School leaders reflections on their school's engagement in a program to foster health literacy development

Many health attitudes and behaviors formed during childhood are sustained through to adulthood, thereforechildhood is a critical time to develop health literacy. Primary schools provide an ideal environment to equipchildren with lifelong health skills, understanding and knowledge. Through semi-structured interviews, this studygathered primary school leaders’ reflections on the implementation of a program (HealthLit4Kids) designed tofoster health literacy development in their schools. The aim of this study was to determine how school leadersexperienced the HealthLit4Kids intervention. The results showed that leaders perceived the program had a positive effect on health literacy knowledge and understanding within the school community, as well as improvedhealth behaviors. School leaders’ statements indicated that key barriers such as parental engagement and anovercrowded curriculum would need to be navigated to ensure successful program sustainability

Copper diaryl-dithiocarbamate complexes and their application as single source precursors (SSPs) for copper sulfide nanomaterials

Copper diaryl-dithiocarbamate (DTC) complexes have been prepared including [Cu(S2CNAr2)2], [Cu{S2CN(p-tolyl)2}]n and [Cu{S2CN(p-tolyl)2}(PPh3)2] and used as single source precursors to copper sulfide nanomaterials

How can information and communication technology improve healthcare inequalities and healthcare inequity? The concept of context driven care

Advances in medicine have improved health and healthcare for many around the world. The challenge is achieving the best outcomes of health via healthcare delivery to every individual. Healthcare inequalities exist within a country and between countries. Health information technology (HIT) has provided a mean to deliver equal access to healthcare services re-gardless of social context and physical location. In order to achieve better health outcomes for every individual, socio-cultural factors, such as literacy and social context need to consider. This paper argues that HIT while im-proves healthcare inequalities by providing access, might worsen healthcare inequity. In order to improve healthcare inequity using HIT, this paper ar-gues that we need to consider patients and context, and hence the concept of context driven care. To improve healthcare inequity, we need to conceptual-ly consider the patient’s view and methodologically consider design meth-ods that achieve participatory outcomes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Rehabilitation versus surgical reconstruction for non-acute anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL SNNAP): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common debilitating injury that can cause instability of the knee. We aimed to investigate the best management strategy between reconstructive surgery and non-surgical treatment for patients with a non-acute ACL injury and persistent symptoms of instability.MethodsWe did a pragmatic, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial in 29 secondary care National Health Service orthopaedic units in the UK. Patients with symptomatic knee problems (instability) consistent with an ACL injury were eligible. We excluded patients with meniscal pathology with characteristics that indicate immediate surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either surgery (reconstruction) or rehabilitation (physiotherapy but with subsequent reconstruction permitted if instability persisted after treatment), stratified by site and baseline Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score—4 domain version (KOOS4). This management design represented normal practice. The primary outcome was KOOS4 at 18 months after randomisation. The principal analyses were intention-to-treat based, with KOOS4 results analysed using linear regression. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN10110685, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02980367.FindingsBetween Feb 1, 2017, and April 12, 2020, we recruited 316 patients. 156 (49%) participants were randomly assigned to the surgical reconstruction group and 160 (51%) to the rehabilitation group. Mean KOOS4 at 18 months was 73·0 (SD 18·3) in the surgical group and 64·6 (21·6) in the rehabilitation group. The adjusted mean difference was 7·9 (95% CI 2·5–13·2; p=0·0053) in favour of surgical management. 65 (41%) of 160 patients allocated to rehabilitation underwent subsequent surgery according to protocol within 18 months. 43 (28%) of 156 patients allocated to surgery did not receive their allocated treatment. We found no differences between groups in the proportion of intervention-related complications.InterpretationSurgical reconstruction as a management strategy for patients with non-acute ACL injury with persistent symptoms of instability was clinically superior and more cost-effective in comparison with rehabilitation management

Transversal competency development in healthcare professionals: A scoping literature review to identify effective educational paradigms, principles and strategies

Transversal Competencies (TCs) (interpersonal, intrapersonal, critical thinking and global citizenship skills) are essential skills, knowledge and behaviours for work and life success. Limited literature exists on methods to develop TC for adult education. This scoping review explores how TCs are being embedded into health professional learning and strategies to deliver training for the self-directed learner

An International Review to Characterize the Role, Responsibilities, and Optimal Setting for Health Literacy Mediators

Health literacy is a critically important determinant of health and is influenced by access to supportive social networks and services. Global investment in education throughout the life course is required to support health literacy development. The aim of this review is to characterize the role, responsibilities, and the optimal setting for the emergent role of a Health Literacy Mediator (HLM). A scoping review of recent literature was conducted. The review revealed a lack of consensus on who should be teaching health literacy, and variability in confidence when teaching health literacy. Professionals reported facing barriers such as a lack of time, a lack of knowledge, and recognized that the health literacy needs of children worldwide are not being met. Further research into the role of HLM is required to determine who is best suited to this role and what their responsibilities will be to ensure consistent health literacy education