Mission 2007 Training Commons: Developing a Living Curriculum for Telecentre Workers in India

Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre was formed to establish telecentres offering shared access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in each of India's 600,000 villages by the year 2007. The telecentres would support community development and poverty reduction, and would be run by managers trained in specific skill sets that would allow them to serve the diverse needs of the communities they support. The Mission 2007 Training Commons initiative, a collaborative, open content approach drawing on existing trainer expertise, was established to develop resources that could support trainers through a 'living curriculum': materials that were free, accessible online, and easily adapted. The primary objective of the Training Commons case study was to understand and document the practices, processes, successes, and challenges of the partnership and the content development, and to assess the overall impact on stakeholders. Several key learnings were identified that hold relevance to other OER projects, including 1) the role of culture in securing and maintaining open content partnerships, 2) the importance of workflow creation and supports and 3) incorporating user feedback early on to facilitate localization of content and differentiation of content among key types of users; resulting in content that is adaptable and draws on the expertise of multiple partners and individuals

CurriculumNet: Creating Freely Available Curriculum Materials to Meet Uganda's Growing Student Population

The National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC), an office under the Ugandan government's Ministry of Education and Sports has using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to assist in addressing the curriculum needs of the growing student population in both rural and urban schools in Uganda. With funding from the Canadian International Development and Research Centre (IDRC), the NCDC developed CurriculumNet, the goal of which has been to develop, test, and integrate ICT-based instructional materials and teaching into existing Ugandan curriculum. This report presents key practices and learnings of the CurriculumNet project in terms of its collaborative curriculum development process, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by the project overall. Through analysis of the projects internal documentation, as well as interviews with the CurriculumNet project leader, this report documents how the project developed and disseminated content to meet curriculum needs while also addressing funding and infrastructure related challenges

An Interprofessional Curriculum on Antimicrobial Stewardship Improves Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Appropriate Antimicrobial Use and Collaboration.

BackgroundInappropriate antimicrobial use can threaten patient safety and is the focus of collaborative physician and pharmacist antimicrobial stewardship teams. However, antimicrobial stewardship is not comprehensively taught in medical or pharmacy school curricula. Addressing this deficiency can teach an important concept as well as model interprofessional healthcare.MethodsWe created an antimicrobial stewardship curriculum consisting of an online learning module and workshop session that combined medical and pharmacy students, with faculty from both professions. Learners worked through interactive, branched-logic clinical cases relating to appropriate antimicrobial use. We surveyed participants before and after the curriculum using validated questions to assess knowledge and attitudes regarding antimicrobial stewardship and interprofessional collaboration. Results were analyzed using paired χ2 and t tests and mixed-effects logistic regression.ResultsAnalysis was performed with the 745 students (425 medical students, 320 pharmacy students) who completed both pre- and postcurriculum surveys over 3 years. After completing the curriculum, significantly more students perceived that they were able to describe the role of each profession in appropriate antimicrobial use (34% vs 82%, P < .001), communicate in a manner that engaged the interprofessional team (75% vs 94%, P < .001), and describe collaborative approaches to appropriate antimicrobial use (49% vs 92%, P < .001). Student favorability ratings were high for the online learning module (85%) and small group workshop (93%).ConclusionsA curriculum on antimicrobial stewardship consisting of independent learning and an interprofessional workshop significantly increased knowledge and attitudes towards collaborative antimicrobial stewardship among preclinical medical and pharmacy students

Defining Neuromarketing: Practices and Professional Challenges

Neuromarketing has recently generated controversies concerning the involvement of medical professionals, and many key questions remain—ones that have potentially important implications for the field of psychiatry. Conflicting definitions ofneuromarketinghave been proposed, and little is known about the actual practices of companies, physicians, and scientists involved in its practice. This article reviews the history of neuromarketing and uses an exploratory survey of neuromarketing Web sites to illustrate ethical issues raised by this new field. Neuromarketing, as currently practiced, is heterogeneous, as companies are offering a variety of technologies. Many companies employ academicians and professionals, but few list their clients or fees. Media coverage of neuromarketing appears disproportionately high compared to the paucity of peer-reviewed reports in the field. Companies may be making premature claims about the power of neuroscience to predict consumer behavior. Overall, neuromarketing has important implications for academic-industrial partnerships, the responsible conduct of research, and the public understanding of the brain. We explore these themes to uncover issues relevant to professional ethics, research, and policy. Of particular relevance to psychiatry, neuromarketing may be seen as an extension of the search for quantification and certainty in previously indefinite aspects of human behavior

Use of Recommended Laboratory Testing Methods Among Patients with Tuberculosis in California

This study assessed the extent to which laboratory methods recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used in tuberculosis testing of patients in California in 1998. While recommended methods were used for most patients, there was room for improvement by hospital and independent non-health maintenance organization laboratories

Aortic Aneurysm in Pregnancy

Aortic aneurysms in pregnancy are rare but often fatal due to the natural physiologic changes of pregnancy and comorbidities specific to pregnancy, which increase the risk for aortic dissection and rupture. These physiologic changes are most pronounced in the third trimester and during the peripartum period, when approximately one third of dissections occur. In patients with known aortic aneurysms or conditions that make them prone to aortic aneurysms, preconception counseling can make pregnancy safer and more manageable. Aortic aneurysms diagnosed during pregnancy are usually due to underlying connective tissue diseases or aortopathies that have not been previously diagnosed. These women require multidisciplinary care including but not limited to obstetrics and gynecology, maternal fetal medicine, neonatology, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, cardiothoracic anesthesia, and genetics. Decisions include screening for dissection, when to proceed with surgical management, the best mode and timing for delivery, postpartum care, and contraception

Disclosures of funding sources and conflicts of interest in published HIV/AIDS research conducted in developing countries

Objectives: Disclosures of funding sources and conflicts of interests (COI) in published peer-reviewed journal articles have recently begun to receive some attention, but many critical questions remain, for example, how often such reporting occurs concerning research conducted in the developing world and what factors may be involved. Design: Of all articles indexed in Medline reporting on human subject HIV research in 2007 conducted in four countries (India, Thailand, Nigeria and Uganda), this study explored how many disclosed a funding source and COI, and what factors are involved. Results: Of 221 articles that met the criteria, 67.9% (150) disclosed the presence or absence of a funding source, but only 20% (44) disclosed COI. Studies from Uganda were more likely, and those from Nigeria were less likely to mention a funding source (p<0.001). Of articles in journals that had adopted International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, 56% did not disclose COI. Disclosure of funding was more likely when: ≥50% of the authors and the corresponding author were from the sponsoring country, the sponsor country was the USA, and the articles were published in journals in which more of the editors were from the sponsoring countries. Conclusions: Of the published studies examined, over a third did not disclose funding source (ie, whether or not there was a funding source) and 80% did not disclose whether COI existed. Most articles in ICMJE-affiliated journals did not disclose COI. These data suggest the need to consider alteration of policies to require that published articles include funding and COI information, to allow readers to assess articles as fully as possible

Beyond rescue: Implementation and evaluation of revised naloxone training for law enforcement officers

ObjectiveThis study describes the implementation and evaluation of revised opioid overdose prevention and education of naloxone training for law enforcement officers (LEOs) that added: (1) a recovery testimony and (2) the process for deputy‐initiated referrals postnaloxone administration.Design and SampleEvaluation regarding the naloxone training included a pre‐ and postopioid overdose knowledge surveys (N = 114) and subsequent 1‐year postnaloxone training outcomes.ResultsPre‐ and posttest scores for all knowledge outcome measures were statistically significant (p < .001) with favorable comments pertaining to the recovery testimony. Out of 31 individuals who received naloxone, 6 individuals (19.4%) continue to be in treatment or received some treatment services. The most common symptoms reported were unconsciousness/unresponsiveness (40.5%), abnormal breathing patterns (24.3%), and blue lips (16.2%). The majority of the calls (65.6%) were to a residential area, and the time for naloxone revival ranged <1–10 min (M = 3.48; SD = 2.27).ConclusionAs nearly 20% of individuals sought treatment after a LEO‐initiated referral, it is recommended that other agencies consider the referral process into the training. Future research will investigate the impact of the recovery testimony in reducing the stigma of addiction.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139953/1/phn12365_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139953/2/phn12365.pd

Hyperspectral Imaging for Burn Depth Assessment in an Animal Model

Differentiating between superficial and deep-dermal (DD) burns remains challenging. Superficial-dermal burns heal with conservative treatment; DD burns often require excision and skin grafting. Decision of surgical treatment is often delayed until burn depth is definitively identified. This study\u27s aim is to assess the ability of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to differentiate burn depth. METHODS: Thermal injury of graded severity was generated on the dorsum of hairless mice with a heated brass rod. Perfusion and oxygenation parameters of injured skin were measured with HSI, a noninvasive method of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, at 2 minutes, 1, 24, 48 and 72 hours after wounding. Burn depth was measured histologically in 12 mice from each burn group (n = 72) at 72 hours. RESULTS: Three levels of burn depth were verified histologically: intermediate-dermal (ID), DD, and full-thickness. At 24 hours post injury, total hemoglobin (tHb) increased by 67% and 16% in ID and DD burns, respectively. In contrast, tHb decreased to 36% of its original levels in full-thickness burns. Differences in deoxygenated and tHb among all groups were significant (P \u3c 0.001) at 24 hours post injury. CONCLUSIONS: HSI was able to differentiate among 3 discrete levels of burn injury. This is likely because of its correlation with skin perfusion: superficial burn injury causes an inflammatory response and increased perfusion to the burn site, whereas deeper burns destroy the dermal microvasculature and a decrease in perfusion follows. This study supports further investigation of HSI in early burn depth assessment

HIV/AIDS Research Conducted in the Developing World and Sponsored by the Developed World: Reporting of Research Ethics Committee Review in Two Countries

We explored how often journal articles reporting HIV research sponsored by a developed country, but conducted in a developing country, mention research ethics committee (REC) approval from both countries, and what factors are involved. Of all such 2007 articles on Medline conducted in one of four developing countries (N = 154), only 52% mentioned such dual approval. Mention of dual vs. single approval was more likely among articles with ≥ 50% sponsor country authors, and the United States as the sponsor country. Also, dual approval was more likely among articles that mentioned informed consent and funding, had ≥ 50% sponsor country authors, were biomedical (vs. psychosocial), and appeared in journals adopting International Committee Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines. Dual approval was thus obtained in only half of the articles and was associated with ethical and logistic issues, indicating the need for clearer and more universally accepted guidelines