ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Digital health technologies (DHTs), such as electronic health records and prescribing systems, are transforming health care delivery around the world. The quality of information in DHTs is key to the quality and safety of care. We developed a novel clinical information quality (CLIQ) framework to assess the quality of clinical information in DHTs. OBJECTIVE: This study explored clinicians' perspectives on the relevance, definition, and assessment of information quality dimensions in the CLIQ framework. METHODS: We used a systematic and iterative eDelphi approach to engage clinicians who had information governance roles or personal interest in information governance; the clinicians were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data were collected using semistructured online questionnaires until consensus was reached on the information quality dimensions in the CLIQ framework. Responses on the relevance of the dimensions were summarized to inform decisions on retention of the dimensions according to prespecified rules. Thematic analysis of the free-text responses was used to revise definitions and the assessment of dimensions. RESULTS: Thirty-five clinicians from 10 countries participated in the study, which was concluded after the second round. Consensus was reached on all dimensions and categories in the CLIQ framework: informativeness (accuracy, completeness, interpretability, plausibility, provenance, and relevance), availability (accessibility, portability, security, and timeliness), and usability (conformance, consistency, and maintainability). A new dimension, searchability, was introduced in the availability category to account for the ease of finding needed information in the DHTs. Certain dimensions were renamed, and some definitions were rephrased to improve clarity. CONCLUSIONS: The CLIQ framework reached a high expert consensus and clarity of language relating to the information quality dimensions. The framework can be used by health care managers and institutions as a pragmatic tool for identifying and forestalling information quality problems that could compromise patient safety and quality of care. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057430.
Subject(s)
Digital Technology , HumansABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Estimation of total cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk with the use of risk prediction charts such as the Framingham risk score and Atherogenic index of plasma score is a huge improvement on the practice of identifying and treating each of the risk factors such as high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol. The estimation of the total risk highlights that CVD risk factors occur together and thereby predicts who should be treated. There is scarcity of data on the risk scoring of adults in Nigeria including health workers. Therefore, this study was done to estimate the cardiovascular risks of health workers in public health services in north-central Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed using validated Framingham risk score calculator and calculation of risk based on the lipid profile of 301 randomly selected health workers in North-central Nigeria. Descriptive analysis was done using frequency counts and percentages while inferential statistics were done using chi square and correlation analyses using statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The confidence level was 95% and the level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: The 10-year risk of developing CVD was generally low in the health workers. Using Framingham risk score, 98.3% of health workers have low risk, 1.0% have moderate risk and 0.7% have high risk. Among the cadres of health workers, 1.5% of the nurses have moderate risk while 2.5% of the doctors and 3.3% of the CHEWs have high risk of developing CVD in 10 years. Using Atherogenic index of plasma scoring, only 2% of the health workers have high risk, 4.7% have intermediate risk while 93.4% have low risk. Across the cadres, 6.3% of the nurses and 3.3% of the CHEWs have intermediate risk while 2.4% of the nurses and 3.3% of the CHEWs have high risk. These findings were however not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease was low in the health workers in this study using both Framingham's risk score and atherogenic index of plasma scores.
