Dysphagia and daily oral fluids among cerebrovascular stroke patients: an theory-based nursing intervention protocol

Objective

To evaluate the improvement of dysphagia and the daily amounts of oral fluids served among people who had recently experienced a cerebrovascular stroke (CVS) after applying a nursing intervention protocol.

Methods

A quasi-experimental design was used to examine 60 stroke patients who were randomly and alternatively divided equally into a study group and a control group. Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) and fluid balance chart were used. Within the first 24 h of a patient’s admission, expert nurses were trained in nursing intervention protocol to manage dysphagia and daily oral fluids.

Results

Post-nursing intervention, the severity of dysphagia decreased among the study group more than in the control group. Additionally, the study group began taking greater amounts of fluids by the oral route than before the nursing intervention.

Conclusions

A standardized nursing intervention protocol is needed to decrease the severity of dysphagia after CVS and increase the amount of daily oral fluids. The presence of a structured theory-based nursing intervention protocol for dysphagia management will greatly contribute to decreasing the consequences of dysphagia after CVS, and can also be expected to attenuate the effects of aspiration pneumonia, dehydration, and malnutrition; further, it also increases adherence to the protocol by both nurses and patients.

May I have your attention, please? An investigation on opening effectiveness in e-mail marketing

Academic research has yet to provide a comprehensive view on how to capture individuals’ attention when a promotional e-mail reaches their inbox. This study investigates the variables that influence consumers’ attention toward promotional e-mails, operationalized as open rates, and proposes an integrative model that combines and integrates visible, temporal, and contextual elements. The empirical analysis uses ordinary least squares linear regression to validate the model with data obtained from a multinational sample. The dataset, which is global in nature, comprises 5765 different promotional e-mails sent between 2013 and 2018 by different multinational companies to 455 million users located in 73 countries. The analysis provides information about the relative importance of the variables that influence individuals’ decisions to open a promotional e-mail and shows that the frequency of mailing and the use of segmentation techniques significantly affect the individual’s attention to e-mail marketing communications. The results also show a non-transparent opportunity cost associated with every e-mail sent and give advice on how to control that virtual cost. The research provides further recommendations to marketing professionals to improve the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns.

The Use of Observational Technology to Study In-Store Behavior: Consumer Choice, Video Surveillance, and Retail Analytics

The store is the main laboratory for in-store experimental analysis. This article provides an introduction to a research program aimed at improving research practices in this laboratory, particularly emphasizing the importance of behavioral data and the new opportunities that technology offers. This complex modern-day Skinner box has sets of well-studied stimuli-behavior interactions that constantly adapt to the latest economic environment and as such constantly stretch the boundaries of behavioral analytic theory. However, the retail setting is highly important to applied behavior analysis for such issues as health, debt, environmental conservation, animal welfare, self-control, and consumer protection in general. This article presents a research strategy that emphasizes key environmental touch points throughout the customer journey in grocery retailing. We highlight the latest development by examining a particular research case and discussing the need for behavioral economic understanding of the start of the grocery journey, that is, the consumer choice of in-store product carrying equipment (e.g., cart, basket, or nothing). The conceptual system consists of a molecular four-term contingency framework as well as a more molar approach with conversion-rate modeling, where actual choice behavior is detected through video surveillance. The data are analyzed using a Shopper Flow© Tracking System in which software is designed to provide automatic data on shopper behavior and to assist human observers in tracking individual shopping trips. We discuss behavioral classifications, methodology, and implications related to the data from consumer tracking efforts.

Online Healthy Food Experiments: Capturing Complexity by Using Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis

The impact of complex environmental factors on consumer choices and preferences can be analyzed through the prism of consumer behavior analysis, whereas variations of marketing attributes and their impact on choice can be measured using conjoint analysis. Considering the case of the constantly growing online food selections, we discuss choice-based conjoint analysis and explore the opportunities for behavior analysts to examine the interrelationships of multiple variables and socially important choice settings, and to promote desired behaviors. We show a few examples of using trade-off analyses in online food retail to understand consumer behavior with respect to healthy food items. As demonstrated in these examples based on our own pilot research, conjoint analysis can be used for complex behavior-that which is not amenable directly to an experimental analysis-or as an efficient initial step before moving into further experiments or analyses using biometrics (e.g., eye-tracking) or web analytics conducted in different settings such as e-commerce, e-mail, social media, or on mobile platforms. This paper summarizes the personalized, data driven economic analysis that is possible with a choice-based conjoint analysis.