Communication skills are essential for health professionals to establish a positive relationship with their patients, improving their health and quality of life. In this perspective, communication ...skills training can be effective strategies to improve the care provided by professionals in patient care and the quality of health services.
To identify the best available evidence on training programs in communication skills to promote changes in attitude and behavior or self-efficacy of health professionals.
Systematic searches were performed in eight databases, evaluating Randomized Controlled Trials and quasi-experimental studies with a control group, focusing on training communication skills for health professionals, who assessed self-efficacy or behaviors related to these skills. The phases of study selection and data extraction were carried out by two independent researchers, and the conflicts were resolved by a third. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane method.
Eight studies were included in the review. Most programs lasted between 4½ h and 2 days, involved information about communication skills and the content was applied to the health professionals' context. Several teaching strategies were used, such as lectures, videos and dramatizations and the evaluation was carried out using different instruments. Improvements in the performance and in the self-efficacy of communication skills were observed in the trained groups. The RCT had a low risk of bias and the quasi-experimental studies had a moderate risk.
Training in communication skills can improve the performance and self-efficacy of health professionals. Programs that approach the conceptual issues and promote the space for experiential learning could be effective in communication skills training for professionals.
CRD42019129384.
The pandemic following the rapid spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus has hit all continents and caused thousands of deaths worldwide. Evidence has been published on epidemiological and clinical ...characteristics of population groups considered at risk; however, information for the other population groups, especially for the child population, is needed. In this context, this protocol describes a systematic review that will aim to identify the evidence on control and prevention of COVID-19 transmission among children and adolescents, as well as to describe the epidemiological profile and clinical and immunological characteristics of COVID-19 in this population.
This protocol will be developed in accordance with PRISMA-P. The searches will be conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, and Scopus, seeking clinical trials. Observational studies and case reports with Children and adolescents (≤19 years) infected with SARS-CoV-2 will be included whether they report information on the control of prevention and COVID-19 transmission. Two independent researchers will perform the selection of articles, removal of duplication, and screening by Rayyan QCRI application. Cochrane's RoB 2.0, ROBINS-I, and CASP tools will be used to assess the risk of bias. Meta-analysis, subgroup analyses, and/or descriptive analyses will be carried out based on the data conditions included.
A high-quality synthesis of the available evidences on the epidemiological profile, the clinical and immunological characteristics involved in children, and adolescents diagnosed with COVID-19, as well as the participation of this population in the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 will be provided.
This systematic review has an important relevance in the current context because it has a great potential to help the development of new control and prevention strategies in the pediatric population.
CRD42020179263.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to establish the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) power, audit committee effectiveness and earnings quality in regulated firms in Uganda. ...Design/methodology/approach The authors employed cross-sectional and correlational research designs, based on a sample of 136 regulated firms in Uganda. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey from Chief Finance Officers and Chief Audit Executives. Data were analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Findings Results indicate that CEO power causes negative variances in earnings quality. The results also reveal that audit committee effectiveness positively relates relatively similarly with earnings quality. In addition, CEO power and audit committee effectiveness are negative and significantly related. The results further indicate that CEO power and earnings quality are mediated by audit committee effectiveness. Research limitations/implications CEO power creates an opaque accounting environment which may leave the stakeholders unable to evaluate the true economic reality of the firm. Audit committee effectiveness is an important enabler for reporting high-quality earnings even in the presence of a powerful CEO. Originality/value This study contributes toward a methodological stance of using perceptions to understand earnings quality in regulated firms in Uganda. This is probably the first study that has specifically explored earnings quality using only the fundamental qualitative characteristics of accounting information (as proxies) as enshrined in the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting 2018 particularly in Uganda since Her adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in 1998. Second, the indirect effect of audit committee effectiveness and CEO power is tested.
This study is aimed at describing a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of nontechnical skills training on the acquisition of knowledge, skills or attitudes, and ...changes in behavior at the workplace, of healthcare professionals working in intensive care units (ICUs), as well as the effect on outcomes at an organizational level. We will search for original studies in the PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases. Studies with a clinical trial or quasi-experimental design will be included. Two reviewers will independently screen and assess the included studies, with any disagreements being resolved by a third reviewer. We will summarize the findings using a narrative approach and, if possible, conduct a quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis). We will conduct the protocol following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. The review will summarize the current evidence on nontechnical skills training in ICUs, examining satisfaction with the training program, improvements in knowledge about nontechnical skills and the adoption of safety behaviors, as well as improvement in outcomes for the organization, such as mortality rates, length of stay and cost indicators. We expect that the systematic review could indicate effective strategies for training ICU professionals in nontechnical skills and also determine whether these strategies really improve the safety culture and professional knowledge and behaviors, as well as patient outcomes and safety.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
5.
An algorithm to track laboratory zebrafish shoals Feijó, Gregory de Oliveira; Sangalli, Vicenzo Abichequer; da Silva, Isaac Newton Lima ...
Computers in biology and medicine,
05/2018, Letnik:
96
Journal Article
Recenzirano
In this paper, a semi-automatic multi-object tracking method to track a group of unmarked zebrafish is proposed. This method can handle partial occlusion cases, maintaining the correct identity of ...each individual. For every object, we extracted a set of geometric features to be used in the two main stages of the algorithm. The first stage selected the best candidate, based both on the blobs identified in the image and the estimate generated by a Kalman Filter instance. In the second stage, if the same candidate-blob is selected by two or more instances, a blob-partitioning algorithm takes place in order to split this blob and reestablish the instances' identities. If the algorithm cannot determine the identity of a blob, a manual intervention is required.
This procedure was compared against a manual labeled ground truth on four video sequences with different numbers of fish and spatial resolution. The performance of the proposed method is then compared against two well-known zebrafish tracking methods found in the literature: one that treats occlusion scenarios and one that only track fish that are not in occlusion. Based on the data set used, the proposed method outperforms the first method in correctly separating fish in occlusion, increasing its efficiency by at least 8.15% of the cases. As for the second, the proposed method's overall performance outperformed the second in some of the tested videos, especially those with lower image quality, because the second method requires high-spatial resolution images, which is not a requirement for the proposed method. Yet, the proposed method was able to separate fish involved in occlusion and correctly assign its identity in up to 87.85% of the cases, without accounting for user intervention.
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•Multi-object tracking method to track a group of unmarked zebrafish is described.•For every fish, we extract a set of geometric features to be used for tracking.•A Kalman Filter is used to predict the next fish position.•For occlusion handling we created a blob partitioning method to recover each fish identity.
AbstractThis study investigates the relationship between internal audit function quality, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) power and earnings quality and how CEO power moderates the relationship between ...internal audit function quality and earnings quality. The study is correlational, cross-sectional, and perception-based that obtained 136 usable questionnaires from regulated firms in Uganda. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists, Smartpls software, and Jose’s Modgraph. The results show that internal audit function quality is positive but not significantly related to earnings quality. The results revealed that internal audit function quality is negatively related to CEO power although the association is not significant. CEO power is significant and negatively related to earnings quality. The interaction effects of internal audit function quality and CEO power on earnings quality are significant, according to which the greater the power of the CEO, the lower the effect of the IAF on earnings quality. The current study adds to literature of internal audit function quality, CEO power and earnings quality and consequently, moderating role of CEO power in the relationship between internal audit and earnings quality. This study is relevant to policy makers and regulators who need to consider these results to identify the needed changes in their regulation of accounting practice and governance in Uganda.
In his monumental 1687 work,Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, known familiarly as thePrincipia, Isaac Newton laid out in mathematical terms the principles of time, force, and motion that ...have guided the development of modern physical science. Even after more than three centuries and the revolutions of Einsteinian relativity and quantum mechanics, Newtonian physics continues to account for many of the phenomena of the observed world, and Newtonian celestial dynamics is used to determine the orbits of our space vehicles.This authoritative, modern translation by I. Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman, the first in more than 285 years, is based on the 1726 edition, the final revised version approved by Newton; it includes extracts from the earlier editions, corrects errors found in earlier versions, and replaces archaic English with contemporary prose and up-to-date mathematical forms.Newton's principles describe acceleration, deceleration, and inertial movement; fluid dynamics; and the motions of the earth, moon, planets, and comets. A great work in itself, thePrincipiaalso revolutionized the methods of scientific investigation. It set forth the fundamental three laws of motion and the law of universal gravity, the physical principles that account for the Copernican system of the world as emended by Kepler, thus effectively ending controversy concerning the Copernican planetary system.The translation-only edition of this preeminent work is truly accessible for today's scientists, scholars, and students.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the extent of and impact of gender diversity and intellectual capital on compliance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting ...standards by Uganda manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from manufacturing firms in Uganda using a questionnaire survey to find out their perception of compliance with the GRI standards. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences, Microsoft Excel and smart partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM).FindingsThe results indicate that on average, manufacturing firms in Uganda comply with GRI sustainability reporting standards to the extent of 59%. The results further indicate that manufacturing companies comply more with the GRI 200 (economic performance disclosures) to the extent of 63% as compared with 55% for GRI 300 (environmental performance disclosures) and 58% for GRI 400 (social performance disclosures). The results also indicate that intellectual capital has a significant impact on the GRI-based sustainability performance disclosures in Uganda. However, board gender diversity has no significant effect. In terms of the control variables, only firm size is significant, while firm age, capital structure and auditor type are not.Originality/valueThis study provides first time evidence of the extent of compliance with the GRI sustainability reporting standards using evidence from Uganda – an African developing country. This study widens the understanding of the usage of GRI standards in the preparation of sustainability reports by manufacturing firms in an emerging economy. This study also provides first-time evidence on the role of gender diversity and intellectual capital in GRI-based sustainability performance disclosures using evidence from Uganda's manufacturing sector.
The Sub-Saharan African region is considered to be the most susceptible to the effects of climate change. The region’s climate is influenced by several factors, the most notable of which is increased ...variation in development. The conglomerate between the financial sector and environmental quality (EQ) has been a priority for policymakers and analysts. This study looked at the complex relationships between financial development (FD) and environmental quality, as well as the position of economic growth (EG), from the perceptions of the five sub-national economies, from 1980 to 2017. The study tested the EKC hypothesis across the sub-regions. We employed the panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model in a generalized method of moment framework to investigate the topic. The PVAR result showed that (i) financial development had a negative impact on CO
2
in four geographical regions (Western, Southern, Northern, and Central). As a result, FD in these countries minimizes carbon emissions and enhances the atmosphere. (ii) Also, FD had a positive impact on carbon emissions in Western Africa. As a result, FD in these countries increases CO
2
rather than improving environmental quality. The EKC hypothesis was validated in the Western African sub-region but was rejected in Central and Eastern (u-shape relationship) African sub-regional economies indicating variations in growth and environmental outcomes among the sub-regional economies. The Granger causality results in the West and Central African republics was a two-way causal connection between EG and CO
2
. The results demonstrate how “EG and CO
2
” and “CO
2
and EG” are intertwined in Western and Central, while most of the relationships were unidirectional. Detailed sub-regional policy recommendations are deliberated.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a necessary life-saving emergency intervention for patients with cardiac arrest and other medical conditions. The study's primary objective was to qualitatively ...explore nurses' perceptions of the quality of adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Ghana.
An exploratory descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 13 purposively sampled nurses in Ghana. We collected thirteen face-to-face and telephone interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the thematic analysis approach recommended by Braun and Clarke.
Data analysis revealed that nurses were filled with positive emotions when patients regained consciousness following resuscitation. When the otherwise happens, they tend to become tortured psychologically and filled with negative emotions. Besides, environmental factors such as the time of initiating CPR following a cardiac arrest, the availability and appropriateness of equipment and medications, workplace ergonomics, and institutional regulations affected the quality of resuscitation practices of nurses. Participants perceived that attitudes of condemnation, prejudice, apathy and skills deficiency also impacted the quality of resuscitation practices. Significant aspects of self-reported behavioural competence that affected resuscitation were knowledge and skills of CPR, confidence in initiating CPR, and the need for effort maximisation.
This study revealed several non-medical factors that influenced the resuscitation practices of nurses from their perspective. Nurses need to maximise their effort toward seeking further education in speciality areas such as emergency nursing and critical care nursing to guide their CPR practices and other newly emerging evidence-based protocols.
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