The history of ministerial workforce policy and planning in British nursing, 1939-1960

This thesis examines the government's tripartite approach to workforce policy and planning in British nursing from 1939 until 1960. Emerging histories have placed emphasis on the ministries and their effect upon the development of nursing. However, there remains no examination of their distinctive and interrelated roles in managing nursing workforce policy and planning, This thesis examines the contribution of three of these ministries from initial workforce involvement in the early 1940s, through to the 1950s and the advent of the Committee on Senior Nursing Staff Structure (the Salmon Report). It concludes that three distinct roles emerged from each of the ministries. The Ministry of Labour and National Service (MLNS) dealt with nurse recruitment, the Ministry of Health addressed retention through conditions of service, while the Colonial Office represented replenishment. Such division of ministerial roles and any limited collaboration, however, did not appear to be a part of any conscious workforce policy. The thesis argues that although the Ministry of Health and the MLNS viewed nursing as less prestigious than a traditional profession, strategies appealing to nurses' aspirations were used to promote a sense of professional value in an occupation of many countervailing tensions. Nursing appeared to occupy its own unique space between professions and industrial labour. i The post-war management of the nursing workforce emerges as a highly reactive policy, focusing upon diverse groups for recruitment. It covered the use of part-time nurses to fit into the social expectations of post-war women, the recruitment of male nurses and a manipulation of colonial legislation to the clear benefit of British nursing. Nurse shortages are explored against government unease in the immediate post-war period with the effects of increasing colonial immigration of black workers, which was uncontrolled due to their status as British subjects. The ultimate inadequacy of workforce policies in nursing to deal with the recruitment of black nurses remains a current and controversial workforce issue.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Finding equipoise: CEPI revises its equitable access policy

Launched at Davos in January 2017 with funding from sovereign investors and philanthropic institutions, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations whose mission is to stimulate, finance and co-ordinate vaccine development against diseases with epidemic potential in cases where market incentives fail. As of December 2019, CEPI has committed to investing up to $706 million in vaccine development. This includes 19 vaccine candidates against its priority pathogens (Lassa fever virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Chikungunya, Rift Valley fever) and three vaccine platforms to develop vaccines against Disease X, a novel or unanticipated pathogen. As an entity largely supported by public funds, ensuring equitable access to vaccines whose development it supports in low- and middle-income countries is CEPI's primary focus. CEPI developed an initial equitable access policy shortly after its formation, with key stakeholders expressing strong views about its content and prescriptive nature. The CEPI board instructed that it be revisited after a year. This paper describes the process of revising the policy, and how key issues were resolved. CEPI will continue to take an iterative, rather than prescriptive, approach to its policy-one that reflects the needs of multiple stakeholders and ensures it can meet its equitable access goals

Medical Treatment of Radiological Casualties: Current Concepts

The threat of radiologic or nuclear terrorism is increasing, yet many physicians are unfamiliar with basic treatment principles for radiologic casualties. Patients may present for care after a covert radiation exposure, requiring an elevated level of suspicion by the physician. Traditional medical and surgical triage criteria should always take precedence over radiation exposure management or decontamination. External contamination from a radioactive cloud is easily evaluated using a simple Geiger-Müller counter and decontamination accomplished by prompt removal of clothing and traditional showering. Management of surgical conditions in the presence of persistent radioactive contamination should be dealt with in a conventional manner with health physics guidance. To be most effective in the medical management of a terrorist event involving high-level radiation, physicians should understand basic manifestations of the acute radiation syndrome, the available medical countermeasures, and the psychosocial implications of radiation incidents. Health policy considerations include stockpiling strategies, effective use of risk communications, and decisionmaking for shelter-in-place versus evacuation after a radiologic incident

Induced epidermal permeability modulates resistance and susceptibility of wheat seedlings to herbivory by Hessian fly larvae

Salivary secretions of neonate Hessian fly larvae initiate a two-way exchange of molecules with their wheat host. Changes in properties of the leaf surface allow larval effectors to enter the plant where they trigger plant processes leading to resistance and delivery of defence molecules, or susceptibility and delivery of nutrients. To increase understanding of the host plant's response, the timing and characteristics of the induced epidermal permeability were investigated. Resistant plant permeability was transient and limited in area, persisting just long enough to deliver defence molecules before gene expression and permeability reverted to pre-infestation levels. The abundance of transcripts for GDSL-motif lipase/hydrolase, thought to contribute to cuticle reorganization and increased permeability, followed the same temporal profile as permeability in resistant plants. In contrast, susceptible plants continued to increase in permeability over time until the entire crown of the plant became a nutrient sink. Permeability increased with higher infestation levels in susceptible but not in resistant plants. The ramifications of induced plant permeability on Hessian fly populations are discussed

Summary results of the 2014-2015 DARPA Chikungunya challenge

BACKGROUND: Emerging pathogens such as Zika, chikungunya, Ebola, and dengue viruses are serious threats to national and global health security. Accurate forecasts of emerging epidemics and their severity are critical to minimizing subsequent mortality, morbidity, and economic loss. The recent introduction of chikungunya and Zika virus to the Americas underscores the need for better methods for disease surveillance and forecasting. METHODS: To explore the suitability of current approaches to forecasting emerging diseases, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the 2014–2015 DARPA Chikungunya Challenge to forecast the number of cases and spread of chikungunya disease in the Americas. Challenge participants (n=38 during final evaluation) provided predictions of chikungunya epidemics across the Americas for a six-month period, from September 1, 2014 to February 16, 2015, to be evaluated by comparison with incidence data reported to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This manuscript presents an overview of the challenge and a summary of the approaches used by the winners. RESULTS: Participant submissions were evaluated by a team of non-competing government subject matter experts based on numerical accuracy and methodology. Although this manuscript does not include in-depth analyses of the results, cursory analyses suggest that simpler models appear to outperform more complex approaches that included, for example, demographic information and transportation dynamics, due to the reporting biases, which can be implicitly captured in statistical models. Mosquito-dynamics, population specific information, and dengue-specific information correlated best with prediction accuracy. CONCLUSION: We conclude that with careful consideration and understanding of the relative advantages and disadvantages of particular methods, implementation of an effective prediction system is feasible. However, there is a need to improve the quality of the data in order to more accurately predict the course of epidemics

Protocol for a phase 3 trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a heterologous, two-dose vaccine for Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

INTRODUCTION: Ebola virus disease (EVD) continues to be a significant public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Large-scale vaccination during outbreaks may reduce virus transmission. We established a large population-based clinical trial of a heterologous, two-dose prophylactic vaccine during an outbreak in eastern DRC to determine vaccine effectiveness. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This open-label, non-randomised, population-based trial enrolled eligible adults and children aged 1 year and above. Participants were offered the two-dose candidate EVD vaccine regimen VAC52150 (Ad26.ZEBOV, Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)-BN-Filo), with the doses being given 56 days apart. After vaccination, serious adverse events (SAEs) were passively recorded until 1 month post dose 2. 1000 safety subset participants were telephoned at 1 month post dose 2 to collect SAEs. 500 pregnancy subset participants were contacted to collect SAEs at D7 and D21 post dose 1 and at D7, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post dose 2, unless delivery was before these time points. The first 100 infants born to these women were given a clinical examination 3 months post delivery. Due to COVID-19 and temporary suspension of dose 2 vaccinations, at least 50 paediatric and 50 adult participants were enrolled into an immunogenicity subset to examine immune responses following a delayed second dose. Samples collected predose 2 and at 21 days post dose 2 will be tested using the Ebola viruses glycoprotein Filovirus Animal Non-Clinical Group ELISA. For qualitative research, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were being conducted with participants or parents/care providers of paediatric participants. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approved by Comité National d'Ethique et de la Santé du Ministère de la santé de RDC, Comité d'Ethique de l'Ecole de Santé Publique de l'Université de Kinshasa, the LSHTM Ethics Committee and the MSF Ethics Review Board. Findings will be presented to stakeholders and conferences. Study data will be made available for open access. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04152486

The history of ministerial workforce policy and planning in British nursing, 1939-1960

This thesis examines the government's tripartite approach to workforce policy and planning in British nursing from 1939 until 1960. Emerging histories have placed emphasis on the ministries and their effect upon the development of nursing. However, there remains no examination of their distinctive and interrelated roles in managing nursing workforce policy and planning, This thesis examines the contribution of three of these ministries from initial workforce involvement in the early 1940s, through to the 1950s and the advent of the Committee on Senior Nursing Staff Structure (the Salmon Report). It concludes that three distinct roles emerged from each of the ministries. The Ministry of Labour and National Service (MLNS) dealt with nurse recruitment, the Ministry of Health addressed retention through conditions of service, while the Colonial Office represented replenishment. Such division of ministerial roles and any limited collaboration, however, did not appear to be a part of any conscious workforce policy. The thesis argues that although the Ministry of Health and the MLNS viewed nursing as less prestigious than a traditional profession, strategies appealing to nurses' aspirations were used to promote a sense of professional value in an occupation of many countervailing tensions. Nursing appeared to occupy its own unique space between professions and industrial labour. i The post-war management of the nursing workforce emerges as a highly reactive policy, focusing upon diverse groups for recruitment. It covered the use of part-time nurses to fit into the social expectations of post-war women, the recruitment of male nurses and a manipulation of colonial legislation to the clear benefit of British nursing. Nurse shortages are explored against government unease in the immediate post-war period with the effects of increasing colonial immigration of black workers, which was uncontrolled due to their status as British subjects. The ultimate inadequacy of workforce policies in nursing to deal with the recruitment of black nurses remains a current and controversial workforce issue

The Media and Social Reality Effects

This study investigated some key theoreticalpropositions derivedfrom a synthesis of two related areas of research: the construction of social reality and cultivation analysis. A total of eight hypotheses were generated from the following propositions: (1) three broad construct categories (objective, symbolic, and subjective) constitute, to a major degree, the construction of social reality; (2) indicators of subjective reality can be placed usefully on a close-remote continuum based on their distance from the everyday life experiences of the individual; and (3) the accumulation of television exposure has a dominant influence on the shaping of beliefs and interpretations of the world, the direction of influence being contingent on the "bias "of the specific content consumed. A national sample of black adults, 18 andover, was usedto test the hypotheses. Path analysis provided some support for the hypotheses.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67908/2/10.1177_009365028601300106.pd