Vaccination among youth: Results from a national survey

Background: Vaccines are developed to stimulate a person’s immune system to produce immunity to specific disease thus providing protection from a particular disease. Reasons that parents have provided for refusal to vaccinate are religious reasons, philosophical or personal beliefs, safety concerns, and desire for additional education. The most common reason parents give for refusal to vaccinate are safety concerns with regard to any short or long term adverse effects. As of December 31, 2019, 3.4% of school-aged children had parents who waived their use of vaccines and while this may not seem like a large number, this is enough to cause an outbreak of an infectious disease that could be prevented with vaccination. The study focuses on socio-demographic factors, breastfeeding, and vaccination among youth in a national survey. Methods: The method used is a phone survey conducted by the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey is used to collect data on vaccination coverage rates for child aged 19 -35 months and 13 – 17 years. The surveys are conducted in all 50 states as well as the District of Colombia and some of the U.S. territories. The survey has changed in recent years from using landline phone numbers to mobile telephone numbers. The parent/guardian’s mobile telephone number is randomly selected and then calls are placed in order to enroll into the study one or more age-eligible child or teen that lives in the household. Consent is obtained from the parent/guardian to contact the child’s vaccine provider in order to obtain exact information regarding the type of vaccine, number of doses administered, date(s) of administration, and other administrative data about the health care facility. A questionnaire is mailed to the vaccine provider to obtain this information. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention provided information on any and exclusive breastfeeding, race/ethnicity, and poverty income ratio, among children born in 2016. Results: The results of the survey showed that approximately 42% of the children were up-to-date on vaccinations. The majority of respondents were breastfed, non-Hispanic white, and above poverty level (at or above $75,000). The majority of Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and those of 2 or more races children surveyed were all determined to have been breastfed at some point in infancy but not exclusively breastfed. When looking at whether a child was ever breastfed or exclusively breastfed and poverty income ratio, it was determined that the majority of children were ever breastfed and came from a household with a poverty income ratio of 600 or greater. When it comes to children who are ever breastfed or exclusively breastfed by looking at race/ethnicity or poverty income level, we can conclude that the largest percentage of children who are ever breastfed or who are exclusively breastfed through 6 months of age are of non-Hispanic Asian ethnicity. Conclusion: The vast majorities of children were up-to-date on their vaccinations, of non-Hispanic ethnicity, were breastfed, and were at or above poverty level. It can also be concluded that children who are ever breastfed are in the upper class income level and that children who are exclusively breastfed through 6 months of age. Children who are in families who are in the poverty level are the least likely to be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months of life. Asians tended to have an increased likelihood for breastfeeding and lessons can be learnt from this racial/ethnic group on promoting breastfeeding among other groups. The information gained in this study enables the public health sector to determine what areas need improvement when it comes to public health policies and/or practices to ensure that every child has access to vaccinations. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the public health sector needs to focus its practices on educating families on the importance of breastfeeding and vaccinations for children. The more education that people have in regards to something the more likely they are to participate in an activity. Interventions are also needed to promote simultaneous education on the importance of both breastfeeding and vaccinations (not only one of the two). Interventions that promote both breastfeeding and vaccinations may focus on offering written, audio and video educational materials for parents of different literacy levels and cultural/religious groups.Master of Public Health (MPH)Public HealthUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156412/1/Howard2020.pdfDescription of Howard2020.pdf : thesi

The Strange Case of the Seven Assessors

New Orleans was, before Katrina, the only parish (county) in Louisiana to have multiple assessors. There were seven. Each of them had his or her own district, and collectively they formed the Board of Assessors. The strange structure was the vestige of times past, with no rhyme or reason in modern times

No relationship found between Female Genital Cutting and Intimate Partner Violence across six sub-Saharan African countries

Female genital cutting (FGC) and intimate partner violence (IPV) are highly prevalent forms of violence against women, and the UN has encouraged strengthening policy linkages between FGC and IPV programme work (UN Women, Female genital mutilation/cutting and violence against women and girls. Strengthening the policy linkages between different forms of violence. UN Women, 2017a). However few studies have examined the relationship between these behaviours. This study addresses two research gaps identified by the UN; (a) whether women with FGC are more likely to experience physical or sexual IPV, and (b) whether women’s IPV experiences are associated with their support for FGC. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression models were run using Demographic and Health Survey data from 6 sub-Saharan African countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Nigeria, n33,170). Our results show no association between FGC and IPV. Women with FGC are not at greater risk of experiencing IPV, and women who experienced IPV in the preceding year are not more likely to support FGC. Further, the importance of individual and community factors differ; IPV experience is influenced by individual factors, whereas FGC support is more influenced by ethnic group characteristics. Although the proposition that FGC and IPV could be tackled collaboratively is attractive for policy makers, these results are important because they indicate that eradication programmes will be more effective when targeted at specific behaviours

Teaching Teamwork to Law Students

Despite law firms’ demand for first year associates who can work collaboratively, teamwork is infrequently taught in legal education. Law professors unfamiliar with teamwork theory and practice are unlikely to use teams to engage students in their learning. As a result, law schools continue to graduate students who are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the concept of working in teams, particularly interdisciplinary teams. This article focuses on the teamwork teaching methods we use in the interdisciplinary courses we teach at California Western. We first provide a rationale for teaching teamwork and a brief description of what professional graduate schools are currently doing to incorporate teamwork instruction. We explain how we use teams within our courses, and how we teach our students teamwork. We then discuss the methodology and findings of our surveys to assess whether students believed they were improving in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding teamwork, and, if so, which components of the courses they believed were most effective in accomplishing this improvement. Finally, we analyze what we have learned from our survey results and how the results, along with our experience, have changed our views and practices of teaching teamwork to law students

Decolonising sociology curriculum: Using an online immersive learning environment to deliver cross-cultural training

The paper describes an online cultural training workshop based around the complex Aboriginal Kinship systems used in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the learning environment where the thematic focus is on relationships and interaction, and how immersive learning and narrative teaching styles work together within a social constructivist approach to deliver this outcome. Prior to discussing how both a social constructivist immersive learning environment achieves such outcomes, the paper will describe the online workshop design in the context of decolonizing mainstream pedagogies