Study protocol of the iMPaCT project : A longitudinal cohort study assessing psychological determinants, sexual behaviour and chlamydia (re)infections in heterosexual STI clinic visitors

Acknowledgements We are grateful to the staff at the STI clinics of Amsterdam, Kennemerland, Hollands Noorden, Twente, who are involved in the recruitment and data collection of participants, and Marlous Ratten and Klazien Visser from Soapoli-online, who are involved in the coordination of laboratory testing of the home-based sampling kits at six-month follow-up. We also thank the staff at the STI department at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, especially Birgit van Benthem. Funding This project is funded by the Strategic Programme (SPR) of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) (project number S/113004/01/IP). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Availability of data and materials The dataset (anonymised) generated during this study will be made available for interested parties on request.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The prevalence and correlates of lifetime psychiatric disorders and trauma exposures in urban and rural settings: results from the national comorbidity survey replication (NCS-R).

Distinctions between rural and urban environments produce different frequencies of traumatic exposures and psychiatric disorders. We examine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and frequency of trauma exposures by position on the rural-urban continuum.The National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) was used to evaluate psychiatric disorders among a nationally-representative sample of the U.S. population. Rurality was designated using the Department of Agriculture's 2003 rural-urban continuum codes (RUCC), which differentiate counties into levels of rurality by population density and adjacency to metropolitan areas. Lifetime psychiatric disorders included post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, mood disorders, impulse-control disorders, and substance abuse. Trauma exposures were classified as war-related, accident-related, disaster-related, interpersonal or other. Weighted logistic regression models examined the odds of psychiatric disorders and trauma exposures by position on the rural-urban continuum, adjusted for relevant covariates.75% of participants were metropolitan, 12.2% were suburban, and 12.8% were from rural counties. The most common disorder reported was any anxiety disorder (38.5%). Drug abuse was more common among metropolitan (8.7%, p = 0.018), compared to nonmetropolitan (5.1% suburban, 6.1% rural) participants. A one-category increase in rurality was associated with decreased odds for war-related trauma (aOR = 0.86, 95%CI 0.78-0.95). Rurality was not associated with risk for any other lifetime psychiatric disorders or trauma exposure.Contrary to the expectation of some rural primary care providers, the frequencies of most psychiatric disorders and trauma exposures are similar across the rural-urban continuum, reinforcing calls to improve mental healthcare access in resource-poor rural communities

Indicators of discontinuous change in the development of analogical reasoning

In a longitudinal study, five indicators of a transition in the development of analogical reasoning were examined in young elementary school children, (a) bimodality and (b) inaccessibility in the frequency distributions of test performance, and in the responses of the transitional subjects, respectively, (c) sudden jumps, (d) anomalous variance, and (e) critical slowing down. An open-ended geometric-analogies test was administered eight times during a period of six months to eighty children in Grades 1 and 2 (six- to eight-year-olds). Strong evidence for bimodality was found in the distribution of the test scores and weaker evidence for inaccessibility. In the performance curves of the transitional subjects sudden jumps were demonstrated. Furthermore, the transitional subjects displayed a temporary increase of inconsistent solution behavior and solution time near the sudden jump. The characteristic changes in the analogy performance of the transitional subjects were interpreted as a strategy shift

Intimate partner violence discussions in the healthcare setting: A cross-sectional study

In 2013, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended routine intimate partner violence (IPV) screening for reproductive-age women. Given the increased attention paid to IPV on a national scale, and broader recognition of its social and physical implications, we sought to characterize the discussions resulting from routine IPV screening—specifically regarding provider response and patient perceptions. In a cross-sectional analysis, we implemented a survey to examine outcomes of IPV screening, including use of guideline-concordant discussion topics and interventions, as well as patient perception of the encounters. Women aged 18–65 with lifetime history of IPV and a past-year healthcare appointment were recruited from clinics and women's shelters in Pennsylvania. Data collection took place from May 2014–January 2015. Of 253 women, 39% were screened for IPV at a healthcare visit in the year prior to survey administration. Of women who were screened, guideline-concordant discussion topics were employed in 70% of encounters and guideline-concordant interventions were offered in 72% of encounters. 58% of women reported being “extremely” or “very satisfied,” and 53% reported being “extremely” or “very comfortable” with IPV-related discussions. The low rate of screening in this population reiterates the importance of focusing efforts on educating providers on the importance of screening, promoting the availability of community resources, and developing systems-based practices that foster IPV screening, discussion, and referral following disclosure. Keywords: Intimate partner violence, Domestic violence, Screenin