Azam Sabahi; Leila Ahmadian; Rezvan Ansari; Fatemeh Salehi; Moghadameh Mirzaei
Volume 13, Issue 6 , November 2017, , Pages 394-398
Abstract
Introduction: Health knowledge acquisition, training, and controlling of risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) can not only reduce healthcare costs, but can also improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients and help prevent re-hospitalization. The purpose of this research was to evaluate heart ...
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Introduction: Health knowledge acquisition, training, and controlling of risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) can not only reduce healthcare costs, but can also improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients and help prevent re-hospitalization. The purpose of this research was to evaluate heart patients’ point of view on health knowledge acquisition and its role in the treatment process.Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 200 patients with CVD. Data were collected using a questionnaire the validity and reliability of which were, respectively, confirmed by experts and by means of test-retest (20, 0.82). Data were analyzed using descriptive (frequency and percentage) and analytical statistics (chi-squared test and marginal independence).Results: After the diagnosis of heart disease, 80.5% of patients had tried to enhance their knowledge about their disease. To increase their knowledge, all of them (161 individuals) used the physician as a source of knowledge acquisition. Overall, 146 (90.7%) patients had acquired knowledge regarding the causes of the disease. A small percentage of the patients believed that educational CDs could help improve their knowledge.Conclusion: The results of this study can be used to plan for the improvement of health knowledge among patients. Determining the most common sources of knowledge acquisition can help in the provision of knowledge through these sources. This can also clarify the reasons for the lack of use of other sources.
Leila Ahmadian; Sadrieh Hajesmaeel-Gohari; Reza Khajouei
Volume 13, Issue 2 , April 2016, , Pages 71-77
Abstract
Introduction: Numerous studies have evaluated health information systems in Iran, but most studies have not followed a standard format for reporting their findings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the compliance of health information systems’ evaluations published in Persian ...
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Introduction: Numerous studies have evaluated health information systems in Iran, but most studies have not followed a standard format for reporting their findings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the compliance of health information systems’ evaluations published in Persian journals with the Statement on Reporting of Evaluation Studies in Health Informatics (STARE-HI). Methods: This was a review study in which papers reporting on evaluation of health information systems were assessed in terms of 51 principles of the STARE-HI using a checklist. These papers were retrieved from the Persian databases of Magiran, IranMedex, and SID using appropriate keywords. Data were classified and reported based on 13 main sections of the STARE-HI. Results: From the 727 retrieved papers, 36 were relevant to the study objectives. All paper had an introduction section, but none of the paper had the authors’ contribution and conflict of interests sections. The mean compliance of articles with the STARE-HI was 71.4%, with the lowest being 52.94% and the highest being 82.35%. Conclusion: The writing style and structure of studies evaluating health information systems require improvements. The quality of study reports can be improved through reporting essential information in articles and using corresponding guidelines in the design of authors’ instruction sections of journals. Improving the reporting format of papers can result in better and higher rate of application of study results and increased citation of articles.
Sedigheh Abedi; Reza Khajouei; Leila Ahmadian; Sara Kaveh
Volume 11, Issue 4 , November 2014, , Pages 392-399
Abstract
Introduction: Due to the mission of the university websites for providing services to users, the effective design of their content leads to their efficient use. Among them are websites of educational departments which can contain valuable information for faculty members, students and other personnel. ...
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Introduction: Due to the mission of the university websites for providing services to users, the effective design of their content leads to their efficient use. Among them are websites of educational departments which can contain valuable information for faculty members, students and other personnel. The objective of this study was to review the information content of Health Information Management and Technology Departments in Iran. Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study which has been performed on 14 websites in the winter of 2013. The information elements were gathered using a data collection form, validated by three Medical Informatics specialists, and the extent of their necessity was discussed in a focus group. The results were analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: In this study, a total umber of 36 information headings were extracted from the 14 evaluated websites. These elements were categorized in six information groups: the field, faculty members, research, educational, department performance and other information. The most cases were related to research and educational information (each with 22 percent) and the least were related to the field information (8percent). Eighty three percent of existing information elements was identified as necessary by the focus group. Conclusion: Information elements of educational websites were different either by their heading or by their information content. This difference can reduce the efficiency and cause user confusion in finding information. The results of this research can be used for design and improvement of educational websites by educational departments, webometric managers and designers of the websites.
Simin Salehi Nejad; Leila Ahmadian; Reza Khajouei
Volume 11, Issue 2 , July 2014, , Pages 282-296
Abstract
Introduction: Evaluation of the effects of health information systems enable health care policy and decisions makers to better invest on and utilize health information applications. The objective of this systematic review is to consolidate existing evidence from published studies on the effect of health ...
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Introduction: Evaluation of the effects of health information systems enable health care policy and decisions makers to better invest on and utilize health information applications. The objective of this systematic review is to consolidate existing evidence from published studies on the effect of health information systems in Iran. Methods: The aim of this study is systematic review of articles about effects of health information systems in Iran. In this study all papers relevant to the research objective were retrieved from SID, Magira, Irandoc, Medlib and Iran Medex databases until July 2013, and finally 18 out of 861 retrieved articles were identified as relevant and reviewed by the authors.Results:This study shows that approximately more than half of the studies indicated the positive effects of these systems on costs and less than half of them had negative on costs.The results also demonstrate other major effects of these systems: decreased medication errors, increased accuracy and timeliness of activities, increased accessibility of information and improved quality of services.Conclusion:Theresults of this study provide a good insights concerning the effects of health information systems for policymakers and researchers. This study mainly highlighted the positive effects of these systems on health care proceduresKey Words: Health Information Systems; Hospital Information Systems; Quality Improvement.
Zhila Agharezaei; Reza Khajouei; Leila Ahmadian; Laleh Agharezaei
Volume 10, Issue 2 , July 2013
Abstract
Introduction: Health information systems (HIS) have the potential to improve the quality of healthcare. Laboratory information systems (LIS) are of widely used ones among them. Despite many benefits of HISs, many studies have indicated problems in user interaction with these systems due to poor design ...
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Introduction: Health information systems (HIS) have the potential to improve the quality of healthcare. Laboratory information systems (LIS) are of widely used ones among them. Despite many benefits of HISs, many studies have indicated problems in user interaction with these systems due to poor design of their interfaces. The present study aimed to evaluate the applicability and usability of LIS.Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study which employed heuristic evaluation method to evaluate the design of LIS used in 60 Iranian hospitals. This study was done from August to November 2012. The system was accessed in Bahonar University Hospital in Kerman, Iran. In this study, the identified applicability and usability problems concerning different parts of LISs (outpatient admission, inpatient admission, sample collection, and test result reporting) were discussed. Data were collected using a standard form designed based on heuristic method. The content validity was confirmed by three medical informatics specialists.Results: This evaluation identified 162 applicability and usability problems. The highest number of problems concerned "flexibility and efficiency of use" and the lowest number concerned heuristic "help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors". Based on different parts of the system, the highest number of problems (n = 51) concerned "outpatient admission" and the lowest ones (n = 29) concerned "sample collection" part.Conclusion: Despite wide usage throughout the country, the design of many existing HISs suffers from usability and applicability problems which diminish the quality of user interaction and subsequently the quality of health care. Consideration of standards and principles for user interface design such as those heuristics used in this study can reduce the number of applicability problems.Keywords: Laboratory Information Systems; Medical Errors; Evaluation; User Interface
