Toward optimal implementation of cancer prevention and control programs in public health: A study protocol on mis-implementation

Abstract Background Much of the cancer burden in the USA is preventable, through application of existing knowledge. State-level funders and public health practitioners are in ideal positions to affect programs and policies related to cancer control. Mis-implementation refers to ending effective programs and policies prematurely or continuing ineffective ones. Greater attention to mis-implementation should lead to use of effective interventions and more efficient expenditure of resources, which in the long term, will lead to more positive cancer outcomes. Methods This is a three-phase study that takes a comprehensive approach, leading to the elucidation of tactics for addressing mis-implementation. Phase 1: We assess the extent to which mis-implementation is occurring among state cancer control programs in public health. This initial phase will involve a survey of 800 practitioners representing all states. The programs represented will span the full continuum of cancer control, from primary prevention to survivorship. Phase 2: Using data from phase 1 to identify organizations in which mis-implementation is particularly high or low, the team will conduct eight comparative case studies to get a richer understanding of mis-implementation and to understand contextual differences. These case studies will highlight lessons learned about mis-implementation and identify hypothesized drivers. Phase 3: Agent-based modeling will be used to identify dynamic interactions between individual capacity, organizational capacity, use of evidence, funding, and external factors driving mis-implementation. The team will then translate and disseminate findings from phases 1 to 3 to practitioners and practice-related stakeholders to support the reduction of mis-implementation. Discussion This study is innovative and significant because it will (1) be the first to refine and further develop reliable and valid measures of mis-implementation of public health programs; (2) bring together a strong, transdisciplinary team with significant expertise in practice-based research; (3) use agent-based modeling to address cancer control implementation; and (4) use a participatory, evidence-based, stakeholder-driven approach that will identify key leverage points for addressing mis-implementation among state public health programs. This research is expected to provide replicable computational simulation models that can identify leverage points and public health system dynamics to reduce mis-implementation in cancer control and may be of interest to other health areas

A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have evolved with plants and dispersed throughout the world in response to key geological events. However, these hypotheses have not been extensively tested because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets for butterfly larval hosts and global distributions are lacking. We sequenced 391 genes from nearly 2,300 butterfly species, sampled from 90 countries and 28 specimen collections, to reconstruct a new phylogenomic tree of butterflies representing 92% of all genera. Our phylogeny has strong support for nearly all nodes and demonstrates that at least 36 butterfly tribes require reclassification. Divergence time analyses imply an origin similar to 100 million years ago for butterflies and indicate that all but one family were present before the K/Pg extinction event. We aggregated larval host datasets and global distribution records and found that butterflies are likely to have first fed on Fabaceae and originated in what is now the Americas. Soon after the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, butterflies crossed Beringia and diversified in the Palaeotropics. Our results also reveal that most butterfly species are specialists that feed on only one larval host plant family. However, generalist butterflies that consume two or more plant families usually feed on closely related plants

Child and family experiences with inborn errors of metabolism: a qualitative interview study with representatives of patient groups

© 2015, The Author(s). Background: Patient-centered health care for children with inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) and their families is important and requires an understanding of patient experiences, needs, and priorities. IEM-specific patient groups have emerged as important voices within these rare disease communities and are uniquely positioned to contribute to this understanding. We conducted qualitative interviews with IEM patient group representatives to increase understanding of patient and family experiences, needs, and priorities and inform patient-centered research and care. Methods: We developed a sampling frame of patient groups representing IEM disease communities from Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom. With consent, we interviewed participants to explore their views on experiences, needs, and outcomes that are most important to children with IEM and their families. We analyzed the data using a qualitative descriptive approach to identify key themes and sub-themes. Results: We interviewed 18 organizational representatives between February 28 and September 17, 2014, representing 16 IEMs and/or disease categories. Twelve participants voluntarily self-identified as parents and/or were themselves patients. Three key themes emerged from the coded data: managing the uncertainty associated with raising and caring for a child with a rare disease; challenges associated with the affected child’s life transitions, and; the collective struggle for improved outcomes and interventions that rare disease communities navigate. Conclusion: Health care providers can support children with IEM and their families by acknowledging and reducing uncertainty, supporting families through children’s life transitions, and contributing to rare disease communities’ progress toward improved interventions, experiences, and outcomes.The study was partially funded by the Rare Disease Foundation (RDF). In-kind support was provided by the Canadian Inherited Metabolic Diseases Research Network (CIMDRN) which is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR, grant TR3-119197) and administered by the University of Ottawa

Habitat manipulation to mitigate the impacts of invasive arthropod pests

Exotic invaders are some of the most serious insect pests of agricultural crops around the globe. Increasingly, the structure of landscape and habitat is recognized as having a major influence on both insect pests and their natural enemies. Habitat manipulation that aims at conserving natural enemies can potentially contribute to safer and more effective control of invasive pests. In this paper, we review habitat management experiments, published during the last 10 years, which have aimed to improve biological control of invasive pests. We then discuss during what conditions habitat management to conserve natural enemies is likely to be effective and how the likelihood of success of such methods can be improved. We finally suggest an ecologically driven research agenda for habitat management programmes.We acknowledge the following funding sources: the Tertiary Education Commission, New Zealand, through the Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, New Zealand (Mattias Jonsson and Steve Wratten), the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST); project LINX0303 (Steve Wratten, Ross Cullen, Jean Tompkins), Lincoln University, New Zealand, for a Post-graduate Scholarship to Jean Tompkins, USDA CSREES Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (2004-51101-02210), USDA NC SARE Project (LCN 04-249), USDA CSREES Arthropod and Nematode Biology (2004-35302-14811), North Central Regional IPM, NSF-LTER at Kellogg Biological Station (NSF DEB 0423627), and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (Doug Landis)