A Mixed Methods Investigation into Latino Fathers\u27 Roles in Their Children\u27s Educational Expectations

Latino fathers make meaningful contributions toward their children’s educational expectations. Cultural factors and structural barriers may shape unique parenting roles for Latino fathers and their influence on their children’s educational expectations. To explore the culturally nuanced roles of Latino fathers, we conducted a convergent mixed-methods study with 244 emerging adults to gain their perceptions of their fathers’ parenting roles and how those roles influenced the relation between the fathers’ and emerging adult children’s educational expectations. A content analysis of qualitative data identified positive (e.g. motivation and emotional support) and negative roles (e.g. family absence and overworking) that participants perceived their fathers had in their education. Quantitatively, Latino fathers’ educational expectations predicted emerging adults’ own educational expectations, with the strongest association for fathers coded as having a positive parental role. Findings from this study support the need for more inclusive and culturally relevant research practices with Latino fathers and families. Supporting and incorporating the roles of Latino fathers in the school system may increase students’ educational expectations

Cultivating a Collectivist Community on a College Campus for Latinx Students

Do inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) courses geared toward Latinx students help create a collectivist community on a college campus? We argue that courses incorporating IDEA initiatives into their curriculum and focusing on Latinx individuals provide students the face, place, and space to create the cultural wealth required for educational success. The academic intervention described in this study focused on supporting the Latinx community and advancing our university’s IDEA values. This qualitative project describes the results of forty-seven participants in ten focus groups within undergraduate courses during the Fall 2019-Spring 2021 semesters. Based on a deductive-inductive hybrid thematic analysis, our results suggest that IDEA courses at the curricular level are essential in cultivating a collectivist community on campus for students to thrive. Evidence from this study can be utilized to inform educational policy and pedagogical considerations within higher education

Health- and Vision-Related Quality of Life in a Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Methotrexate and Mycophenolate Mofetil for Uveitis

PurposeTo evaluate changes in health-related and vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) among patients with noninfectious uveitis who were treated with antimetabolites.DesignSecondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.ParticipantsPatients with noninfectious uveitis from India, the United States, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.MethodsFrom 2013 through 2017, 216 participants were randomized to receive 25 mg weekly oral methotrexate or 1.5 g twice daily oral mycophenolate mofetil. Median changes in quality of life (QoL) were measured using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and differences between treatment groups were measured using linear mixed models, adjusting for baseline QoL score, age, gender, and site. Among Indian patients, VRQoL scores from a general scale (the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire [NEI-VFQ]) and a culturally specific scale (the Indian Visual Function Questionnaire [IND-VFQ]) were compared using Pearson correlation tests.Main outcome measuresVision-related QoL (NEI-VFQ and IND-VFQ) and health-related QoL (HRQoL; physical component score [PCS] and mental component score [MCS] of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Survey [SF-36v2]) were measured at baseline, the primary end point (6 months or treatment failure before 6 months), and the secondary end point (12 months or treatment failure between 6 and 12 months).ResultsAmong 193 participants who reached the primary end point, VRQoL increased from baseline by a median of 12.0 points (interquartile range [IQR], 1.0-26.1, NEI-VFQ scale), physical HRQoL increased by a median of 3.6 points (IQR, -1.4 to 14.9, PCS SF-36v2), and mental HRQoL increased by a median of 3.0 points (IQR, -3.7 to 11.9, MCS SF-36v2). These improvements in NEI-VFQ, SF-36v2 PCS, and SF-36v2 MCS scores all were significant (P < 0.01). The linear mixed models showed that QoL did not differ between treatment groups for each QoL assessment (NEI-VFQ, IND-VFQ, PCS SF-36v2, and MCS SF-36v2; P > 0.05 for all). The NEI-VFQ and IND-VFQ scores for Indian participants were correlated highly at baseline and the primary and secondary end points (correlation coefficients, 0.87, 0.80, and 0.90, respectively).ConclusionsAmong patients treated with methotrexate or mycophenolate mofetil for uveitis, VRQoL and HRQoL improved significantly over the course of 1 year and did not differ by treatment allocation. These findings suggest that antimetabolites could improve overall patient well-being and daily functioning