Patient Navigation through the Justice System: A Response to the High Infant Mortality Rate in One Community

The purpose of this evaluative study was two-fold; one was to evaluate a grant supported program that used the justice system to offer patient navigation services and the second goal was to provide a qualitative evaluation of the women’s health care experiences as they went through a court mandated drug program. Primary data was obtained from interviews with forty-seven program participants (n=47) from March, 2008 until January, 2010, and participant observation was used to explore treatment modalities and options available to these women. Secondary data was obtained from program staff as well as a review of the survey evaluation process by the staff where data was collected through participant surveys. The findings suggest that poor outcomes for the women and their children are related to socioeconomic and/or behavioral barriers that produce difficulties forging successful relationships with traditional health care providers. When interventions that promote advocacy and empowerment are in place, there seems to be an improvement in outcomes for the mothers and their children

Patient Navigation through the Justice System: A Response to the High Infant Mortality Rate in One Community

The purpose of this evaluative study was two-fold; one was to evaluate a grant supported program that used the justice system to offer patient navigation services and the second goal was to provide a qualitative evaluation of the women’s health care experiences as they went through a court mandated drug program. Primary data was obtained from interviews with forty-seven program participants (n=47) from March, 2008 until January, 2010, and participant observation was used to explore treatment modalities and options available to these women. Secondary data was obtained from program staff as well as a review of the survey evaluation process by the staff where data was collected through participant surveys. The findings suggest that poor outcomes for the women and their children are related to socioeconomic and/or behavioral barriers that produce difficulties forging successful relationships with traditional health care providers. When interventions that promote advocacy and empowerment are in place, there seems to be an improvement in outcomes for the mothers and their children

Low intensity shockwave treatment modulates macrophage functions beneficial to healing chronic wounds

Acknowledgments: We acknowledge the University of Aberdeen Microscopy and Histology Facility and the qPCR facility for use of facilities and advice. We acknowledge Ehab Husain for scoring the patient wound biopsies. Funding: This research was funded by NHS Grampian Endowments, grant number 17/004 and by personal funding from JSH.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Developing a framework for assessing respiratory sensitization: A workshop report

Respiratory tract sensitization can have significant acute and chronic health implications. While induction of respiratory sensitization is widely recognized for some chemicals, validated standard methods or frameworks for identifying and characterizing the hazard are not available. A workshop on assessment of respiratory sensitization was held to discuss the current state of science for identification and characterization of respiratory sensitizer hazard, identify information facilitating development of validated standard methods and frameworks, and consider the regulatory and practical risk management needs. Participants agreed on a predominant Th2 immunological mechanism and several steps in respiratory sensitization. Some overlapping cellular events in respiratory and skin sensitization are well understood, but full mechanism(s) remain unavailable. Progress on non-animal approaches to skin sensitization testing, ranging from in vitro systems, –omics, in silico profiling, and structural profiling were acknowledged. Addressing both induction and elicitation phases remains challenging. Participants identified lack of a unifying dose metric as increasing the difficulty of interpreting dosimetry across exposures. A number of research needs were identified, including an agreed list of respiratory sensitizers and other asthmagens, distinguishing between adverse effects from immune-mediated versus non immunological mechanisms. A number of themes emerged from the discussion regarding future testing strategies, particularly the need for a tiered framework respiratory sensitizer assessment. These workshop present a basis for moving towards a weight-of-evidence assessment

Heal this: Healthcare experiences of gay men

This dissertation is a qualitative study of gay men\u27s healthcare experiences in one community. This study explores how gay men access healthcare, the problems they face, and examines the interaction between this group of people and the mainstream healthcare community. The primary data include: (1) detailed interviews (with 9 men who are HIV+, 9 men who have AIDS, 9 men who are HIV negative and seeking prophylactic care, two infectious disease physicians who treat people living with HIV/AIDS, one treatment adherence nurse, one infectious disease nurse practitioner, and one family practice doctor) using open ended questions; (2) notes from observations of home health visits and support groups for those infected with HIV. The study explores the issues and experiences of how gay men manage to obtain treatment in a medical system that is often prejudiced and unaccommodating to their needs. By focusing on these men\u27s descriptions of the problems they encountered and what would have met their needs in those situations, it is possible to discern what gay-friendly healthcare might look like. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the implications of this research for the organization of gay-friendly healthcare services