Implementation of a Virtual Nurse Residency Program for Public Health Nurses: A Pilot Study

Implementation of a Virtual Nurse Residency Program for Public Health Nurses: A Pilot Study Background: Nursing retention is a growing concern for many healthcare organizations. One of the Georgia Department of Public Health’s goals is to improve the recruitment and retention rates of public health nurses in the state. In this cohort study of nurses with less than 18 months of experience in public health, pre and post-tests were conducted to measure stress, confidence, job satisfaction, and public health core competencies. Methods: The participants took part in asynchronous and synchronous online content led by public health professionals. These two modules included content in an overview of public health and communicable diseases. A debriefing allowed participants to provide feedback about the program. Results: Comparative analysis showed a significant increase in the mean scores for Module 1 M=57 (SD=11.43) and the mean for the post-Module 1 assessment M=83.86 (SD= 5.67). A significant improvement in the mean of the second module pre-assessment mean was also found M=57 (SD=14) compared to the post-assessment M=91.4 (SD= 12.91) for public health core competencies. Conclusions: This project validated that public health nurses who participate in an online residency program may benefit as demonstrated by improved scores in public health competencies and reported positive experiences in the program

Prevalence of hearing impairment and auditory pathology in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree Masters in Audiology In the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology School of Human and Community Development Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg February 2015The lack of prevalence data for hearing impairment (HI) in South Africa may negatively impact on the type of audiological services currently available to individuals residing in the rural areas of South Africa. Without relevant prevalence data, the government is unable to plan and budget for appropriate, comprehensive ear and hearing health services. Objective: The aim of this study was therefore to obtain epidemiological data on the prevalence and distribution of auditory pathology and HI in the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality of the Limpopo Province. Method: A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. Using a random multi-stage cluster sampling strategy, 357 households were selected in seven wards using the probability proportional to size method. The Ear and Hearing Disorders Survey developed by the World Health Organisation was used to gather information. Participants: All individuals living in the households selected who gave consent and/or assent to participate in the study were included in the study. In total the hearing of 850 individuals from 357 households were tested. The mean age of participants was 27.9 years (range: 1 month to 94.5 years; SD – 22.08). Results: The overall prevalence of disabling HI (> 40 dB) in this rural population is 8.9% (95% CI: 0.08 - 0.12). The age group 65 years and older presented with the highest prevalence of disabling HI at 74.65% (95% CI: 0.62 - 0.83). The prevalence of auditory pathology is 27.53% (95% CI: 0.26 - 0.32) with undetermined causes, impacted cerumen and otitis media occurring most often. Conclusion: The study provided evidence-based data on the prevalence on HI and auditory pathology in the rural context in South Africa. This information will assist all stakeholders in the ear and hearing health care sector to plan for, prioritize, allocate adequate resources and initiate programmes to ameliorate the impact of HI and auditory pathology in the EMLM of the Limpopo Province. Keywords: prevalence; hearing impairment, auditory pathology; Ear and Hearing Disorders Survey, rural, South Afric

SOCIAL NETWORKS, DRUG USE, AND DRUG ABUSE HELP-SEEKING: A TEST OF THE NETWORK EPISODE MODEL AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

Untreated substance use disorders are a major public health concern that has costly consequences at both the societal and individual level. Identifying the characteristics and resources of those who seek help for substance abuse problems in order to inform more effective intervention and treatment techniques is therefore an important research objective. Using the Network Episode Model (NEM) as a theoretical framework, this dissertation examines both substance abuse help-seeking (i.e. inpatient/outpatient treatment and 12-Step meeting attendance) and patterns of drug use over time among low-income African American women, with a special focus on the role of the social network system in shaping these outcomes. Drawing on social network theory, critical race theory, and health service utilization research, this test of the Network Episode Model addresses the relative absence of work examining the connections between network characteristics and help-seeking in multiply marginalized groups. The core relationships proposed by the NEM are systematically tested using longitudinal data gathered for the Black Women in the Study of Epidemics Project (N=643). Findings of multilevel models indicate strong support for the Network Episode Model. Specifically, measures of social influence, social control, and social integration significantly predict both patterns of drug use and help-seeking. Importantly, having contact with and receiving health advice from a physician emerged as a significant predictor of a number of positive outcomes, including quitting or abstaining from illicit drug use during the study and attending 12-Step meetings. Results also reveal that experiences specifically related to low-income African American women’s multiply marginalized status – such as experiencing gendered racism – significantly predict patterns of drug use over the study timeframe and may be an important risk factor for substance abuse. In all, this research reveals the important contributions of both traditional predictors and social network predictors on substance abuse help-seeking and patterns of drug use over time. Conclusions suggest that given the limited financial and material resources of multiply marginalized groups, learning how to mobilize or effectively build upon available social network resources to encourage substance abuse treatment may be a particularly fruitful strategy to explore

In vitro activity of four fluoroquinolones on selected bacteria

In 1990-1991, in a national surveillance study, and in 1991-1992, in a followup study, both by Thornsberry et al. (1993), ciprofloxacin data from various geographical and demographical institutions were collected. Several species of bacteria have shown resistance to ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, but the degree of resistance to these drugs has not been reported for the Stockton area. To determine the extent of this resistance, Dameron Hospital antibiograms generated from 1990 to 1994 were reviewed and compared. Results of the comparison show that susceptibility among the Gram-negative isolates, with the exception of Providencia stuartii, Acinetobacter lwoffi, and to a lesser extent Aeromonas hydrophila, has changed very little. Consistent with the national surveys, resistance of Pseudomonas aemginosa has not changed appreciably during the five-year period. Among the Gram-positive isolates that were tested against both ciprofloxacin for a five-year period (1990-1994) and norfloxacin for a three-year period (1992 \u27 1994), increased resistance was seen among strains of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, and Enterococcus jaecalis, but not among strains of Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and S. agalactiae. To determine whether resistance to one fluoroquinolone occurs also to other fluoroquinolones, several isolates of Gram-positive cocci and P. aeruginosa from the Gram-negative bacilli that showed resistance to either ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, or both were selected from Dameron Hospital isolates and tested by the disk diffusion technique against ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and lomefloxacin. The results indicate that differences do exist among these selected strains. Comparison of the invitro effectiveness of the various quinolones confirms that methicillin-resistant staphylococci (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and S. haemolyticus) exhibit a higher degree of resistance to the four fluoroquinolones compared with the methicillin-susceptible strains of the same species. Resistance of the enterococci (Enterococcus jaecalis and E. jaecium) is also high. Generally, when the four fluoroquinolones were compared with each other, ofloxacin seemed to have better in vitro activity. Resistance to the quinolones consists of two proposed mechanisms: ( 1) mutation of one or both of the structural genes of the A and B subunits of DNA gyrase and (2) decreased drug accumulation due either to lower uptake by the cell or enhanced effiux out of the cell. These mechanisms of resistance are reviewed

Advanced techniques for determining long term compatibility of materials with propellants

A method for the prediction of propellant-material compatibility for periods of time up to ten years is presented. Advanced sensitive measurement techniques used in the prediction method are described. These include: neutron activation analysis, radioactive tracer technique, and atomic absorption spectroscopy with a graphite tube furnace sampler. The results of laboratory tests performed to verify the prediction method are presented

"Does this Look Infected to You?" Social Network Predictors of Dental Help-Seeking Among Mexican Immigrants

Compared to U.S. born Latinos, Mexican immigrants (MAs) have diminished health care access and face substantial barriers to accessing needed dental health services. However, little research has examined how MAs social networks shape their use of dental health services. Using data from 332 Mexican immigrants to the Midwest, this research examines the significance of individual and egocentric network characteristics on two measures of dental health service utilization. Findings reveal that network size, network dental service utilization, and the frequency with which MAs discuss acute problems with network ties, positively correspond to use of oral health services. Conversely, embeddedness in networks where ties hassle egos about dental issues and have low levels of dental health knowledge correspond to lower odds of using these services. This research is among the first to use ego network data and methods to examine the ways network characteristics shape oral health behaviors among this underserved population

Postscript: Queer Endings/Queer Beginnings

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Client processing is altered by novel myopathy-causing mutations in the HSP40 J domain

The misfolding and aggregation of proteins is often implicated in the development and progression of degenerative diseases. Heat shock proteins (HSPs), such as the ubiquitously expressed Type II Hsp40 molecular chaperone, DNAJB6, assist in protein folding and disaggregation. Historically, mutations within the DNAJB6 G/F domain have been associated with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy type 1D, now referred to as LGMDD1, a dominantly inherited degenerative disease. Recently, novel mutations within the J domain of DNAJB6 have been reported in patients with LGMDD1. Since novel myopathy-causing mutations in the Hsp40 J domain have yet to be characterized and both the function of DNAJB6 in skeletal muscle and the clients of this chaperone are unknown, we set out to assess the effect of these mutations on chaperone function using the genetically tractable yeast system. The essential yeast Type II Hsp40, Sis1, is homologous to DNAJB6 and is involved in the propagation of yeast prions. Using phenotypic, biochemical, and functional assays we found that homologous mutations in the Sis1 J domain differentially alter the processing of specific yeast prion strains, as well as a non-prion substrate. These data suggest that the newly-identified mutations in the J domain of DNAJB6 cause aberrant chaperone function that leads to the pathogenesis in LGMDD1