“HIV is Only One Part of Me”: HIV and Its Effect on Other Identities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the HIV identity on other identities. The spiritual and advocate identities increased in salience whereas work and sexual identities decreased. Younger participants fretted about physical appearance. Older participants focused on health. There are implications for adult educators

Exploring socioeconomic inequities in access to palliative and end-of-life care in the UK: a narrative synthesis

Background: Efforts inequities in access to palliative and end-of-life care require comprehensive understanding about the extent of and reasons for inequities. Most research on this topic examines differences in receipt of care. There is a need, particularly in the UK, for theoretically driven research that considers both receipt of care and the wider factors influencing the relationship between socioeconomic position and access to palliative and end-of-life care. Methods: This is a mixed studies narrative synthesis on socioeconomic position and access to palliative and end-of-life care in the UK. Study searches were conducted in databases AMED, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, SocIndex, and Academic Literature Search, as well as grey literature sources, in July 2020. The candidacy model of access, which describes access as a seven-stage negotiation between patients and providers, guided study searches and provided a theoretical lens through which data were synthesised. Results: Searches retrieved 5303 studies (after de-duplication), 29 of which were included. The synthesis generated four overarching themes, within which concepts of candidacy were evident: identifying needs; taking action; local conditions; and receiving care. Conclusion: There is not a consistent or clear narrative regarding the relationship between socioeconomic position and receipt of palliative and end-of-life care in the UK. Attempts to address any inequities in access will require knowledge and action across many different areas. Key evidence gaps in the UK literature concern the relationship between socioeconomic position, organisational context, and assessing need for care

PoZitively Transformative: The Transformative Learning of People Living with HIV

The purpose of this study was to investigate meaning making in People Living with HIV (PLWH) as a chronic illness. Findings confirm those of Courtenay, Merriam and Reeves (1998) who examined meaning making in PLWHAs when HIV/AIDS was a terminal illness. Contextual factors that mediate meaning making were uncovered

HIV as a Chronic Illness: Identity Incorporation and Learning

Abstract: The purpose of this session is twofold: (1) to review tentative findings of a study-in-progress concerning the identity incorporation process and learning of people living with HIV as a chronic illness and (2) to explore issues encountered in conducting research with the chronically ill

Guiding Diffusion among Local Food Clientele: Recommendations for Extension Programming

The demand for local food has risen dramatically over the last decade, and many states have created brands to promote products grown within that state. However, the effect of state brands on consumer perceptions remains unknown. Extension agents serve as change agents and a bridge between science and the public to purvey information for adoption decisions. This study sought to determine if differences existed between consumers’ perceptions of food labeled local and food labeled Fresh from Florida to inform Extension programming. Florida residents (N = 530) were surveyed utilizing a between-subjects experimental design. Respondents were asked questions about their attitudes, trust and transparency, and information preferences toward food labeled Fresh from Florida or local food, depending on the experimental treatment they received. Results of this study indicated that consumers shared similar perceptions of local and Fresh from Florida food, except for the belief that Fresh from Florida comes from larger farms, Fresh from Florida labeling is more trustworthy, and there is a greater desire to see a definition of Fresh from Florida food. When Extension agents develop programming on economic viability, information on local food and state brands should be included to help producers market their products and increase revenues

Discussing Extension Agents’ Role in Moderating Contentious Issue Conversations

Extension agents are finding themselves engaged in problem-solving roles as public needs adjust to a climate where issues facing the agricultural and natural resource industry are more often contentious than benign. As connectors between the Land-grant university system and the public, Extension agents need to know how to effectively communicate about contentious issues with clientele. This study used an online survey design to determine Extension agents’ attitudes toward contentious issues, challenges that they face, and effective means of communication. The findings revealed Extension agents’ attitudes toward communicating about contentious issues were more positive than negative. Additionally, they found the availability of misinformation and the complexity of contentious issues to be most challenging when communicating with clientele. One-on-one in-person, workshops, phone calls, and group meetings were identified as the most effective methods of communicating about contentious issues. Additional training and familiarization with current contentious issues were recommended. Future research should examine the contentious issues Extension agents are discussing, methods being used to facilitate conversations, the effect of contentious issues on job satisfaction, and the factors hindering Extension agents as they address contentious issues

Constrained Statistical Modelling of Knee Flexion from Multi-Pose Magnetic Resonance Imaging

© 1982-2012 IEEE.Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) through arthroscopy is one of the most common procedures in orthopaedics. It requires accurate alignment and drilling of the tibial and femoral tunnels through which the ligament graft is attached. Although commercial computer-Assisted navigation systems exist to guide the placement of these tunnels, most of them are limited to a fixed pose without due consideration of dynamic factors involved in different knee flexion angles. This paper presents a new model for intraoperative guidance of arthroscopic ACL reconstruction with reduced error particularly in the ligament attachment area. The method uses 3D preoperative data at different flexion angles to build a subject-specific statistical model of knee pose. To circumvent the problem of limited training samples and ensure physically meaningful pose instantiation, homogeneous transformations between different poses and local-deformation finite element modelling are used to enlarge the training set. Subsequently, an anatomical geodesic flexion analysis is performed to extract the subject-specific flexion characteristics. The advantages of the method were also tested by detailed comparison to standard Principal Component Analysis (PCA), nonlinear PCA without training set enlargement, and other state-of-The-Art articulated joint modelling methods. The method yielded sub-millimetre accuracy, demonstrating its potential clinical value