News about Genetics and Smoking Priming, Family Smoking History, and News Story Believability on Inferences of Genetic Susceptibility to Tobacco Addiction

Print news stories about genetics convey information to the public. This study assesses the effects of priming a belief in genetic susceptibility to smoking addiction on smokers\u27 inferences about their own susceptibility to smoking addiction, their efficacy to quit smoking, and their intention to get a genetic test for addiction susceptibility. Respondents were 450 young adult smokers surveyed on the telephone in a randomized experiment embedded in a questionnaire about cigarette smoking practices. In the priming condition, respondents heard a news story about genes for smoking addiction. In the unprimed condition, respondents heard a news story concerning the gender of the offspring of smokers. Priming with the genetics news story did not affect respondents\u27 inferences about personal genetic susceptibility to smoking addiction. However, those finding the news story believable and having a strong family history of smoking were more likely to infer a greater personal genetic susceptibility

Brooking no excuses: university staff and students are encouraged to develop their engagement

Brooking no excuses: university staff and students are encouraged to develop their engagement This paper will explore the internal and external factors that have prompted the University of East Anglia's decision to give Public Engagement into a more central role within the Universities Corporate Plan. It will illustrate how the SEARCH Action Learning Programme facilitated the design, implementation and delivery of new Staff and Student Development Programmes that aim to provide the confidence, skills and mentorship that will encourage staff to develop their engagement activities. We will use a SWOT analysis to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Public Engagement Practitioner. As part of this, we will explore how many of the issues we face as Science communicators with the public are similar to issues encountered by Communicators within the Arts and Humanities disciplines. Finally we will outline and detail our future plans, opportunities and vision that will enable us to move this agenda forward

Systematic development of an evidence-based website on preconception care

Introduction: In February 2015, the Flemish Minister of Welfare, Public Health and Family launched a website on preconception care: gezondzwangerworden.be'. The website was developed in response to the lack of comprehensive communication on preconception care and the inadequate intake of folic acid among Flemish women. Despite the international recommendation to take 400g folic acid on a daily basis one month before conception until 12 weeks of pregnancy, studies show a lack of compliance in women wanting to become pregnant. Procedure: A compilation of evidence was made through reviewing well-established guidelines on preconception and prenatal care. The quality of guidelines was assessed by means of AGREE II. The topics included in the website were selected by an internal committee of 5 experts and an external committee of 16 experts. Content validation was carried out by 40 experts in preconception care or related topics. Results: The above-described procedure resulted in an evidence-based website with a selection of relevant, validated information for both women and men who plan a pregnancy and professionals who are consulted by these people. Evaluation and recommendation: The website is currently attracting a constant number of 100 to 200 visitors a day. The information on folic acid is among the most requested, which is an important finding with regard to the policy objectives on preconception care. More research is needed in order to evaluate the use and effect of the website more thoroughly

Barnes Hospital Bulletin

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/bjc_barnes_bulletin/1144/thumbnail.jp