Self-focus and Psychological Distress in Adolescents and Young Adults with Long-standing Asthma

The purpose of the present study was to examine differences in situational and dispositional self-focused attention between adolescents and young adults with and without a history of childhood asthma. Participants were 81 college students with a history of childhood onset asthma and 81 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Participants completed measures of depression, anxiety, dispositional self-focus, and situational self-focus. The situational self-focus measure was completed following an experimental task that induced either success or failure. Findings and Conclusions: Results from the current study indicated that participants with moderate to severe asthma reported higher rates of general psychological distress, depression, and anxiety than participants with mild asthma and age- and gender-matched peers. Participants with and without a history of asthma did not differ in their mean level of dispositional self-focus. Further, in contrast to what was predicted by the current study, participants with and without a history of asthma did not respond differently to experimentally induced failure and they did not demonstrate a differential pattern of self-focused attention following experimentally inducted failure. The current study predicted that, among participants with asthma, increased levels of illness uncertainty would predict psychological distress and that this relationship would be mediated by dispositional self-focused attention. While illness uncertainty was a predictor of psychological distress, dispositional self-focused attention failed to mediate this relationship. As predicted, participants with asthma missed more days from class and work due to health related problems compared to participants without asthma; however, the two groups did not differ on semester or cumulative grade point average. Results from the current study suggest that college students with a history of childhood onset asthma may be more vulnerable to psychological distress compared to age- and gender-matched peers without a chronic illness history and may, therefore, warrant interventions to improve their ability to cope with life stressors.Department of Psycholog

Fertility preservation for male patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer:recommendations from the PanCareLIFE Consortium and the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group

Item does not contain fulltextMale patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer are at an increased risk for infertility if their treatment adversely affects reproductive organ function. Future fertility is a primary concern of patients and their families. Variations in clinical practice are barriers to the timely implementation of interventions that preserve fertility. As part of the PanCareLIFE Consortium, in collaboration with the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group, we reviewed the current literature and developed a clinical practice guideline for fertility preservation in male patients who are diagnosed with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer at age 25 years or younger, including guidance on risk assessment and available methods for fertility preservation. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology was used to grade the available evidence and to form the recommendations. Recognising the need for global consensus, this clinical practice guideline used existing evidence and international expertise to rigorously develop transparent recommendations that are easy to use to facilitate the care of male patients with childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer who are at high risk of fertility impairment and to enhance their quality of life

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Michigan Go Local: Connecting Michigan Residents with Health Services

Comprehensive information about local health services can be difficult for patients and consumers to locate. Michigan Go Local is an online directory of health services developed in partnership with the National Library of Medicine that enables state residents to locate health services in their community. Each health service in the directory meets specific selection guidelines and is indexed by geographic service area, types of health services provided, and health issues addressed. This article describes the development of Michigan Go Local and how it can be used by librarians and consumers to locate health services in communities throughout Michigan