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Full-Text Articles in Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Decision-Analytic Models Using Reinforcement Learning To Inform Dynamic Sequential Decisions In Public Policy, Seyedeh Nazanin Khatami Mar 2022

Decision-Analytic Models Using Reinforcement Learning To Inform Dynamic Sequential Decisions In Public Policy, Seyedeh Nazanin Khatami

Doctoral Dissertations

We developed decision-analytic models specifically suited for long-term sequential decision-making in the context of large-scale dynamic stochastic systems, focusing on public policy investment decisions. We found that while machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms provide the most suitable frameworks for such analyses, multiple challenges arise in its successful adaptation. We address three specific challenges in two public sectors, public health and climate policy, through the following three essays. In Essay I, we developed a reinforcement learning (RL) model to identify optimal sequence of testing and retention-in-care interventions to inform the national strategic plan “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US”. …


Three Essays On Data-Driven Optimization For Scheduling In Manufacturing And Healthcare, Ekin Koker Oct 2019

Three Essays On Data-Driven Optimization For Scheduling In Manufacturing And Healthcare, Ekin Koker

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays on data-driven optimization for scheduling in manufacturing and healthcare. In Chapter 1, we briefly introduce the optimization problems tackled in these essays. The first of these essays deals with machine scheduling problems. In Chapter 2, we compare the effectiveness of direct positional variables against relative positional variables computationally in a variety of machine scheduling problems and we present our results. The second essay deals with a scheduling problem in healthcare: the team primary care practice. In Chapter 3, we build upon the two-stage stochastic integer programming model introduced by Alvarez Oh (2015) to solve …


Combining Human Factors And Data Science Methods To Evaluate The Use Of Free Text Communication Orders In Electronic Health Records, Swaminathan Kandaswamy Oct 2019

Combining Human Factors And Data Science Methods To Evaluate The Use Of Free Text Communication Orders In Electronic Health Records, Swaminathan Kandaswamy

Doctoral Dissertations

Medication errors are a leading cause of death in the United States. Electronic Health Records (EHR) along with Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) are considered promising ways to reduce these errors. However, EHR systems have not eliminated medication errors. Moreover, in some cases they have facilitated errors due to issues such as poor usability and negative effects on clinical workflows. The use of unexpected free text within a CPOE system can serve as a marker that the system does not adequately support clinical workflow. Prior studies have looked at the use of free text within medication orders, but the inclusion …


The Effect Of Interruptions On Primary Task Performance In Safety-Critical Environments, Cheryl Ann Nicholas Nov 2016

The Effect Of Interruptions On Primary Task Performance In Safety-Critical Environments, Cheryl Ann Nicholas

Doctoral Dissertations

Safety critical systems in medicine utilize alarms to signal potentially life threatening situations to professionals and patients. In particular, in the medical field multiple alarms from equipment are activated daily and often simultaneously. There are a number of alarms which require caregivers to take breaks in complex, primary tasks to attend to the interruption task which is signaled by the alarm. The motivation for this research is the knowledge that, in general, interrupting tasks can have a potentially negative impact on performance and outcomes of the primary task. The focus of this research is on the effect of an interrupting …


Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A User Training Program For Integrating Health Information Technology Into Clinical Processes, Ze He Nov 2016

Design, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A User Training Program For Integrating Health Information Technology Into Clinical Processes, Ze He

Doctoral Dissertations

Health information technology (IT) implementation can be costly, and remains a challenging problem with mixed outcomes on patient safety and quality of care. Systems engineering and IT management experts have advocated the use of sociotechnical models to understand the impact of health IT on user and organizational factors. Sociotechnical models suggest the need for user-centered implementation approaches, such as user training and support, and focus on processes to mitigate the negative impact and facilitate optimal IT use during training. The training design and development should also follow systematic processes guided by instructional development models. It should take into account of …


Guidelines For Scheduling In Primary Care: An Empirically Driven Mathematical Programming Approach, Hyun Jung Alvarez Oh Aug 2015

Guidelines For Scheduling In Primary Care: An Empirically Driven Mathematical Programming Approach, Hyun Jung Alvarez Oh

Doctoral Dissertations

Primary care practices play a vital role in healthcare delivery since they are the first point of contact for most patients, and provide health prevention, counseling, education, diagnosis and treatment. Practices, however, face a complex appointment scheduling problem because of the variety of patient conditions, the mix of appointment types, the uncertain service times with providers and non-provider staff (nurses/medical assistants), and no-show rates which all compound into a highly variable and unpredictable flow of patients. The end result is an imbalance between provider idle time and patient waiting time. To understand the realities of the scheduling problem we analyze …


Model-Based Guidance For Human-Intensive Processes, Stefan Christov Mar 2015

Model-Based Guidance For Human-Intensive Processes, Stefan Christov

Doctoral Dissertations

Human-intensive processes (HIPs), such as medical processes involving coordination among doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, often play a critical role in society. Despite considerable work and progress in error reduction, human errors are still a major concern for many HIPs. To address this problem of human errors in HIPs, this thesis investigates two approaches for online process guidance, i.e., for guiding process performers while a process is being executed. Both approaches rely on monitoring a process execution and base the guidance they provide on a detailed formal process model that captures the recommended ways to perform the corresponding HIP. …


Stochastic Models For Capacity Planning In Healthcare Delivery: Case Studies In An Outpatient, Inpatient And Surgical Setting, Asli Ozen Aug 2014

Stochastic Models For Capacity Planning In Healthcare Delivery: Case Studies In An Outpatient, Inpatient And Surgical Setting, Asli Ozen

Doctoral Dissertations

U.S. healthcare system has become far too complex and costly to sustain and operations research has much to contribute in improving health systems by addressing a large spectrum of problems. We study capacity planning in healthcare while considering the case-mix of patients, using stochastic modeling in different application areas: primary care, inpatient bed allocation and (spine) surgery scheduling. This body of work was developed over four years of collaborative research with hospitals and healthcare providers. The main objective of our research in primary care is to optimize the patient mix of primary care physicians in a group practice to maximize …


Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent Aug 2014

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …