Previous studies examining the influence of gait analysis on surgical decision-making have been limited by the lack of a control group. The aim of this study was to use data from a randomized controlled trial to determine the effects of gait analysis on surgical decision-making in children with cerebral palsy (CP). 178 ambulatory children with CP (110 male; age 10.3±3.8 years) being considered ...

The use of computers as an information resource in dentistry has grown dramatically over the past ten years. Fueled by the availability of more powerful computers, societal acceptance of computer-based resources, and the development of the Internet, millions of documents now provide a tremendously important repository of information for healthcare providers. Those involved in delivery of dental...

Using cleft lip and palate as an exemplar, this article examines parents' decision-making for children in the context of elective treatments which aim to 'normalise' a child's function, appearance, communication or identity. Using purposive and theoretical sampling, 35 parents with children from infancy to young adulthood were recruited through a specialist cleft centre in England. Parents were...

This article presents a systematic framework to identify barriers that may impede the process of adaptation to climate change. The framework targets the process of planned adaptation and focuses on potentially challenging but malleable barriers. Three key sets of components create the architecture for the framework. First, a staged depiction of an idealized, rational approach to adaptation deci...

AIM To identify and prioritise areas of high need for dental services among the child population in metropolitan Western Australia. DESIGN All children hospitalised due to an oral-condition from 2000 to 2009, at metropolitan areas of Perth were included in the analysis of a 10-year data set. QGIS tools mapped the residential location of each child and socioeconomic data in relation to existin...

The precautionary principle has been proposed as a basis making decisions about environmental health under conditions of uncertainty, but remains controversial. This paper shows how the precautionary principle may be interpreted as a guide to decisionmaking in complex systems characterised by unfavorable surprises. The application of the precautionary principle to the problem of climate change ...

In contrast to most Western countries, routine offer of prenatal screening is considered problematic in the Netherlands. The main argument against offering it to every pregnant woman is that women would be brought into a moral dilemma when deciding whether to use screening or not. This paper explores whether the active offer of a prenatal screening test indeed confronts women with a moral dilem...

Probability is a central concept in utilitarian moral theory, almost impossible to do without. I attempt to clarify the role of probability, so that we can be clear about what we are aiming for when we apply utilitarian theory to real cases. I point out the close relationship between utilitarianism and expected-utility theory, a normative standard for individual decision-making. I then argue th...

Surgical simulation applications have been largely limited to the acquisition and assessment of technical skills. Current teaching and assessment of surgical judgment is nonsystematic and prone to error. Interest in methods to enhance the acquisition and assessment of knowledge-based (judgment) skills for intraoperative decision making has led to the application of cognitive task analysis (CTA)...