HAZMAT: Development of a Dashboard to monitor the health of first responders.
The purpose of this experimental study is to develop and evaluate the usability of a new dashboard integrating critical information about first responders’ health and safety for an incident commander to monitor and make decisions.
At this stage, the dashboard will be generally defined as a visualization tool that will help to reduce cognitive load for the incident commander during emergency situations and improve decision-making capability regarding the safety of first responders.
Student Researcher: Vikas Sahu
HAZMAT: Testing Environmental Sensors to Reduce Heat Ailments among First Responders
The purpose of this research was to:
- Monitor the health parameters of the first responders in an emergency hazmat response through IoT sensors.
- Improve their safety and reduce adverse health effects.
- Visualize the IoT sensor data for effective decision-making.
Future Work for this project:
- Build a mobile application to visualize sensor data and send alert notifications to the first responder during a hazmat response.
- Test the quality and accuracy of the IoT sensor placed inside the protection suit of the hazmat first responder in a simulated environment.
Student Researcher: Chaitra Venkatesan
Evaluating an Electronic Protocol in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Study
The purpose of this study is to identify the facilitators and barriers to the use of the Sedation Protocol in EPIC. The Sedation Protocol was developed at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center (CHMC) and launched in August of 2018, but has yet to be fully evaluated. Researchers from UNO worked with subject matter experts at CHMC to develop the study design.
A technology acceptance survey will be conducted will all users of the Sedation Protocol including nurses, physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Individual interviews with users will then be conducted to understand specific reasons for following or not following the Sedation Protocol. Themes derived from these interviews may be used to enhance the Sedation Protocol and other EPIC-based protocols in the future.
Student Researcher: Jeanettte Rose
Voice Authentication for Personal Health Records access.
Previous research found that remembering passwords is a major barrier to personal health record (PHR) use. We proposed offering an alternate mode of authentication for patients to use.
Our industry partner’s voice authentication software would allow a user to log into their PHR on a computer by reading aloud numbers displayed on the screen of their smartphone. By using text-dependent verification, voice authentication can be a secure method for patients to use.
Student Researcher: Jeanettte Rose
STATPack™: Improving the Accuracy of Measuring Microscopic Organisms Using Information Technology
STATPack™ is an emergency response system that addresses critical health information and biosecurity needs. STATPack™ is a secure, dedicated, HIPAA-compliant web-based network system that supports telecommunications between clinical laboratories in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In the initial phase of field implementation, the STATPack™ was placed in regional hospital laboratories throughout Nebraska. This connectivity allows for immediate communication and data transfer of urgent test related problems by transmitting images and text. This system serves as a means for providing immediate consultation with the NPHL, KDHE, & OSDH.
Student Researcher: Jay Newstorm, Greg Hoff
STATPack™: Survey of Image Fusion Techniques Applied to Microbiological Specimens
When analyzing microbiological specimens it is often difficult to see multiple layers of the specimen simultaneously. This hindrance can make it harder to determine the identity of the specimen under examination. Image fusion presents an option to overcoming this problem. With a good image fusion algorithm it is possible to take two pictures with different focal points and have those images combined to show both focal points with clarity. This is an excellent way to see different layers of a microbiological specimen simultaneously and make it easier to identify the specimen. Three different image fusion algorithms were surveyed to determine which would provide the greatest fidelity for the fusion of pictures of microbiological specimen. The importance of this research is to determine if these commonly used image fusion techniques can provide the same benefit on a micro scale as they do on a macro scale.
Student Researcher: Luke Pfeiffer, Jay Newstorm, Greg Hoff
STATPack™ Mobile: Mobile e-Health Emergency Response Consultation System
The STATPack™ is an Emergency Response System that enables hospitals and diagnostic laboratories to send digital images of suspicious or unknown organisms electronically to a state public health laboratory for consultation. STATPack™ reduces diagnostic time and eliminates the inherent risks of having the sample hand-delivered by courier to the hub laboratory.
STATPack™ Mobile is designed to expedite the consultation process between medical experts in pathology, microbiology, and epidemiology at the state public health laboratories and front-line laboratorians. This research identifies and summarizes the key design strategies that were selectively implemented in our e-health mobile application. STATPack™ Mobile uses thin client architecture.
STATPack™ clients electronically send macroscopic (gross) as well as microscopic digital images of clinical specimens to public health laboratories. Public health experts use STATPack™ Mobile to access the sent information. They can analyze the culture samples and quickly provide feedback to the clinical laboratories through a secured network. STATPack™ Mobile provides convenience and accessibility to medical experts and drastically reduces the response time when they are away from the regular desktop system.
Student Researcher: Sharmila Raman, Greg Hoff
Leveraging IT to Deliver Tele-mental Health Services
This research aims to identify some of the technological opportunities that can improve behavioral mental health delivery services using telecommunications. We present a case study of a pilot that was conducted between two mental health delivery sites, an urban metropolitan area medical center (UNMC/BHECN, Omaha) and a rural community clinic (Rway, Wayne) with a population of less than 5,000. Over the course of the study, Dr. Carl Greiner conducted several counseling sessions with patients in a managed care facility in Wayne, NE. Our preliminary results suggest that the technology is now mature and robust enough to deliver quality and acceptable behavioral mental health services over the internet. Furthermore, the technology is also HIPAA compliant.
Student Researcher: PJ Pokhrel
Strategic Directions in the Access and Use of Public Health Data Sets
The goal of this capstone project was to conduct a strategic assessment in support of the mission of the Consortium for Public Health Informatics (CPHI) which is to facilitate access to public health data and information in Nebraska. The intention of this assessment was that it would be used as practical, administrative resource to aid in decision-making and resource allocation. This capstone project was designed to help CPHI move to the next stage in its life cycle. With a comprehensive strategic assessment, CPHI will be able to meet its mandate of providing the public health community with needed data and information. This will better facilitate the practice of evidence-based public health in Nebraska.
Student Researcher: Rahman Strum
Web User Interface for Citizen Scientists
In the months of April and May of 2011, a number of volunteers led by Dr. Alan Kolok from the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Nebraska at Omaha performed two tests to measure the amount of Atrazine, the most commonly used herbicide in the United States, in the Elkhorn River watershed.
In order to gather the results of these measurements, a website was developed by the Public Health Informatics Laboratory at the UNO College of Information Science and Technology. The website provided a form where the volunteers could record their name, the date and time when their measurement was taken, the location of the test site, and the result of the measurement. A number of considerations had to be taken into account in order for the website to be as user-friendly as possible.
Student Researcher: Bettina Lechner, Greg Hoff
Environment Public Health Tracking: Looking Towards the Future in Nebraska
Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) studies the influence of the environment on human health. It provides valuable information regarding the linkage of the geographic distribution of environmental pollution and hazards and the incidence of diseases in humans in the respective areas and communities (Brender, 2006).
The Consortium for Public Health Informatics (CPHi) provides the first Nebraska-focused environmental public health resource of available databases. With the index of environmental databases, researchers, state workers, and all other members of the public can easily access various sources of information about environmental public health in one centralized location. Previously, interested parties had to consult a variety of websites to find the desired data.
Student Researcher: Bettina Lechner
Using Technology to Enable Foster Youth to a Successful Launch into Independent Living
In the State of Nebraska, foster youth emancipate from the foster care system and launch into independent living when they turn 19. In advance of this transition, a number of tasks have to be completed in order to prepare the youth in the best possible way. If this preparation is omitted or not successful, transitioning foster youth often face substantial problems when first living on their own.
In this study, we are examining, how trust propensity and computer self-efficacy influence Task-Technology Fit in the context of a foster youth information portal.
Student Researcher: Bettina Lechner
"White Powder"-Is it Harmful or Not?
The purpose of this research project was to find if it was possible to identify white powder substances that looked similar with fairly inexpensive and lightweight technology and to find if a small camera paired with a Raspberry Pi can give enough accuracy to say that the results are accurate.
The key to differentiating between the four substances (Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Flour, and Salt) is how much light absorbance happens at different wavelengths. In the end, it is estimated that the program works to a degree of about 75% accuracy. When the substance is pure, it averages 90% accuracy, when the powders are mixed it only averages around 60%. While not perfect, it is definitely a solid proof of concept that differentiation can be seen between white powders that look really similar, with equipment that cost less than $100.
Student Researcher: Jacob Lindgren, Greg Hoff
Time Match Scheduling System
This is a technology built to support a study investigating the effectiveness of various interaction methods with juveniles and their effect on recidivism. TimeMatch is a web application designed for juveniles who have recently left a detention center to set up times to meet with their mentors. Instead of using typical methods to set up meetings such as emails or calling, this application provides an easy-to-use GUI interface that is mobile-friendly and offers the convenience to create meetings easily and efficiently. Currently, TimeMatch is in beta testing with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Student Researcher: Jacob Lindgren, Greg Hoff
Nebraska Watershed Network- Enhancing the Citizen Scientist Experience through Responsive Web Design
The Nebraska Watershed Network (NWN) is “a student-driven organization that strives to promote water quality awareness through outreach, education, and research”1. The NWN utilizes citizen scientists to test Nebraska’s surface water for chemical contamination and nutrients across large geographical regions over long periods of time. Previous data collection strategies involved using a number of data acquisition tools including Instagram, email, and postcard mailings. We believe by providing technological tools to citizen scientists, we will increase their interest, commitment, and participation levels in projects.
NWN has partnered with the Public Health Informatics Research lab to develop a database and web portal application using responsive web design technology. Responsive web design technology is an approach that allows the information technology application to respond to the user's behavior and environment based on screen size, platform, and orientation.
1University of Nebraska Omaha. (n.d.). Nebraska Watershed Network. Retrieved from http://service68443.orgsync.com/org/nebraskawatershednetwork/home
Student Researchers: Doug Stahlnecker, Sydney Lintner, Greg Hoff, Ben Konz, Vineeth Reddy
JDCMS - Engaging Users: Enabling Data Analysis
The JCMS system is a web-based database platform for agencies that work with Nebraska’s at-risk youth. Program-specific screens allow agency personnel to record their work, maintain records, and access reports. JCMS was created through funding from the Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI) and the Nebraska Crime Commission (NCC). Neb Rev Stat §43-2404 authorizes JJI to gather data and to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs.
Student Researchers: Jim Hopkins, Brian Collett, Jacie Rifer, Greg Hoff