Toward the development of national telehealth services: the role of Veterans Health Administration and future directions for research.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has emerged as a national and international leader in the delivery and research of telehealth-based treatment. Several unique characteristics of care in VA settings intersect to create an ideal environment for telehealth modalities and research. However, the value of telehealth experience and initiatives in VA settings is limited if telehealth strategies cannot be widely exported to other public or private systems. Whereas a hierarchical organization, such as VA, can innovate and fund change relatively quickly based on provider and patient preferences and a growing knowledge base, other health provider organizations and third-party payers may likely require replicable scientific findings over time before incremental investments will be made to create infrastructure, reform regulatory barriers, and amend laws to accommodate expansion of telehealth modalities. Accordingly, large-scale scientifically rigorous telehealth research in VHA settings is essential not only to investigate the efficacy of existing and future telehealth practices in VHA, but also to hasten the development of telehealth infrastructure in private and other public health settings. We propose an expanded partnership between the VA, NIH, and other funding agencies to investigate creative and pragmatic uses of telehealth technology. To this end, we identify six specific areas of research we believe to be particularly relevant to the efficient development of telehealth modalities in civilian and military contexts outside VHA

Policy and administrative issues for large-scale clinical interventions following disasters

Objective: Large, programmatic mental health intervention programs for children and adolescents following disasters have become increasingly common; however, little has been written about the key goals and challenges involved. Methods: Using available data and the authors' experiences, this article reviews the factors involved in planning and implementing large-scale treatment programs following disasters. Results: These issues include funding, administration, choice of clinical targets, workforce selection, choice of treatment modalities, training, outcome monitoring, and consumer uptake. Ten factors are suggested for choosing among treatment modalities: 1) reach (providing access to the greatest number), 2) retention of patients, 3) privacy, 4) parental involvement, 5) familiarity of the modality to clinicians, 6) intensity (intervention type matches symptom acuity and impairment of patient), 7) burden to the clinician (in terms of time, travel, and inconvenience), 8) cost, 9) technology needs, and 10) effect size. Traditionally, after every new disaster, local leaders who have never done so before have had to be recruited to design, administer, and implement programs. Conclusion: As expertise in all of these areas represents a gap for most local professionals in disaster-affected areas, we propose that a central, nongovernmental agency with national or international scope be created that can consult flexibly with local leaders following disasters on both overarching and specific issues. We propose recommendations and point out areas in greatest need of innovation

RNA Nanotechnology

Cite this entry as: Yaradoddi J.S. et al. (2019) RNA Nanotechnology. In: Martínez L., Kharissova O., Kharisov B. (eds) Handbook of Ecomaterials. Springer, Cham Publisher Name: Springer, Cham DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68255-6_193 Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68254-9 Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68255-6 First Online: 14 February 2019DNA, RNA, and proteins are seemed to be immensely substantial tools for nanobiotechnological applications; this is since their exceptional biochemical properties and role. Particularly RNA is categorized over comparatively high-temperature stability, varied organizational pliability, and their performance in natural circumstances. Above properties made, RNA, a valued constituent for bionanotechnology processes and usefulness, especially RNA nanotechnology, could synthesize complex molecules using simple molecules through de nova nanostructures having exceptional utility by the strategy, integration, and manipulations of most predominant processes which are usually based on different RNA structures and because of their vital biochemical properties. The current chapter emphasis on the basic principles inspires the normal design of RNA nanostructures, pronounces the important methods that are used in constructing nanoparticles’ self-assemblages, and further describes the associated challenges and excelled opportunities of RNA nanotechnology in near future.Peer reviewe