Naming Our World, Claiming Our Knowledge: Research-in-Practice in Adult Literacy Programs

Throughout its history adult literacy education has been defined, described, researched, and effectively controlled by external entities. This article discusses how literacy practitioners and learners are gaining a voice through the production of their own knowledge using research-in-practice. It especially examines the applicability, benefits, and inherent risks of practitioner action research, provides a discussion of how this research paradigm is defined, and concludes with possibilities for the future.Depuis ses débuts, l'alphabétisation des adultes a toujours été définie, décrite, étudiée et contrôlée par des entités externes. L'auteur discute de la façon dont les enseignants et les apprenants en alphabétisation commencent à se faire entendre en créant leurs propres connaissances à partir de recherches-actions. Plus précisément, il étudie l'applicabilité, les bienfaits et les risques inhérents de la recherche-action entreprise par les enseignants, discute ensuite de la façon dont ce paradigme s'articule et termine en proposant des possibilités pour l'avenir

Beyond Participation and Stereotypes: Towards the Study of Engagement in Adult Literacy Education

Mainstream adult education framed the critical issues of literacy non-participation within its normative participation models creating a serious setback for literacy. Research. Through a review of the literacy literature and an analysis of the IALS and NALL studies, this paper discusses how undereducated adults refuse to participate in formal education, yet how they engage in informal and incidental learning. It concludes with an argument for research into how and why the undereducated engage in learning rather than participate in education

“What Would You Do In My Place?” Outcomes of a Collaborative Health Literacy Research Study in Rural Nova Scotia

The 1994 and 2000 International Adult Literacy Surveys found that 43% of Canada’s adult population is affected by low literacy skills, with 22% of these adults experiencing severe literacy problems. The highest rates of low-literacy skills have consistently been found in the Atlantic provinces. However, what these studies do not reveal are the life-and-death health issues that often lie beneath the statistics. To the question: “What would you do in my place?” posed to us by an unemployed fish plant worker with low literacy skills and severe health issues living in an isolated Nova Scotia community, such surveys provide no answers. This two-year study investigated: 1) factors that influence ways less literate adults in NE Nova Scotia access and act upon health information and services, and 2) strategies for change that could build on capacities for achieving health

Literacy Educators’ Perspectives on Transformation and Authenticity

We discuss how adults with low literacy skills have transformed through education and also raise epistemological questions on education’s place in the transformation and learning process

Using Metaphors to Depict Canada’s Adult Literacy Research Since the Mid-1980s

This study examined the evolution in adult literacy research since the founding of The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education (CJSAE) and the rise of the contemporary knowledge base in Canadian adult literacy. Three research questions guided the investigation which employed a critical discourse analysis (CDA) method. A text analysis grid was constructed and was used across several data sources representing Canadian literacy scholarship. Results indicate that seven metaphors can be used to depict the current state of literacy scholarship. These findings shape a triangle of three solitudes: academic researchers, practitioners, and government sponsors

A novel formulation of inhaled sodium cromoglicate (PA101) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough: a randomised, double-blind, proof-of-concept, phase 2 trial

Background Cough can be a debilitating symptom of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and is difficult to treat. PA101 is a novel formulation of sodium cromoglicate delivered via a high-efficiency eFlow nebuliser that achieves significantly higher drug deposition in the lung compared with the existing formulations. We aimed to test the efficacy and safety of inhaled PA101 in patients with IPF and chronic cough and, to explore the antitussive mechanism of PA101, patients with chronic idiopathic cough (CIC) were also studied. Methods This pilot, proof-of-concept study consisted of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with IPF and chronic cough and a parallel study of similar design in patients with CIC. Participants with IPF and chronic cough recruited from seven centres in the UK and the Netherlands were randomly assigned (1:1, using a computer-generated randomisation schedule) by site staff to receive PA101 (40 mg) or matching placebo three times a day via oral inhalation for 2 weeks, followed by a 2 week washout, and then crossed over to the other arm. Study participants, investigators, study staff, and the sponsor were masked to group assignment until all participants had completed the study. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline in objective daytime cough frequency (from 24 h acoustic recording, Leicester Cough Monitor). The primary efficacy analysis included all participants who received at least one dose of study drug and had at least one post-baseline efficacy measurement. Safety analysis included all those who took at least one dose of study drug. In the second cohort, participants with CIC were randomly assigned in a study across four centres with similar design and endpoints. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02412020) and the EU Clinical Trials Register (EudraCT Number 2014-004025-40) and both cohorts are closed to new participants. Findings Between Feb 13, 2015, and Feb 2, 2016, 24 participants with IPF were randomly assigned to treatment groups. 28 participants with CIC were enrolled during the same period and 27 received study treatment. In patients with IPF, PA101 reduced daytime cough frequency by 31·1% at day 14 compared with placebo; daytime cough frequency decreased from a mean 55 (SD 55) coughs per h at baseline to 39 (29) coughs per h at day 14 following treatment with PA101, versus 51 (37) coughs per h at baseline to 52 (40) cough per h following placebo treatment (ratio of least-squares [LS] means 0·67, 95% CI 0·48–0·94, p=0·0241). By contrast, no treatment benefit for PA101 was observed in the CIC cohort; mean reduction of daytime cough frequency at day 14 for PA101 adjusted for placebo was 6·2% (ratio of LS means 1·27, 0·78–2·06, p=0·31). PA101 was well tolerated in both cohorts. The incidence of adverse events was similar between PA101 and placebo treatments, most adverse events were mild in severity, and no severe adverse events or serious adverse events were reported. Interpretation This study suggests that the mechanism of cough in IPF might be disease specific. Inhaled PA101 could be a treatment option for chronic cough in patients with IPF and warrants further investigation

Determinants of recovery from post-COVID-19 dyspnoea: analysis of UK prospective cohorts of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and community-based controls

Background The risk factors for recovery from COVID-19 dyspnoea are poorly understood. We investigated determinants of recovery from dyspnoea in adults with COVID-19 and compared these to determinants of recovery from non-COVID-19 dyspnoea. Methods We used data from two prospective cohort studies: PHOSP-COVID (patients hospitalised between March 2020 and April 2021 with COVID-19) and COVIDENCE UK (community cohort studied over the same time period). PHOSP-COVID data were collected during hospitalisation and at 5-month and 1-year follow-up visits. COVIDENCE UK data were obtained through baseline and monthly online questionnaires. Dyspnoea was measured in both cohorts with the Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify determinants associated with a reduction in dyspnoea between 5-month and 1-year follow-up. Findings We included 990 PHOSP-COVID and 3309 COVIDENCE UK participants. We observed higher odds of improvement between 5-month and 1-year follow-up among PHOSP-COVID participants who were younger (odds ratio 1.02 per year, 95% CI 1.01–1.03), male (1.54, 1.16–2.04), neither obese nor severely obese (1.82, 1.06–3.13 and 4.19, 2.14–8.19, respectively), had no pre-existing anxiety or depression (1.56, 1.09–2.22) or cardiovascular disease (1.33, 1.00–1.79), and shorter hospital admission (1.01 per day, 1.00–1.02). Similar associations were found in those recovering from non-COVID-19 dyspnoea, excluding age (and length of hospital admission). Interpretation Factors associated with dyspnoea recovery at 1-year post-discharge among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 were similar to those among community controls without COVID-19. Funding PHOSP-COVID is supported by a grant from the MRC-UK Research and Innovation and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) rapid response panel to tackle COVID-19. The views expressed in the publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Health Service (NHS), the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. COVIDENCE UK is supported by the UK Research and Innovation, the National Institute for Health Research, and Barts Charity. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders