Interpolation of Dance’s coefficients for the estimation of average glandular dose in mammography / Journal of Rural Medicine

Objective: The average glandular dose (AGD) is used to evaluate the radiation dosage in mammography. Dance et al. (2000) presented a computation formula to estimate the AGD based on several coefficient factors, such as compressed breast thickness, breast tissue composition, and half-value layers (HVLs). The objective of this study was to improve the preciseness of AGD estimation.Materials and Methods: We interpolated the coefficients developed by Dance et al. to generate an approximation formulae and reference datasets with higher granularity and breast thickness (2–6 cm) relevant to a Japanese population.Results: The results from this study indicate that the incorporation of HVLs and breast thickness required in mammography densitometry leads to an advancement in the current method for estimating the average glandular dose.Conclusions: We expect that these interpolated values will serve as a reference for other researchers and allow for a more accurate, detailed, and individualized AGD estimation.

Effectiveness and Sustainability of Education about Incident Reporting at a University Hospital in Japan / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of educational interventions to encourage incident reporting. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental design. The study involved nurses working in two gastroenterology surgical wards at Fukuoka University Hospital, Japan. The number of participants on each ward was 26 nurses at baseline. For the intervention group, we provided 15 minutes of education about patient safety and the importance of incident reporting once per month for six months. After the completion of the intervention, we compared incident reporting in the subsequent 12 months for both groups. Questionnaires about reasons/motives for reporting were administered three times, before the intervention, after the intervention, and six months after the intervention for both the intervention group and the control group. RESULTS: For the intervention group, incident reporting during the 6 months after the intervention period increased significantly compared with the baseline. During the same period, the reasons and motives for reporting changed significantly in the intervention group. The increase in reported incidents during the 6- to 12-month period following the intervention was not significant. In the control group, there was no significant difference during follow-up compared with the baseline. CONCLUSIONS: A brief intervention about patient safety changed the motives for reporting incidents and the frequency of incidents reported by nurses working in surgical wards in a university hospital in Japan. However, the effect of the education decreased after six months following the education. Regular and long-term effort is required to maintain the effect of education.