Development of a Study Protocol for Evaluation of a Novel Measure to Incorporate Information Freshness into Network Analysis of Online Resources for COVID-19.

We proposed a novel measure, Degree of Connectivity with Integration of Freshness (DCIF), to incorporate information freshness into analysis of online resource networks. We conducted a pilot study to apply this new measure to a dataset of online information resources related to COVID-19 risk assessment. Among the 52 nodes, we recorded statistically significant difference between the numerical values of DCIF and the traditional structural measure Degree of Connectivity (DC). Manual reviews of 18 selected nodes showed that DCIF outperformed DC in 11 of them, suggesting potential promise of the proposed new measure. We finalized the protocol for manual review based on the pilot and started a full-scale study. The proposed new measure has the potential to provide quantitative assessment on information freshness for timely and effective dissemination of clinical evidence. Further research is required to address the limitations of this pilot study and to examine the generalization of the findings.

Network Analyses on Hyperlinked Online Resources for Dissemination of Clinical Evidence - Updates of COVID-19 Vaccine Information Over Time and Measuring the Freshness of Information.

We collected the COVID-19 vaccine online resources and captured the timestamps of their updates. We computed an average lifetime of 68 days for update and derived the speed of their freshness depreciation. The preliminary results have demonstrated the feasibility to incorporate freshness measures into network anaysis to identify both the importance and freshness of online resources.

Health Care Providers' Profiles and Evaluations of a Statewide Online Education Program for Dissemination of Clinical Evidence on HIV, Hepatitis C Virus, and Sexually Transmitted Disease: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Timely and effective dissemination of the latest clinical evidence to health care providers is essential for translating biomedical research into routine patient care. Online platforms offer unique opportunities for dissemination of medical knowledge. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we report the profiles of health care providers participating in the New York State HIV-HCV-STD Clinical Education Initiative online program and their evaluations of the online continuing professional development courses. METHODS: We compiled professional and personal background information of the clinicians who completed at least one online course. We collected their self-reported program evaluation data with regard to the course content, format, knowledge increase, and impact on clinical practice. RESULTS: We recorded a total of 4363 completions of 88 online courses by 1976 unique clinicians during a 12-month study period. The clinicians' background was diverse in terms of demographics, education levels, professional disciplines, practice years, employment settings, caseloads, and clinical services. The evaluation of online courses was very positive (usefulness/relevance, 91.08%; easy comprehension, 89.09%; knowledgeable trainer, 92.00%; appropriate format, 84.35%; knowledge increase, 48.52%; intention to use knowledge, 85.26%; and plan to change practice, 21.98%). Comparison with the reference data indicated that the online program successfully reached out to the primary care communities. Both the younger generation and the senior health care providers were attracted to the online program. High-quality multimedia resources, flexibility of access, ease of use, and provision of continuing professional development credits contributed to the initial success of this online clinical education program. CONCLUSIONS: We have successfully characterized a diverse group of clinicians participating in a statewide online continuing professional development program. The evaluation has shown effective use of online resources to disseminate clinical evidence on HIV, hepatitis C virus, and sexually transmitted disease to primary care clinicians.

Dissemination of Tuberculosis Clinical Evidence - An Application of Network Analysis to Publicly Available Resources.

Effective dissemination of Tuberculosis (TB) clinical evidence to healthcare providers is essential to address this pandemic. To identify, organize, and aggregate online TB information resources, we analyzed the websites of four CDC-funded TB Centers of Excellence (COE), identified the hosted resources, examined the outward linkages, and collected the external resources. We obtained 154 primary resources from TB COEs and 1521 linkages to external resources. We leveraged a network analysis approach to construct resource networks at the individual resource and parent site levels. We computed the degree of connectivity and PageRank for each node in the networks. Based on these analyses, we successfully identified important TB information hosting sites beyond the four TB COEs and individual TB resources widely cited. The initial results indicate that it is promising to use network analysis approaches to identify online clinical information resources. The generalizability of this approach needs to be examined in future research.

Current State of Electronic Consent Processes in Behavioral Health: Outcomes from an Observational Study.

An integral element of value-based care is care team access to both physical and behavioral health data. Data release processes in both environments are governed by federal and state statutes. The requirements for obtaining consent are complex and often confusing. Little is known about the consent processes and practices in the behavioral health setting, specifically how patients and surrogates engage in the process and their interactions with electronic consent tools. This study analyzes the consent processes from the patient perspective at two community behavioral health clinics. Outcomes include description of the processes using electronic consent, workflows and consenter-provider interactions. Conclusions include need to streamline and standardize consent technologies and improve consenter engagement. This study supports the development of an electronic consent tool, My Data Choices (MDC), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, that offers individuals with behavioral health conditions more control over their medical records.