Use of a modified delphi process for establishing occupational exposure limits in support of health surveillance for space travelers

On-orbit exposures can come from numerous factors related to the space environment as evidenced by almost 50 years of environmental samples collected for water analysis, air analysis, radiation analysis, and physiologic parameters. For astronauts and spaceflight participants the occupational exposures can be very different from those experienced by workers performing similar tasks in workplaces on Earth, because the duration of the exposure could be continuous for very long orbital, and eventually interplanetary, missions. The establishment of long-term exposure standards is vital to controlling the quality of the spacecraft environment over long periods. NASA often needs to update and revise its prior exposure standards (Spacecrafts Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs)). Traditional standards-setting processes are often lengthy, so a more rapid method to review and establish standards would be a substantial advancement in this area. This project investigates use of the Delphi method for this purpose. ^ In order to achieve the objectives of this study a modified Delphi methodology was tested in three trials executed by doctoral students and a panel of experts in disciplines related to occupational safety and health. During each test/trial modifications were made to the methodology. Prior to submission of the Delphi Questionnaire to the panel of experts a pilot study/trial was conducted using five doctoral students with the goals of testing and adjusting the Delphi questionnaire to improve comprehension, work out any procedural issues and evaluate the effectiveness of the questionnaire in drawing the desired responses. The remainder of the study consisted of two trials of the Modified Delphi process using 6 chemicals that currently have the potential of causing occupational exposures to NASA astronauts or spaceflight participants. To assist in setting Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL), the expert panel was established consisting of experts from academia, government and industry. Evidence was collected and used to create close-ended questionnaires which were submitted to the Delphi panel of experts for the establishment of OEL values for three chemicals from the list of six originally selected (trial 1). Once the first Delphi trial was completed, adjustments were made to the Delphi questionnaires and the process above was repeated with the remaining 3 chemicals (trial 2). ^ Results indicate that experience in occupational safety and health and with OEL methodologies can have a positive effect in minimizing the time experts take in completing this process. Based on the results of the questionnaires and comparison of the results with the SMAC already established by NASA, we conclude that use of the Delphi methodology is appropriate for use in the decision-making process for the selection of OELs.^

Advances in Teaching and Learning 2005 Webcast - Introductions and Expert Panel

Expert Panel: Documenting Teaching Scholarship for Promotion and Tenure Lemuel Moye, School of Public Health Miguel daCunha, School of Nursing William Tate, Dental School Katherine Loveland, Medical School

PANEL DISCUSSION: "Medical Ethics, Eugenics, and the Holocaust"

A panel discussion moderated by Dr. Thomas R. Cole, McGovern Chair in Medical Humanities and Director of the John P. McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Panelists include: Rabbi Samuel E. Karff, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel and Associate Director of the John P. McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics and Visiting Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at the Texas Medical Center. Cardinal DiNardo, the second Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the first cardinal archbishop from a diocese in the Southern United States. Dr. Sheldon Rubenfeld, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, and is a Fellow in both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Endocrinology. Dr. Rubenfeld has taught "Healing by Killing: Medicine During the Third Reich" for three years and "Jewish Medical Ethics" for seven years at Baylor College of Medicine. He created a six-month program about Medicine and the Holocaust at Holocaust Museum Houston, including an exhibit entitled How Healing Becomes Killing: Eugenics, Euthanasia, Extermination and a series of lectures by distinguished speakers entitled "The Michael E. DeBakey Medical Ethics Lecture Series".

Practitioners' Views of Family Strengths: A Delphi Study

Reported is a research study to assess the opinions of family practitioners on the status of families in Oklahoma. Researchers employed the Delphi method to achieve consensus among key informants in the family practice field about the strengths and weaknesses of Oklahoma families, threats facing families in the state, and means to strengthening family life in Oklahoma. The study yielded qualitative data from the key informants, which the researchers then condensed into response categories to feed back to informants to rate. Family practitioners identified resilience, spirituality, and access to support systems as the greatest strengths, and listed substance abuse, poverty, and generational cycles of dysfunction as the greatest weaknesses of Oklahoma families. Recommendations by these practitioners are given for improvements in addressing family needs.

Commentary on "Practitioners’ Views of Family Strengths: A Delphi Study"

Commentary on "Practitioners’ Views of Family Strengths: A Delphi Study"

Description and analysis of variation in dairy product and concomitant nutrient purchases between Hispanic and non -Hispanic households using a panel of shoppers' purchase records

The purpose of this research was development of a method of estimating nutrient availability in populations as approximated by supermarket purchase records. Demographic information describing 12,516 panel households was obtained from a marketing and advertising program operated by H. E. Butt Grocery Company of San Antonio, Texas. A non-probability sample of 2,161 households meeting expenditure criteria was selected and all purchases of dairy products for this sample of households were organized into a database constructed to facilitate the retrieval, aggregation, and analysis of dairy product purchases and their nutrient contents. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) no difference would be found between Hispanic and non-Hispanic purchases of dairy product categories during the study period and (2) no difference would be found between Hispanic and non-Hispanic purchases of nutrients contained in those dairy products during the thirteen-week study period.^ Food purchase records were used to estimate nutrient exposure on a weekly, per capita basis for Hispanic and non-Hispanic households by linking some 40,000 dairy purchase Universal Product code (UPC) numbers with food composition values contained in USDA Handbook 8-1. Results of this study suggest Hispanic sample households consistently purchased fewer dairy products than did non-Hispanic sample households and consequently had fewer nutrients available from dairy purchases. While weekly expenditures for dairy products among the sample households remained relatively constant during the study period, shifts in the types of dairy products purchased were observed. The effect of ethnicity on dairy product and nutrient purchases was significant over the thirteen-week period. A database consisting of customer, household, and purchase information can be developed to successfully associate food item UPC numbers with a standard reference of food composition to estimate nutrient availability in a population over extended periods of time. ^