Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Renal Transplantation in Individuals Undergoing Transplant Evaluation

Background: The underutilization of kidney transplant as the preferred treatment for end-stage renal disease is influenced by a lack of knowledge, poor attitudes toward transplantation, and various socio-demographic characteristics amongst the patient population. Negative attitudes toward renal transplant disengages the patient from the evaluation process and often hinders their likelihood of receiving a transplant. Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to determine if patients undergoing transplant evaluation had more positive attitudes and greater levels of knowledge about renal transplantation after attending a standardized educational session. Project Design: This project was a cross-sectional study that utilized a pre-test/post-test design to assess attitudes and knowledge toward renal transplant before and after an educational session. Methods: The pre- and post-surveys were distributed to a convenience sample of 341 and 115 patients, respectively, between the months of September and December 2019. Results: Exposure to kidney transplant education resulted in greater levels of knowledge (p = .019, d = 0.334). The following socio-demographic characteristics were significantly associated with more negative baseline attitude scores: end-stage renal disease duration less than one year (p = .011, R2 = 0.943) and no college education (p = .048, d = 0.382). Conclusion: More longitudinal research should be utilized to explore how level of knowledge, attitudes toward transplant, and certain socio-demographic characteristics impact a patient’s intention to pursue kidney transplant. Uncovering reasons as to why certain populations of individuals have more negative baseline attitudes toward kidney transplant may also provide clinicians with valuable information on how pre-transplant education can be tailored to meet the needs of specific populations

The pluralism of justification

This article argues that “justification” denotes distinct technical properties in contemporary epistemology. It is structured as follows. Section 1 spells out a distinction between two ways of tackling the traditional question: “what is a justified belief?” Sections 2 and 3 exploit some of the upshots of Sect. 1 in order to show that classical reliabilism, accessibilism and presumably many other accounts of justification use the predicate “justified” in distinct technical way

Disorders of speech, language, and communication

Disorders of speech, language and social communication are common developmental disorders that greatly increase a child\u27s risk for academic underachievement, social disadvantage and poorer employment prospects. In addition, children presenting for psychiatric evaluation are known to have high rates of previously unsuspected language and social communication disorder. Thus, it is crucial for clinicians to be alert to the types of communication difficulties children may experience, in order to facilitate appropriate referrals and support. This chapter provides an overview of the key features of each of these three disorders and common approaches to intervention. Language disorders will be reviewed in detail with regard to putative biological causes and cognitive profiles. Social (pragmatic) communication disorder is a new disorder introduced in DSM-5. Key features of this disorder and challenges for diagnosis are outlined. Language is particularly vulnerable to atypical development and as a consequence, high rates of co-morbidity are observed with a number of neurodevelopmental disorders