2,649 research outputs found
Evaluation of a Safe Patient Handling Program
Purpose : The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a comprehensive Safe Patient Handling (SPH) Program system wide in a large healthcare organization relative to injury severity and organizational cost. Background : Extensive review of the literature reveals clear evidence that healthcare workers who participate in patient handling activities continue to be at a very high risk for occupational musculoskeletal injuries. Workers employed up to one year, and those employed greater than ten years within the institution studied were noted to have higher rates of injures that were more severe and more costly to the organization. Methods : Implementation of a comprehensive SPH program was implemented in 2010 and all direct patient caregivers were trained. The sample consisted of new hires (n=89) and long term hires (n=144) identified via aggregate data from data bases owned by the institution. Data were analyzed on the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. Mean differences in the severity of injury and cost of injury between pre and post-training periods were analyzed via independent samples t-tests. Chi-square was used to identify whether there was a significant difference in the frequency of injuries between the pre and post-training periods. Results : Results indicated that the average injury severity during the pre-test period was significantly higher compared to post-test. No significant differences were found related to cost or frequency of injury between pre and post-test. Discussion : Issues related to the practical significance of the results and challenges due to the small sample size are discussed
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Retailers' perspectives on selling tobacco in a low-income San Francisco neighbourhood after California's $2 tobacco tax increase.
BackgroundCalifornia's tobacco tax increased by $2.00 per pack in 2017. Although such increases are among the most effective tobacco control strategies, little is known about their impact from the perspective of corner store owners in low-income neighbourhoods with high concentrations of tobacco outlets.MethodsWe interviewed 38 corner store owners and managers in San Francisco's Tenderloin, the district with the city's highest tobacco outlet density, 60-90 days following implementation of the tax increase. Questions focused on perceptions of the impact of the higher tobacco tax on their revenues, customers and tobacco company promotions. We used qualitative content analysis to identify, compare and reconcile key themes.ResultsMost retailers reported a decline in cigarette sales, with customers buying fewer cigarettes, switching to cheaper brands or other products like marijuana, or trying to quit smoking. Retailers described challenges associated with running a small business and selling tobacco and concerns about selling a product that is 'bad' for customers' health. Contrary to expectation, tobacco companies appeared to be offering few product promotions in this neighbourhood.ConclusionsSmall, independent retailers' concerns, about selling tobacco and about the health and well-being of customers, suggest that such retailers may be important allies in tobacco control efforts,particularly those focused on the point-of-sale
Would ACES Academy Benefit Your University?
In 1989 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) entered into a collaborative effort with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to design a model Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academy seminar. This collaboration was initially made exclusively with Embry-Riddle with the intent to replicate the program at other institutions after the model was established. The objective of the seminar was to introduce high school juniors and seniors to various aviation careers, allowing them to plan their final semesters in high school and set their higher-education goals. Additional goals of the program included: 1. Guiding high school students in exploring the role of aviation in history. 2. Discussing the airplane as a vehicle and identifying its parts and the principles by which it flies. 3. Taking participants on a flight to give them firsthand experience. 4. Helping students explore careers in aviation and aerospace. 5. Explaining the role of government in aviation and the overall socio-economic benefits of aviation. The FAA contacted Patricia Ryan, director of the Teacher Resource Center at Embry-Riddle, who developed the program with the assistance of Dave Esser, an associate professor in Embry-Riddle\u27s Aeronautical Science Department. The FAA has since offered the program developed by Ryan and Esser at various locations around the nation. In 1994, Ryan and Esser decided the project could be better tailored to meet individual needs if each student was allowed to select a particular career field to explore. The enhanced program was renamed Aviation Career Education Specialization (ACES) Academy
Perceptions of Campus Climate by Sexual Minorities
Previous research has indicated that students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) often have negative experiences on university campuses due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Direct and indirect experiences contribute to an overall perception of the campus climate. This study used an online survey to assess studentsâ perceptions of campus climate, their experiences confronting bias, support of family members and friends, and whether they had considered leaving campus. Multiple regression analysis indicated that perceptions of poorer campus climate were predicted by greater unfair treatment by instructors, more impact from anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) bias on friendsâ and familiesâ emotional support, and having hidden oneâs LGBT identity from other students. Cluster analyses revealed four groups of participants distinguished by openness about their sexual orientation and negative experiences, with one group appearing to be at risk for poor retention. Results are discussed in terms of the needs of LGBTQ students on campus
Perceptions of Campus Climate by Sexual Minorities
Previous research has indicated that students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) often have negative experiences on university campuses due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Direct and indirect experiences contribute to an overall perception of the campus climate. This study used an online survey to assess studentsâ perceptions of campus climate, their experiences confronting bias, support of family members and friends, and whether they had considered leaving campus. Multiple regression analysis indicated that perceptions of poorer campus climate were predicted by greater unfair treatment by instructors, more impact from anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) bias on friendsâ and familiesâ emotional support, and having hidden oneâs LGBT identity from other students. Cluster analyses revealed four groups of participants distinguished by openness about their sexual orientation and negative experiences, with one group appearing to be at risk for poor retention. Results are discussed in terms of the needs of LGBTQ students on campus
Childhood maltreatment, psychological resources, and depressive symptoms in women with breast cancer.
Childhood maltreatment is associated with elevated risk for depression across the human lifespan. Identifying the pathways through which childhood maltreatment relates to depressive symptoms may elucidate intervention targets that have the potential to reduce the lifelong negative health sequelae of maltreatment exposure. In this cross-sectional study, 271 women with early-stage breast cancer were assessed after their diagnosis but before the start of adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, endocrine therapy). Participants completed measures of childhood maltreatment exposure, psychological resources (optimism, mastery, self-esteem, mindfulness), and depressive symptoms. Using multiple mediation analyses, we examined which psychological resources uniquely mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms. Exposure to maltreatment during childhood was robustly associated with lower psychological resources and elevated depressive symptoms. Further, lower optimism and mindfulness mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and elevated depressive symptoms. These results support existing theory that childhood maltreatment is associated with lower psychological resources, which partially explains elevated depressive symptoms in a sample of women facing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. These findings warrant replication in populations facing other major life events and highlight the need for additional studies examining childhood maltreatment as a moderator of treatment outcomes
When to approach novel prey cues? Social learning strategies in frog-eating bats
Animals can use different sources of information when making decisions. Foraging animals often have access to both self-acquired and socially acquired information about prey. The fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus, hunts frogs by approaching the calls that frogs produce to attract mates.We examined howthe reliability of self-acquired prey cues affects social learning of novel prey cues. We trained bats to associate an artificial acoustic cue (mobile phone ringtone) with food rewards. Bats were assigned to treatments in which the trained cue was either an unreliable indicator of reward (rewarded 50% of the presentations) or a reliable indicator (rewarded 100% of the presentations), and they were exposed to a conspecific tutor foraging on a reliable (rewarded 100%) novel cue or to the novel cue with no tutor. Bats whose trained cue was unreliable and who had a tutor were significantly more likely to preferentially approach the novel cue when compared with bats whose trained cue was reliable, and to bats that had no tutor. Reliability of self-acquired prey cues therefore affects social learning of novel prey cues by frog-eating bats. Examining when animals use social information to learn about novel prey is key to understanding the social transmission of foraging innovations. © 2013 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society
Financial Incentives and Physician Practice Participation in Medicareâs ValueâBased Reforms
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145327/1/hesr12743_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145327/2/hesr12743-sup-0001-AppendixSA1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145327/3/hesr12743.pd
Maximizing Audibility and Speech Recognition with Non-Linear Frequency Compression by Estimating Audible Bandwidth
ObjectiveâNonlinear frequency compression attempts to restore high-frequency audibility by lowering high-frequency input signals. Methods of determining the optimal parameters that maximize speech understanding have not been evaluated. The effect of maximizing the audible bandwidth on speech recognition for a group of listeners with normal hearing is described.
DesignâNonword recognition was measured with twenty normal-hearing adults. Three audiograms with different high-frequency thresholds were used to create conditions with varying high-frequency audibility. Bandwidth was manipulated using three conditions for each audiogram: conventional processing, the manufacturerâs default compression parameters, and compression parameters that optimized bandwidth.
ResultsâNonlinear frequency compression optimized to provide the widest audible bandwidth improved nonword recognition compared to both conventional processing and the default parameters.
ConclusionâThese results showed that using the widest audible bandwidth maximized speech identification when using nonlinear frequency compression. Future studies should apply these methods to listeners with hearing loss to demonstrate efficacy in clinical populations
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