Training needs in TQM: the Portuguese perspective

A survey to assess training needs in TQM was developed in several European countries, within the framework of a Leonardo’s project named IMVOCED. Beyond a comparison of the results in each country, a global analysis was performed to design a TQM programme to be delivered by WBL (Work Based Learning). Differences were found between countries, and the Portuguese results also revealed that different approaches to TQM training should be adopted according to the organisation’s dimension. Based on this evidence, two different strategies for TQM training by WBL are proposed and discussed.

Impact of a training course on the quality of malaria diagnosis by microscopy in Angola

Background: In Angola, malaria is an endemic disease having a major impact on the economy. The WHO recommends testing for all suspected malaria cases, to avoid the presumptive treatment of this disease. In malaria endemic regions laboratory technicians must be very comfortable with microscopy, the golden standard for malaria diagnosis, to avoid the incorrect diagnosis. The improper use of medication promotes drug resistance and undesirable side effects. The present study aims to assess the impact of a three-day refresher course on the knowledge of technicians, quality of blood smears preparation and accuracy of microscopy malaria diagnosis, using qPCR as reference method. Methods: This study was implemented in laboratories from three hospitals in different provinces of Angola: Bengo, Benguela and Luanda. In each laboratory samples were collected before and after the training course (slide with thin and thick blood smears, a dried blood spot and a form). The impact of the intervention was evaluated through a written test, the quality of slide preparation and the performance of microscopy. Results: It was found a significant increase on the written test median score, from 52.5% to 65.0%. A total of 973 slides were analysed to evaluate the quality of thick and thin blood smears. Considering all laboratories there was a significant increase in quality of thick and thin blood smears. To determine the performance of microscopy using qPCR as the reference method we used 1,028 samples. Benguela presented the highest values for specificity, 92.9% and 98.8% pre and post-course, respectively and for sensitivity the best pre-course was Benguela (75.9%) and post-course Luanda (75.0%). However, no significant increase in sensitivity and specificity after the training course was registered in any laboratory analysed. Discussion: The findings of this study support the need of continuous refresher training for microscopists and other laboratory staff. The laboratories should have a quality control programme to supervise the diagnosis and also to assess the periodicity of new training. However, other variables needed to be considered to have a correct malaria diagnosis, such as adequate equipment and reagents for staining and visualization, good working conditions, motivated and qualified personnel.

Nuclear medicine technologist education and training in Europe: literature and web-based findings

Purpose - The education and training of a nuclear medicine technologist (NMT) is not homogeneous among European countries, which leads to different scope of practices and, therefore, different technical skills are assigned. The goal of this research was to characterize the education and training of NMT in Europe. Materials and methods - This study was based on a literature research to characterize the education and training of NMT and support the historical evolution of this profession. It was divided into two different phases: the first phase included analysis of scientific articles and the second phase included research of curricula that allow health professionals to work as NMT in Europe. Results - The majority of the countries [N=31 (89%)] offer the NMT curriculum integrated into the high education system and only in four (11%) countries the education is provided by professional schools. The duration in each education system is not equal, varying in professional schools (2-3 years) and high education level system (2-4 years), which means that different European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, such as 240, 230, 222, 210 or 180 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, are attributed to the graduates. The professional title and scope of the practice of NMT are different in different countries in Europe. In most countries of Europe, nuclear medicine training is not specific and curriculum does not demonstrate the Nuclear Medicine competencies performed in clinical practice. Conclusion - The heterogeneity in education and training for NMT is an issue prevalent among European countries. For NMT professional development, there is a huge need to formalize and unify educational and training programmes in Europe.

Non-adherence to telemedicine interventions for drug users: systematic review

OBJECTIVE To estimate rates of non-adherence to telemedicine strategies aimed at treating drug addiction. METHODS A systematic review was conducted of randomized controlled trials investigating different telemedicine treatment methods for drug addiction. The following databases were consulted between May 18, 2012 and June 21, 2012: PubMed, PsycINFO, SciELO, Wiley (The Cochrane Library), Embase, Clinical trials and Google Scholar. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. The criteria evaluated were: appropriate sequence of data generation, allocation concealment, blinding, description of losses and exclusions and analysis by intention to treat. There were 274 studies selected, of which 20 were analyzed. RESULTS Non-adherence rates varied between 15.0% and 70.0%. The interventions evaluated were of at least three months duration and, although they all used telemedicine as support, treatment methods differed. Regarding the quality of the studies, the values also varied from very poor to high quality. High quality studies showed better adherence rates, as did those using more than one technique of intervention and a limited treatment time. Mono-user studies showed better adherence rates than poly-user studies. CONCLUSIONS Rates of non-adherence to treatment involving telemedicine on the part of users of psycho-active substances differed considerably, depending on the country, the intervention method, follow-up time and substances used. Using more than one technique of intervention, short duration of treatment and the type of substance used by patients appear to facilitate adherence.

Enabling Global Experiments With Interactive Reconfiguration And Steering By Multiple Users

In global scientific experiments with collaborative scenarios involving multinational teams there are big challenges related to data access, namely data movements are precluded to other regions or Clouds due to the constraints on latency costs, data privacy and data ownership. Furthermore, each site is processing local data sets using specialized algorithms and producing intermediate results that are helpful as inputs to applications running on remote sites. This paper shows how to model such collaborative scenarios as a scientific workflow implemented with AWARD (Autonomic Workflow Activities Reconfigurable and Dynamic), a decentralized framework offering a feasible solution to run the workflow activities on distributed data centers in different regions without the need of large data movements. The AWARD workflow activities are independently monitored and dynamically reconfigured and steering by different users, namely by hot-swapping the algorithms to enhance the computation results or by changing the workflow structure to support feedback dependencies where an activity receives feedback output from a successor activity. A real implementation of one practical scenario and its execution on multiple data centers of the Amazon Cloud is presented including experimental results with steering by multiple users.

Lean learning academy: an innovative framework for lean manufacturing training

Worldwide competitiveness poses enormous challenges on managers, demanding a continuous quest to increase rationality in the use of resources. As a management philosophy, Lean Manufacturing focuses on the elimination of activities that do not create any type of value and therefore are considered waste. For companies to successfully implement the Lean Manufacturing philosophy it is crucial that the human resources of the organization have the necessary training, for which proper tools are required. At the same time, higher education institutions need innovative tools to increase the attractiveness of engineering curricula and develop a higher level of knowledge among students, improving their employability. This paper describes how Lean Learning Academy, an international collaboration project between five EU universities and five companies, from SME to Multinational/Global companies, developed and applied an innovative training programme for Engineers on Lean Manufacturing, a successful alternative to the traditional teaching methods in engineering courses.

Digital serious games and simulation games - comparison of two approaches to lean training

In an increasingly competitive and globalized world, companies need effective training methodologies and tools for their employees. However, selecting the most suitable ones is not an easy task. It depends on the requirements of the target group (namely time restrictions), on the specificities of the contents, etc. This is typically the case for training in Lean, the waste elimination manufacturing philosophy. This paper presents and compares two different approaches to lean training methodologies and tools: a simulation game based on a single realistic manufacturing platform, involving production and assembly operations that allows learning by playing; and a digital game that helps understand lean tools. This paper shows that both tools have advantages in terms of trainee motivation and knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, they can be used in a complementary way, reinforcing the acquired knowledge.

Cultura da (in) segurança nos contextos de trabalho em enfermagem: o caso do Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora - E.P.E.

Mestrado em Intervenção Sócio-Organizacional na Saúde - Área de especialização: Políticas de Administração e Gestão de Serviços de Saúde

Users’ dissatisfaction with dental care: a population-based household study

OBJECTIVE To examine whether demographic, socioeconomic conditions, oral health subjectivity and characterization of dental care are associated with users’ dissatisfaction with such are.METHODS Cross-sectional study of 781 people who required dental care in Montes Claros, MG, Southeastern Brazil, in 2012, a city with of medium-sized population situated in the North of Minas Gerais. Household interviews were conducted to assess the users’ dissatisfaction with dental care (dependent variable), demographic, socioeconomic conditions, oral health subjectivity and characterization of dental care (independent variables). Sample calculation was used for the finite population, with estimates made for proportions of dissatisfaction in 50.0% of the population, a 5.0% error margin, a non-response rate of 5.0% and a 2.0% design effect. Logistic regression was used, and the odds ratio was calculated with a 5% significance level and 95% confidence intervals.RESULTS Of the interviewed individuals, 9.0% (7.9%, with correction for design effect) were dissatisfied with the care provided. These were associated with lower educational level; negative self-assessment of oral health; perception that the care provider was unable to give dental care; negative evaluation of the way the patient was treated, the cleanliness of the rooms, based on the examination rooms and the toilets, and the size of the waiting and examination rooms.CONCLUSIONS The rate of dissatisfaction with dental care was low. This dissatisfaction was associated with socioeconomic conditions, subjectivity of oral health, skill of the health professionals relating to the professional-patient relationship and facility infrastructure. Educational interventions are suggested that aim at improving the quality of care among professionals by responsible agencies as is improving the infrastructure of the care units.

Asthenopic symptoms and binocular vision of professional users of optical microscope

Desde 1935 que tem sido demonstrada a relação entre a execução de um trabalho de perto prolongado e o aparecimento de queixas visuais astenópicas. Anomalias da VB encontram-se significativamente aumentadas ao fim de um dia de trabalho com fixação de perto. Diminuição significativa da amplitude de acomodação e convergência depois de quatro dias a realizar uma atividade de perto. Objectivo geral: avaliar o estado da visão binocular dos profissionais de Anatomia Patológica utilizadores de microscópio ótico. Objectivos específicos: identificar as queixas astenópicas mais frequentes dos profissionais durante o trabalho com o microscópio ótico; comparar o estado da VB no início e no final de uma semana de trabalho; correlacionar o estado da VB com as queixas astenópicas sentidas pelos profissionais; correlacionar as queixas astenópicas com as horas e o número de anos de trabalho com o microscópio.

Vocal warm-up and breathing training for teachers: randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of two speech therapy interventions, vocal warm-up and breathing training, focusing on teachers’ voice quality.METHODS A single-blind, randomized, parallel clinical trial was conducted. The research included 31 20 to 60-year old teachers from a public school in Salvador, BA, Northeasatern Brazil, with minimum workloads of 20 hours a week, who have or have not reported having vocal alterations. The exclusion criteria were the following: being a smoker, excessive alcohol consumption, receiving additional speech therapy assistance while taking part in the study, being affected by upper respiratory tract infections, professional use of the voice in another activity, neurological disorders, and history of cardiopulmonary pathologies. The subjects were distributed through simple randomization in groups vocal warm-up (n = 14) and breathing training (n = 17). The teachers’ voice quality was subjectively evaluated through the Voice Handicap Index (Índice de Desvantagem Vocal, in the Brazilian version) and computerized voice analysis (average fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise, and glottal-to-noise excitation ratio) by speech therapists.RESULTS Before the interventions, the groups were similar regarding sociodemographic characteristics, teaching activities, and vocal quality. The variations before and after the intervention in self-assessment and acoustic voice indicators have not significantly differed between the groups. In the comparison between groups before and after the six-week interventions, significant reductions in the Voice Handicap Index of subjects in both groups were observed, as wells as reduced average fundamental frequencies in the vocal warm-up group and increased shimmer in the breathing training group. Subjects from the vocal warm-up group reported speaking more easily and having their voices more improved in a general way as compared to the breathing training group.CONCLUSIONS Both interventions were similar regarding their effects on the teachers’ voice quality. However, each contribution has individually contributed to improve the teachers’ voice quality, especially the vocal warm-up.TRIAL RECORD NCT02102399, “Vocal Warm-up and Respiratory Muscle Training in Teachers”.

Qualidade dos sistemas de informação no serviço de radiologia do Hospital de Curry Cabral: um estudo de caso

Mestrado em Intervenção Sócio-Organizacional na Saúde - Área de especialização: Políticas de Administração e Gestão de Serviços de Saúde

Curso E-learning de sistemas multicorpo (multibody systems) para engenheiros mecânicos

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

PHYSQuiz - Aplicação computacional para formação contínua em Física Radiológica

Mestrado em Engenharia de Computação e Instrumentação Médica

CodeSkelGen: a program skeleton generator

Existent computer programming training environments help users to learn programming by solving problems from scratch. Nevertheless, initiating the resolution of a program can be frustrating and demotivating if the student does not know where and how to start. Skeleton programming facilitates a top-down design approach, where a partially functional system with complete high level structures is available, so the student needs only to progressively complete or update the code to meet the requirements of the problem. This paper presents CodeSkelGen - a program skeleton generator. CodeSkelGen generates skeleton or buggy Java programs from a complete annotated program solution provided by the teacher. The annotations are formally described within an annotation type and processed by an annotation processor. This processor is responsible for a set of actions ranging from the creation of dummy methods to the exchange of operator types included in the source code. The generator tool will be included in a learning environment that aims to assist teachers in the creation of programming exercises and to help students in their resolution.