Eye health indicators for universal health coverage: results of a global expert prioritisation process

IntroductionIn its recent World Report on Vision, the WHO called for an updated approach to monitor eye health as part of universal health coverage (UHC). This project sought to develop a consensus among eye health experts from all world regions to produce a menu of indicators for countries to monitor eye health within UHC.MethodsWe reviewed the literature to create a long-list of indicators aligned to the conceptual framework for monitoring outlined in WHO’s World Report on Vision. We recruited a panel of 72 global eye health experts (40% women) to participate in a two-round, online prioritisation exercise. Two-hundred indicators were presented in Round 1 and participants prioritised each on a 4-point Likert scale. The highest-ranked 95 were presented in Round 2 and were (1) scored against four criteria (feasible, actionable, reliable and internationally comparable) and (2) ranked according to their suitability as a ‘core’ indicator for collection by all countries. The top 30 indicators ranked by these two parameters were then used as the basis for the steering group to develop a final menu.ResultsThe menu consists of 22 indicators, including 7 core indicators, that represent important concepts in eye health for 2020 and beyond, and are considered feasible, actionable, reliable and internationally comparable.ConclusionWe believe this list can inform the development of new national eye health monitoring frameworks, monitor progress on key challenges to eye health and be considered in broader UHC monitoring indices at national and international levels.

Feeling authentic on social media: Subjective authenticity across Instagram Stories and Posts

Self-presentation on social network sites (SNS) such as Instagram is often assumed to be inauthentic or even fake. While authenticity on SNS has been linked to increased well-being, most research has investigated it either monolithically (e.g., via screen time measures) or with regard to stable self-presentations (e.g., in Facebook profiles). In contrast, this study compares state authenticity within users and between self-presentations via two SNS features—Stories vs. Posts. Drawing on the affordances approach, we theorize and test whether and how Stories produce greater state authenticity—a core indicator of eudaimonic well-being—than Posts. Results from a preregistered within-subjects study comparing self-reports on N = 489 Posts and N = 546 Stories from N = 202 Instagram users show that by allowing more spontaneous self-presentation, Stories indeed produced (slightly) higher authenticity than Posts. However, authenticity was high in both features, further challenging the popular notion of SNS self-presentations as fake.

Analysis of Enterprise Profitability Based on Dupont Analysis Method -Taking China Life Insurance (Group) Company as an Example

Obtaining profits is the main purpose of enterprise development, and profitability is the core indicator for measuring the development status and prospects of enterprises. DuPont analysis method is a comprehensive and effective financial analysis method to evaluate the profitability of enterprises. This article will focus on DuPont analysis method, supplemented by factor analysis method and comparative analysis method to comprehensively analyze the profitability of China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of its profitability, then, give some relevant reasonable suggestions.

BLE-GSpeed: A New BLE-Based Dataset to Estimate User Gait Speed

To estimate the user gait speed can be crucial in many topics, such as health care systems, since the presence of difficulties in walking is a core indicator of health and function in aging and disease. Methods for non-invasive and continuous assessment of the gait speed may be key to enable early detection of cognitive diseases such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Wearable technologies can provide innovative solutions for healthcare problems. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology is excellent for wearables because it is very energy efficient, secure, and inexpensive. In this paper, the BLE-GSpeed database is presented. The dataset is composed of several BLE RSSI measurements obtained while users were walking at a constant speed along a corridor. Moreover, a set of experiments using a baseline algorithm to estimate the gait speed are also presented to provide baseline results to the research community.

Towards the development of a national Mental Health Surveillance System in Germany

Background On behalf of the federal ministry of health the Robert Koch Institute as the German public health institute is currently developing a concept for a national Mental Health Surveillance (MHS). This surveillance should systematically gather, process and analyze primary and secondary data, thus integrating different data sources to comprehensively inform about mental health trends in the population. To do so, selected mental health indicators should be reported on a regular basis to detect changes over time and reveal need for public health measures. Methods To build up a national MHS, a conceptual framework and a core indicator set were established according to a two-stage procedure: 1) scoping review to collect a broad range of indicators in the field of public mental health on a population based level, 2) consensus among public mental health experts and stakeholders by an iterative Delphi process which considered quantitative and qualitative information. Results Drawing on theoretical foundation, an action-guiding conceptual framework with basic action goals referring to mental health promotion and prevention, mental health determinants, mental health status as well as mental health care and burden of mental disorders was developed. Within the consensus process, the 184 indicators resulting from the scoping review could be reduced to a parsimonious core indicator set. Conclusions The contribution shows background, method and first results of developing a German MHS. Next, the feasibility of the hereby presented core indicator set will be tested by identifying and closing data gaps. In the long run, the MHS should be integrated in a broader surveillance of non-communicable diseases. It should serve as a reliable database for epidemiological as well as health care research and evidence-based policy advice on public health measures to protect and strengthen mental health in the population.

Protocol for the development of a core indicator set for reporting burn wound infection in trials: ICon-B study

IntroductionSystematic reviews of high-quality randomised controlled trials are necessary to identify effective interventions to impact burn wound infection (BWI) outcomes. Evidence synthesis requires that BWI is reported in a consistent manner. Cochrane reviews investigating interventions for burns report that the indicators used to diagnose BWI are variable or not described, indicating a need to standardise reporting. BWI is complex and diagnosed by clinician judgement, informed by patient-reported symptoms, clinical signs, serum markers of inflammation and bacteria in the wound. Indicators for reporting BWI should be important for diagnosis, frequently observed in patients with BWI and assessed as part of routine healthcare. A minimum (core) set of indicators of BWI, reported consistently, will facilitate evidence synthesis and support clinical decision-making.AimsThe Infection Consensus in Burns study aims to identify a core indicator set for reporting the diagnosis of BWI in research studies.Methods(1) Evidence review: a systematic review of indicators used in trials and observational studies reporting BWI outcomes to identify a long list of candidate indicators; (2) refinement of the long list into a smaller set of survey questions with an expert steering group; (3) a two-round Delphi survey with 100 multidisciplinary expert stakeholders, to achieve consensus on a short list of indicators; (4) a consensus meeting with expert stakeholders to agree on the BWI core indicator set.Ethics and disseminationParticipants will be recruited through professional bodies, such that ethical approval from the National Health Service (NHS) Health Research Authority (HRA) is not needed. The core indicator set will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication, co-production with journal editors, research funders and professional bodies, and presentation at national conferences.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018096647.

Transforming student expectations through a real-time feedback process and the introduction of concepts of self-efficacy - surprising results of a university-wide experiment

A core indicator of success at University is the grade a student achieves following a period of study. A student’s ability to achieve expected grades is often understood in terms of learning and study processes that the student is capable of, chooses to adopt, or masters. However, psychology tells us that our selfefficacy is a major determinant of how we select activities, how much effort we expend on them, and how long we sustain effort. The importance of self-efficacy in supporting a student’s study choices, effort and sustainability – and hence in the student’s capacity for success – is clear. Providing students with an understanding of the role of self-efficacy provides a transformative moment in the student’s growth as a university student. This paper examines the effectiveness of a specific method, point-of-contact feedback, in lifting students’ awareness of self-efficacy. The ability of the survey to support student metacognition through a social persuasion design, particularly for students originally targeting lower grades, demonstrates that point-of-contact feedback can assist students to improve their awareness and understanding of a learning concept. The outcome of this one-off survey is a demonstrated transformation of student expectations regarding their grades and the way they intend to engage their studies.

Moving Up the Ladder: Assessing Sanitation Progress through a Total Service Gap

The Sustainable Development Goals create ambitious targets for achieving universal access to safely managed sanitation by 2030. The core indicator for SDG 6.2 creates positive incentives for governments, and development partners to invest in the whole sanitation chain, recognising the public health benefits of managing waste beyond initial containment. However, the target and indicators also create risks. Global accountability could be undermined by the challenge of accounting for progress across different service levels below the target of safely managed. There could also be perverse incentives to upgrade existing services, in order to meet the benchmark of safely managed, at the expense of extending basic services to those currently unserved. This paper examines methodological options for calculating a ‘total service gap’, a measure that would combine data on each rung of the service ladder to quantify how far away each country is from universal safely managed services. It conducts a sensitivity analysis to assess the validity of using uniform service level weights, and finds that this approach could add value to existing metrics. Through alternative data visualisations and other devices, it is argued that the total service gap could help to address the risks surrounding global accountability and perverse incentives.