How have Patients\u27 Experiences of Cancer Care Been Linked to Survival? A Systematic Review

Patient experience of care remains an important indicator of health care quality. Although studies show care experiences are associated with health outcomes for some conditions, the situation for cancer is unclear. New datasets on cancer patients in the US, Canada, and UK linking information on experiences and survival may enable an exploration of any association. This review aimed to identify studies linking any aspect of cancer patients’ experiences to their survival, to inform future analyses. We performed a systematic review using Medline database from January 1998 until March 2018. The settings included outpatient oncology clinics, primary care, hospitals, and cancer centres. The participants included adult patients from different demographic groups. 16 Studies (ten observational, two clinical trials, two qualitative, and two consecutive case series) describing a wide range of settings, populations and methods met our inclusion criteria. Patients’ experiences were mostly linked to survival in quantitative studies. Satisfaction with care and psychosocial support were the aspects of experience associated with survival. Although positive associations between experience and survival were more common, negative and lack of association findings were also reported. Overall, there was no agreement on the strength, direction of the association, and the type of measurements to use. In conclusion, a wide range of studies suggest a relationship may exist between patients’ experiences of cancer care and their survival. However, this relationship is complex and methodological challenging to study. Future research should carefully consider different aspects of patient experience and care and the way in which they may affect cancer survival

Do Farm Management Practices Alter Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function? Implications for Sustainable Land Management

Maintaining ecosystem functions is a key issue for sustainable farming, while recent reviews (Hole et al, 2005, Fuller et al 2005) have highlighted that a wide range of taxa, including birds and mammals, benefit from organic management of land, there is a need to bring together the evidence for the impact of agricultural management practices on belowground biodiversity. A focus simply on the biodiversity of below-ground species is however not enough and there is a need to consider the contribution of below-ground biological processes to the maintenance and enhancement of a range of ecosystem services. A recent literature review on the impacts of land management practices on soil ecology and function shows clearly that farm management practices do alter below-ground biodiversity and ecosystem function. The data indicate that reducing the intensity of use of mechanical and manufactured inputs and (re)-discovering cost-effective ways to integrate biological inputs, will benefit below–ground biodiversity, particularly in lowland grassland and cropping systems. Benefits are seen from both organic and integrated systems; the evidence base is not strong enough to conclusively distinguish the benefits of these approaches from one another in lowland arable system

THE IMPACT OF GAMIFICATION ELEMENTS ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE SERVICE SECTOR IN BANGALORE.

A startup called Bunchball created a gamified system to increase consumer interaction in the early 2000s, gaining a great deal of attention in the process. This trend was adopted and applied in operational areas around the world. Over the years, gamification has been one of the most prominent developing methods that managers have used to boost employee engagement and performance. How to engage and inspire workers to grow and increase their performance in order to share their expertise has become one of the primary strategic objectives of the firm. This research, underpinned by the Flow theory and Kahn's theory of engagement, examined the effect of gamification on knowledge-sharing habits among users. We conducted an online poll with 150 participants from a major firm that introduced social engagement and performance platforms to facilitate internal knowledge exchange. Our research identified significant drivers of employment motivation (rewards-enjoyment, open-mindedness, and training), which resulted in a greater degree of job engagement and performance expectations. This research yields significant insights for practise and theory. &nbsp

Children\u27s Voices: Perspectives on Using Assistive Technology

Rarely are the views of children with learning disabilities elicited. In this study, we used focus groups involving eight students with learning disabilities to explore their self-perceptions as learners and writers using assistive technology (AT). Three groups of two to three Grade 4–8 students and their parents participated in the qualitative study. Both student and parent responses provided data for thematic analysis that resulted in three themes: (a) changes in students’ self-perceptions as learners; (b) student and parental self-reported benefits of using assistive technology; and (c) inconsistencies in approaches to using assistive technology in schools. The implications for education are greater attention to the views of elementary school children; greater focus on the use of AT in the classroom; and greater AT training for teachers in order to better support the use of AT by students with LD

Prevalent posttraumatic stress disorder among emergency department personnel: rapid systematic review

This research review synthesized the evidence on the prevalence of posttraumatic stressdisorder among emergency department personnel in Canada and the USA. No previous suchsynthesis, specific to this crucial aspect of North American health care had previously beenpublished. Broad keyword searches of interdisciplinary research databases, both peer-reviewed and grey, retrieved 10 surveys published between 1996 and 2019. Their outcomeswere synthesized with sample-weighted, pooled analyses. The most significant reviewfindingwas that one of everyfive such emergency care personnel met posttraumatic stress disorderdiagnostic criteria; 18.6% (95% confidence interval 16.9, 20.4). However, this synthesis ofgenerally small, nonprobability surveys with high nonparticipation rates, could only suggestthat the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder is perhaps nearly two-fold greater amongemergency department nurses (25.8%) than physicians (15.6%). Additionally, it seems thatgender (being a woman) may play an important role in the relatively greater risk of nurses.Better controlled, more powerful probability surveys that examine the profession by genderinteraction, are needed to affirm (or refute) these syntheticfindings. Qualitative inquiries thattap into the key informing experiences of diverse emergency department personnel are alsoneeded to best plan and implement their preventive and therapeutic care

The Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Neuroinflammation in Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by chronic, unexplainable seizures. Recurring epileptic seizures are associated with long-term structural damage and cognitive deficits, and can even lead to sudden, unexplainable death. Approximately 30% of epilepsy cases are not responsive to medication. Epileptic seizures often induce inflammation in the brain and may increase the frequency of future seizures, resulting in a detrimental cycle. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a non-pharmaceutical treatment method for epilepsy that has been shown to reduce inflammation in peripheral pathways. The role of VNS in the modulation of neuroinflammation has yet to be demonstrated experimentally. To explore this, several cuff electrodes were attached to the left vagus nerve in an epileptic rodent model. The electrodes will deliver a biphasic square waveform continuously for up to two weeks and record the resulting action potentials from the nerve. Immunohistochemistry will be used to evaluate microglial activation in the hippocampus, an indicator of neuroinflammation. The anticipated results will show whether continuous stimulation of the left vagus nerve effectively reduces microglial activation in the hippocampus of the epileptic rodents. If so, these results would suggest that inflammation in the brain can be effectively modulated using VNS, thereby reducing structural and cognitive damage as well as seizure recurrence. In this way, VNS could be an effective and reliable treatment method for epileptic patients who are not responsive to medication

A First Response: Educating Paramedics to Identify Signs of Human Trafficking

Introduction: Human trafficking (HT) affects approximately 21 million victims, representing a serious public health concern exacerbated by missed intervention opportunities. Targeted training has previously resulted in increased victim identification. While intervention with hospital staff increased HT awareness, less is known about prehospital personnel, specifically emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. This gap is problematic, as EMS personnel are uniquely positioned to conduct patient and environmental assessments that provide critical information for victim identification. This study evaluates a training module specifically designed for EMS professionals. Methods: The online training module was developed in collaboration with Florida State University. Data were collected anonymously using voluntary pre- and post-tests. In total, 237 participants (majority American, n=224) completed at least 80% of the questions which asked about identification of HT indicators, previous training, frequency of suspected contact, and demographics. Data were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Results: Preliminary results suggest training effectively educates EMS personnel to recognize signs of HT. Paired-samples t-tests demonstrate increased suspicion for 26/27 indicators; the likelihood of suspecting HT before (m=107.23, SD=16.23) versus after training (m=118.61, SD=15.90) based on summed values of all indicators was statistically significant; t(208)=-9.129, p\u3c.001. Conclusions: This research falls under the Grand Theme of ‘Building Viable, Healthy, and Safe Communities’ by describing efforts to raise the visibility of HT among paramedics. Training may provide knowledge and confidence to report HT to resources equipped to effectively intervene. Training EMS personnel in HT will help fight modern day slavery and create healthier and safer communitie

Ybp1 and Gpx3 signaling in Candida albicans govern hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidation of the Cap1 transcription factor and macrophage escape

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