Guidelines for research recruitment of underserved populations (EERC)

Despite concerted efforts to establish health equity, significant disparities persist. One roadblock to eliminating health disparities is the inadequate recruitment of underserved populations, which prevents researchers from creating culturally-tailored interventions. To further develop the science of recruitment, we argue that a systematic approach should be applied to research participant recruitment. Given the lack of practical and comprehensive recruitment conceptual frameworks or guidelines in the literature, the authors propose newly synthesized guidelines for research recruitment of underserved populations: EERC (evaluate, engage, reflect, and carefully match)

A systematic review investigating rates of maternal mortality in African countries

"The goal of this review is to investigate maternal mortality rates (MMR) in African countries. Because the MMR of Black women in the United States is 3-5x higher than in White women, this study aims to identify if a similar racial disparity is present in Africa. It also explores factors contributing to high MMR including socioeconomic status, age, comorbidities, ethnicity, and access to healthcare."--Introduction

Birthing and Parenting a Premature Infant in a Cultural Context

The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative descriptive study was to explore American Indian (AI) mothers’ perceptions of parenting their premature infants over their first year of life in the context of their culture, including the birth and hospitalization experience. A convenience sample of 17 AI mothers and their premature infants were recruited from either a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or pediatric clinic in the southeast. Semistructured interviews were conducted at two time points. Through content analytic methods, three broad categories were revealed: descriptions of having a premature infant in the NICU, descriptions of parenting a premature infant, and the influence of Lumbee culture on parenting a premature infant. Certain aspects of AI culture appear to be important in having a premature infant in the NICU and in parenting a premature infant. We recommend that healthcare providers deliver culturally appropriate care that fully supports AI mothers and their premature infants

Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Healthcare Expenditures for Publicly Insured Children with Chronic Health Conditions

This study estimated the prevalence of maternal depressive symptoms and tested associations between maternal depressive symptoms and healthcare utilization and expenditures among United States publicly insured children with chronic health conditions (CCHC). A total of 6,060 publicly insured CCHC from the 2004–2009 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys were analyzed using negative binomial models to compare healthcare utilization for CCHC of mothers with and without depressive symptoms. Annual healthcare expenditures for both groups were compared using a two-part model with a logistic regression and generalized linear model. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among mothers with CCHC was 19 %. There were no differences in annual healthcare utilization for CCHC of mothers with and without depressive symptoms. Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with greater odds of ED expenditures [odds ratio (OR) 1.26; 95 % CI 1.03–1.54] and lesser odds of dental expenditures (OR 0.81; 95 % CI 0.66–0.98) and total expenditures (OR 0.71; 95 % CI 0.51–0.98). Children of symptomatic mothers had lower predicted outpatient expenditures and higher predicted expenditures for total health, prescription medications, dental care; and office based, inpatient and ED visits. Mothers with CCHC were more likely to report depressive symptoms than were mothers with children without chronic health conditions. There were few differences in annual healthcare utilization and expenditures between CCHC of mothers with and without depressive symptoms. However, having a mother with depressive symptoms was associated with higher ED expenditures and higher predicted healthcare expenditures in a population of children who comprise over three-fourths of the top decile of Medicaid spending

Interactive Behaviors of Ethnic Minority Mothers and their Premature Infants

To compare the interactive behaviors of American Indian mothers and their premature infants with those of African American mothers and their premature infants

Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure on the Health and Development of African American Premature Infants

Objective. To explore the effects of secondhand smoke exposure on growth, health-related illness, and child development in rural African American premature infants through 24 months corrected age. Method. 171 premature infants (72 boys, 99 girls) of African American mothers with a mean birthweight of 1114 grams. Mothers reported on household smoking and infant health at 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months corrected age. Infant growth was measured at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, and developmental assessments were conducted at 12 and 24 months. Results. Thirty percent of infants were exposed to secondhand smoke within their first 2 years of life. Secondhand smoke exposure was associated with poorer growth of head circumference and the development of otitis media at 2 months corrected age. Height, weight, wheezing, and child development were not related to secondhand smoke exposure. Conclusion. Exposure to secondhand smoke may negatively impact health of rural African American premature infants. Interventions targeted at reducing exposure could potentially improve infant outcomes

Exploring Modifiable Risk Factors for Wheezing in African American Premature Infants

To examine the degree to which obesity during infancy, consistent exposure to secondhand smoke, and parenting (positive attention, maternal involvement, and negative control) were related to early development of wheezing in a cohort of African American premature infants at 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months corrected age

Interactions between Mothers and their Premature American Indian Infants

<p>The overall purpose of this longitudinal exploratory study was to describe the interactive behaviors of American Indian mothers and their prematurely born infants. The first study examined behaviors of American Indian mothers and their premature infants when the infants were 3, 6, and 12 months of age corrected for prematurity as well as the effects of infant illness severity (NBRS) and socioeconomic status (maternal education) on these behaviors. Higher infant illness severity was associated with more maternal touch, more infant vocalization, and fewer opportunities for variety in daily stimulation. Higher maternal education was associated with more maternal talk; more infant vocalization; less infant touch; and higher scores on the provision of appropriate play materials, parental involvement with the child, and opportunities for variety in daily stimulation subscales of the HOME. The second study compared the interactions of American Indian and African American mothers with their prematures when the infants were 6 months corrected age. Most of the interactions between American Indian mothers and their premature infants were similar to those of African American mothers and their premature infants. However, American Indian mothers were more often the caregivers, looked more, and gestured more to their infants than African American mothers. Furthermore, American Indian infants expressed more positive affect and gestured more to their mothers than African American infants. The third study explored Lumbee mothers' responses to the birth and hospitalization of their premature infant at 3 months and explored the extent to which these early responses were related to maternal experiences of parenting at 12 months. This study indicated that culture appeared to be important in Lumbee mothers' responses to having a premature infant in the hospital and in caring for their infants. Promoting a strong cultural identity and family involvement may be protective factors for American Indians that enhance child development and health of premature infants who are at high risk for developmental delays and illnesses.</p>Dissertatio

Display Design Guide For Visual Media

Visual display systems have become so advanced with available options, it is difficult to decide which type of system is needed. Traditionally, the choice has been to select the system with the greatest level of functional and physical fidelity that can be procured. While most would assume that more realism results in better training and performance, research (Dwyer, 1972; Marsh, 1983; Richey, 1986) suggests otherwise. Realism in a display system may serve to be more distracting than helpful, depending upon the training objective. The initial intent of this project was to locate any and all information pertaining to visual display characteristics as they relate to human visual functions or to visual training requirements. A selected literature search was conducted to locate relevant information, data bases or taxonomies that relate the above information. No current taxonomy of this kind was located; therefore, the efforts of the project turned in the direction of formulating a taxonomic structure based on information derived from various disciplines such as instructional technology, human psychology, and computer engineering. General guidelines only, with no specific information, pertaining to the selection of visual media for given situations were found in the instructional technology literature. Based on those guidelines, four general types of presentation media were selected: alphanumerics, 2-dimensional graphics, 3-dimensional graphics, and scene quality. Next, display specifications for these presentations were identified through the aid of engineering and vendor-provided design parameters. Finally, human limitations were applied and psychophysical transformations allowed the determination of final display descriptions