Loans, logins and lasting the course: Academic library use and student retention

Activities and services that improve student engagement and retention in the higher education sector are important not only to individual student’s success but also to university planning and funding. This paper reports on a quantitative study that was carried out to explore whether use of the library by new university students is associated with continued enrolment. Students’ socioeconomic background and age were also examined in relation to library use. Limited to commencing students in March 2010 at Curtin University, the study drew on demographic data from the University’s enrolment system and instances of library use from the Library’s management system. Results of the statistical analyses indicate that library use is associated with retention, and importantly, library use in the early weeks of a student’s first semester is associated with retention. ‘Mature aged’ (21 years and over) students displayed different library use patterns than their younger colleagues and there was some variation in library use between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Findings from this study suggest that academic libraries can contribute to the retention of students and that carefully targeted programs and services may improve library use by some groups of students

The role of the smartphone in the transition from medical student to foundation trainee: a qualitative interview and focus group study

Background The transition from medical student to junior doctor is one of the most challenging in medicine, affecting both doctor and patient health. Opportunities to support this transition have arisen from advances in mobile technology and increased smartphone ownership. Methods This qualitative study consisted of six in-depth interviews and two focus groups with Foundation Year 1 Trainees (intern doctors) and final year medical students within the same NHS Trust. A convenience sample of 14 participants was recruited using chain sampling. Interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, analysed in accordance with thematic analysis and presented below in keeping with the standards for reporting qualitative research. Results Participants represented both high and low intensity users. They used their smartphones to support their prescribing practices, especially antimicrobials through the MicroGuide™ app. Instant messaging, via WhatsApp, contributed to the existing bleep system, allowing coordination of both work and learning opportunities across place and time. Clinical photographs were recognised as being against regulations but there had still been occasions of use despite this. Concerns about public and colleague perceptions were important to both students and doctors, with participants describing various tactics employed to successfully integrate phone use into their practices. Conclusion This study suggests that both final year medical students and foundation trainees use smartphones in everyday practice. Medical schools and healthcare institutions should seek to integrate such use into core curricula/training to enable safe and effective use and further ease the transition to foundation training. We recommend juniors are reminded of the potential risks to patient confidentiality associated with smartphone use

Erosion consequences on beach functions along the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean, Spain)

A methodology to analyse the influence of erosion on beach functions at a regional scale is presented. The method considers erosion hazards at different timescales and assesses consequences by evaluating impacts on recreation and protection functions. To provide useful information to decision makers for managing these functions, hazard and consequences are integrated at the municipal level within a risk matrix. This methodology is applied at the Maresme, a 45-km sandy coast situated northward of Barcelona, which supports a strong urban and infrastructure development as well as an intensive beach recreational use. Obtained results indicate differentiated erosion implications along the region, depending on the management target considered. Thus, southern municipalities are more prone to erosion affecting the protection function of the beach and leisure use by the local population, whereas erosion will have a greater effect on foreign tourism in the northern municipalities. These results highlight the necessity to employ an articulated erosion risk assessment focusing on specific targets depending on the site in question. This methodology can help coastal managers to adopt tailored measures to manage erosion impacts towards specific goals, in a more efficient and sustainable manner

Comparison of major depression diagnostic classification probability using the SCID, CIDI, and MINI diagnostic interviews among women in pregnancy or postpartum: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Objectives A previous individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) identified differences in major depression classification rates between different diagnostic interviews, controlling for depressive symptoms on the basis of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. We aimed to determine whether similar results would be seen in a different population, using studies that administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in pregnancy or postpartum. Methods Data accrued for an EPDS diagnostic accuracy IPDMA were analysed. Binomial generalised linear mixed models were fit to compare depression classification odds for the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID), controlling for EPDS scores and participant characteristics. Results Among fully structured interviews, the MINI (15 studies, 2,532 participants, 342 major depression cases) classified depression more often than the CIDI (3 studies, 2,948 participants, 194 major depression cases; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.21, 11.43]). Compared with the semistructured SCID (28 studies, 7,403 participants, 1,027 major depression cases), odds with the CIDI (interaction aOR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.85, 0.92]) and MINI (interaction aOR = 0.95, 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]) increased less as EPDS scores increased. Conclusion Different interviews may not classify major depression equivalently

Overestimation of Postpartum Depression Prevalence Based on a 5-item Version of the EPDS:Systematic Review and Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis

Objective:The Maternal Mental Health in Canada, 2018/2019, survey reported that 18% of 7,085 mothers who recently gave birth reported "feelings consistent with postpartum depression" based on scores >= 7 on a 5-item version of the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS-5). The EPDS-5 was designed as a screening questionnaire, not to classify disorders or estimate prevalence; the extent to which EPDS-5 results reflect depression prevalence is unknown. We investigated EPDS-5 >= 7 performance relative to major depression prevalence based on a validated diagnostic interview, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID).Methods:We searched Medline, Medline In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, and the Web of Science Core Collection through June 2016 for studies with data sets with item response data to calculate EPDS-5 scores and that used the SCID to ascertain depression status. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to estimate pooled percentage of EPDS-5 >= 7, pooled SCID major depression prevalence, and the pooled difference in prevalence.Results:A total of 3,958 participants from 19 primary studies were included. Pooled prevalence of SCID major depression was 9.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0% to 13.7%), pooled percentage of participants with EPDS-5 >= 7 was 16.2% (95% CI 10.7% to 23.8%), and pooled difference was 8.0% (95% CI 2.9% to 13.2%). In the 19 included studies, mean and median ratios of EPDS-5 to SCID prevalence were 2.1 and 1.4 times.Conclusions:Prevalence estimated based on EPDS-5 >= 7 appears to be substantially higher than the prevalence of major depression. Validated diagnostic interviews should be used to establish prevalence

Uniendo ingeniería y ecología: la protección costera basada en ecosistemas

En un contexto de crecientes impactos y riesgos socio-económicos en las costas del planeta, la protección costera basada en ecosistemas surge como un nuevo paradigma que une los principios de protección, sostenibilidad y resiliencia, a la vez que proporciona múltiples beneficios. Este artículo ofrece una perspectiva sobre qué son y cómo se pueden utilizar las defensas naturales en el diseño, planificación y gestión de costas. La política pública muestra un creciente interés por su implementación general y el cuerpo de conocimiento y experiencia alrededor de la también denominada infraestructura ?verde? es creciente, pero aún existen importantes barreras que salvar. Una de ellas es estandarizar su diseño en términos ingenieriles, así como reconocer los aspectos que los diferencian respecto a enfoques tradicionales. La adaptación climática y la reducción de riesgos son áreas en las que su utilización puede ser más significativa, debido a la variedad de servicios que ofrecen. Tanto desde el punto de vista técnico como económico, existen argumentos sólidos para evitar la degradación de los ecosistemas, avanzando su restauración y conservación, como también desde la perspectiva de la defensa de las costas.In a context of increasing socio-economic impacts and risks in the coastal areas of the planet, coastal protection based on ecosystem features becomes a new paradigm that combines the principles of conservation, sustainability and resilience, while providing multiple benefits. This paper provides a perspective on what these are and how they can be used in the design, planning and management of the coastal zones. Policy-makers are calling for further uptake and implementation across the board and the body of knowledge and experience around the socalled ?green? infrastructure is growing, but there are still major barriers for a widespread uptake. One of them is to standardize designs in engineering terms, recognizing the different characteristics compared to traditional engineering solutions. Climate adaptation and risk reduction are areas where its use may be more significant, for the variety of services they offer. Both technically and economically, there are strong arguments to prevent degradation of ecosystems and to advance in their restoration and conservation, as well as from a coastal defense perspective

Overestimation of Postpartum Depression Prevalence Based on a 5-item Version of the EPDS: Systematic Review and Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis

Objective:The Maternal Mental Health in Canada, 2018/2019, survey reported that 18% of 7,085 mothers who recently gave birth reported "feelings consistent with postpartum depression" based on scores >= 7 on a 5-item version of the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS-5). The EPDS-5 was designed as a screening questionnaire, not to classify disorders or estimate prevalence; the extent to which EPDS-5 results reflect depression prevalence is unknown. We investigated EPDS-5 >= 7 performance relative to major depression prevalence based on a validated diagnostic interview, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID).Methods:We searched Medline, Medline In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, and the Web of Science Core Collection through June 2016 for studies with data sets with item response data to calculate EPDS-5 scores and that used the SCID to ascertain depression status. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to estimate pooled percentage of EPDS-5 >= 7, pooled SCID major depression prevalence, and the pooled difference in prevalence.Results:A total of 3,958 participants from 19 primary studies were included. Pooled prevalence of SCID major depression was 9.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0% to 13.7%), pooled percentage of participants with EPDS-5 >= 7 was 16.2% (95% CI 10.7% to 23.8%), and pooled difference was 8.0% (95% CI 2.9% to 13.2%). In the 19 included studies, mean and median ratios of EPDS-5 to SCID prevalence were 2.1 and 1.4 times.Conclusions:Prevalence estimated based on EPDS-5 >= 7 appears to be substantially higher than the prevalence of major depression. Validated diagnostic interviews should be used to establish prevalence

Probability of Major Depression Classification Based on the SCID, CIDI and MINI Diagnostic Interviews : A Synthesis of Three Individual Participant Data Meta-Analyses

Three previous individual participant data meta-analyses (IPDMAs) reported that, compared to the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID), alternative reference standards, primarily the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), tended to misclassify major depression status, when controlling for depression symptom severity. However, there was an important lack of precision in the results.To compare the odds of the major depression classification based on the SCID, CIDI, and MINI.We included and standardized data from 3 IPDMA databases. For each IPDMA, separately, we fitted binomial generalized linear mixed models to compare the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of major depression classification, controlling for symptom severity and characteristics of participants, and the interaction between interview and symptom severity. Next, we synthesized results using a DerSimonian-Laird random-effects meta-analysis.In total, 69,405 participants (7,574 [11%] with major depression) from 212 studies were included. Controlling for symptom severity and participant characteristics, the MINI (74 studies; 25,749 participants) classified major depression more often than the SCID (108 studies; 21,953 participants; aOR 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.92]). Classification odds for the CIDI (30 studies; 21,703 participants) and the SCID did not differ overall (aOR 1.19; 95% CI 0.79-1.75); however, as screening scores increased, the aOR increased less for the CIDI than the SCID (interaction aOR 0.64; 95% CI 0.52-0.80).Compared to the SCID, the MINI classified major depression more often. The odds of the depression classification with the CIDI increased less as symptom levels increased. Interpretation of research that uses diagnostic interviews to classify depression should consider the interview characteristics