10.2196/48263 %U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37695662 %0 Journal Article %@ 1438-8871 %I JMIR Publications %V 24 %N 1 %P e27952 %T Applying Human-Centered Design Principles to Digital Syndromic Surveillance at a Mass Gathering in India: Viewpoint %A Shaikh,Ahmed %A Bhatia,Abhishek %A Yadav,Ghanshyam %A Hora,Shashwat %A Won,Chung %A Shankar,Mark %A Heerboth,Aaron %A Vemulapalli,Prakash %A Navalkar,Paresh %A Oswal,Kunal %A Heaton,Clay %A Saunik,Sujata %A Khanna,Tarun %A Balsari,Satchit %+ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, 651 Huntington Avenue, 703C, Boston, MA, 02115, United States, 1 6174951000, balsari@hsph.harvard.edu %K mHealth %K design %K human centered design %K intervention %K syndromic surveillance %K digital health %D 2022 %7 10.1.2022 %9 Viewpoint %J J Med Internet Res %G English %X In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health tools have been deployed by governments around the world to advance clinical and population health objectives. Few interventions have been successful or have achieved sustainability or scale. In India, government agencies are proposing sweeping changes to India’s digital health architecture. Underpinning these initiatives is the assumption that mobile health solutions will find near universal acceptance and uptake, though the observed reticence of clinicians to use electronic health records suggests otherwise. In this practice article, we describe our experience with implementing a digital surveillance tool at a large mass gathering, attended by nearly 30 million people. Deployed with limited resources and in a dynamic chaotic setting, the adherence to human-centered design principles resulted in near universal adoption and high end-user satisfaction. Through this use case, we share generalizable lessons in the importance of contextual relevance, stakeholder participation, customizability, and rapid iteration, while designing digital health tools for individuals or populations. %M 35006088 %R 10.2196/27952 %U https://www.jmir.org/2022/1/e27952 %U https://doi.org/10.2196/27952 %U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35006088 %0 Journal Article %@ 1929-0748 %I JMIR Publications %V 10 %N 12 %P e28644 %T Combined Clinical Audits and Low-Dose, High-frequency, In-service Training of Health Care Providers and Community Health Workers to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health in Mali: Protocol for a Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial %A Zombre,David %A Kortenaar,Jean-Luc %A Zareef,Farhana %A Doumbia,Moussa %A Doumbia,Sekou %A Haidara,Fadima %A McLaughlin,Katie %A Sow,Samba %A Bhutta,Zulfiqar A %A Bassani,Diego G %+ Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada, 1 4389857763, davyd.zombre@gmail.com %K perinatal mortality %K low dose high frequency training %K maternal and newborn health outcomes %K Mali %D 2021 %7 10.12.2021 %9 Protocol %J JMIR Res Protoc %G English %X Background: Although most births in Mali occur in health facilities, a substantial number of newborns still die during delivery and within the first 7 days of life, mainly because of existing training deficiencies and the challenges of maintaining intrapartum and postpartum care skills. Objective: This trial aims to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an intervention combining clinical audits and low-dose, high-frequency (LDHF) in-service training of health care providers and community health workers to reduce perinatal mortality. Methods: The study is a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial in the Koulikoro region in Mali. The units of randomization are each of 84 primary care facilities. Each trial arm will include 28 facilities. The facilities in the first intervention arm will receive support in implementing mortality and morbidity audits, followed by one-day LDHF training biweekly, for 6 months. The health workers in the second intervention arm (28 facilities) will receive a refresher course in maternal neonatal and child health (MNCH) for 10 days in a classroom setting, in addition to mortality and morbidity audits and LDHF hands-on training for 6 months. The control arm, also with 28 facilities, will consist solely of the standard MNCH refresher training delivered in a classroom setting. The main outcomes are perinatal deaths in the intervention arms compared with those in the control arm. A final sample of approximately 600 deliveries per cluster was expected for a total of 30,000 newborns over 14 months. Data sources included both routine health records and follow-up household surveys of all women who recently gave birth in the study facility 7 days postdelivery. Data collection tools will capture perinatal deaths, complications, and adverse events, as well as the status of the newborn during the perinatal period. A full economic evaluation will be conducted to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of each of the case-based focused LDHF hands-on training strategies in comparison to MNCH refresher training in a classroom setting. Results: The trial is complete. The recruitment began on July 15, 2019, and data collection began on July 23, 2019, and was completed in November 2020. Data cleaning or analyses began at the time of submission of the protocol. Conclusions: The results will provide policy makers and practitioners with crucial information on the impact of different health care provider training modalities on maternal and newborn health outcomes and how to successfully implement these strategies in resource-limited settings. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03656237; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03656237 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/28644 %M 34889776 %R 10.2196/28644 %U https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/12/e28644 %U https://doi.org/10.2196/28644 %U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34889776 %0 Journal Article %@ 1929-0748 %I JMIR Publications %V 10 %N 8 %P e25877 %T Developing a Risk Governance Framework on Radiological Emergency, Preparedness, and Response for Emergency Responders: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study %A Abd Rahman,Anita %A Abdul Manaf,Rosliza %A Lim,Poh Ying %A Suppiah,Subapriya %A Juni,Muhammad Hanafiah %+ Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, 43400, Malaysia, 60 123180272, anitaar@upm.edu.my %K emergency %K preparedness %K radiological %K risk governance %K risk practices %D 2021 %7 13.8.2021 %9 Protocol %J JMIR Res Protoc %G English %X Background: Risk governance involves processes and mechanisms to understand how risk decisions are taken and executed. This concept has gained a reputation over time as being essential for emerging comprehensive management that defines the success of an organization. While guiding documents that explain the use of risk management related to nuclear safety and security are available worldwide, few locally conducted studies have explained risk governance practices in areas where hazard usage is known, such as in radiological emergencies. Objective: This paper describes a protocol that was used to determine several factors that influence emergency responders’ perceptions toward radiological risk practices and visualize the risk radiological framework for emergency preparedness and response. Methods: A mixed methods study with a convergent design was performed. A qualitative analysis was performed using a case study approach where 6 key informants were purposely sampled for in-depth interview, and a cross-sectional study involving a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among approximately 260 emergency respondents from national regulatory, research, and services organizations. NVivo (version 12, QSR International) was used to analyze the interview transcripts and emerging themes were identified through abductive coding. Simultaneously, multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine significant predictors that form the equation model. Results: The study is still underway. Qualitative findings were based on transcript-coding that informed the relevant thematic analysis, while statistical analyses including multiple logistic regression analysis measured the adjusted odds ratio of significant variables for the equation model. The study is expected to conclude in late 2021. Conclusions: Important emerging themes and significant factors that are related to the emergency responders’ perceptions regarding radiological governance practices were determined through the convergent design. This potentially facilitated the development of a plausible radiological risk governance framework. Furthermore, our results will provide key insights that can be used in future studies. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/25877 %M 34398793 %R 10.2196/25877 %U https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/8/e25877 %U https://doi.org/10.2196/25877 %U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34398793 %0 Journal Article %@ 2369-3762 %I JMIR Publications %V 6 %N 1 %P e19047 %T Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study %A Al Nsour,Mohannad %A Khader,Yousef %A Al Serouri,Abdulwahed %A Bashier,Haitham %A Osman,Shahd %+ Jordan University of Science and Technology, Alramtha-Amman Street, Irbid, 22110, Jordan, 962 796802040, yskhader@just.edu.jo %K COVID-19 %K infection %K preparedness %K awareness %K Jordan %K Yemen %K Sudan %D 2020 %7 18.9.2020 %9 Original Paper %J JMIR Med Educ %G English %X Background: The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is a 2-year training program in applied epidemiology. FETP graduates have contributed significantly to improvements in surveillance systems, control of infectious diseases, and outbreak investigations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Objective: Considering the instrumental roles of FETP graduates during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, this study aimed to assess their awareness and preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in three EMR countries. Methods: An online survey was sent to FETP graduates in the EMR in March 2020. The FETP graduates were contacted by email and requested to fill out an online survey. Sufficient number of responses were received from only three countries—Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen. A few responses were received from other countries, and therefore, they were excluded from the analysis. The questionnaire comprised a series of questions pertaining to sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of the epidemiology of COVID-19, and preparedness to respond to COVID-19. Results: This study included a total of 57 FETP graduates (20 from Jordan, 13 from Sudan, and 24 from Yemen). A total of 31 (54%) graduates had attended training on COVID-19, 29 (51%) were members of a rapid response team against COVID-19, and 54 (95%) had previous experience in response to disease outbreaks or health emergencies. The vast majority were aware of the main symptoms, mode of transmission, high-risk groups, and how to use personal protective equipment. A total of 46 (81%) respondents considered themselves well prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak, and 40 (70%) reported that they currently have a role in supporting the country’s efforts in the management of COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions: The FETP graduates in Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen were fully aware of the epidemiology of COVID-19 and the safety measures required, and they are well positioned to investigate and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they should be properly and efficiently utilized by the Ministries of Health to investigate and respond to the current COVID-19 crisis where the needs are vastly growing and access to outside experts is becoming limited. %M 32406852 %R 10.2196/19047 %U http://mededu.jmir.org/2020/1/e19047/ %U https://doi.org/10.2196/19047 %U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32406852