Review of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnic background considerations reported in active school travel intervention studies

Introduction: Trends over the last half century have shown that fewer children today are engaging in active modes of travel to and from school than in previous generations. Interventions promoting active school travel (AST) can be effective at reversing these trends and increasing rates of AST among children. This paper aims to explore (1) how studies of AST interventions have considered or framed multiple equity factors, namely those related to gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnic background, in the design and evaluation of AST interventions, and (2) to what extent studies of AST interventions report these equity considerations in their analyses, outcomes, programming, and discussions. Methods: Six databases were used (BIOSIS Previews, GeoBase, PubMed, SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) to obtain AST literature published between 2010 and 2019 from around the world. The inclusion criteria applied in this review included a focus on an AST intervention for children (aged 5–19 years), quantitative results, and a primary outcome related to AST. A total of 69 papers were included in the review. Results: Across AST intervention studies, equity considerations were scarcely reported. Among the explicit mentions, gender and socioeconomic status were reported most often compared to ethnic background. Some papers reported differential effects among groups. Gender, SES, and ethnic background were, when reported, generally considered as variables that were controlled for within study samples. Conclusions: Suggestions to address equity within studies of AST interventions include reporting equity considerations made throughout the intervention and its evaluation in the published article. Using and reporting equity frameworks to develop AST interventions and conducting sub-group analyses during evaluation allows for greater assessment of equity effects and improved utility and applicability of the AST intervention. Ensuring the integration of equity into AST literature is needed to support evidence-based and equitable practices

Interventions to reduce childhood antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory infections: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Antibiotics are overprescribed for children with upper respiratory infections (URIs), leading to unnecessary expenditures, adverse events and antibiotic resistance. This study assesses whether interventions antibiotic prescription rates (APR) for childhood URIs can be reduced and what factors impact intervention effectiveness. Methods MEDLINE, Embase, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Global Health, WHO website, United States CDC website and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched by December 2015. Cluster or individual-patient randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs that examined interventions to change APR for children with URIs were selected for meta-analysis. Educational interventions for clinicians and/or parents were compared with usual care. Results Of 6074 studies identified, 13 were included. All were conducted in high-income countries. Interventions were associated with lower APR versus usual care (OR 0.63 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.81, p<0.001). A patient–clinician communication approach was the most effective type of intervention, with a pooled OR 0.41 (95% CI 0.20 to 0.83; p<0.001) for clinicians and 0.26 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91; p=0.04) for parents. Interventions that targeted clinicians and parents were significant, with a pooled OR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.35 to 0.78; p=0.002). Insignificant effects were observed for targeting clinicians and parents alone, with a pooled OR of 0.88 (95% CI 0.67 to 1.16; p=0.37) and 0.50 (95% CI 0.10 to 2.51, p=0.40), respectively. Conclusions Educational interventions are effective in reducing antibiotic prescribing for childhood URIs. Interventions targeting clinicians and parents are more effective than those for either group alone. The most effective interventions address patient–clinician communication. Studies in low-income to middle-income countries are needed

Density of bulk trap states of hybrid lead halide perovskite single crystals: temperature modulated space-charge-limited-currents

Temperature-modulated space-charge-limited-current spectroscopy (tMsCLC) is applied to quantitatively evaluate the density of trap states in the band-gap with high energy resolution of semiconducting hybrid lead halide perovskite single crystals. Interestingly multicomponent deep trap states were observed in the pure perovskite crystals, which assumingly caused by the formation of nanodomains due to the presence of the mobile species in the perovskites