Improving the Deaf community's access to prostate and testicular cancer information: a survey study

BACKGROUND: Members of the Deaf community face communication barriers to accessing health information. To resolve these inequalities, educational programs must be designed in the appropriate format and language to meet their needs. METHODS: Deaf men (102) were surveyed before, immediately following, and two months after viewing a 52-minute prostate and testicular cancer video in American Sign Language (ASL) with open text captioning and voice overlay. To provide the Deaf community with information equivalent to that available to the hearing community, the video addressed two cancer topics in depth. While the inclusion of two cancer topics lengthened the video, it was anticipated to reduce redundancy and encourage men of diverse ages to learn in a supportive, culturally aligned environment while also covering more topics within the partnership's limited budget. Survey data were analyzed to evaluate the video's impact on viewers' pre- and post-intervention understanding of prostate and testicular cancers, as well as respondents' satisfaction with the video, exposure to and use of early detection services, and sources of cancer information. RESULTS: From baseline to immediately post-intervention, participants' overall knowledge increased significantly, and this gain was maintained at the two-month follow-up. Men of diverse ages were successfully recruited, and this worked effectively as a support group. However, combining two complex cancer topics, in depth, in one video appeared to make it more difficult for participants to retain as many relevant details specific to each cancer. Participants related that there was so much information that they would need to watch the video more than once to understand each topic fully. When surveyed about their best sources of health information, participants ranked doctors first and showed a preference for active rather than passive methods of learning. CONCLUSION: After viewing this ASL video, participants showed significant increases in cancer understanding, and the effects remained significant at the two-month follow-up. However, to achieve maximum learning in a single training session, only one topic should be covered in future educational videos

Sedative and cardiorespiratory effects of dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine administered to cats via oral transmucosal or intramuscular routes

Research paperObjective:  To determine if buprenorphine plus dexmedetomidine administered via the oral transmucosal route produces sufficient sedation in cats so that students can insert intravenous catheters. Study Design:  Prospective, randomized, blinded, clinical trial. Animals:  Eighty-seven shelter-owned female cats aged 4–48 months, weighing 1.1–4.9 kg. Methods:  Cats were randomly allocated to two treatment groups based on route of drug administration: oral transmucosal (OTM), or intramuscular (IM). Buprenorphine (20 μg kg−1) plus dexmedetomidine (20 μg kg−1) were administered as pre-medicants via one of these two routes. Prior to and 20 minutes after drug administration, heart and respiratory rates, systolic arterial pressure, and posture were measured and recorded. Twenty minutes after drug administration the same variables plus each cat’s response to clipper sound, clipping, and restraint were recorded; higher scores indicated more sedation. Results:  There were no significant differences between the two groups prior to pre-medication. Within each treatment group heart rate was significantly lower 20 minutes after treatment, but it did not differ significantly between the two groups. Twenty minutes after treatment, respiratory rate was significantly less in the OTM group, but did not differ significantly between the two groups. Systolic arterial pressure did not differ within or between the two groups at either time. Scores for posture increased significantly within both groups, and cats in the IM group had higher scores after treatment. Twenty minutes after treatment, cats in the IM group had higher scores for clipping and restraint than OTM cats. Ketamine (IM) was necessary to facilitate catheterization in 25% and 16% of cats in the OTM and IM groups, respectively, but this was not significantly different. Conclusions and clinical relevance:  Administration of dexmedetomidine plus buprenorphine by the OTM route is easy to perform, but produces less sedation than the IM route for IV catheterization in cats.Luiz Cesar P Santos, John W Ludders, Hollis N Erb, Karen L Basher, Pati Kirch, and Robin D Glee