Creation of an electronic patient-reported outcome measure platform Voxe: a mixed methods study protocol in paediatric solid organ transplantation

IntroductionPatient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide an opportunity for meaningful patient engagement and shared decision-making. The objective of this research programme is to improve health outcomes for paediatric solid organ transplant patients by implementing PROMs into clinical care. The current study aims to create Voxe, a paediatric user-centred electronic PROM platform, by engaging patients and healthcare providers throughout the design and development process.Methods and analysisThe creation of Voxe will occur over two phases that build on previous research. The user interface design phase employs a ‘user-centric’ approach to identify end-users’ needs and iteratively refine the look and layout of Voxe to meet these needs. Transplant recipients, aged 10–17, and healthcare providers will participate in three rounds of testing (24 participants total). Participants will: (1) complete task-based activities (outcomes—effectiveness and efficiency), (2) complete questionnaires (outcome—satisfaction) and (3) participate in a semi-structured interview. The following phase involves software development and Voxe usability testing. Transplant recipients, aged 8–17, and healthcare providers will participate in four rounds of iterative testing (24–40 participants total). The think-aloud technique will be employed, and participants will describe their thoughts and feelings while interacting with a Voxe prototype. Participants will: (1) log into Voxe and complete tasks (outcomes—time on task, successful task completion, frequency of critical and non-critical errors and error-free rate), (2) complete questionnaires (outcome—satisfaction) and (3) participate in a semi-structured interview. Findings will result in the creation and launch of a user-centred electronic PROM platform.Ethics and disseminationResearch ethics board approval has been provided by The Hospital for Sick Children. This research is critical to answering methodological and operational questions to inform Voxe implementation in paediatric clinical settings and facilitate PROM data collection. Future investigations will include an implementation-effectiveness evaluation.

Assessment of Two Engineering Courses in Architectural Engineering Program in UAE University Based on the Comparison of the Students Results with the Students and the Instructors Opinions

The present study examined the level of outcome satisfaction of two main engineering courses taken by students in the Architectural Engineering department (AE) by evaluating the students’ satisfaction result (SR), the attained level of the students’ opinions (SO), and the instructors’ opinions (IO). The AE program in United Arab Emirates University is one of the departments in the College of Engineering accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET which provides assurance that a College or University program meets the quality standards of the profession for which that program prepares graduates. The AE program offers a wide range of engineering courses at different levels from sophomore level to senior level. All the engineering courses are mainly prerequisites to the Capstone Engineering Design Project which builds on the outcomes of all courses to perform detailed design and cost estimates of the selected alternative solutions to a well-defined engineering problem. The two courses considered in this study are Building Electrical Circuits and Building Acoustics and Lighting. New assessment parameters which are the student course outcome satisfaction coefficient (SCOSC) and the mean absolute deviation around a central point (AMD) have been introduced in this paper. These two parameters are calculated based on the comparison of the students’ satisfaction results with both students’ opinions and insructors’ opinions, and compare the mean absolute deviations of the students’ direct results with the students’ opinions and the instructors’ opinions, respectively. Indeed, the course learning outcomes (CLOs) of the SR of some sections for both courses show higher attainment compared with the SO and IO.

Exposure to Brands Makes Preferential Decisions Easier

The most consequential consideration of brands arises during preferential decision making. This article proposes that as a consequence of the repeated pairing of brands and preferential decisions, exposure to brands initiates a cognitive state of readiness for preferential decisions (which we term decision readiness) that subsequently makes preferential decisions easier. Using both real and fictitious brands across a variety of choice contexts, seven experiments demonstrate that consumers find preferential decision making easier when it occurs in the presence (vs. absence) of brands. Consistent with the details of our framework, this effect: (i) is explained by the activation of decision readiness, (ii) leads to outcomes such as increased outcome satisfaction and decreased decision delegation, and (iii) is attenuated when exposure is to only one brand. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the importance of exposure to brands for decision making which, in turn, offers novel insight into existing literatures on brand exposure, decision difficulty, and brand roles.

Vacuum-formed retainers and bonded retainers for dental stabilization—a randomized controlled trial. Part II: patients’ perceptions 6 and 18 months after orthodontic treatment

Summary Objective To compare removable vacuum-formed Essix C retainers with bonded cuspid-to-cuspid retainers (CTCs) regarding patients’ perceptions after debonding and 6 and 18 months of retention. Trial design A single-centre two-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Methods This trial included 104 adolescent patients, computer-generated randomized, with sequentially numbered, opaque and sealed envelopes, into two groups and stratified by gender. They were treated with fixed appliances with and without tooth extractions in both jaws and were ready for debond. Patients in the intervention arm received a vacuum-formed retainer (VFR) in the mandible (n = 52), and patients in the active comparator arm received a CTC (n = 52). Both groups had a VFR in the maxilla. Treatment outcome satisfaction, quality of care and attention, side-effects during the retention phase, and retainer acceptance and compliance were assessed with questionnaires at baseline (T1, 2 weeks after debond) and after 6 (T2) and 18 months (T3) of retention. Operator was blinded to group assignment during measurements. Results Ninety-five patients completed the questionnaires at all three time points. Patients were overall satisfied with treatment outcome, quality of care and attention, and how their retainers worked at all three time points, with no differences between groups. At T1 and T3, the VFR group reported significantly more pain and discomfort (T1: P = 0.005, T3: P < 0.0001) and soreness (T1: P = 0.001, T3: P = 0.011) in the mandible compared to the CTC group. The CTC group found it easier to get used to their retainers. After 18 months, 70.5 per cent in the VFR group and 73.9 per cent in the CTC group reported the recommended wear-time of the VFRs. Decreased wear-time was correlated to perceived pain and discomfort (rs = −0.421, P < 0.0001). Limitations The results were limited by our retainer design and recommended wear regimen. Conclusions Both groups reported high treatment outcome satisfaction and low levels of side-effects during the retention phase. Nevertheless, the VFR group reported more pain and discomfort at T1 and at T3. Self-reported compliance was the same in both groups. The VFR group was more concerned about relapse. Trial registration NCT03070444 (https://clinicaltrials.gov).

Personality Traits and Negotiation Style Effects on Negotiators' Perceptions in a Web-Based Negotiation

This article investigates the relationship between the prior knowledge of someone's personality traits and negotiation styles in negotiations supported by web-based negotiation support system (NSS) and the negotiator's perception of the usefulness of NSS, ease of use of communication mechanisms, and outcome satisfaction. A distributive negotiation problem between dyads was proposed for participants. The dyadic analyses were performed using the actor-partner interdependence model. As a result, the analyses found significant effects of prior knowledge of information about personality traits and negotiation styles on the negotiator's perception (actor effects) of the usefulness and ease of use of communication mechanisms, and an indirect effect on outcome satisfaction. Significant effects were also found in the relationship between the opponents' perceptions (partner effects) on ease of use of communication mechanisms and prior knowledge about personality traits and negotiation styles, as well as their effects on outcome satisfaction.