Ethnic Differences in Health: Does Immigration Status Matter?

This study examines health differences between first-generation immigrant and Canadian-born persons who share the same the ethnocultural origin, and the extent to which such differences reflect social structural and health-related behavioural contexts. Data from the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey show that first generation immigrants of Black and French race/ethnicity tend to have better health than their Canadian-born counterparts, while the opposite is true for those of South Asian, Chinese, and south and east European and Jewish origins. West Asians and Arabs and other Asian groups are advantaged in health regardless of country of birth. Health differences between ethnic foreign- and Canadian-born persons generally converge after adjusting for socio-demographic, SES, and lifestyle factors. Implications for health care policy and program development are discussed.self-rated health; functional health; ethnicity; race; immigration

Impact of pharmacist-driven medication profile review, medication reconciliation and discharge education on 30-day hospital readmission

Purpose: Transitions of care interventions are well documented to contribute to decreasing medication-related problems and readmissions. Consequently, healthcare facilities have implemented processes and models in efforts to address a public health need. Pharmacist-driven activities, such as medication history, medication reconciliation, medication profile reviews and discharge education have shown to contribute to reduced 30-day readmissions for patients who have an increased-risk for readmission. Methods: Patients admitted to the 6th floor complex medical care unit at Allegheny General Hospital from November 2018 to February 2019 who were identified to be at an increased-risk for readmission were included. Patients were identified through our electronic health record predictive analytics model. These patients were followed through pharmacist-driven medication profile review, best possible medication history, admission and discharge medication reconciliation and discharge education. Patients were followed for 30-days post-discharge to assess the actual versus predicted readmission. Results: The actual and predicted readmission rate was 46% and 47%, respectively. The actual and predicted rates appeared to be similar. This initiative included 107 patient admissions. Of these patients, 54% of patients were not discharged to home or self-care. On average, pharmacist made 4 interventions and spent 57 minutes per patient during the admission encounter. Conclusion: There was no difference observed in actual versus predicted readmission. However, we were able to utilize this data and project to adjust pharmacist workflow through identifying technical barriers and reprioritizing responsibilities. A crucial step post-implementation will be to continue to evaluate to ensure processes are transforming to the public needs

Linguistic Differences in Swiss cantons and its role on the national identity

Switzerland is home to four national languages followed with a positive image on the international stage as a linguistically diverse country. In Swiss history, there has never been a record of a civil war or tensions between linguistic groups raising the question of what accounts for the national identity. The Swiss do not follow the typical definition in nationalism leading to an investigation on establishing the factors that comprise of the Swiss national identity and its effect on the political system. The results indicated linguistic diversity and the political institutions are the factors that compose the national identity creating a wave effect on laws passed and the attitudes of Swiss individuals. Case studies of Brexit and Belgium were also utilized in reference to the differences between the Swiss and many other nations’ approach in addressing hostile tensions caused by individual differences between citizens. Overall, the project has indicated the Swiss national identity plays a relatively large part in maintaining the harmony between the differing linguistic groups and the political institutions in place

Mental Health Initiatives for Asian American Women

Despite being one of the fastest growing minorities of the United States, Asian Americans are most at risk for developing mental disorders and least likely to seek professional help. With a significant portion of the United States represented by Asian ethnicities, addressing the mental health needs of this population is not only important but necessary to advance the overall health of all Americans. The purpose of this paper is to describe the influences of cultural norms and standards that increase risk factors for poor mental health outcomes and negative help seeking attitudes in first generation Asian American college-aged females. These influences include: cultural beliefs, school-related peer relationships, and familial relationships. The paper also will conclude with a discussion about some potential strategies to improve overall health of Asian American female college students, such as the increased utilization of treatment services, and implications for future research study

An Extension of the Method of Brackets. Part 1

The method of brackets is an efficient method for the evaluation of a large class of definite integrals on the half-line. It is based on a small collection of rules, some of which are heuristic. The extension discussed here is based on the concepts of null and divergent series. These are formal representations of functions, whose coefficients $a_{n}$ have meromorphic representations for $n \in \mathbb{C}$, but might vanish or blow up when $n \in \mathbb{N}$. These ideas are illustrated with the evaluation of a variety of entries from the classical table of integrals by Gradshteyn and Ryzhik

The complex relationship between weather and dengue virus transmission in Thailand.

Using a novel analytical approach, weather dynamics and seasonal dengue virus transmission cycles were profiled for each Thailand province, 1983-2001, using monthly assessments of cases, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. We observed systematic differences in the structure of seasonal transmission cycles of different magnitude, the role of weather in regulating seasonal cycles, necessary versus optimal transmission "weather-space," basis of large epidemics, and predictive indicators that estimate risk. Larger epidemics begin earlier, develop faster, and are predicted at Onset change-point when case counts are low. Temperature defines a viable range for transmission; humidity amplifies the potential within that range. This duality is central to transmission. Eighty percent of 1.2 million severe dengue cases occurred when mean temperature was 27-29.5°C and mean humidity was > 75%. Interventions are most effective when applied early. Most cases occur near Peak, yet small reductions at Onset can substantially reduce epidemic magnitude. Monitoring the Quiet-Phase is fundamental in effectively targeting interventions pre-emptively

Assisted robotic arm for patient with cerebral palsy.

Many diseases can affect the motility of an individual, such as Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy (CP). This project focuses on creating a prototype for a wearable assistive device which aims to provide support to patients who have been affected by a chronic illness influencing their mobility. We will be focusing on the medical, mechanical, and biopsychosocial aspects in designing our wearable assistive device to cater to the patients’ needs

Long-term neurocognitive function of pediatric patients with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID): pre- and post-hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

BACKGROUND:Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only cure for patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term neurodevelopment of patients with SCID following myeloablative chemotherapy and HSCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Sixteen pediatric patients diagnosed with SCID were tested using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the validated Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) pre- and 1-year post-HSCT. Three years post-HSCT, there were 11 patients available for testing and four patients available 5 years post-HSCT. Patients greater than 3 years of age were administered the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Both raw scores and scaled scores were analyzed. RESULTS:There was a significant decrease 1 year post-HSCT in the Bayley Mental Developmental Index (MDI) [92.5 (pre) vs. 70.81 (1 year post), p < 0.0001] and the VABS [99.73 (pre) vs. 79.87 (1 year post), p = <0.0001]. There was a significant decrease over time in the MDI [95.00 (pre) vs. 72.64 (1 year post) vs. 71.82 (3 years post), p < 0.0001], but no significant change between 1 and 3 years post-HSCT. There was no change in the Bayley Psychomotor Development Scale (PDI) [82.4 (pre) vs. 84.8 (1 year post), p = 0.68]. The PDI scores decreased over time [86.29 (pre) vs. 86 (1 year post) vs. 74.14 (3 years post), p = 0.045]. Although there was a decrease in scaled scores, there was not a loss of skills. Analysis of raw scores showed that there was an increase in the raw test scores, which indicated that these children acquired developmental skills, but at a slower rate than normal infants and toddlers. Younger children had a more significant decrease in adaptive scores compared with older children. CONCLUSIONS:These findings may reflect the effects of the isolation and prolonged hospitalization that characterizes the immediate post-transplant period. Patients miss out on social interactions and learning opportunities that normally occur at their respective stages of development. These restrictions keep patients from acquiring developmentally appropriate cognitive skills as well as gross and fine motor developmental milestones. Longitudinal follow-up will be important to quantify acquisition of skills