Are best practices really best practice? [safety critical industry]

Best practices in studies of developmental instability, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry, have developed over the past 60 years. Unfortunately, they are haphazardly applied in many of the papers submitted for review. Most often, research designs suffer from lack of randomization, inadequate replication, poor attention to size scaling, lack of attention to measurement error, and unrecognized mixtures of additive and multiplicative errors. Here, I summarize a set of best practices, especially in studies that examine the effects of environmental stress on fluctuating asymmetry.

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Abstract 218: Expanding a Learning Collaborative Model in Chicago to Improve Door to Needle for Stroke Thrombolysis: Raising the Bar

Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes ◽

10.1161/circoutcomes.10.suppl_3.218 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (suppl_3) ◽

Author(s):

Shyam Prabhakaran ◽

Renee M Sednew ◽

Kathleen O’Neill

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Performance Improvement ◽

Best Practice ◽

Learning Collaborative ◽

Collaborative Model ◽

Stroke Registry ◽

Chicago Area ◽

Regional Collaboration ◽

Content Expert ◽

And Performance

Background: There remains significant opportunities to reduce door-to-needle (DTN) times for stroke despite regional and national efforts. In Chicago, Quality Enhancement for the Speedy Thrombolysis for Stroke (QUESTS) was a one year learning collaborative (LC) which aimed to reduce DTN times at 15 Chicago Primary Stroke Centers. Identification of barriers and sharing of best practices resulted in achieving DTN < 60 minutes within the first quarter of the 2013 initiative and has sustained progress to date. Aligned with Target: Stroke goals, QUESTS 2.0, funded for the 2016 calendar year, invited 9 additional metropolitan Chicago area hospitals to collaborate and further reduce DTN times to a goal < 45 minutes in 50% of eligible patients. Methods: All 24 hospitals participate in the Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) Stroke registry and benchmark group to track DTN performance improvement in 2016. Hospitals implement American Heart Association’s Target Stroke program and share best practices uniquely implemented at sites to reduce DTN times. The LC included a quality and performance improvement leader, a stroke content expert, site visits and quarterly meetings and learning sessions, and reporting of experiences and data. Results: In 2015, the year prior to QUESTS 2.0, the proportion of patients treated with tPA within 45 minutes of hospital arrival increased from 21.6% in Q1 to 31.4% in Q2. During the 2016 funded year, this proportion changed from 31.6% in Q1 to 48.3% in Q2. Conclusions: Using a learning collaborative model to implement strategies to reduce DTN times among 24 Chicago area hospitals continues to impact times. Regional collaboration, data sharing, and best practice sharing should be a model for rapid and sustainable system-wide quality improvement.

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Are Best Practices Really Best? A Review of the Best Practices Literature in Library and Information Studies

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice ◽

10.18438/b8rc9s ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 110 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jackie Druery ◽

Nancy McCormack ◽

Sharon Murphy

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Best Practice ◽

Information Science ◽

Library And Information Science ◽

Science Literature ◽

Common Definition ◽

Library And Information Studies ◽

Information Studies ◽

The Subject ◽

Definition Of

Objective - The term “best practice” appears often in library and information science literature, yet, despite the frequency with which the term is used, there is little discussion about what is meant by the term and how one can reliably identify a best practice. Methods – This paper reviews 113 articles that identify and discuss best practices, in order to determine how “best practices” are distinguished from other practices, and whether these determinations are made on the basis of consistent and reliable evidence. The review also takes into account definitions of the term to discover if a common definition is used amongst authors. Results – The “evidence” upon which papers on “best practices” are based falls into one of the following six categories: 1) opinion (n=18, 15%), 2) literature reviews (n=13, 12%), 3) practices in the library in which the author works (n=19, 17%), 4) formal and informal qualitative and quantitative approaches (n=16, 14%), 5) a combination of the aforementioned (i.e., combined approaches) (n=34, 30%), and 6) “other” sources or approaches which are largely one of a kind (n=13, 12%). There is no widely shared or common definition of “best practices” amongst the authors of these papers, and most papers (n=94, 83%) fail to define the term at all. The number of papers was, for the most part, split evenly amongst the six categories indicating that writers on the subject are basing “best practices” assertions on a wide variety of sources and evidence. Conclusions – Library and information science literature on “best practices” is rarely based on rigorous empirical methods of research and therefore is generally unreliable. There is, in addition, no widely held understanding of what is meant by the use of the term.

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The Intertwining Impact of Intraorganizational and Routine Networks on Routine Replication Dynamics: An Agent-Based Model

Complexity ◽

10.1155/2018/8496235 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dehua Gao ◽

Flaminio Squazzoni ◽

Xiuquan Deng

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Best Practice ◽

Network Effects ◽

Fitness Landscape ◽

Optimal Combination ◽

Landscape Model ◽

Agent Based ◽

Adaptive Changes ◽

Absorptive Capacities ◽

Geographically Distributed

Organizational routines are means through which organizations can reutilize best practices and so their replication, i.e., duplicating beneficial routines across context, is a key value-creating strategy. However, it is difficult to map network effects on routine replication. Here, we investigated routine replicating dynamics considering two types of network contexts, namely, (1) connections between different (geographically distributed) units in a decentralized organization and (2) the coupling relation between routines, i.e., a bundle of different routines involved in each unit. By considering routine replication as one kind of template-based activities between different units, we examined interrelations between routines with a NK-based fitness landscape model. Our results show that when there is an appropriate level of absorptive capacities (i.e., when organizations are capable of identifying and acquiring externally generated knowledge), there is an optimal combination of these two types of networks, which is beneficial to routine replicating practices and organization adaptation. Furthermore, we also found that intraorganizational variations, including template-duplicating errors and innovative activities, are instrumental to enhance adaptive changes. Our findings suggest measures to control and manage best practice diffusion across organizations.

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Engaging Multidisciplinary Stakeholders to Drive Shared Decision-Making in Oncology

Journal of Palliative Care ◽

10.1177/0825859718810723 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 29-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Gabrielle Rocque ◽

Ellen Miller-Sonnet ◽

Alan Balch ◽

Carrie Stricker ◽

Josh Seidman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Decision Making ◽

Best Practices ◽

Shared Decision Making ◽

Best Practice ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Shared Decision ◽

Oncology Practice ◽

Development And Validation

Although recognized as best practice, regular integration of shared decision-making (SDM) approaches between patients and oncologists remains an elusive goal. It is clear that usable, feasible, and practical tools are needed to drive increased SDM in oncology. To address this goal, we convened a multidisciplinary collaborative inclusive of experts across the health-care delivery ecosystem to identify key principles in designing and testing processes to promote SDM in routine oncology practice. In this commentary, we describe 3 best practices for addressing challenges associated with implementing SDM that emerged from a multidisciplinary collaborative: (1) engagement of diverse stakeholders who have interest in SDM, (2) development and validation of an evidence-based SDM tool grounded within an established conceptual framework, and (3) development of the necessary roadmap and consideration of the infrastructure needed for engendering patient engagement in decision-making. We believe these 3 principles are critical to the success of creating SDM tools to be utilized both within and outside of clinical practice. We are optimistic that shared use across settings will support adoption of this tool and overcome barriers to implementing SDM within busy clinical workflows. Ultimately, we hope that this work will offer new perspectives on what is important to patients and provide an important impetus for leveraging patient preferences and values in decision-making.

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Perspectives on Documenting Methods to Create Ocean Best Practices

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2020.556234 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Cora Hörstmann ◽

Pier Luigi Buttigieg ◽

Pauline Simpson ◽

Jay Pearlman ◽

Anya M. Waite

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Best Practices ◽

Scientific Community ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Best Practice ◽

Ocean Sciences ◽

Modern Information

This perspective outlines how authors of ocean methods, guides, and standards can harmonize their work across the scientific community. We reflect on how documentation practices can be linked to modern information technologies to improve discoverability, interlinkages, and thus the evolution of distributed methods into common best practices within the ocean community. To show how our perspectives can be turned into action, we link them to guidance on using the IOC-UNESCO Ocean Best Practice System to support increased collaboration and reproducibility during and beyond the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development.

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How to build capacity to best use good/best practice

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.655 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

D van Dale ◽

K Leenaars

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Capacity Building ◽

Best Practice ◽

Product Information ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Intersectoral Collaboration ◽

Implementation Study ◽

Combine Process ◽

Work Shop ◽

Incentive Strategies

Abstract In the Netherlands the best practice portals contains approximately 325 best and good practices with different levels of recognition (well described, theoretically sound and effective). Evaluations of the portal (2013 and 2018) show that the portal is well appreciated by professionals of municipal health services and stakeholders but the uptake of best practices can be improved. An implementation study (2014) to the uptake of interventions revealed that the RIVM had to work on dissemination strategies for policymakers, capacity building implementing best practices by professionals and incentive strategies for both groups. In this presentation the focus is on the capacity building of professionals. In order to support professionals and policymakers with evidence-based decision making the RIVM developed the online Manual Healthy Municipality, Healthy School and Healthy Kindergarten. In the manuals overviews of best practices are presented per theme (e.g. smoking), target group (e.g. elderly) or setting (e.g. neighbourhood) in combination with tools and instruments for intersectoral collaboration, citizens involvement and monitoring and evaluation. These manuals are well known and combine process information (how) with product information (what: effective programs and what works overviews). The implementation study showed also that professionals would like to have more support in the form of workshops and masterclasses. In order to get this the RIVM organizes workshops how to describe an intervention for recognition and how to adapt an intervention. The assumption that a recognized can't adapted to the local contexts was one of the inhibiting factors of the implementation of best practices. To ensure that the adjustments are made properly we have developed a checklist for the adaptation of interventions which is the base of the workshop. Professionals can also ask for a tailored work shop for example how to create support for the use of best practices.

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Cannabis in Canada: a best practice guide to planning for the legalization of recreational marijuana

10.32920/ryerson.14649561.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alison Quigg

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Best Practices ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Best Practice ◽

Retail Stores ◽

Land Uses ◽

Practice Guide ◽

Recreational Marijuana ◽

Different Levels ◽

Production Facilities

When marijuana is legalized in Canada there will be land-use planning implications for municipalities. Different levels of government have different jurisdictional responsibilities regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana. One of the jurisdictional responsibilities of municipalities is land use planning and zoning. Two new land uses will be introduced to municipalities through the legalization of marijuana: recreational marijuana production facilities and recreational marijuana retail stores. For municipalities to control for the location of these uses, the land use legislation they enact must be able to co-exist with federal and provincial/territorial legislation and not result in any operational conflicts. This research paper provides a set of best practices to municipalities across Canada for how they should regulate these uses in their land use legislation. KEY WORDS: recreational marijuana legalization; marijuana retail stores; marijuana production facilities; land use planning; Canada.

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Master of public health practicum: Global trends and current practices.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-23200/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hannah Gummeson ◽

Sonika Raj Goel ◽

Khalifa Elmusharaf

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Education ◽

Experiential Learning ◽

Best Practices ◽

Best Practice ◽

Public Health Education ◽

Health Programs ◽

Public Health Programs ◽

Master Of Public Health ◽

Study Results

Abstract Background The field of graduate public health (GPH) education currently lacks clear, universal criteria for the integration of practice-based elements into the curriculum. The concept of the ‘practicum’ is well endorsed and there is a growing recognition that experiential learning is a crucial aspect of career development for the next generation of public health professionals, benefiting not only students, but also the profession and communities it serves. However, many leading academic institutions continue to emphasize research over experiential learning in public health, making practicums much less commonplace in education centers across the globe. Methods The purpose of this research was to review global best practices in graduate public health program design in order to identify commonalities and use the findings to inform practicum development.Data collection for this research was entirely web-based. Practicum guidelines from a globally diverse sample of graduate public health programs were reviewed. Data was compiled from universities’ websites and available online sources and collated into an Excel file. Descriptive statistics were computed for each study variable.Results We screened 108 graduate public health programs and 35 eligible programs were included in the study. Results were reported according to prerequisites & practicum scheduling, practicum contact hours & duration, credit hours & overall credit weighting, competencies, supervision, written agreement, objectives & deliverables, and approach to assessment. This research resulted in 13 recommendations intended to guide graduate public health practicum design. Based on the analysis of current best practice, the recommendations address the following four key domains: practicum design, mentorship & supervision, learning outcomes and evaluation. Conclusions This research demonstrates a global recognition of the benefit of practice experience in graduate public health education. However, the integration of practical components into curricula is inconsistent when viewed through a global lens. There is also significant variation in the structure of existing practical components. We propose that this study be utilized as a tool spark a global dialogue about best practices in graduate public health education through the identification common practices and opportunities for improvement.

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Trendy urbanists, innovation laboratories and best practices: in pursuit of ‘progressive’ urban planning in Mexico City

Town Planning Review ◽

10.3828/tpr.2021.12 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (0) ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Ryan A. Whitney

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Urban Planning ◽

Best Practices ◽

Mexico City ◽

Best Practice ◽

Cutting Edge ◽

Sustainable City ◽

The City

This research explores the role of trendy urbanists in best practice uptake within an innovation laboratory in Latin America. Trendy urbanists are the privileged professionals who aspire to be on the cutting edge of urban planning, frequently referencing best practice policies and programmes that they see as supporting ‘livable’ and ‘sustainable’ city building. Taking the case of the Laboratory for the City in Mexico City, I illustrate that the preferred best practices of trendy urbanists are reflective of their own privilege. I conclude that, by relying on best practices and trendy urbanists, innovation laboratories are susceptible to fostering inequitable planning outcomes.

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