Health Informatics Journal

There are a variety of ways to analyse qualitative data, ranging from manual analysis by the time honoured process of coloured pens, to a card sorting system, to using a computer software program. Because of the voluminous quantities of data generated through the author's own research, a software program specifically developed for qualitative research, NUD.IST, was chosen to expedite analysis. This paper will describe the process taken to convert the raw data for a qualitative nursing study into preliminary chapters for inclusion in a doctoral thesis. The research took an ethnographic approach to explore the parenting practices of sole supporting teenage mothers. Data consisted of verbatim transcripts from interviews, field notes and personal reflective journalling. NUD.IST provided a tool which helped reduce the data into a more manageable form. It served both mechanical and conceptual functions.

This article describes the findings from a small-scale research project involving 14 test subjects. Experiments were conducted with student nurses and their use of speech recognition technologies. Speech and keyboard were compared as input methods. A hypothesis is put forward and questionnaires and experiments were devised to test the hypothesis. The experiments involved a form of software monitoring, which is discussed. Results from the data analysis of the experiments are included but not the results from the analysis of the questionnaires. During the discussion, summary data from the questionnaires are included. Issues such as usability, error rates and hardware problems are discussed. A brief conclusion considers the future of the keyboard as the predominant computer interface.

Recent recommendations in the Calman Report on medical training address perceived deficiencies in the current system in the UK. These recommendations include shorter and more structured training for junior doctors. Structured training will require the provision of specific educational and assessment materials. The current expansion of the Internet may provide a timely opportunity to help with these educational challenges. Our pilot study will investigate the potential role of the Internet in the delivery of structured training materials. We will also be evaluating a number of educational strategies supported by the Internet, particularly computer based simulation, for teaching the management of two sample obstetric emergencies: post partum haemorrhage and pre-eclampsia.

Telemedicine is a fast-growing field, currently at the forefront of research in healthcare informatics. In this paper, we examine the challenges faced by the advent of telemedicine and the potential impacts on healthcare. We focus on the challenges of communication and collaboration in two areas: clinical applications, and education and training. Telematics its clinical applications, and education and training in healthcare telematics, are closely inter-linked. The provision of quality training and education, both as part of the clinical curriculum and also externally to practising clinicians, will play an important role in the success of telemedicine. Conversely, the development of new telemedicine applications, particularly those that provide information or decision support, is likely to change the role and skills required of clinical practitioners and thus affect the form and content of education programmes. Much work is still necessary to understand how this can best be achieved; small-scale practical studies together with formative multi-perspective evaluation studies are important steps towards realizing these benefits.

Objectives: To investigate the potential of general practice computer data in assessing asthma service delivery and need. To compare the epidemiology of coded asthmatics and those receiving asthma drugs with recognized patterns for asthma. To estimate asthma prevalence, preventer and reliever drug need and its possible cost in east London. Design: Descriptive study using asthma computer audits undertaken in June 1995 in five general practices selected for their interest in asthma.

There is currently a paucity of information on the relationship between patient ethnicity and prescribing and its implications for future resource allocation. The proportions of Asian patients on practice lists in east London were estimated by proportional allocation of census data and by assigning ethnicity to names; the latter method was deemed to be more appropriate. Using linear multiple regression modelling, a higher rate of prescribing was demonstrated in general practices with higher proportions of Asian patients. Practices with higher proportions of Asian patients also had higher list sizes per general practitioner (GP). Our findings confirmed that the overall drug prescribing rate was most strongly associated with the age-sex structure of the practice population. Lower prescribing rates were found in training practices and practices with fewer patients per principal. Half the variability in the overall drug prescribing rate was related to the factors included in our analysis. Higher rates of prescribing for patients of Asian origin could reflect higher morbidity, doctor behaviour or patient expectation. To date, ethnicity has not been included in the calculations for general practice Indicative Prescribing Amounts (IPAs). It is suggested that IPAs should be weighted for patient ethnicity. A higher prescribing rate could reflect a greater workload which is consistent with higher consultation rates among Asian patients. These need to be taken into account in General Medical Services (GMS) negotiations.