Exposure to Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Mental Health Service Urgency

Background: Children and youth with a history of maltreatment experience different developmental, psychiatric and health problems. Ensuring there is streamlined access to services is imperative to their recovery. Yet, few reports of standardized methods for direction and prioritizing risk for children seeking services exist. Objective: The current study aims to address this gap and explore how mental health personnel triage highly vulnerable cases. Specifically, the goal of the current study is to examine whether experiencing childhood interpersonal trauma predicts service urgency. Participants and Setting: Participants were 19,645 children and youth, ages 4-18 (M = 11.1 SD = 3.4) who completed the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Screener (ChYMH-S) at various community-based and residential children’s mental health facilities across Ontario. Methods: Retrospective data collected from the ChYMH-S was used to explore differences in maltreatment history, gender, and legal guardianship and their impact on service prioritization. Results: Children and youth who are exposed to some form of interpersonal trauma were more likely to have mental health issues requiring urgent follow-up service. Findings also suggested that gender and legal guardianship impact service urgency. Conclusions: Children and youth who have experienced maltreatment are significantly more likely to score high on mental health service urgency than those who have not. This provides valuable insight that can support the development of appropriate system-level changes to policy and practice when servicing children and youth with mental health needs in Canad

Massage therapy for symptom reduction and improved quality of life in children with cancer in palliative care: A pilot study

Background: For children with cancer in palliative care, pain and worry are common and frequently under-managed, which negatively impacts quality of life (QOL). Massage therapy (MT) can lead to reduced pain in children with chronic illnesses. Children with cancer have experienced lower anxiety after MT. No studies have examined the effects of MT in pediatric oncology patients receiving palliative care. Objective: Conduct a MT intervention to determine intervention acceptability and initial effects on ratings of pain, worry reduction, and quality of life. Design: Pre-post single group pilot study. Setting/Subjects: Eight children with cancer (age 10–17) and one of their parents were recruited from a palliative care service. Procedure/Measurements: Baseline (one week prior to intervention): demographics, MT expectations, QOL, and pain measures. Intervention (one month): MT was provided once per week, with children\u27s pain and worry ratings occurring immediately before and after each MT session. Follow Up (4–6 weeks after baseline): QOL, pain, and MT/study acceptability questionnaires. Results: Participants reported significant decreases in pain following two MT sessions, and worry following one session. No significant changes in pain symptoms and QOL were found between baseline and follow up. Participants positively endorsed the study and the MT intervention, and there were no adverse effects reported. Conclusions: MT may lead to immediate decreases in pain and worry in children with cancer who are receiving palliative care, however the effects may not be sustained long term. Difficulties regarding protocol feasibility including recruitment and study compliance remain important considerations for future work

One- and two-body decomposable Poisson-Boltzmann methods for protein design calculations

Successfully modeling electrostatic interactions is one of the key factors required for the computational design of proteins with desired physical, chemical, and biological properties. In this paper, we present formulations of the finite difference Poisson-Boltzmann (FDPB) model that are pairwise decomposable by side chain. These methods use reduced representations of the protein structure based on the backbone and one or two side chains in order to approximate the dielectric environment in and around the protein. For the desolvation of polar side chains, the two-body model has a 0.64 kcal/mol RMSD compared to FDPB calculations performed using the full representation of the protein structure. Screened Coulombic interaction energies between side chains are approximated with an RMSD of 0.13 kcal/mol. The methods presented here are compatible with the computational demands of protein design calculations and produce energies that are very similar to the results of traditional FDPB calculations

The impact of funding models on the integration of registered nurses in primary health care teams: protocol for a multi-phase mixed-methods study in Canada.

BACKGROUND: Family practice registered nurses co-managing patient care as healthcare professionals in interdisciplinary primary care teams have been shown to improve access, continuity of care, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes for patients with chronic diseases while being cost-effective. Currently, however, it is unclear how different funding models support or hinder the integration of family practice nurses into existing primary health care systems and interdisciplinary practices. This has resulted in the underutilisation of family practice nurses in contributing to high-quality patient care. METHODS: This mixed-methods project is comprised of three studies: (1) a funding model analysis; (2) case studies; and (3) an online survey with family practice nurses. The funding model analysis will employ policy scans to identify, describe, and compare the various funding models used in Canada to integrate family practice nurses in primary care. Case studies involving qualitative interviews with clinic teams (family practice nurses, physicians, and administrators) and family practice nurse activity logs will explore the variation of nursing professional practice, training, skill set, and team functioning in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. Interview transcripts will be analysed thematically and comparisons will be made across funding models. Activity log responses will be analysed to represent nurses\u27 time spent on independent, dependent, interdependent, or non-nursing work in each funding model. Finally, a cross-sectional online survey of family practice nurses in Canada will examine the relationships between funding models, nursing professional practice, training, skill set, team functioning, and patient care co-management in primary care. We will employ bivariate tests and multivariable regression to examine these relationships in the survey results. DISCUSSION: This project aims to address a gap in the literature on funding models for family practice nurses. In particular, findings will support provincial and territorial governments in structuring funding models that optimise the roles of family practice nurses while establishing evidence about the benefits of interdisciplinary team-based care. Overall, the findings may contribute to the integration and optimisation of family practice nursing within primary health care, to the benefit of patients, primary healthcare providers, and health care systems nationally

Food consumption patterns in the Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada: a cross-sectional telephone survey

BACKGROUND: The demographics and lifestyles of Canadians are changing, thereby influencing food choices and food preparation in the home. Although different dietary practices are associated with increased risk of foodborne illness, our ability to evaluate food consumption trends and assess risks associated with foodborne illness is limited by lack of data on current eating habits and consumer food safety practices. The objective of this study was to describe, for the first time, the food consumption patterns in a Canadian-based population from a food safety perspective, in order to establish baseline data on actual food intake of individuals. METHOD: A cross-sectional telephone survey of 2,332 randomly selected residents of Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada (C-EnterNet pilot site) was conducted between November 2005 and March 2006. Food intake was assessed using a 7-day dietary recall method. RESULTS: Certain food items were consumed more than others among the same food groups, and consumption of many food items varied by gender and age. Specific foods considered high-risk for the transmission of certain enteric pathogens were significantly more likely to be consumed by males (i.e. unpasteurized juice, bean sprouts, and undercooked meat) and elderly individuals (i.e. undercooked eggs). The majority of households prepared and consumed most meals at home, allocating an average of 44 minutes to prepare a meal. CONCLUSION: Baseline data on actual food intake is useful to public health professionals and food safety risk assessors for developing communication messages to consumers and in foodborne outbreak investigations

Agricultural land use disrupts biodiversity mediation of virus infections in wild plant populations

Human alteration of natural habitats may change the processes governing species interactions in wild communities. Wild populations are increasingly impacted by agricultural intensification, yet it is unknown whether this alters biodiversity mediation of disease dynamics. We investigated the association between plant diversity (species richness, diversity) and infection risk (virus richness, prevalence) in populations of Plantago lanceolata in natural landscapes as well as those occurring at the edges of cultivated fields. Altogether, 27 P. lanceolata populations were surveyed for population characteristics and sampled for PCR detection of five recently characterized viruses. We find that plant species richness and diversity correlated negatively with virus infection prevalence. Virus species richness declined with increasing plant diversity and richness in natural populations while in agricultural edge populations species richness was moderately higher, and not associated with plant richness. This difference was not explained by changes in host richness between these two habitats, suggesting potential pathogen spill‐over and increased transmission of viruses across the agro‐ecological interface. Host population connectivity significantly decreased virus infection prevalence. We conclude that human use of landscapes may change the ecological laws by which natural communities are formed with far reaching implications for ecosystem functioning and disease

INCOG 2.0 Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury: What’s Changed From 2014 to Now?

IT IS CRITICAL TO KEEP clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) up to date through integration of the latest evidence. Therefore, it is with great excitement that the INCOG team presents the INCOG 2.0 Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In this brief introduction, we provide an overview of changes in the evidence from 2014; share insights into the current state and challenges implementing cognitive rehabilitation; and provide an overview of INCOG 2022

The Future of INCOG (Is Now)

IT HAS BEEN 8 years since the first iteration of the INCOG clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) were published. Much has happened since 2014, and a considerable body of evidence has been published in the various domains of cognitive rehabilitation research represented in this special issue. Over this time, significant developments in the science of identifying, appraising, and distilling research evidence into practically applicable CPGs have emerged, as well as implementation efforts to ensure meaningful change in care delivery