HEALTH ORGANIZATION SIMULATION PROGRAM

THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PC-BASED HEALTH ORGANIZATION SIMULATION PROGRAM (HOSP) THAT CAN PREDICT THE OUTCOMES OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THE VARIOUS YEAR-2000 OBJECTIVES DESCRIBED IN THE PHS PUBLICATION HEALTHY PEOPLE2000. HOSP WILL ALSO PROVIDE AN EXPERT SYSTEM-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL MODE TO TRAIN HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PROFESSIONALS IN THE USE OF THE SIMULATOR IN PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE YEAR-2000 OBJECTIVES. THE EXPERT SYSTEM COMPONENT OF HOSP WILL ALSO BE THE BASIS OF AN ADVISORY SYSTEM USED TO GUIDE USERS IN ADJUSTING PROGRAM PARAMETES TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES. FOR THE PHASE I EFFORT, CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT WILL BE THE HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 SUBDOMAIN SELECTED FOR PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT. THE EMPHASIS WILL BE ON DEVELOPING THE SIMULATOR PORTION OF HOSP AND VALIDATING ITS PREDICTIONS AGAINST THOSE OF AN ACTUAL COMPLETED PROGRAM IN THIS SUBDOMAIN. THE SIMULATOR WILL BE CREATED USING AN OBJECT-ORIENTED APPROACH TO FACILITATE MAINTENANCE AND ENHANCEMENT. A MICROSOFT WINDOWS-BASED GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED INTERACTIVE CONTROL.