[Categorizing methods used in participatory research]

Challenges and Facilitation Approaches for the Participatory Design of AI-Based Clinical Decision Support Systems: Protocol for a Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

In the last few years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of artificial intelligence (AI)-based clinical decision support systems (CDSS). However, there are barriers to the successful implementation of such systems in practice, including the lack of acceptance of these systems. Participatory approaches aim to involve future users in designing applications such as CDSS to be more acceptable, feasible, and fundamentally more relevant for practice. The development of technologies based on AI, however, challenges the process of user involvement and related methods.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this review is to summarize and present the main approaches, methods, practices, and specific challenges for participatory research and development of AI-based decision support systems involving clinicians.

METHODS

This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute approach to scoping reviews. The search for eligible studies was conducted in the databases MEDLINE via PubMed; ACM Digital Library; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health; and PsycInfo. The following search filters, adapted to each database, were used: Period January 01, 2012, to October 31, 2023, English and German studies only, abstract available. The scoping review will include studies that involve the development, piloting, implementation, and evaluation of AI-based CDSS (hybrid and data-driven AI approaches). Clinical staff must be involved in a participatory manner. Data retrieval will be accompanied by a manual gray literature search. Potential publications will then be exported into reference management software, and duplicates will be removed. Afterward, the obtained set of papers will be transferred into a systematic review management tool. All publications will be screened, extracted, and analyzed: title and abstract screening will be carried out by 2 independent reviewers. Disagreements will be resolved by involving a third reviewer. Data will be extracted using a data extraction tool prepared for the study.

RESULTS

This scoping review protocol was registered on March 11, 2023, at the Open Science Framework. The full-text screening had already started at that time. Of the 3,118 studies screened by title and abstract, 31 were included in the full-text screening. Data collection and analysis as well as manuscript preparation are planned for the second and third quarter of 2024. The manuscript should be submitted towards the end of 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

This review will describe the current state of knowledge on participatory development of AI-based decision support systems. The aim is to identify knowledge gaps and provide research impetus. It also aims to provide relevant information for policy makers and practitioners.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/58185.

[Public Health and Participation of Experts from Experience in Austria: a First Exploratory Survey]

Participation is a basic principle of health promotion and public health. Citizen and patient participation in health care is considered to be poor in Austria and the existing practice is not very visible. An explorative online survey was conducted among members of the Austrian Public Health Association. The aim was to identify the current state of participation of experts from experience ("affected persons") in research, strategy development and practice. 29 organisations working on participation were identified. The survey revealed participation practice was methodologically diverse. Orientation towards participatory models, as the lowest common denominator, can provide a basis for further exchange and shared learning of participation.

Thermal/Cooling Energy on Local Energy Communities: A Critical Review

One of the most crucial factors for energy transition and the incorporation of renewable energy sources into the existing energy map is citizen engagement. Local energy communities (LECs), which are cooperative-based coalitions aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the residential building sector, have received increasing attention in the past decade. This is because residential buildings account for almost half of the total energy consumed worldwide. A resounding 75% of it is used for thermal energy consumption, heating and cooling, cooking and bathing. However, the main focus of the literature worldwide is explicitly on electrical LECs, despite the fact that the significant increase in natural gas and oil prices, creates instability in the heating and cooling prices. The scope of this study is to provide an overview of the research field regarding Thermal LECs, using both a thorough literature review as well as bibliometric analysis (VOSviewer software), in order to validate the findings of the review. The results indicate a collective scarcity of literature in the field of thermal/cooling energy communities, despite their proven value to the energy transition. A significant lack of directives, research background and state initiatives in the context of LECs incorporating thermal/cooling energy production, storage and distribution systems, was also observed. Case studies and the applications of such systems are scarce in the available literature, while published studies need further feasibility assessments.

[Continuing participatory research beyond the end of projects: participatory quality development in municipal health promotion]

The limited timeframes of participatory health research (PHR) studies make it difficult to achieve the desired specific social changes through the projects. This is particularly true for the promotion of health equity in municipal settings. This article examines how participatory quality development (PQE) approaches can complement PGF in order to implement participation as a quality criterion in health promotion and to contribute to the sustainability of research results.Based on the structure and course of two participatory research projects on integrated municipal health promotion, quality development processes with older people and parents of preschool children are described.Structural and process design contribute significantly to the transfer of research results into practice and beyond the end of the project. In their structure and by continuously involving local partners and stakeholders, projects must ensure that the principles of participatory quality development are implemented in processes from the very beginning.Participation as a quality criterion in health promotion is now well established. However, there is a deficit in the implementation of this claim. PGF and PQE consistently implement the criterion but place high demands on structure and process design. It is recommended that participation principles should be anchored in cooperation agreements in the municipal partnerships and supportive frameworks for participatory approaches should be continuously developed.