The release of a captive-raised female African Elephant <em>(Loxodonta africana</em>) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Wild female elephants live in close-knit matrilineal groups and housing captive elephants in artificial social groupings can cause significant welfare issues for individuals not accepted by other group members. We document the release of a captive-raised female elephant used in the safari industry because of welfare and management problems. She was fitted with a satellite collar, and spatial and behavioural data were collected over a 17-month period to quantify her interactions with the wild population. She was then monitored infrequently for a further five-and-a-half years. We observed few signs of aggression towards her from the wild elephants with which she socialized. She used an area of comparable size to wild female elephants, and this continued to increase as she explored new areas. Although she did not fully integrate into a wild herd, she had three calves of her own, and formed a social unit with another female and her calf that were later released from the same captive herd. We recommend that release to the wild be considered as a management option for other captive female elephants

Improving employee wellbeing and effectiveness: a systematic review and meta-analysis of workplace psychological interventions delivered online

Background: Stress, depression and anxiety amongst working populations can result in reduced work performance and increased absenteeism, but while there is evidence that these common mental health problems are preventable and treatable in the workplace, uptake of psychological treatments amongst the working population is low. One way to address this may be the delivery of occupational digital mental health interventions, but while there is convincing evidence for delivering digital psychological interventions within a health and community context, there is no systematic review or meta-analysis of these interventions in an occupational setting. Objective: This review aims to identify the effectiveness of occupational digital mental health interventions in enhancing employee psychological wellbeing and increasing work effectiveness, and to identify intervention features associated with the highest rates of engagement and adherence. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using Cochrane guidelines. Papers published between 2000 and May 2016 were searched in 2 the PsychINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed, Science Direct and the Cochrane databases, as well as the databases of the researchers and relevant websites. Unpublished data was sought using the Conference Proceedings Citation Index and the Clinical Trials and ISRCTN research registers. A metaanalysis was conducted by applying a random-effects model to assess the pooled effect size for psychological wellbeing and the work effectiveness outcomes. A positive deviance approach was used to identify those intervention features associated with the highest rates of engagement and adherence. Results: In total 21 RCTs met the search criteria. Occupational digital mental health interventions had a statistically significant effect post intervention on both psychological wellbeing (g = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.50) and work effectiveness (g = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.41) compared to the control condition. No statistically significant differences were found on either outcome between studies using CBT approaches (as defined by the authors) compared with other psychological approaches, offering guidance compared with selfguidance, or recruiting from a targeted workplace population compared with a universal workplace population. In depth analysis of the interventions identified by the positive deviance approach suggests that interventions that offer guidance, are delivered over a shorter timeframe (6 to 7 weeks), utilise secondary modalities for delivering the interventions and engaging users (i.e. emails and text messages), and use elements of persuasive technology (i.e. self-monitoring and tailoring) may achieve greater engagement and adherence. Conclusions: This review provides evidence that occupational digital mental health interventions can improve workers’ psychological wellbeing and increase work effectiveness. It identifies intervention characteristics that may increase engagement. Recommendations are made for future research, practice and intervention development. Registration: The protocol for this systematic review and meta-analysis was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; registration number CRD42016033935)

Trajectories to community engagement: understanding older people’s experiences of engagement with online and local communities

The communal benefits of online communities and SNS are enjoyed by many Internet users but remain of limited appeal to many older people. In this study we consider how a small group of older people in the South of England engage with these technologies showing their motivations and the role of existing relationships in the local community with regards to this engagement. Four catalysts are identified which determine trajectories towards and away from online engagement and these are: family, roles, loss, and ‘spaces and places’. The resulting trajectories are discussed along with their implications for policy making and technology design

Assessing the quality of health technology registers for national guidance development.

Background: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence makes use of registers to collect data for technologies that require more evidence to inform future decision-making. This is particularly so for the Interventional Procedures Programme, which since 2003 has produced guidance for procedures that are typically not well established, meaning that named registers are often recommended for future data collection. Methods: We constructed a questionnaire based on quality standards for recommended registers defined by the Interventional Procedures Programme. All guidance from 2003 to 2016 were reviewed to identify recommended registers and compile a list of corresponding registries. We made a maximum of four attempts to contact each registry. Each register was scored on seven quality standards: accessibility, responsiveness, data publication, data coverage, data validity, independent oversight and data protection, with a maximum of 14 points. Results: We obtained responses from 17 out of 24 eligible registries, a response rate of 70.8%. The mean total score was 8.5 (standard deviation 2.9, range 4-14). Overall, the quality of recommended registers was disappointing, with a split between large registries that scored highly across all standards and smaller registries that scored poorly. Conclusions: This the first study to our knowledge to assess the quality of registers recommended by health technology assessment agencies. Only a limited number of registers were mature enough to deliver evidence of sufficiently high quality to inform funding decisions. A standardised quality assessment tool is needed to evaluate registers before their recommendation for observational data gathering by decision-making bodies

News Stories of Intimate Partner Violence: An Experimental Examination of Participant Sex, Perpetrator Sex, and Violence Severity on Seriousness, Sympathy, and Punishment Preferences

This study experimentally examines the effects of participant sex, perpetrator sex, and severity of violence on perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) seriousness, sympathy toward the victim, and punishment preferences for the perpetrator. Participants (N = 449) were randomly assigned to a condition, exposed to a composite news story, and then completed a survey. Ratings of seriousness of IPV for stories with male perpetrators were significantly higher than ratings of seriousness for stories with female perpetrators. Men had significantly higher sympathy for female victims in any condition than for male victims in the weak or strong severity of violence conditions. Men’s sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition did not differ from their sympathy for female victims. Women had the least sympathy for female victims in the weak severity condition and men in the weak or strong severity conditions. Women reported significantly higher sympathy for female victims in the strong and fatal severity of violence conditions. Women’s ratings of sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition were statistically indistinguishable from any other group. Participants reported stronger punishment preferences for male perpetrators and this effect was magnified among men. Theoretical implications are presented with attention provided to practical considerations about support for public health services

Using Social Networking Sites for Communicable Disease Control: Innovative Contact Tracing or Breach of Confidentiality?

Social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have attained huge popularity, with more than three billion people and organizations predicted to have a social networking account by 2015. Social media offers a rapid avenue of communication with the public and has potential benefits for communicable disease control and surveillance. However, its application in everyday public health practice raises a number of important issues around confidentiality and autonomy. We report here a case from local level health protection where the friend of an individual with meningococcal septicaemia used a social networking site to notify potential contacts

Embarrassment as a Key Emotion in Young People Talking About Sexual Health

This paper highlights embarrassment as one of the often-ignored emotions of young people when it comes to discussing issues around sexual health. There have been many sexual health studies on knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of young people over the past two decades, but emotional aspects have been largely ignored, despite a growing literature in the sociology of emotion. A qualitative approach was adopted in the form of focus group discussions, which included questions on sex education, sexual health campaigns and formal and informal sources of sexual health information and advice. Focus groups were conducted in secondary schools in and around Edinburgh and Aberdeen as part of a four-year evaluation study of a Scottish Demonstration Project on young people's sexual health: 'Healthy Respect'. We conclude that is it important for policy makers and sexual health promoters to understand young people's notions of embarrassment. Not only are there elements of sex education that (some) young people perceive as embarrassing, they also sense embarrassment in those people providing them with sex education. Young people reported that both professionals (e.g. teachers and doctors) and their parents could be embarrassed about raising the topic of sexual health. Moreover, as one of the goals of sex education is to ensure an open and non-embarrassing attitude towards sex and sexuality, there is still a major gap between the aspirations of health educators and policy makers and the ways that young people experience such education.Sexual Health Services, Adolescence, School, Scotland, Emotion, Qualitative Research, Sex Education, Parents, Focus Groups, Relationships

Testing the Children: Do Non-Genetic Health-Care Providers Differ in Their Decision to Advise Genetic Presymptomatic Testing on Minors? A Cross-Sectional Study in Five Countries in the European Union

BACKGROUND: Within Europe many guidelines exist regarding the genetic testing of minors. Predictive and presymptomatic genetic testing of minors is recommended for disorders for which medical intervention/preventive measures exist, and for which early detection improves future medical health. AIM: This study, which is part of the larger 5th EU-framework "genetic education" (GenEd) study, aimed to evaluate the self-reported responses of nongenetic health-care providers in five different EU countries (Germany, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands) when confronted with a parent requesting presymptomatic testing on a minor child for a treatable disease. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design using postal, structured scenario-based questionnaires that were sent to 8129 general practitioners (GPs) and pediatricians, between July 2004 and October 2004, addressing self-reported management of a genetic case for which early medical intervention during childhood is beneficial, involving a minor. RESULTS: Most practitioners agreed on testing the oldest child, aged 12 years (81.5% for GPs and 87.2% for pediatricians), and not testing the youngest child, aged 6 months (72.6% for GPs and 61.3% for pediatricians). After multivariate adjustment there were statistical differences between countries in recommending a genetic test for the child at the age of 8 years. Pediatricians in France (50%) and Germany (58%) would recommend a test, whereas in the United Kingdom (22%), Sweden (30%), and the Netherlands (32%) they would not. CONCLUSION: Even though presymptomatic genetic testing in minors is recommended for disorders for which medical intervention exists, EU physicians are uncertain at what age starting to do so in young children

Care Works: Come Home for Care

Essential to executing the mission and vision of an academic medical center (AMC) is attracting and retaining the highest quality employees. As demonstrated by VCU’s commitment to the Great Place Initiative, the University has recognized that employees in today’s highly competitive environment demand competitive salary and benefit packages. Research has shown that access to high quality, on-site healthcare services provides significant benefits to both employees and employers, such as increased productivity and reduced wellness costs[1]. Yet, a query of de-identified patient records indicated that only a small percentage of VCU employees (~18%) utilized the health services provided by VCU Health System in 2016. VCU’s peer-institutions, other distinguished AMCs, and industry employers have implemented a variety of programs such as concierge services, expedited appointments, on-campus clinics, and lower copays to remain competitive and responsive to their employees. In light of the depth of these programs, Team CareWorks completed a comparative review of health and wellness related employee-specific benefits to determine how VCU might enhance its benefits through initiatives such as on-site medical clinics, prioritized appointments, telehealth, and on-site pharmacies. Informed by the comparative analysis, Team CareWorks will provide recommendations that VCU can use to: capitalize on the integrated relationship with VCU Health to enrich the health and wellness of its outstanding assets (the employees); and provide enhanced benefits to employees by making VCU Health more easily accessible and more appealing as a Medical Home. [1]Berry, Leonard, Ann M. Mirabito, & William B. Baun. “What\u27s the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs?” (2010). Harvard Business Review, December 2010.. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=206487