Accurate Interviews

When possible, the victims and witnesses should be interviewed at the scene of the accident. There are several reason why this is the best procedure to follow  

The average employee has difficulty explaining with words only, how an accident happened. At the scene, the employee can point out things. This results in a better understanding of what happened and why. 

Employees are less likely to stray from the facts when they are telling about the occurrence at the scene of the accident. When not at the scene, some employees are inclined to exaggerate the role of environmental factors as contributors to the accident. 

Supervisors can better evaluate the part that enviromnental hazards played in the accident when they see the work areas with their own eyes. 

supervisors can get a better idea of what needs to be done to prevent recurrence when they have the opportunity to size up the actual situation. 

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Our current study of drug use and crime in arrestees in Manhattan overcame some of these measurement problems and enabled us to address some of these basic questions regarding POP use and crime. The recent use of PCP (as well as other drugs) in male arrestees was measured by a urinalysis of a specimen obtained within hours after arrest. We therefore did not have to rely on each person s accurate report that he had taken PCP. We shall use the urinalysis test results, with information from interviews with the arrestees, and from their criminal records, to describe the prevalence of PCP use in arrestees, the demographic characteristics of users and the types of offenses for which they are arrested. The next section describes our study of drug use and crime in arrestees in Manhattan. 

Yet another technique has been to interview children or adults (such as teachers, Sch fer Smith, 1996) directly, either using questionnaires (Smith et al., 1992), or interviews (Boulton, 1992a). Clearly, people s answers may not be accurate in terms of what we observe, but this method should inform us about what they think and perceive. This has it s own intrinsic interest, and also interest in terms of discrepancies between beliefs and behaviour. In the case of older children, especially adolescents, we may get uniquely useful insights, while bearing in mind the possible distortions due to selective perception and memory, limited insight to motivation, and social desirability in responses, that bear on verbal report data (Boulton, 1992a). 

Unless the TBI has caused severe cognitive impairment (i.e., dementia), most patients after TBI can provide an accurate and insightful description of their physical and cognitive impairment. However, they often have less insight into the nature and severity of many of the common psychiatric symptoms that follow TBI. For this reason, the initial assessment should also include an interview with the patient s family members and friends, if they are available. Interviews with other health care providers (e.g., doctors, nurses, physical and occupation therapists) can also be extremely helpful. 

Minor arrangements can help in achieving a more thorough, accurate, and useful interview. These include such items as arranging transportation home for the witness if necessary, and providing overtime meals or refreshments. 

The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) is a short structured diagnostic interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10 psychiatric disorders. With an administration time of approximately 15 min, it was designed to meet the need for a short but accurate structured psychiatric interview for multicenter clinical trials and epidemiology studies, and to be used as a first step in outcome tracking in non-research clinical settings (Sheehan et al.y 1998). 

It is important that clinicians appreciate the need for the judicious use of the laboratory for a particular individual, while being sensitive to economic realities, degree of discomfort, and risk of adverse effects. Clinicians must also be cognizant of the nuances in interpreting laboratory data (i.e., their specificity, sensitivity, and predictive value). Finally, they need to integrate laboratory data with the patient s history, interview, and physical examination to formulate the most accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan. 

At the time of this dream, Mr. A was working as an electrical engineer in the eastern United States. I have checked his narrative report of the dream against the original tape recording and have interviewed all the persons involved in the case. I am satisfied that their reports are accurate. 

Inasmuch as laymen may not understand scientific terminology, the scientist may find it necessary to use common words of lesser precision to increase public comprehension. In view of the importance of scientists communicating with the general public, some loss of accuracy in that sense can be condoned. The scientist should, however, strive to keep public writing, remarks, and interviews as accurate as possible consistent with effective communication. 

You have interviewed patients, nurses and doctors to get hold of their needs, and realize that the new system will require something different, it will be hygienic - also when used by a patient who is not too handy, it should not be too painful because more injections are required, it will deliver a small amount, accurately dosed, also when applied by the not-too-handy patient. Finally it will be carried around by the patient, with a store of insulin sufficient for some time, say a few days or a week. These items are summarized in the short list of specihcations in Figure 8-9. 

Whenever they release statements to the press or are interviewed by journalists, crisis managers and disaster response professionals in general must be sure that the information they provide is accurate and the split-second judgments they make are sound, otherwise they confuse, frustrate, and alarm an already traumatized public. For example, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson told Americans that the first lethal anthrax case in Florida was an isolated case with no evidence of terrorism (World News Tonight, 2001). This was a rush to judgment that he reversed after several more anthrax infections when he admitted that the United States had never experienced this type of terrorism (Ricchiardi, 2001). 

In recall approaches a trained interviewer asks individuals what they ate in the immediate past, typically the preceding 24 or 48 hours. The interview can be face to face or over a telephone. A major disadvantage is that it relies on the memory of the interviewees. If the interview is over the telephone, it also relies on details of the individuals, such as body weight, being accurately... 

Audit notes are indispensable to allow QA auditors to write an accurate report after the audit. Detailed notes allow the auditor to prepare a meaningful audit report which is based on verified observations. All information collected during an audit is considered audit evidence. Information sources in an audit are, for example, document review, interviews and observation of activities. If applicable, sampling techniques may be applied, for example for SDV and verification of information in tables and listings. Audit observations are only considered audit findings if it is determined after comparison with audit criteria that these are not or insufficiently fulfilled. And finally, audit conclusions can be drawn to assess whether the audit findings impact the validity of the clinical data and the safety of the trial subjects. 

The information obtained from the parent is third party, but is fairly accurate. Of note, however, the parent may have preconceived ideas about the nature of the child s problem. Practitioners must remember to be supportive rather than judgmental when interviewing the parent of the child. Avoid questions such as why did you give the child that medicine This would imply judgment and that the parent did not have the child s best interest in mind. ... 

Evaluates patients by means of interview and, when appropriate, physical assessment to determine past medical history, previous medication use, present medical history, present medication use, present medical condition, and response to therapy. The pharmacotherapy specialist performs accurate and reproducible physical examination in accordance with their formal training and experience. 

A more accurate modeling capability is valuable only if it is coupled with timely communication of results and appropriate responses by the stockpile site and surrounding communities. In the case of sites located close to large communities it is particularly important to have fast communication and alert procedures. The committee found, based on several site visits and interviews, that these procedures should be reviewed to identify bottlenecks that could be removed through better communications technologies. 

Most of the rating scales involve a structured interview that requires clinician training to ensure accurate administration. Noise and distraction can affect the patient s performance ability therefore the interview should be conducted in a quiet area with adequate lighting. The interviewer should speak slowly and clearly to the patient when providing instructions or asking questions. 

Ul represents a spectrum of severity in terms of both volume of leakage and degree of bother to the patient. To carefully consider the level of patient discomfort when discussing urine leakage, the clinician must probe during the patient interview to accurately determine the precise nature of the problem. 

When drafting a procedure, speak with and observe the workers who perform, or will likely perform, the task. Interview other knowledgeable persormel. While writing, envision the actual work environment in which the procedure is performed. For new maintenance activities or processes, use a discussion group approach. Ensure the procedure is technically accurate and complete. Validate it— walk down or simulate performing the procedure in the field, shop, or lab to ensure the procedure can actually be used as written and reflects current practices. 

An organised review and reporting process that uses personal interviews, plant inspections and record reviews to develop an accurate performance profile of a plant. 

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