Teledentistry: An Innovative Workforce Model for Dental Hygienists

Objective/Aims: This review of literature seeks to explore teledentistry as an alternative dental hygiene workforce model that places a dental hygienist in the role of the mid-level practitioner as part of a digitally-connected oral healthcare team. It will also emphasize the innovative methods of teledentistry giving better health care delivery to diverse populations. Methods: The review of literature analyzed the conclusions and discussions of primary and secondary scholarly articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, and CINAHL. Specific key terms included teledentistry, telehealth, teleconsultation, dental hygiene, dentistry, workforce model, health care delivery. Articles included in this review were published within the five last years. Results: Multiple scholarly articles were compiled together to emphasize the importance of technology-centered dental health care for patients who were unable to travel long distances to retrieve the care they were seeking, Key limitations the research often indicated include geographic, socioeconomic barriers or distance. Conclusion: The teledentistry-assisted model presents one way to answer the call to expand overall access to oral healthcare. The comparison of articles supported the efficiency and cost-effectiveness method of teledentistry in comparison to face to face consultations. Teledentistry is especially beneficial to addressing the access to care issue particularly populations in rural areas and even penitentiary institutions.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/denh_student/1025/thumbnail.jp

Phenomenology of Spiritual/Faith Growth Among College Students at a Christian University

Undergraduate Applie

Empower Generation: Monitoring and Evaluation Report

Over thirty percent of households in Nepal lack access to electricity. Most families utilize kerosene, candles, and traditional biomass to light their homes, cook food, and study. With an unemployment rate of forty-six percent, Nepal’s economy offers limited opportunities for its citizens. Barriers to economic opportunity for Nepalese women are pronounced. Through the sale of reliable and affordable solar lanterns and energy systems, Empower Generation promotes women’s economic empowerment by eradicating energy poverty through autonomous, women-led clean energy businesses. To document Empower Generation’s social impact in Nepal, we conducted 36 semi-structured qualitative interviews with women entrepreneurs (henceforth solar CEOs), sales agents, and customers across eight districts. Interviews were conducted with an interview script and the help of a translator. Interview questions fostered discussion among solar CEOs about their personal history, the socio-economic impact of their entrepreneurial experience, and their future aspirations. We specifically focused on measuring women’s empowerment, energy access, and the business performance of enterprises in the Empower Generation distribution network. During eight weeks in the field, we took over two thousand photos and filmed seven women entrepreneurs. Our findings demonstrate how Empower Generation fosters power and economic agency among women, stimulates independent income generation, and provides effective technical training and support. Solar CEOs report an increase in their sense of power and agency on individual, familial, and community levels. Empower Generation helps solar CEOs to develop their business acumen through training and support, leading to greater confidence in public speaking and in voicing their opinions in local politics. Income generation through sales also increases women’s agency by diminishing women’s dependence on their husband or family for economic support. Since 2012, 244,418 individuals have increased access to clean and safe lighting from products sold by Empower Generation enterprises. The possession of a solar lantern also provides clean, safe, reliable energy to off-grid consumers. Due to the inefficient and overloaded electric grid, even customers that have access to the grid can be without power for up to 18 hours daily (scheduled blackouts henceforth referred to as load-shedding hours) and find utility from using a solar lantern. Empower Generation has created nearly USD $2.8 million in energy savings for its customers since 2012. Customers also report that their children are able to study an increased 2.5 hours daily, on average, due to possession of a solar lantern. We provide four recommendations to help Empower Generation better achieve its impact. We recommend that Empower Generation: (1) increase the diversity of its products; (2) maintain a larger inventory—and teach solar CEOs and sales agents to make basic repairs—to circumvent import issues and delays relating to warranty replacement; (3) administer surveys to communities and customers in order to better understand consumer needs and desires; and (4) conduct research and analysis to determine the viability of instituting a pay-as-you-go system in rural communities for use with larger home solar systems

Operating Room Redesign - Zanmi Lasante Hospital | Cange, Haiti

As part of a collaborative effort between the Clemson Architecture + Health design team and the Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC), the charge of redesigning a safe and more efficient operating room for the Zanmi Lasante Hospital in Cange, Haiti was taken on in hopes of determining a better operational plan for the facility. The local hospital was established in 1985 by the Partners in Health healthcare system. It has served as the primary hospital for the Central Plateau in Haiti for over 25 years. In 2013 Partners in Health opened a large state-of-the-art teaching hospital, Hopital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM) in the neighboring town of Mirebalais located 30 minutes from Cange. As a result, many medical services and resources were moved out of Cange and the increased number of patients traveling to HUM for care has resulted in overcrowding. To minimize this burden, the Zanmi Lasante Hospital hopes to renovate its existing operating rooms that are currently non-operational and below a first world standard of care. The Architecture + Health design team worked to develop solutions that support safe, quality care and increases the condition of the operating room near a first world standard. The team had the opportunity to travel to the hospital in Cange and meet with the local doctor, clinical staff, and infrastructure managers. From a series of charrettes and an on-site analysis, the team developed design goals to initiate interventions as a design response. These were developed to map an understanding of aims and decisions to improve care within the hospital. The final recommendations include a phased approach that illustrate the scope of work necessary to accomplish each of the three options. The work conducted from the Fall 2018 semester has the potential to lead to a viable surgical suite solution for the Zanmi Lasante Hospital as well as greatly increase the quality of life for locals living in the Central Plateau through the design of a safe surgical facility

An Examination of Olympic Sport Climbing Competition Format and Scoring System

Sport climbing, which made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Games, generally consists of three separate disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering, and lead climbing. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) only allowed one set of medals each for men and women in sport climbing. As a result, the governing body of sport climbing, rather than choosing only one of the three disciplines to include in the Olympics, decided to create a competition combining all three disciplines. In order to determine a winner, a combined scoring system was created using the product of the ranks across the three disciplines to determine an overall score for each climber. In this work, the rank-product scoring system of sport climbing is evaluated through simulation to investigate its general features, specifically, the advancement probabilities and scores for climbers given certain placements. Additionally, analyses of historical climbing contest results are presented and real examples of violations of the independence of irrelevant alternatives are illustrated. Finally, this work finds evidence that the current competition format is putting speed climbers at a disadvantage.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure

Assessing the Mental Health Needs and Barriers to Care Among a Diverse Sample of Asian American Older Adults

BackgroundAsian Americans represent a mix of cultures and immigration experiences, which may put them differentially at risk for mental health problems. Yet, little is known about the mental health needs of older adults from various Asian subgroups compared to non-Hispanic whites.ObjectivesTo compare the prevalence rates of mental distress of Chinese, Filipino, South Asian, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese older adults (aged 55 and older) to that of non-Hispanic whites; and to examine subgroup differences in utilization of mental health services.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis of a population-based sample of California adults responding to the 2007 California Health Interview Survey. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine subgroup differences in mental health status and use of mental health services among the six different Asian subgroups and non-Hispanic whites, adjusting for respondents' demographic and health characteristics, socioeconomic status, and English-language proficiency.ResultsA total of 20,712 respondents were included. Filipino [aOR=2.25; 95% CI=1.14-4.47] and Korean Americans [aOR=2.10; 95% CI=1.06-4.17] were more likely to report symptoms indicative of mental distress compared to non-Hispanic whites, yet were less likely to have seen a primary care provider [Filipino: aOR=0.41; 95% CI=0.18-0.90; Korean: aOR=0.24; 95% CI = 0.08-0.69] or have taken a prescription medication [Filipino: aOR=0.20; 95% CI=0.10-0.40; Korean: aOR=0.15; 95% CI=0.05-0.40], even after adjusting for indicators of respondents' demographic and health characteristics, socioeconomic status, and English-language proficiency. In contrast, Japanese Americans were less likely to report symptoms indicative of mental distress [aOR=0.43; 95% CI=0.21-0.90], and were less likely to make use of mental health services compared to non-Hispanic whites.Discussion/conclusionsThe findings from this study not only highlight the unmet mental health needs among older Asian Americans, but also illustrate significant variations among the various Asian subgroups. Clinicians who work closely with these patients should regularly screen and assess older Asian adults for symptoms related to their mental health needs

EDUCATION AND JOB MATCH: REVISITED

To study the changes in the effect of degree field on mismatch and the change in the effect of mismatch of wages over time, we revisit a study by Robst (2006) who found that workers who are mismatched earn less than adequately match workers with the same amount schooling. Using recent data from 2015 National Survey of College Graduate (NSCG), we also find a negative relationship between the case of mismatch and the outcome of workers in term of wages, even though the degree of mismatch doesn’t seem to matter as much

Exploring Household Food Insecurity and Inter-generational Self-help Club Involvement Among Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Due to HIV/AIDS in Vietnam

Intergenerational Self-help Clubs (ISHCs), also known as “Empathy Clubs” in Vietnam may aid in improving quality of life and well-being for grandparent-headed households impacted by HIV/AIDS. However, less is known about how club membership impacts household food security. This cross-sectional, mixed methods study examines the differences in household food security and coping responses to food insecurity among 30 grandparents who are raising grandchildren due to HIV/AIDS, 15 who were involved in ISHC groups and 15 who were not involved in ISHC groups, in Hai Phong, Vietnam. In addition to qualitative interviews, all grandparents completed the Household Food Security Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) to assess the prevalence of food insecurity. Chi-square and t-tests were employed to detect differences between ISHC members and nonmembers. The food security domain of anxiety and uncertainty related to having enough food was statistically significant (t [28] = 2.27, p \u3c 0.03), with ISHC participants reporting less anxiety and uncertainty. Close to half (46%) of ISHC members reported mild food insecurity. By comparison, about the same percentage (47%) of nonmembers reported moderate food insecurity. Qualitative interviews revealed that food insecurity arose from barriers to accessing food, which led to three primary coping responses: 1) reconfiguring understandings of age-related nutritional needs, 2) erosive coping, and 3) engaging networks for nutritional support. Differences between members of the ISHCs and those without club involvement suggest that a strong community connection, perhaps bonding social capital, may play a role in reducing anxiety related to having enough food. Findings suggest that ISHCs may build social capital, provide psychosocial support, and increase food security among grandparent-headed households who face vulnerability