Statistical Analysis of Abilities to Give Consent to Health Data Processing

The recent pandemic crisis has highlighted the importance of the availability and management of health data to respond quickly and effectively to health emergencies, while respecting the fundamental rights of every individual. In this context, it is essential to find a balance between the protection of privacy and the safeguarding of public health, using tools that guarantee transparency and consent to the processing of data by the population. This work, starting from a pilot investigation conducted in the Polyclinic of Bari as part of the Horizon Europe Seeds project entitled “Multidisciplinary analysis of technological tracing models of contagion: the protection of rights in the management of health data”, has the objective of promoting greater patient awareness regarding the processing of their health data and the protection of privacy. The methodology used the PHICAT (Personal Health Information Competence Assessment Tool) as a tool and, through the administration of a questionnaire, the aim was to evaluate the patients’ ability to express their consent to the release and processing of health data. The results that emerged were analyzed in relation to the 4 domains in which the process is divided which allows evaluating the patients’ ability to express a conscious choice and, also, in relation to the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients themselves. This study can contribute to understanding patients’ ability to give their consent and improve information regarding the management of health data by increasing confidence in granting the use of their data for research and clinical management.

Health Data Availability Protection:Delta-XOR-Relay Data Update in Erasure-Coded Cloud Storage Systems

To achieve the high availability of health data in erasure-coded cloud storage systems,the data update performance in erasure coding should be continuously optimized.However,the data update performance is often bottlenecked by the constrained cross-rack bandwidth.Various techniques have been proposed in the literature to improve network bandwidth efficiency,including delta transmission,relay,and batch update.These techniques were largely proposed individually previously,and in this work,we seek to use them jointly.To mitigate the cross-rack update traffic,we propose DXR-DU which builds on four valuable techniques:(i)delta transmission,(ii)XOR-based data update,(iii)relay,and(iv)batch update.Meanwhile,we offer two selective update approaches:1)data-deltabased update,and 2)parity-delta-based update.The proposed DXR-DU is evaluated via trace-driven local testbed experiments.Comprehensive experiments show that DXR-DU can significantly improve data update throughput while mitigating the cross-rack update traffic.

Health Data Deduplication Using Window Chunking-Signature Encryption in Cloud

Due to the development of technology in medicine,millions of health-related data such as scanning the images are generated.It is a great challenge to store the data and handle a massive volume of data.Healthcare data is stored in the cloud-fog storage environments.This cloud-Fog based health model allows the users to get health-related data from different sources,and duplicated informa-tion is also available in the background.Therefore,it requires an additional sto-rage area,increase in data acquisition time,and insecure data replication in the environment.This paper is proposed to eliminate the de-duplication data using a window size chunking algorithm with a biased sampling-based bloomfilter and provide the health data security using the Advanced Signature-Based Encryp-tion(ASE)algorithm in the Fog-Cloud Environment(WCA-BF+ASE).This WCA-BF+ASE eliminates the duplicate copy of the data and minimizes its sto-rage space and maintenance cost.The data is also stored in an efficient and in a highly secured manner.The security level in the cloud storage environment Win-dows Chunking Algorithm(WSCA)has got 86.5%,two thresholds two divisors(TTTD)80%,Ordinal in Python(ORD)84.4%,Boom Filter(BF)82%,and the proposed work has got better security storage of 97%.And also,after applying the de-duplication process,the proposed method WCA-BF+ASE has required only less storage space for variousfile sizes of 10 KB for 200,400 MB has taken only 22 KB,and 600 MB has required 35 KB,800 MB has consumed only 38 KB,1000 MB has taken 40 KB of storage spaces.

Towards Cache-Assisted Hierarchical Detection for Real-Time Health Data Monitoring in IoHT

Real-time health data monitoring is pivotal for bolstering road services’safety,intelligence,and efficiency within the Internet of Health Things(IoHT)framework.Yet,delays in data retrieval can markedly hinder the efficacy of big data awareness detection systems.We advocate for a collaborative caching approach involving edge devices and cloud networks to combat this.This strategy is devised to streamline the data retrieval path,subsequently diminishing network strain.Crafting an adept cache processing scheme poses its own set of challenges,especially given the transient nature of monitoring data and the imperative for swift data transmission,intertwined with resource allocation tactics.This paper unveils a novel mobile healthcare solution that harnesses the power of our collaborative caching approach,facilitating nuanced health monitoring via edge devices.The system capitalizes on cloud computing for intricate health data analytics,especially in pinpointing health anomalies.Given the dynamic locational shifts and possible connection disruptions,we have architected a hierarchical detection system,particularly during crises.This system caches data efficiently and incorporates a detection utility to assess data freshness and potential lag in response times.Furthermore,we introduce the Cache-Assisted Real-Time Detection(CARD)model,crafted to optimize utility.Addressing the inherent complexity of the NP-hard CARD model,we have championed a greedy algorithm as a solution.Simulations reveal that our collaborative caching technique markedly elevates the Cache Hit Ratio(CHR)and data freshness,outshining its contemporaneous benchmark algorithms.The empirical results underscore the strength and efficiency of our innovative IoHT-based health monitoring solution.To encapsulate,this paper tackles the nuances of real-time health data monitoring in the IoHT landscape,presenting a joint edge-cloud caching strategy paired with a hierarchical detection system.Our methodology yields enhanced cache efficiency and data freshness.The corroborative numerical data accentuates the feasibility and relevance of our model,casting a beacon for the future trajectory of real-time health data monitoring systems.

Stand-Alone Patient Reception and Referral System with Health Data Management

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities within our healthcare structures. Healthcare facilities are often faced with staff shortages and work overloads, which can have an impact on the collection of health data and constants essential for early diagnosis. In order to minimize the risk of error and optimize data collection, we have developed a robot incorporating artificial intelligence. This robot has been designed to automate and collect health data and constants in a contactless way, while at the same time verifying the conditions for correct measurements, such as the absence of hats and shoes. Furthermore, this health information needs to be transmitted to services for processing. Thus, this article addresses the aspect of reception and collection of health data and constants through various modules: for taking height, temperature and weight, as well as the module for entering patient identification data. The article also deals with orientation, presenting a module for selecting the patient’s destination department. This data is then routed via a wireless network and an application integrated into the doctors’ tablets. This application will enable efficient queue management by classifying patients according to their order of arrival. The system’s infrastructure is easily deployable, taking advantage of the healthcare facility’s local wireless network, and includes encryption mechanisms to reinforce the security of data circulating over the network. In short, this innovative system will offer an autonomous, contactless method for collecting vital constants such as size, mass, and temperature. What’s more, it will facilitate the flow of data, including identification information, across a network, simplifying the implementation of this solution within healthcare facilities.

Blockchain application in healthcare service mode based on Health Data Bank

Blockchain is commonly considered a potentialdisruptive technology. Moreover, the healthcareindustry has experienced rapid growth in the adoption ofhealth information technology, such as electronic healthrecords and electronic medical records. To guarantee dataprivacy and data security as well as to harness the value ofhealth data, the concept of Health Data Bank (HDB) isproposed. In this study, HDB is defined as an integratedhealth data service institution, which bears no “ownership”of health data and operates health data under the principalagentmodel. This study first comprehensively reviews themain characters of blockchain and identifies the blockchain-based healthcare industry projects and startups in theareas of health insurance, pharmacy, and medical treatment.Then, we analyze the fundamental principles ofHDB and point out four challenges faced by HDB’ssustainable development: (1) privacy protection andinteroperability of health data;(2) data rights;(3) healthdata supervision;(4) and willingness to share health data.We also analyze the important benefits of blockchainadoption in HDB. Furthermore, three application scenariosincluding distributed storage of health data, smart-contractbasedhealthcare service mode, and consensus-algorithmbasedincentive policy are proposed to shed light on HDBbasedhealthcare service mode. In the end, this study offersinsights into potential research directions and challenges.

Addressing the Security Challenges of Big Data Analytics in Healthcare Research

Big data and associated analytics have the potential to revolutionize healthcare through the tools and techniques they offer to manage and exploit the large volumes of heterogeneous data being collected in the healthcare domain. The strict security and privacy constraints on this data, however, pose a major obstacle to the successful use of these tools and techniques. The paper first describes the security challenges associated with big data analytics in healthcare research from a unique perspective based on the big data analytics pipeline. The paper then examines the use of data safe havens as an approach to addressing the security challenges and argues for the approach by providing a detailed introduction to the security mechanisms implemented in a novel data safe haven. The CIMVHR Data Safe Haven (CDSH) was developed to support research into the health and well-being of Canadian military, Veterans, and their families. The CDSH is shown to overcome the security challenges presented in the different stages of the big data analytics pipeline.

Hydraulic metal structure health diagnosis based on data mining technology

In conjunction with association rules for data mining, the connections between testing indices and strong and weak association rules were determined, and new derivative rules were obtained by further reasoning. Association rules were used to analyze correlation and check consistency between indices. This study shows that the judgment obtained by weak association rules or non-association rules is more accurate and more credible than that obtained by strong association rules. When the testing grades of two indices in the weak association rules are inconsistent, the testing grades of indices are more likely to be erroneous, and the mistakes are often caused by human factors. Clustering data mining technology was used to analyze the reliability of a diagnosis, or to perform health diagnosis directly. Analysis showed that the clustering results are related to the indices selected, and that if the indices selected are more significant, the characteristics of clustering results are also more significant, and the analysis or diagnosis is more credible. The indices and diagnosis analysis function produced by this study provide a necessary theoretical foundation and new ideas for the development of hydraulic metal structure health diagnosis technology.

The State of the Art of Data Science and Engineering in Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a multi-discipline field that involves the automatic sensing of structural loads and response by means of a large number of sensors and instruments, followed by a diagnosis of the structural health based on the collected data. Because an SHM system implemented into a structure automatically senses, evaluates, and warns about structural conditions in real time, massive data are a significant feature of SHM. The techniques related to massive data are referred to as data science and engineering, and include acquisition techniques, transition techniques, management techniques, and processing and mining algorithms for massive data. This paper provides a brief review of the state of the art of data science and engineering in SHM as investigated by these authors, and covers the compressive sampling-based data-acquisition algorithm, the anomaly data diagnosis approach using a deep learning algorithm, crack identification approaches using computer vision techniques, and condition assessment approaches for bridges using machine learning algorithms. Future trends are discussed in the conclusion.

An enrichment model using regular health examination data for early detection of colorectal cancer

Objective: Challenges remain in current practices of colorectal cancer(CRC) screening, such as low compliance,low specificities and expensive cost. This study aimed to identify high-risk groups for CRC from the general population using regular health examination data.Methods: The study population consist of more than 7,000 CRC cases and more than 140,000 controls. Using regular health examination data, a model detecting CRC cases was derived by the classification and regression trees(CART) algorithm. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was applied to evaluate the performance of models. The robustness and generalization of the CART model were validated by independent datasets. In addition, the effectiveness of CART-based screening was compared with stool-based screening.Results: After data quality control, 4,647 CRC cases and 133,898 controls free of colorectal neoplasms were used for downstream analysis. The final CART model based on four biomarkers(age, albumin, hematocrit and percent lymphocytes) was constructed. In the test set, the area under ROC curve(AUC) of the CART model was 0.88 [95%confidence interval(95% CI), 0.87-0.90] for detecting CRC. At the cutoff yielding 99.0% specificity, this model’s sensitivity was 62.2%(95% CI, 58.1%-66.2%), thereby achieving a 63-fold enrichment of CRC cases. We validated the robustness of the method across subsets of test set with diverse CRC incidences, aging rates, genders ratio, distributions of tumor stages and locations, and data sources. Importantly, CART-based screening had the higher positive predictive value(1.6%) than fecal immunochemical test(0.3%).Conclusions: As an alternative approach for the early detection of CRC, this study provides a low-cost method using regular health examination data to identify high-risk individuals for CRC for further examinations. The approach can promote early detection of CRC especially in developing countries such as China, where annual health examination is popular but regular CRC-specific screening is rare.

An Efficiency Assessment of Tuberculosis Treatment on Health Centers: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

This study utilized Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in assessing the efficiency of health center in tuberculosis (TB) treatment. Assessing the efficiency of health center treating TB is a vital and sensitive topic, because there is a cumulative amount of public funds devoted to healthcare. In this research, a DEA model has been correlated to evaluate and assess the efficiency of 17 health centers. The researchers selected the health budget and the number of health workers as input variables likewise, the number of people served, number of TB patients served, and TB patients treated (%) as output variables. Based on the result of the study, only five (5) health centers out of seventeen (17) have 100% efficiencies throughout the 2 years period. It is recommended that other health centers should learn from their efficient peers recognized by the DEA model so as to increase the overall performance of the healthcare system. Likewise, health centers should integrate Health Information Technology to deliver healthier care for their patients.

Assessing the Relative Efficiency of Health Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa Using Data Envelopment Analysis

We assess the relative efficiency of health systems of 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa using Data Envelopment Analysis. This method allows us to evaluate the ability of each country to transform its sanitary “inputs” into health “outputs”. Our results show that, on average, the health systems of these countries have an efficiency score between 72% and 84% of their maximum level. We also note that education and density of population are factors that affect the efficiency of the health system in these countries.

Assessment of Knowledge and Practices of Community Health Nurses on Data Quality in the Ho Municipality of Ghana

Background: High data quality provides correct and up-to-date information which is critical to ensure, not only for the maintenance of health care at an optimal level, but also for the provision of high-quality clinical care, continuing health care, clinical and health service research, and planning and management of health systems. For the attainment of achievable improvements in the health sector, good data is core. Aim/Objective: To assess the level of knowledge and practices of Community Health Nurses on data quality in the Ho municipality, Ghana. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was employed for the study, using a standard Likert scale questionnaire. A census was used to collect 77 Community Health Nurses’ information. The statistical software, Epi-Data 3.1 was used to enter the data and exported to STATA 12.0 for the analyses. Chi-square and logistic analyses were performed to establish associations between categorical variables and a p-value of less than 0.05 at 95% significance interval was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of the 77 Community Health Nurses studied, 49 (63.64%) had good knowledge on data accuracy, 51 (66.23%) out of the 77 Community Health Nurses studied had poor knowledge on data completeness, and 64 (83.12%) had poor knowledge on data timeliness out of the 77 studied. Also, 16 (20.78%) and 33 (42.86%) of the 77 Community Health Nurses responded there was no designated staff for data quality review and no feedback from the health directorate respectively. Out of the 16 health facilities studied for data quality practices, half (8, 50.00%) had missing values on copies of their previous months’ report forms. More so, 10 (62.50%) had no reminders (monthly data submission itineraries) at the facility level. Conclusion: Overall, the general level of knowledge of Community Health Nurses on data quality was poor and their practices for improving data quality at the facility level were woefully inadequate. Therefore, Community Health Nurses need to be given on-job training and proper education on data quality and its dimensions. Also, the health directorate should intensify its continuous supportive supervisory visits at all facilities and feedback should be given to the Community Health Nurses on the data submitted.

Providing Physical and Mental Health Support Using Medical Examination Data and Perceived Health

Without ascertaining workers’ perceived health, it is difficult to achieve behavioral modification even if health guidance is conducted. To investigate physical and mental health support emphasizing “positive health,” we used the Total Health Index (THI) survey with the purpose of elucidating the association between medical examination data and perceived health. After obtaining medical examination data from 90 men, we analyzed their responses to the THI survey. The results suggested that age and abnormal medical examination data are associated with physical and mental complaints. In the analysis by age group, we found that men in their 20s had more complaints of irregularity of daily life on the THI scale. The group who responded that they were not getting enough sleep had higher mean values of total cholesterol and fasting blood sugar. The group who responded that their meals were irregular had higher mean values of Body Mass Index, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase. As confirmed by the THI, continuously supporting lifestyle improvement is important. The THI of the “health guidance” group indicated fewer physical health complaints and more aggression/extroversion than the “normal” group. In those for whom health guidance was applicable, participants who were “obese” and “hypertensive” had more aggression/extroversion and lesser extent of nervousness. Based on these findings, it was suggested that meaningful, personalized health support can be developed.

智能机器人在基层慢性病管理中的应用与挑战

全球慢性病患病率不断上升,给社会的发展和个人健康带来重大挑战。管理慢性病需要长期治疗和监测,对患者的生活方式提出了一定要求。随着人口老龄化和人们生活方式的改变,慢性病防控正变得越发重要。近年来,随着医疗卫生领域科技创新向纵深发展,借助人工智能的智能机器人在医疗领域的应用也逐渐成为国家重要战略方向之一,传统的慢性病管理方法过于依赖医生和患者之间的线下交流,导致医生无法与患者保持长期且有效的沟通和随访,患者病情出现变化时医生可能无法及时发现和监测。此外,传统的慢性病管理方法通常是一种通用化的方法,无法充分考量到每位患者的个体差异。鉴于传统慢性病管理方法的局限性,本文提倡利用智能机器人提供更便捷高效的基层服务。本文认为,通过个性化健康管理方案、辅助医疗诊断、定时提醒服药等功能,使智能机器人能够致力于改善患者生活质量、减轻医疗资源压力,从而推动全球智能化医疗管理的发展。

基于关联规则挖掘的健康信息学主题分析——以dHealth会议为例

本研究旨在析出当前健康信息学领域的研究主题和方向、研究热点和前沿问题,以2014—2020年共七年的dHealth会议文献作为研究对象,运用关联规则方法对会议文献的关键词进行分析,归纳总结出健康信息学的主要研究方向,并对相关主题的会议文献进行回溯介绍。分析结果表明,近年来dHealth会议文献在健康信息学领域有六个主要研究方向,包括标准与标准化研究、电子健康档案研究、互操作性研究、计算机技术与应用研究、移动医疗与远程医疗研究及临床信息学研究。研究结论有助于进一步明晰健康信息学的研究热点与主流话题,并探索未来发展的方向。

论健康数据科学研究合法性基础的证成与适用

现有的个人信息处理合法性基础框架难以满足健康数据科学研究的需要。将科学研究作为健康数据处理的合法性基础,是国家促进、实现科学研究自由和健康权的要求,并可通过对“公共利益”的解释得到证成。科学研究主体应当隶属于以科学研究为主要目的范围的组织机构。科学研究不排斥商业目的,但商业程度的不同,决定了研究主体是否需要向数据主体付酬。科学研究主体对健康数据的访问需要依托健康数据协调机构加以实现。在适用科学研究这一合法性基础对健康数据进行处理时,应将对数据主体的影响控制在最小范围。原则上对健康数据去标识化,对科学研究有重要意义的标识符可依申请予以保留。标识符的保留和健康数据科学研究的黑箱属性,决定了要对健康数据科学研究课以更高标准的公开透明要求。同时相关规则具有较大自由裁量空间,自由裁量应以风险收益平衡原则为基本遵循。科学研究和其他合法性基础可能存在重合或冲突,只有在数据主体未明示反对的前提下,才可适用科学研究这一合法性基础。当科学研究与其他法定数据处理情形相重合时,科学研究作为特别情形,应优先于一般情形的适用。

Challenges using electronic nursing routine data for outcome analyses:A mixed methods study

Objectives To explore the challenges of secondary use of routinely collected data for analyzing nursing-sensitive outcomes in Austrian acute care hospitals.Method A convergent parallel mixed methods design was performed.We conducted a quantitative representative survey with nursing managers from 32 Austrian general acute care hospitals and 11 qualitative semi-structured interviews with nursing quality management experts.Both results were first analyzed independently and afterward merged in the discussion.Results On average,76%of nursing documentation is already electronically supported in the surveyed Austrian hospitals.However,existing nursing data is seldom used for secondary purposes such as nursing-sensitive outcome analyses.This is due to four major reasons:First,hospitals often do not have a data strategy for the secondary use of routine data.Second,hospitals partly lack the use of standardized and uniform nursing terminologies,especially for nursing evaluation.Third,routine nursing data is often not documented correctly and completely.Fourth,data on nursing-sensitive outcomes is usually collected in specific documentation forms not integrated into routine documentation.Conclusion The awareness of the possibilities for secondary use of nursing data for nursing-sensitive outcome analyses in Austrian hospitals is still in its infancy.Therefore,nursing staff and nursing management must be trained to understand how to collect and process nursing data for nursing-sensitive outcome analyses.Further studies would be interesting in order to determine the factors that influence the decision-making processes for the secondary use of nursing data for outcome analyses.

Prediction of hospital mortality in intensive care unit patients from clinical and laboratory data: A machine learning approach

BACKGROUND Intensive care unit(ICU)patients demand continuous monitoring of several clinical and laboratory parameters that directly influence their medical progress and the staff’s decision-making.Those data are vital in the assistance of these patients,being already used by several scoring systems.In this context,machine learning approaches have been used for medical predictions based on clinical data,which includes patient outcomes.AIM To develop a binary classifier for the outcome of death in ICU patients based on clinical and laboratory parameters,a set formed by 1087 instances and 50 variables from ICU patients admitted to the emergency department was obtained in the“WiDS(Women in Data Science)Datathon 2020:ICU Mortality Prediction”dataset.METHODS For categorical variables,frequencies and risk ratios were calculated.Numerical variables were computed as means and standard deviations and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed.We then divided the data into a training(80%)and test(20%)set.The training set was used to train a predictive model based on the Random Forest algorithm and the test set was used to evaluate the predictive effectiveness of the model.RESULTS A statistically significant association was identified between need for intubation,as well predominant systemic cardiovascular involvement,and hospital death.A number of the numerical variables analyzed(for instance Glasgow Coma Score punctuations,mean arterial pressure,temperature,pH,and lactate,creatinine,albumin and bilirubin values)were also significantly associated with death outcome.The proposed binary Random Forest classifier obtained on the test set(n=218)had an accuracy of 80.28%,sensitivity of 81.82%,specificity of 79.43%,positive predictive value of 73.26%,negative predictive value of 84.85%,F1 score of 0.74,and area under the curve score of 0.85.The predictive variables of the greatest importance were the maximum and minimum lactate values,adding up to a predictive importance of 15.54%.CONCLUSION We demonstrated the efficacy of a Random Forest machine learning algorithm for handling clinical and laboratory data from patients under intensive monitoring.Therefore,we endorse the emerging notion that machine learning has great potential to provide us support to critically question existing methodologies,allowing improvements that reduce mortality.

基于新型健康特征的锂电池健康状态快速估计方法

锂电池健康状态(state of health,SOH)的在线估计是锂电池管理系统中必不可少的一部分。大部分基于数据驱动的锂电池SOH估计方法由于计算量较大,难以在锂电池管理系统微控制器中在线使用。因此,文中提出基于新型健康特征的锂电池SOH快速估计方法。首先,分析锂电池的充电数据,基于已有的锂电池恒流充电过程的等压升时间(time interval of an equal charging voltage difference,TIECVD)健康特征,构建一个同充电电压起点、同充电时间间隔的健康特征。其次,文中提出基于新型健康特征和多元线性回归(multiple linear regression,MLR)的锂电池SOH快速估计方法。然后,通过对牛津锂电池老化数据集和美国国家航空航天局锂电池随机使用数据集进行分析,以0.01 V步长遍历恒流充电电压区间,以皮尔逊相关系数最大为目标,确定锂电池最优的起始电压。最后,考虑不同充电时间间隔,利用最小二乘(ordinary least squares,OLS)回归分析方法,确定锂电池最优充电时间间隔参数。使用2个数据集划分的训练集建立MLR模型,使用2个数据集划分的验证集对文中方法进行验证。实验结果表明,文中基于新型健康特征方法可极大缩减计算量,并且可以在保障预测精度的前提下实现锂电池SOH的快速估计。