Biomedical informatics training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to describe biomedical informatics training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). METHODS: We reviewed biomedical informatics training, research, and faculty/trainee participation at UW-Madison. RESULTS: There are three primary approaches to training 1) The Computation & Informatics in Biology & Medicine Training Program, 2) formal biomedical informatics offered by various campus departments, and 3) individualized programs. Training at UW-Madison embodies the features of effective biomedical informatics training recommended by the American College of Medical Informatics that were delineated as: 1) curricula that integrate experiences among computational sciences and application domains, 2) individualized and interdisciplinary cross-training among a diverse cadre of trainees to develop key competencies that he or she does not initially possess, 3) participation in research and development activities, and 4) exposure to a range of basic informational and computational sciences. CONCLUSIONS: The three biomedical informatics training approaches immerse students in multidisciplinary training and education that is supported by faculty trainers who participate in collaborative research across departments. Training is provided across a range of disciplines and available at different training stages. Biomedical informatics training at UW-Madison illustrates how a large research University, with multiple departments across biological, computational and health fields, can provide effective and productive biomedical informatics training via multiple bioinformatics training approaches.

Potential effectiveness of parents' actions to reduce children's lead exposure.

There have been few descriptive studies of parents' efforts to decrease children's exposure to lead. From parents who brought their children to 6 public lead-screening clinics and agreed to participate in a larger study of lead-exposure patterns, a purposeful sample (N = 125) was selected. The children of these parents had at least 1 lead-exposure risk factor, based on parental report. On a questionnaire, only 30% of the parents documented either the child's sources of possible lead exposure, their actions to reduce exposure, or both. Documenting an exposure source was significantly associated with documenting an action. Documenting exposure sources and documenting actions were both associated with prior knowledge of lead's risks; these relationships were influenced by the child's history of prior lead screening. Parent's reported actions to reduce exposure were categorized for potential effectiveness in relation to the child's risk factors; very few actions were considered effective. Results suggest that parents need information to help them identify sources of lead exposure and to minimize their children's risks.

Indicators of possible lead exposure among children attending public lead screening clinics: implications for primary prevention.

Because lead exposure is a health-related condition that precedes elevated blood lead levels, the aims of this study were to examine the prevalence of lead exposure among children attending lead screening clinics in two Wisconsin counties and to explore its relationship to demographic variables. Based on data obtained from parents, significant relationships were found between the history of possible exposure and the demographic variables of rural or urban home location, rented or owned dwelling, and family income. About 90% of the children were being exposed to at least one possible lead source. The rationale for intensive study of lead exposure's demographic context was validated, and the need for primary prevention of lead exposure was affirmed.