154 research outputs found
âI think relax, relax and it flows a lot easierâ: Exploring client-generated relax strategies
Background. Some adult stroke survivors participating in Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) treatment programs self-generated relax strategies that have not been explored in previous CO-OP publications. The objective of this study was to describe the process by which adults with stroke used relax strategies and to explore the outcomes associated with their use.
Methods. Secondary analysis of transcripts of intervention sessions from five participants was conducted.
Results. All five participants applied relax strategies after initially observing a breakdown in performance that was attributed to increased fatigue or tension. The relax strategies used by the participants during their occupations included general relaxation, physical modifications to reduce tension, mental preparation, and pacing. The application of these strategies seemed to result in improved skill performance, reduced fatigue, and transfer to other activities.
Conclusion. The relax strategy warrants further investigation as a potentially important therapeutic tool to improve occupational performance in individuals who have had a stroke
Ăvaluation d'un programme de parcours prĂ©-professionnel : points de vue dâanciens Ă©tudiants du programme prĂ©mĂ©dical en milieu rural du Selkirk College
Background: Having a rural background is one of the most predictive factors in eventually having a rural practice, but people from rural areas face several barriers to post-secondary education. Pre-professional rural pathway initiatives are a potential solution. The Rural Pre-Medicine Program (RPM) at Selkirk College, British Columbia was developed to provide students with the credits necessary to apply to medicine and other health professional programs, an introduction to rural healthcare issues, and a unique and comprehensive support program to enable success.
Methods: We administered a cross-sectional survey to former students who left the program from its inception in September 2014 to May 2020 to explore the extent to which program aims are being met.
Results: The response rate was 49.4% (40/81). Respondents agreed the program increased their skills, their understanding of rural healthcare issues, and enhanced their competitiveness for applying to health professional programs. Most agreed the program increased their future rural work intentions. Respondents suggested that academic programming be more flexible to allow for more varied post-program pathways.
Conclusion: This survey provides preliminary evidence the RPM Program is on track to increase the number of people with a rural affinity who prepare to become health professionals.Contexte : Le fait d'ĂȘtre issu dâun milieu rural est l'un des facteurs les plus prĂ©dictifs d'une pratique future dans un tel milieu. Toutefois, les habitants des rĂ©gions rurales sont confrontĂ©s Ă plusieurs obstacles Ă lâaccĂšs Ă l'Ă©ducation postsecondaire. Les initiatives de parcours prĂ©-professionnels en milieu rural sont une solution potentielle Ă ce problĂšme. Le programme Rural Pre-Medicine (RPM) du Selkirk College, en Colombie-Britannique, a Ă©tĂ© conçu pour fournir aux Ă©tudiants les crĂ©dits nĂ©cessaires pour faire une demande dâadmission en mĂ©decine et dans d'autres programmes de formation professionnelle en santĂ©, une introduction aux enjeux des soins de santĂ© en milieu rural et un programme de soutien unique et complet pour favoriser la rĂ©ussite.
MĂ©thodes : Nous avons menĂ© une enquĂȘte transversale auprĂšs d'anciens Ă©tudiants ayant quittĂ© le programme entre septembre 2014, annĂ©e de sa crĂ©ation, et mai 2020 pour dĂ©terminer dans quelle mesure les objectifs du programme sont atteints.
Résultats : Le taux de réponse a été de 49,4 % (40/81). Les répondants ont reconnu que le programme leur avait permis d'améliorer leurs compétences, de mieux comprendre les enjeux liés aux soins de santé en milieu rural et de rendre plus compétitive leur candidature aux programmes de formation professionnelle en santé. La plupart d'entre eux ont déclaré que le programme les avait confortés dans leur intention de travailler en milieu rural. Ils ont recommandé de rendre le cursus plus souple pour permettre des débouchés plus variés pour les diplÎmés.
Conclusion : Les rĂ©sultats de cette enquĂȘte semblent indiquer que le programme RPM permettrait dâaugmenter le nombre de candidats Ă un mĂ©tier de la santĂ© attirĂ©s par le milieu rural
Au soutien de la prĂ©-mĂ©decine rurale : Ă©valuation descriptive des premiĂšres cohortes dâun programme de doctorat de premier cycle inĂ©dit
Implication Statement
Selkirk Collegeâs Rural Pre-Medicine (RPM) program launched in 2014 as a unique undergraduate initiative designed to increase the number of students who prepare for future careers in rural healthcare and, in the longterm, to play a role in reducing rural health disparities. Preliminary evaluation indicates most students in the program have rural backgrounds and the majority of graduates with follow-up data go on to further health science programming, including medical school. Challenges with retention have been identified. RPM is committed to ongoing program improvement and to providing a model for similar programs in other jurisdictions. ĂnoncĂ© des implications de la recherche
En 2014, le CollĂšge Selkirk a lancĂ© son programme de doctorat de premier cycle en prĂ©-mĂ©decine rurale (PMR), une initiative unique visant Ă attirer davantage dâĂ©tudiants vers une carriĂšre dans le domaine de la santĂ© en milieu rural et, Ă long terme, Ă rĂ©duire les inĂ©galitĂ©s en matiĂšre de santĂ© dans les zones rurales. LâĂ©valuation prĂ©liminaire indique que la plupart des Ă©tudiants inscrits dans ce programme sont issus du milieu rural et que la majoritĂ© des diplĂŽmĂ©s pour lesquels des donnĂ©es Ă©taient disponibles poursuivent leurs Ă©tudes en sciences de la santĂ©, y compris en mĂ©decine. Des problĂšmes de rĂ©tention ont Ă©tĂ© mis en Ă©vidence. Le PMR sâinscrit dans une dĂ©marche dâamĂ©lioration continue et dĂ©sire faire du programme un modĂšle Ă suivre ailleurs au Canada
'Learning for resilienceâ as the climate changes: Discussing flooding, adaptation and agency with children
Climate change scenarios project higher flood risk, so knowing how households can increase socio-ecological resilience is essential. Children rarely feature in UK policy guidance about how households prepare for floods, and research is limited about childrenâs roles in local resilience building. Using a participatory action research, child-centred methodology we explored (7-9year old) childrenâs knowledge, skills and dispositions in discussions about flooding, suggesting processes for effectively engaging them in Learning for Resilience (LfR). Results suggest children have existing knowledge, skills and dispositions concerning local and international flood risk originating from various sources. They displayed cross-cultural learning, embryonic systems-thinking, and understandings of theirs and othersâ agency, including adultsâ reasons for un-preparedness, revealing awareness of risk underestimation and deferral/denial of risk. The paper offers framing of a new taxonomy for young childrenâs significant âLfRâ and seven âtop tipsâ to facilitate, design and implement learning strategies with children around environmental risk, in the UK and internationally, in climate change contexts
Evaluation of a pre-professional pathway program: perspectives of former students in the rural pre-medicine program at Selkirk College
Background: Having a rural background is one of the most predictive factors in eventually having a rural practice, but people from rural areas face several barriers to post-secondary education. Pre-professional rural pathway initiatives are a potential solution. The Rural Pre-Medicine Program (RPM) at Selkirk College, British Columbia was developed to provide students with the credits necessary to apply to medicine and other health professional programs, an introduction to rural healthcare issues, and a unique and comprehensive support program to enable success.
Methods: We administered a cross-sectional survey to former students who left the program from its inception in September 2014 to May 2020 to explore the extent to which program aims are being met.
Results: The response rate was 49.4% (40/81). Respondents agreed the program increased their skills, their understanding of rural healthcare issues, and enhanced their competitiveness for applying to health professional programs. Most agreed the program increased their future rural work intentions. Respondents suggested that academic programming be more flexible to allow for more varied post-program pathways.
Conclusion: This survey provides preliminary evidence the RPM Program is on track to increase the number of people with a rural affinity who prepare to become health professionals
Inhalation of diesel exhaust and allergen alters human bronchial epithelium DNA methylation
Background
Allergic disease affects 30% to 40% of the world's population, and its development is determined by the interplay between environmental and inherited factors. Air pollution, primarily consisting of diesel exhaust emissions, has increased at a similar rate to allergic disease. Exposure to diesel exhaust may play a role in the development and progression of allergic disease, in particular allergic respiratory disease. One potential mechanism underlying the connection between air pollution and increased allergic disease incidence is DNA methylation, an epigenetic process with the capacity to integrate gene-environment interactions.
Objective
We sought to investigate the effect of allergen and diesel exhaust exposure on bronchial epithelial DNA methylation.
Methods
We performed a randomized crossover-controlled exposure study to allergen and diesel exhaust in humans, and measured single-site (CpG) resolution global DNA methylation in bronchial epithelial cells.
Results
Exposure to allergen alone, diesel exhaust alone, or allergen and diesel exhaust together (coexposure) led to significant changes in 7 CpG sites at 48 hours. However, when the same lung was exposed to allergen and diesel exhaust but separated by approximately 4 weeks, significant changes in more than 500 sites were observed. Furthermore, sites of differential methylation differed depending on which exposure was experienced first. Functional analysis of differentially methylated CpG sites found genes involved in transcription factor activity, protein metabolism, cell adhesion, and vascular development, among others.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that specific exposures can prime the lung for changes in DNA methylation induced by a subsequent insult
Promoting water efficiency and hydrocitizenship in young peopleâs learning about drought risk in a temperate maritime country
Engaging young citizens with drought risk and positive water behaviours is essential in domestic water demand management within the wider climate crisis. This paper evaluates a new research-informed, picture bookââDRY: The Diary of a Water Superheroââthat explores UK drought. The bookâs development was underpinned by research within the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project. The bookâs concept and storyline were co-produced by an interdisciplinary team, including a creative practitioner. This focused on key themes: drought definitions and types; drought myths; adaptation and young peopleâs (YP) agency. Characters and storyline were co-created to promote YPâs autonomy as change agents, and to encourage intergenerational and community learning. This paper evaluates the book from three perspectives: of YP, trainee teachers (TT) and teachers. Emergent themes are triangulated: drought as a sensitive issue, subject knowledge and changes in behaviour, and YPâs misconceptions about drought and place. TT also contemplated their improved subject knowledge and barriers to engaging with positive water behaviours. Teachers reflected on classroom use of the book, prior experiences about teaching drought, curriculum context and st/age of YP engaged. This paper reflects on how these insights feed into school practice and water industry outreach, in developing effective learning resources that promote a valuing of water, behaviour change and wider hydrocitizenship among YP and their communities
A model for the cosmological evolution of low frequency radio sources
We present a new evolutionary model that describes the population properties
of radio sources at frequencies <5 GHz, thus complementing the De Zotti et al.
(2005) model, holding at higher frequencies. We find that simple analytic
luminosity evolution is still sufficient to fit the wealth of available data on
local luminosity functions, multi-frequency source counts, and redshift
distributions. However, the fit requires a luminosity-dependent decline of
source luminosities at high redshifts, at least for steep-spectrum sources,
thus confirming earlier indications of a "downsizing" also for radio sources.
The upturn of source counts at sub-mJy levels is accounted for by a
straightforward extrapolation, using the empirical far-IR/radio correlation, of
evolutionary models matching the far-IR counts and redshift distributions of
star-forming galaxies. We also discuss the implications of the new model for
the interpretation of data on large-scale clustering of radio sources and on
the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect, and for the investigation of the
contribution of discrete sources to the extragalactic background. As for the
ISW effect, a new analysis exploiting a very clean CMB map, yields at a
substantially higher significance than reported before.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
A common framework for collecting evidence of real-life outcomes of aphasia interventions: thoughts and applications
Two related conceptual frameworks have been developed to guide outcome measurement. The Framework for Outcome Measurement (FROM) captures the integration of key generic concepts central to recent international thinking in the area of health and disability. The second, Living with Aphasia: Framework for Outcome Measurement (A-FROM), focuses directly on communication and is intended to guide thinking about outcome measurement in aphasia. User-friendly and accessible schematics represent potential outcome domains and highlight the centrality of quality of life. The frameworks and methods of development will be discussed. Guidelines for potential applications will be presented with examples from two A-FROM derived tools
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