DACUM and Head Start: Working to Success

This article presents the Working to Success (WTS) model as a structured format to help parents and Head Start personnel not only meet the performance indicators of the Head Start Regulations, but also look to other disciplines for creative ideas. The model is based on basic DACUM principles and asserts that these principles can potentially be incorporated into Head Start curricula via the WTS model and could potentially promote family and educational development. Literacy, following directions, organization, teamwork, symbolic thinking, and cognitive, social, and linguistic development are just a few of the potential, not yet proven, benefits for Head Start-aged children. Finally, current DACUM and workforce education practitioners are challenged to consider the broad applications of workforce education principles

Integrating AI into Culinary Medicine: A Revolution in Nutrition and Home Cooking

Introduction With the growing popularity of the emerging field of culinary medicine, there is a growing understanding of the culinary barriers needed to be overcome to adopt healthier eating habits. Lack of confidence, low skills, and lack of time are some of the most common barriers that prevent individuals from cooking at home. However, integrating AI can offer personalized support for home cooking and help individuals overcome these barriers. AI-powered meal planning and recipe suggestions can guide healthy and nutritious food choices that cater to their dietary needs and preferences. Additionally, AI can modify recipes to accommodate individual health conditions and nutrient deficiencies, making cooking easier and more accessible. Individuals can improve their cooking skills, learn new recipes, and better manage chronic conditions with personalized nutrition recommendations. Therefore, the integration of AI has the potential to empower individuals to overcome culinary barriers and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Methods We systematically searched peer-reviewed articles using electronic databases, including Google Scholar and Scopus. Keywords used in the search included culinary medicine , nutrition , AI , machine learning , recipe generation , personalized nutrition , chronic disease, and healthcare. In addition to the systematic literature review, we also utilized ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI, to generate potential research ideas and identify further relevant literature. We inputted our research question and used the model\u27s capabilities to create new hypotheses and suggest additional search terms and databases to explore. We then analyzed the findings to identify the potential benefits of integrating AI into culinary medicine and provide insights into how patients and physicians can use AI to improve the field. Results The reviewed articles suggest that AI has the potential to address culinary barriers such as lack of confidence, low skills, and lack of time. By incorporating machine learning algorithms, AI can generate personalized dietary recommendations that cater to individual health conditions, dietary preferences, and nutrient deficiencies. These recommendations can help individuals make more informed food choices without requiring extensive culinary knowledge or skills. Additionally, AI-powered recipe recommendation systems can provide easy-to-follow recipes and meal plans, reducing the time and effort needed for meal planning and preparation. By simplifying the process of healthy eating, integrating AI into culinary medicine can increase confidence and motivation for individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles. The concept of culinary medicine, which combines the art of cooking with the science of medicine, is a promising approach to preventing and treating chronic diseases. Conclusion Overall, using AI in culinary medicine can revolutionize how we approach nutrition and disease prevention, providing more personalized and accessible dietary recommendations to improve public health. Furthermore, AI-powered nutrition interventions can be tailored to individuals with varying cultural backgrounds, dietary restrictions, and socioeconomic status, making healthy eating more accessible and inclusive. However, addressing concerns related to privacy, data security, and the potential for AI-generated recommendations to perpetuate bias and misinformation is essential

Enhancing Employability Through a Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Graduate Attributes: Embedding Engagement and Developing Self-Efficacy in Pre-Honours Undergraduates

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of making Graduate Attributes (GAs) explicit to students as part of their degree programme and the role of students themselves in proactively developing GAs (HEA 2015). However, it can be challenging to engage students in non-core activities in large pre-honours classes, and the success of employability activities are also subject to efficacy beliefs and personal qualities (Yorke & Knight, 2007). A further issue is how we embed employability whilst accounting for the specific needs of the subject discipline and linkages with university careers services (O’Leary 2016). The aim of the present project was to work in partnership with careers professionals and students in reflecting on how curricular and extra-curricular activities can develop graduate attributes throughout the degree programme (Daniels & Brooker, 2014). To this end we extended our work with psychology undergraduates (Swingler et al., 2016), by developing and evaluating short-self-reflection in class exercises for pre-honours psychology, earth sciences, and business school undergraduates, which asked students to reflect on their curricular and extra-curricular activities and how the practical skills gained from these activities are linked to graduate attributes. Class activities were followed by discipline specific careers workshops and alumni events, focused on gaining confidence in communicating graduate attributes in an interview context, and the benefits of engaging with professional networking sites. Analysis of our quantitative and qualitative data will focus on: 1) students’ levels of self-efficacy in specific GAs before and after the in-class exercises; 2) Contrasting self-efficacy in specific GAs between subject disciplines; 3) the relationship between self-efficacy in specific GAs and academic self-efficacy (Yorke & Knight, 2007) and self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965). 4) Student intentions to further develop their GAs after attending the careers workshops and alumni events. The findings will inform participants about the benefits and challenges of embedding GAs and employability in the pre-honours curriculum and include perspectives from students and staff

Health disparities within rural communities in the southern region of the United States

Intro: Historical studies have shown that health disparities exist between urban and rural communities, however additional disparities are also known to exist within rural communities as well. These include health disparities between races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses, among others. While the disparities between urban and rural communities have been researched and described more extensively, there is a paucity of information available about the disparities that exist within rural communities. Our goal in this research initiative was to characterize the disparities that exist within rural communities by examining the findings of several publications that sought to describe this phenomenon in the past. Method: Protocols evaluated current research studies and identified areas where research was scarce, or nonexistent. Following this evaluation, a literature search was performed using PubMed with the goal of locating and utilizing papers from the last 10 years on the specified topic. Queries were used for pre-identified search terms, which aimed to include the entire range of this topic: ‘rural’, ‘health’, ‘disparities’, ‘minority’, ‘mental’. Inclusion criteria for the literature review included mention of health disparities in rural areas, and that data were from the United States. Exclusion criteria included if data were from a country outside of the United States, or if there was no discussion of rural health. Results of the initial literature search were reviewed manually, and the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied at that time. Results: The results of this study reveal that nonmetropolitan households were less likely to have digital access which greatly contributed to being uninsured. These results also show that universal policies and procedures geared toward at-risk populations drastically reduced health disparities among these communities. An odds ratio of 1.69 based on a bivariate analysis revealed that rural residents were most likely to exhibit healthcare avoidance behaviors and an odds ratio of 2.24 was indicative in the lack of confidence in personal health care. Furthermore, rural areas were less likely to retain physicians and more likely to have residents with poorer health. Stressful living environments and broader community held beliefs were shown to impact perceptions of mental health and served as a barrier to seeking health. Disparities such as personal income and finances served as estimated predictors of 38.8% of microbial taxa. Such disparities were associated with higher infant mortality rates among black populations and were highest in rural counties. Discussion/Conclusion: This study was done to compile data from different studies and reports to prove that there is a need for equity amongst healthcare in all communities throughout the southern United States region. There is a significant decline in both the access and quality of healthcare in rural communities in this region. Multiple challenges exist due to several factors such as socioeconomic status, digital access, race/ethnicity and many other secondary resources that may need to be acquired in order to access necessary quality healthcare

The impact of minority physician representation on minority patient health

Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical profession underwent a physician burnout crisis. Post pandemic, physician burnout transformed into an epidemic that has contributed to the inability of physician supply to meet patient demand in the USA. Recent studies by the American Medical Association predict by 2034, a widespread physician shortage across both primary care and non-primary care specialties (AAMC, 2021). As a result, medical institutions have implemented programs to address this shortage. While this shortage is concerning and needs to be addressed, it isn’t the only shortage at hand. Minorities are deeply underrepresented in the medical field with respect to their proportions in the overall USA population. The ongoing physician shortage further exacerbates the disproportionate number of minority physicians. Furthermore, minority underrepresentation isn’t confined to the profession but is also observed among students in medical schools across the United States. Simultaneously, these same underrepresented minority groups disproportionately experience mortality and disability from disease at higher rates compared to their White counterparts (Smedley, 2001). This study analyzes the inverse relationship between the amount minority physicians present in a community and the prevalence of disease among these same minority populations. It also seeks to understand how representation impacts minority health outcomes. Aim: Involving minority communities in the development and implementation of healthcare policies and programs can lead to better healthcare outcomes for those communities. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCOhost databases using keywords [(“MINORITY PHYSICIAN” OR “UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY PHYSICIANS”)] AND [(“MINORITY PATIENTS” OR “MINORITY PATIENT HEALTH OUTCOMES”) AND (“COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH”)] Results: The excess burden of illness in minority populations can be contributed to numerous complex factors, including but not limited to socioeconomic inequality, environmental and occupational exposures, discrimination, health risk factors, and less access to health insurance and healthcare. Practical, actionable strategies to address these disparities should include the engagement of families in leadership roles, provision of comprehensive healthcare, cross-sectoral institutional and community collaborations, and the use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods. CBPR has demonstrated promise in enhancing the effectiveness of interventions. However, the challenge remains to understand how and what type of partnerships and participation most effectively enhance the integration of science and practice to eliminate disparities. Discussion: Researchers, community leaders, and healthcare professionals are integral in delivering quality healthcare to minority communities. Researchers must be culturally competent enough to be able to go out into these communities and collect accurate data about these communities. Researchers must find effective strategies and methodologies to gain the trust of the minority community that their research is directly impacting. This can effectively be done by working with local community leaders and community organizations. Local community leaders have the responsibility of voicing the issues and barriers that the community has in accessing quality healthcare. Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to take the research data and work with community leaders to find effective ways to address disparities. In some cases, they may even have to seek funding through government agencies to ensure long-term solutions

Expanding and Testing a Computational Method for Predicting the Ground State Reduction Potentials of Organic Molecules on the Basis of Empirical Correlation to Experiment

A method for predicting the ground state reduction potentials of organic molecules on the basis of the correlation of computed energy differences between the starting S-0 and one-electron-reduced D-0 species with experimental reduction potentials in acetonitrile has been expanded to cover 3.5 V of potential range and 74 compounds across 6 broad families of molecules. Utilizing the conductor-like polarizable continuum model of implicit solvent allows a global correlation that is computationally efficient and has improved accuracy, with r(2) \u3e 0.98 in all cases and root mean square deviation errors of(mean absolute deviationsmV) for either B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) or B3LYP//6-31G(d) with an appropriate choice of radii (UAKS or UA0). The correlations are proven to be robust across a wide range of structures and potentials, including four larger (27-28 heavy atoms) and more conformationally flexible photochromic molecules not used in calibrating the correlation. The method is also proven to be robust to a number of minor student mistakes or methodological inconsistencies

Where am I now and where do I want to be? Developing awareness of graduate attributes in pre-honours students.

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of making Graduate Attributes (GAs) explicit to students as part of their degree programme and the role of students themselves in proactively developing GAs. The aim of the present project was to encourage students to actively develop and reflect upon curricular and extra-curricular attributes at an earlier stage in their degree programme. To this end we developed and evaluated short-self-reflection exercises in second year (pre-honours) psychology practical classes which asked students to reflect on their curricular and extra-curricular activities and on how the practical skills gained from these activities are linked to graduate attributes.  Activities were followed by careers workshops focused on gaining confidence in communicating graduate attributes in an interview context, and the benefits of engaging with professional networking sites. We evaluated the impact of these activities on: 1) students’ levels of self-efficacy in specific GAs before and after the in-class exercises; 2) students' confidence in presenting their GAs in an interview situation; 3) student awareness of professional networking sites.  The activities resulted in increased self- efficacy ratings after the GAS reflection, increased confidence in presenting their GAs after the careers workshops, and an increased awareness of professional networking sites. The effectiveness of these activities as a method to increase student engagement in developing their GAs will be discussed in the wider context of embedding GAs and employability in pre-honours programmes across STEM disciplines. Keywords: Graduate attributes, employability, self-efficacy, pre-honours, professional networkin

Assessment of Functional Movement Screening by Assessors of Three Different Skill Levels

In Volume 3, Issue 1 of the JSMAHS you will find Professional abstracts, as well Under Graduate student research abstracts, case reports, and critically appraised topics. Thank you for viewing this 3rd Annual OATA Special Edition