1,721,660 research outputs found
Health impact assessment of proposal to burn tyres in a cement plant
No full textA cement plant located in a small English town applied for a variation in its license to allow it to use chopped tyres as fuel in the cement kiln in part replacement for coal. The local health authority (PCT), a statutory consultee in the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) process, requested an Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the proposal to inform its response. A combination of interviews with key informants, literature search and participatory methods was used. The HIA broadly concluded that the proposal was unlikely to cause adverse impacts. The attempt to be impartial and the failure to confirm health fears disappointed many residents. The HIA had to be completed very quickly and it proved impossible to produce meaningful participation within this time scale. It is also suggested that very few PCTs have adequate resources to make the assessment of health impacts necessary for them to properly fulfil their role in the IPPC process.D 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Success factors for international HTA projects: evaluating EUnetHTA Joint Action as an exemplar
No full textOBJECTIVES: Evaluation is essential for the management of international projects or networks in health technology assessment (HTA). It extends beyond the normal process of project management by incorporating qualitative dimensions and provides information about a project's effectiveness and achievements. This article aimed to identify the factors that are important for the success of international HTA projects. The European network for Health Technology Assessment Joint Action (EUnetHTA JA) is presented as an exemplar.METHODS: METHODS for the evaluation of international HTA projects include interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, observations and documentary review, and the key points of these approaches have been summarized. The impact and effectiveness of the EUnetHTA JA was evaluated by questionnaires of project participants and external stakeholders, and by documentary review.RESULTS: The response rate for the three annual questionnaires sent to project participants ranged from 86 percent to 88 percent and for external stakeholders ranged from 65 percent to 88 percent. Key factors for project success included production of deliverables according to the workplan, achievement of objectives, added value generated, effective communication, involvement of external stakeholders, workstream management and progress from the preceding EUnetHTA 2006-2008 project.CONCLUSIONS: The experience of this project can inform the evaluation of future international HTA collaborations, such as the EUnetHTA 2nd Joint Action and HTAsiaLink. A high response rate was achieved to the self-completion questionnaires and the strategy followed is recommended for evaluation of international HTA projects. Future assessments of international HTA projects should strive to measure outcomes and impact, not just outputs and process.</p
Estimate of work done by Alexander Cook, Andrew Mains, Frederick Holmes, Louis Clement, Patrick Roche and Thomas Baird
No full textEstimate of work done by Alexander Cook, Andrew Mains, Frederick Holmes, Louis Clement,
Patrick Roche and Thomas Baird, signed by S.D. Woodruff, Feb. 26, 1855
A systematic review of models to predict recruitment to multicentre clinical trials
No full textAbstract Background Less than one third of publicly funded trials managed to recruit according to their original plan often resulting in request for additional funding and/or time extensions. The aim was to identify models which might be useful to a major public funder of randomised controlled trials when estimating likely time requirements for recruiting trial participants. The requirements of a useful model were identified as usability, based on experience, able to reflect time trends, accounting for centre recruitment and contribution to a commissioning decision. Methods A systematic review of English language articles using MEDLINE and EMBASE. Search terms included: randomised controlled trial, patient, accrual, predict, enrol, models, statistical; Bayes Theorem; Decision Theory; Monte Carlo Method and Poisson. Only studies discussing prediction of recruitment to trials using a modelling approach were included. Information was extracted from articles by one author, and checked by a second, using a pre-defined form. Results Out of 326 identified abstracts, only 8 met all the inclusion criteria. Of these 8 studies examined, there are five major classes of model discussed: the unconditional model, the conditional model, the Poisson model, Bayesian models and Monte Carlo simulation of Markov models. None of these meet all the pre-identified needs of the funder. Conclusions To meet the needs of a number of research programmes, a new model is required as a matter of importance. Any model chosen should be validated against both retrospective and prospective data, to ensure the predictions it gives are superior to those currently used.</p
Estimatesfor clearing done by the contractors including Alexander Cook, Andrew Mains, Frederick Holmes, Louis Clements and Thomas Baird
No full textEstimatesfor clearing done by the contractors including Alexander Cook, Andrew Mains, Frederick
Holmes, Louis Clements and Thomas Baird. This document is signed by S.D. Woodruff. This is
complete with an envelope made out to S.D. Woodruff, April 28, 1855
Alien Registration- Cook, Andrew B. (Eastport, Washington County)
Full text linkhttps://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/1682/thumbnail.jp
Experimental research on tape spring supported space inflatable structures
Full text linkThis paper presents experimental research that continues the development of inflatable hybrid structures for space applications. Inflatables provide a concept with much scope for further incorporation into the structures of future spacecraft. They offer considerable savings in mass and stowed volume for spacecraft, providing possible reductions in satellite costs. Existing boom configurations make use of inflatables including solar arrays and the NGST sunshield. However these typically soft systems could be improved by incorporating tape springs as structural stiffeners along the length of the boom, creating hybrid structures. This research builds on previous experimental work undertaken at the University of Southampton looking at cantilever inflatable and hybrid booms.The focus of this research is to identify the structural performance improvement of adding tape springs to cantilever inflatable booms. This is achieved by tip deflection testing to determine the bending moment and rigidity performances of these structures allowing a comparison between the two technologies. Several hybrid booms are created and tested in various orientations to identify the optimal tape spring effectiveness. It was found that adding a pair of tape springs will increase stiffness of the hybrid structure by up to 4.9 times for an increase of 2.4 times the boom mass
Identifying research priorities for public health research to address health inequalities: use of Delphi-like survey methods
No full textBACKGROUND:In the funding of health research and public health research it is vital that research questions posed are important and that funded research meets a research need or a gap in evidence. Many methods are used in the identification of research priorities, however, these can be resource intensive, costly and logistically challenging. Identifying such research priorities can be particularly challenging for complex public health problems as there is a need to consult a number of experts across disciplines and with a range of expertise. This study investigated the use of Delphi-like survey methods in identifying important research priorities relating to health inequalities and framing tractable research questions for topic areas identified.METHODS:The study was conducted in two phases, both using Delphi-like survey methods. Firstly, public health professionals with an interest in health inequalities were asked to identify research priorities. Secondly academic researchers were asked to frame tractable research questions relating to the priorities identified. These research priorities identified using Delphi-like survey methods were subsequently compared to those identified using different methods.RESULTS:A total of 52 public health professionals and 21 academics across the United Kingdom agreed to take part. The response rates were high, from public health professionals across three survey rounds (69%, 50% and 40%) and from academics across one round (52%), indicating that participants were receptive to the method and motivated to respond. The themes identified as encompassing the most important research priorities were mental health, healthy environment and health behaviours. Within these themes, the topic areas that emerged most strongly included community interventions for prevention of mental health problems and the food and alcohol environment. Some responses received from academic researchers were (as requested) in the form of tractable research questions, whereas others contributed further potential topic areas instead.CONCLUSIONS:Delphi-like survey methods are practical and productive as a means of obtaining opinions from a wide number of relevant experts identifying potential priority topic areas for research; however, this method is less appropriate for framing tractable research questions
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